The Original DailySkew

I recently read a great blog post by my friend Damian Hospital that dealt partly with anxiety and wellbutrin … it reminded me of a thought I’ve had recently — the public has to be a whole lot smarter to thrive in this society.

I have a son with a rare genetic defect known as NEMO — the medications and treatments are mind-blowing and COMPLICATED. We do weekly lab tests to see how the medications are affecting his liver. We’re changing medications, upping doses, lowering doses … he’s constantly getting tested, scanned, poked, inspected … we travel all around the country seeing doctors — specialists in the field of rare diseases who are exploring the unknown regions of medicine and health.

Anyway, I am super-duper BLESSED to have a wife who has worked in the medical profession. She knows the terminology the doctors use … she knows the names of the various drugs, how to create a sterile field, how to give injections, etc. On our most recent visit from the NIH (which, by the way, we’re flying back from now. Yes, I’m blogging on a plane. I love it), the doctor expressed how impressed she was with my wife’s knowledge.

I have been humbled by all this, because I feel like an idiot half the time during these medical visits. For example, the doctors will ask me if I have any questions — my questions are like the words of a Kindergarten student compared to my wife’s doctoral thesis-style questions. We all have our strengths, and medical terminology and knowledge are not mine. I’m more of a numbers and literature guy.

All this brings me back around to my point regarding anxiety and wellbutrin, and other diseases/treatments — we, as individuals, have no choice but to study up and gain at least a perfunctory knowledge of medicine when dealing with a serious illness.

For example, this week I had to learn:
- all about my son’s new meds

- how to give an injection (from drawing the medicine, sterilizing the area, how to give the shot, how to get air bubbles out of the syringe, etc.) … folks, I did not go into medicine as a career for a reason. I used to hate seeing medical programs that would show an operation in progress, with the insides of the patient all out in the open. The thought of giving someone a shot sounded dangerous. Now? I’m rolling with the punches and overcoming my desire to throw-up at the thought of giving a shot

- Learn about the NIH facility … someone like me has to understand the logistics of a new situation. This was my first time staying inpatient there, and it was an adjustment. We’re talking about getting Internet, getting food (they don’t provide food for caretakers/parents? Welcome to the government. Welcome to $10 salads at Au Bon Pain), working with nurses and doctors to deliver medications and figure out treatment schedules … thankfully, the people up there were great and very helpful. Everyone seems to love their career and enjoy working with children like my son.

Still, it’s … just a lot for me to take in, logistically speaking.

My wife is a wonderful person for handling all this stuff normally. I can’t thank her enough.

By the end of our stay, I was getting in a comfort zone with everything, which was cool. All things considered, my son and I had a good time. We got to play air hockey, Super Mario games on the Game Cube, and get a brief tour of the Lincoln Memorial.

Back to the point — every person who is dealing with a serious medical issue like anxiety and wellbutrin should really take the time to understand why their doctor is prescribing certain things, how some drugs interact with other drugs, etc. Doctors don’t know everything! They may not remember all the medications your on. You are in charge of your well-being.

Don’t let yourself be treated like cattle … stand out from the crowd. Make sure your doctor knows everything your taking and what you’re feeling. Don’t be afraid to take multiple lab tests to get to the bottom of things. Don’t be afraid to see a specialist or two … or three or four. Don’t be afraid to change doctors if you’re not happy with the results.

Look, with the Internet at your fingertips, there are no excuses. You can find well-researched articles, patient blogs, doctor blogs, and websites dedicated to whatever you’re going through. You don’t have to know everything — you just have to know to search for the info on the web when you need it.

We no longer live in a world where one pill will magically solve your ills. Nope. And there are no guarantees AT ALL that the first diagnosis is the correct diagnosis. You’ve got to be smart. Be alert.

Don’t be a hypochondriac, as Damian stated on his blog. If you’re healthy, your healthy.

I believe you can monitor your diet, weight, and health reasonably, without being a hypochondriac about it. I believe you can wash your hands and be careful about touhing your lips, nose, or eyes without being a hypochondriac about it.

We, as individuals, just need to be smarter about things like anxiety and wellbutrin. Maybe this generation doesn’t quite get that … I hope the children of today will be able to handle this higher standard of knowledge when they grow up.

I hope humanity can keep up with the future.

Before I forget — be sure to check out our DailySkew Year One eBook at the DailySkew Bookstore. There is a great parody in there, on page 197, called I’m Feeling ‘Well’Butrin’. Check it out.

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