Execution. Bloodless execution.
With your thoughts organized and your supporting documentation in order, it's time to execute your plan -- put it into action and keep the momentum going.
1. Meet with the physicians and discuss your dossier. Ask your questions. Ask the physician what testing methods are used to diagnose an anaphylactic allergy, and make sure you understand the methods well enough to be able to select a method with your doctor's advice. Ask the physician what methods s/he prefers and why this is his/ her preference. Decide whether or not you are comfortable with this doctor's approach.
2. Get diagnosed -- confirm all suspicions. Become an active participant in your health and well-being. Ask the doctor to test you for foods/allergens you suspect, including everything in the food/allergen family. If you are uncertain, let the physician suggest and justify a testing plan for you. The physician should take your concerns into consideration, and not try to force you to take a course that you do not understand. "God complexes" should be checked at the door -- if s/he can't physically walk on water, feel empowered to suggest s/he take it down a notch and replant his/her feet on earth -- remember, you are doing him/her the good deed of bringing your business to him/her, not the other way around. In dealing with your allergy, stress needs to be minimized, since it can be a source of complication.
3. Discuss the timeline for allergy testing, including an in-person review of test results.
4. Once your test results are ready, meet with the physician again to review and understand your results. Your initial meeting conversation revolved around possibilities; now you have definitive detail to discuss. Solicit the details of the doctor's proposed care plan. Will additional testing be needed? Should a traditional allergy therapy be used to treat the condition? If so, why? Should a more radical treatment be used to treat or de-sensitize you? Is this treatment covered by insurance? What are the risks of one option over another? Ask the physician if s/he would have his/her mother or child submit to such a treatment if that person had the same diagnosis.
5. Ask the doctor to provide you a list of steps to take in the event that you find yourself experiencing anaphylaxis in a location that is not near a medical facility. Knowledge is empowerment; and, in this case, it can mean the difference between being able to preserve lung capacity (calmness in the face of crisis) and suffocating (unbridled panic). If medication (e.g. an epi-pen, benadryl, prednisone) is required for any of these steps, make sure you get a prescription for each medication. Review the list (as well as precisely when it is necessary for you to seek medical attention) with the doctor until you understand the sequence. You should commit this sequence to memory because it may save your life one day.
6. Go home and compare notes on the three physicians. What did they say that was common? What were the differences? Use the Internet to help understand the differences -- do your research -- this is your life, after all -- no one will ever take as keen an interest in it as you. Based on your comparison and your research, who seems to be most knowledgeable and qualified to fill this important role in your life? Who is most authentic? Who are you most comfortable with? Now make your selection.
7. Never forget that you are your best, most reliable health care provider. Don't ever give up.
Daring. Engineer. Formidable. Time to direct the mission.
With your thoughts organized and your supporting documentation in order, it's time to execute your plan -- put it into action and keep the momentum going.
1. Meet with the physicians and discuss your dossier. Ask your questions. Ask the physician what testing methods are used to diagnose an anaphylactic allergy, and make sure you understand the methods well enough to be able to select a method with your doctor's advice. Ask the physician what methods s/he prefers and why this is his/ her preference. Decide whether or not you are comfortable with this doctor's approach.
2. Get diagnosed -- confirm all suspicions. Become an active participant in your health and well-being. Ask the doctor to test you for foods/allergens you suspect, including everything in the food/allergen family. If you are uncertain, let the physician suggest and justify a testing plan for you. The physician should take your concerns into consideration, and not try to force you to take a course that you do not understand. "God complexes" should be checked at the door -- if s/he can't physically walk on water, feel empowered to suggest s/he take it down a notch and replant his/her feet on earth -- remember, you are doing him/her the good deed of bringing your business to him/her, not the other way around. In dealing with your allergy, stress needs to be minimized, since it can be a source of complication.
3. Discuss the timeline for allergy testing, including an in-person review of test results.
4. Once your test results are ready, meet with the physician again to review and understand your results. Your initial meeting conversation revolved around possibilities; now you have definitive detail to discuss. Solicit the details of the doctor's proposed care plan. Will additional testing be needed? Should a traditional allergy therapy be used to treat the condition? If so, why? Should a more radical treatment be used to treat or de-sensitize you? Is this treatment covered by insurance? What are the risks of one option over another? Ask the physician if s/he would have his/her mother or child submit to such a treatment if that person had the same diagnosis.
5. Ask the doctor to provide you a list of steps to take in the event that you find yourself experiencing anaphylaxis in a location that is not near a medical facility. Knowledge is empowerment; and, in this case, it can mean the difference between being able to preserve lung capacity (calmness in the face of crisis) and suffocating (unbridled panic). If medication (e.g. an epi-pen, benadryl, prednisone) is required for any of these steps, make sure you get a prescription for each medication. Review the list (as well as precisely when it is necessary for you to seek medical attention) with the doctor until you understand the sequence. You should commit this sequence to memory because it may save your life one day.
6. Go home and compare notes on the three physicians. What did they say that was common? What were the differences? Use the Internet to help understand the differences -- do your research -- this is your life, after all -- no one will ever take as keen an interest in it as you. Based on your comparison and your research, who seems to be most knowledgeable and qualified to fill this important role in your life? Who is most authentic? Who are you most comfortable with? Now make your selection.
7. Never forget that you are your best, most reliable health care provider. Don't ever give up.
Daring. Engineer. Formidable. Time to direct the mission.
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