Re: My VA Visit

[Guest guest]

Trust me, it can be a trip! My " Most experienced IR " , according to the Chief of

Endocronolgy, who was going to do my AVS had done 6 in the last 15 years! Endo

didn't know how to RX Inspra or what meds I could be on prior to procedure. One

of us was able to make an intellegent decision, I canceled the procedure and am

in the process of scheduling it at NIH!

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> Just had a funny experience I would like to share.

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> Just came back from the VA hospital which I went to for an Agent Orange exam.

 I mentioned to the doctor about the PA I was diagnosed with a year and a half

ago and she asked me if that was the condition where your face turns brown.

 Then she asked me if it raises your potassium and lowers your sodium.  The

intern that was in the room with her at least knew what it was after she looked

it up before she spoke.

>

> Hope I don't get to the point where I have to rely on the doctors at the VA

for treatment.  I know the the Endo docs would be more aware of PA but I found

this to be a very scary experience.

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[Guest guest]

And where were the examiners trained? In US OR OUT?May your pressure be low!CE Grim MS, MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertensionOn Feb 21, 2012, at 13:39, LRL <lrl_computer@...> wrote:

Just had a funny experience I would like to share.Just came back from the VA hospital which I went to for an Agent Orange exam. I mentioned to the doctor about the PA I was diagnosed with a year and a half ago and she asked me if that was the condition where your face turns brown. Then she asked me if it raises your potassium and lowers your sodium. The intern that was in the room with her at least knew what it was after she looked it up before she spoke.Hope I don't get to the

point where I have to rely on the doctors at the VA for treatment. I know the the Endo docs would be more aware of PA but I found this to be a very scary experience.

[Guest guest]

I don't know as I do not remember her name and I can not look her up. I think she went to med school at Wal Mart.It is interesting that you ask that because I was seeing a PCP years back that had me in the hospital for Afib and he told me that my K was extremely low. Instead of finding out why it was low and why my BP was high he wanted to put me on Coumadin. He went to medical school in Granada.My Endo at that time, who knew that I was on three BP meds and still had HTN, went to school in

Israel.PA was finally diagnosed by someone on the list of real hypertension specialists and he went to school in the USAWhy would it make such a difference? Don't all doctors have to be board certified and, as I was told by some of my doctor customers, there is always at least a couple of quesitons on the boards concerning PA. I guess they missed those. From: Clarence Grim <lowerbp2@...> "hyperaldosteronism " <hyperaldosteronism > Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 12:42 AM Subject: Re: My VA Visit

And where were the examiners trained? In US OR OUT?May your pressure be low!CE Grim MS, MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertensionOn Feb 21, 2012, at 13:39, LRL <lrl_computer@...> wrote:

Just had a funny experience I would like to share.Just came back from the VA hospital which I went to for an Agent Orange exam. I mentioned to the doctor about the PA I was diagnosed with a year and a half ago and she asked me if that was the condition where your face turns brown. Then she asked me if it raises your potassium and lowers your sodium. The intern that was in the room with her at least knew what it was after she looked it up before she spoke.Hope I don't

get to the

point where I have to rely on the doctors at the VA for treatment. I know the the Endo docs would be more aware of PA but I found this to be a very scary experience.

[Guest guest]

I don't think it matters where the go to med school. I know the VA I go to has

many Dr that don't understand what PA is or does. About 40% of residents from

Dartmouth are trained at this VA.

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> >Just had a funny experience I would like to share.

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> >Just came back from the VA hospital which I went to for an Agent Orange exam.

 I mentioned to the doctor about the PA I was diagnosed with a year and a half

ago and she asked me if that was the condition where your face turns brown.

 Then she asked me if it raises your potassium and lowers your sodium.  The

intern that was in the room with her at least knew what it was after she looked

it up before she spoke.

> >

> >

> >Hope I don't get to the point where I have to rely on the doctors at the VA

for treatment.  I know the the Endo docs would be more aware of PA but I found

this to be a very scary experience.

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[Guest guest]

Don't worry about VA doctors:-) Most of us who went through usual doctors, have absolutely the same experience. The first and the only doctor who mentioned Conn's for me, was also an intern. And I went through hospitals, cardiologists, nephrologists, endos, and several PCP's. Natalia Kamneva 67 Russian F with 2 cm left adrenal adenoma, diabetic; on 100 mg eplerenone, 80 mg Micardis, 2000 mg metformin, 60 mg Dexilant and 2 mg Lorazepam; Dashing; still have some occasional problems with BP, K and Na; on private consultation with Dr Grim. From: LRL <lrl_computer@...> "hyperaldosteronism " <hyperaldosteronism > Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 3:39 PM Subject: My VA Visit

Just had a funny experience I would like to share.Just came back from the VA hospital which I went to for an Agent Orange exam. I mentioned to the doctor about the PA I was diagnosed with a year and a half ago and she asked me if that was the condition where your face turns brown. Then she asked me if it raises your potassium and lowers your sodium. The intern that was in the room with her at least knew what it was after she looked it up before she spoke.Hope I don't get to the point where I have to rely on the doctors

at the VA for treatment. I know the the Endo docs would be more aware of PA but I found this to be a very scary experience.

