Modern Medicine 101 - Revisited

 

Live And Learn?

I have learned a lot in the last few weeks! I am convinced that some of my discovery will be of benefit to many of you. For some time I have been making some serious errors in not taking full advantage of modern healthcare and in some cases not even paying any attention to things that were available.  And I am now convinced that his problem may be compounded for all my U.S. expats living in Panama.  No, this is not a rant on the healthcare in Panama or anywhere else - read on

I did make my 'Grand Exit' from Panama and made it back to the U.S. in early June, but like everything else in my life in recent month it was not an easy exit nor did it go as scheduled. As I discussed in an earlier posting. (See Adiós a Panamá  for details), medical problems dictated that I take a different road in the future - a road that includes the latest treatments and most scientific approaches for both treating and living with chronic COPD.

Twice I had to delay my departure (and 'donate $200 to U.S. Air for the pleasure) because I found myself at the last minute not healthy enough to travel.  I did finally make it to my son's house on a Monday night, only to go straight into the hospital the following afternoon. Yes, one more bout with pneumonia. Do you get the feeling I may have waited too long making the decision that I needed to migrate back to the U.S.?

Today I am not yet 'healthy', but I am on the right track. More importantly, for the first time in years, I am feeling optimistic about the treatment program. I am being prescribed the latest state-of-the-art medications, and have spent a week in a COPD rehab program (I did not even know there was such a thing).

My pulmonologist is a gem.  She does things the old fashion way - she visits all her patients daily when they are in the hospital (for those of you that don't know, that is no longer a common practice). She also holds a COPD Research chair at Duke University Med School and has been named 'North Carolina's Pulmonologist of the Year" twice in the last ten years.  The bottom line is - my treatment no longer is confines primarily of tweaking the same program(s) over and over. Things are happening!

What is the lesson to be learned here? Why am I even bothering to tell this story? And what factor may be of particular importance to the U.S. expat in Panama?

In my initial interview with the new pulmonologist I explained that I had become disillusioned with my medical treatment in Panama. It seemed my health was on a cycle.  A case of sniffles turns to serious cold symptoms, which leads directly to Hospital Chiriqui for a 3-day antibiotic battle with a strain of pneumonia - followed by a 4-5 day recovery back at home. When this happens four times in six months it is time to do something. And each visit to the hospital draws a different hospital staff pulmonologist, none of whom seem to be enamored with medical history. For a disease like COPD, that is so common and been around forever - there has to be some better way(s).

Her answer to my concerns was enlightening. She cautioned me not to be too critical of staff pulmonologists - that there job was to insure I got the correct treatment to insure I got out of the hospital. By contrast, her job is to try to get me healthy and keep me out of the hospital.

And that is the point I offer to all of you. If you have a health problem, which end of that equation are YOU pursuing?  And for you U.S. expats - Does the capability exist with your present medical folks to address the root of serious medical problem you may be encountering (or may in the future)?

 

INTERESTING EXAMPLE OF USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN MEDICAL TREATMENT

Thought you would like this. The nurse had just put a new bag on the IV stand, hooked me up and pushed a bunch on buttons on the dispensing machine to start it. She watched for a couple of minutes to see that the drip went properly. As she turned to leave the room, her phone rang. The pharmacy department was calling to suggest that she might want to change the flow setting to .166. The manufacturer recommended that since they changed the formula slightly. Yes, the pharmacy can monitor every IV drip going in the hospital in minute detail. OMG!

 

Till Next Time. 

"Deciding On The Right Retirement Village"