[Guest guest]

And my cardiologist who put me on 6 BP medications, including clonidine, that almost killed me, went to Harvard :-) So what? Natalia Kamneva 67 Russian F with 2 cm left adrenal adenoma, diabetic; on 100 mg eplerenone, 80 mg Micardis, 2000 mg metformin, 60 mg Dexilant and 2 mg Lorazepam; Dashing; still have some occasional problems with BP, K and Na; on private consultation with Dr Grim. From: Fred <lrl_computer@...> To:

"hyperaldosteronism " <hyperaldosteronism > Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 9:34 AM Subject: Re: My VA Visit

I don't know as I do not remember her name and I can not look her up. I think she went to med school at Wal Mart.It is interesting that you ask that because I was seeing a PCP years back that had me in the hospital for Afib and he told me that my K was extremely low. Instead of finding out why it was low and why my BP was high he wanted to put me on Coumadin. He went to medical school in Granada.My Endo at that time, who knew that I was on three BP meds and still had HTN, went to school in

Israel.PA was finally diagnosed by someone on the list of real hypertension specialists and he went to school in the USAWhy would it make such a difference? Don't all doctors have to be board certified and, as I was told by some of my doctor customers, there is always at least a couple of quesitons on the boards concerning PA. I guess they missed those. From: Clarence Grim <lowerbp2@...> "hyperaldosteronism " <hyperaldosteronism > Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 12:42 AM

Subject: Re: My VA Visit

And where were the examiners trained? In US OR OUT?May your pressure be low!CE Grim MS, MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertensionOn Feb 21, 2012, at 13:39, LRL <lrl_computer@...> wrote:

Just had a funny experience I would like to share.Just came back from the VA hospital which I went to for an Agent Orange exam. I mentioned to the doctor about the PA I was diagnosed with a year and a half ago and she asked me if that was the condition where your face turns brown. Then she asked me if it raises your potassium and lowers your sodium. The intern that was in the room with her at least knew what it was after she looked it up before she spoke.Hope I don't

get to the

point where I have to rely on the doctors at the VA for treatment. I know the the Endo docs would be more aware of PA but I found this to be a very scary experience.

[Guest guest]

Or skipped class on Conn's day. May your pressure be low!CE Grim MS, MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertensionOn Feb 27, 2012, at 10:24, Natalia Kamneva <natalia_kamneva@...> wrote:

And my cardiologist who put me on 6 BP medications, including clonidine, that almost killed me, went to Harvard :-) So what? Natalia Kamneva 67 Russian F with 2 cm left adrenal adenoma, diabetic; on 100 mg eplerenone, 80 mg Micardis, 2000 mg metformin, 60 mg Dexilant and 2 mg Lorazepam; Dashing; still have some occasional problems with BP, K and Na; on private consultation with Dr Grim. From: Fred <lrl_computer@...> To:

"hyperaldosteronism " <hyperaldosteronism > Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 9:34 AM Subject: Re: My VA Visit

I don't know as I do not remember her name and I can not look her up. I think she went to med school at Wal Mart.It is interesting that you ask that because I was seeing a PCP years back that had me in the hospital for Afib and he told me that my K was extremely low. Instead of finding out why it was low and why my BP was high he wanted to put me on Coumadin. He went to medical school in Granada.My Endo at that time, who knew that I was on three BP meds and still had HTN, went to school in

Israel.PA was finally diagnosed by someone on the list of real hypertension specialists and he went to school in the USAWhy would it make such a difference? Don't all doctors have to be board certified and, as I was told by some of my doctor customers, there is always at least a couple of quesitons on the boards concerning PA. I guess they missed those. From: Clarence Grim <lowerbp2@...> "hyperaldosteronism " <hyperaldosteronism > Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 12:42 AM

Subject: Re: My VA Visit

And where were the examiners trained? In US OR OUT?May your pressure be low!CE Grim MS, MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertensionOn Feb 21, 2012, at 13:39, LRL <lrl_computer@...> wrote:

Just had a funny experience I would like to share.Just came back from the VA hospital which I went to for an Agent Orange exam. I mentioned to the doctor about the PA I was diagnosed with a year and a half ago and she asked me if that was the condition where your face turns brown. Then she asked me if it raises your potassium and lowers your sodium. The intern that was in the room with her at least knew what it was after she looked it up before she spoke.Hope I don't

get to the

point where I have to rely on the doctors at the VA for treatment. I know the the Endo docs would be more aware of PA but I found this to be a very scary experience.

[Guest guest]

Doesn't matter (in my opinion) where a doctor went to school, as much as whether

the doctor uses his or her brain and education. Many professionals don't take

good enough care of themselves, have huge, unmanageable caseloads, have huge

overhead to meet among other issues. Many, it seems, are reluctant to admit

they are not familiar with something and refer. Most I've seen don't spend

enough time with their patients to really listen and figure out a complicated

issue. Last, but not least, is whether or not the dr. cares. Many young people

should never be admitted to med schools; they aren't in it for the patient care,

but have other motivations to become a doc. Whether or not they are invested in

your care; invested in your opinion of their care, and develop an actual

reelationship with you, makes or breaks even an Ivy league educated doc.

Same thing applies to just about any job really. A motivated, caring person who

is healthy and able to focus, be resourceful and think, come up with original

ideas is what makes a successful anything, but a doctor needs the additional

ability to listen and have empathy.

I have a new set of screening steps for new docs since this whole PA

journey...first thing I ask is not if they take my ins., or have an appt avail,

but how the doctor lets me know the results of my labs? My expectation is that

the doctor will call me himself/herself and explain the results to me as soon as

they are available whether or not they are normal. If this is not the doctor's

practice, I won't go further, unless it's close to that. One of my doctors is

an exception in that her nurse calls, but if I have a question, the doctor will

call me the same day, so that works for me too. It seems that when doctors have

this kind of lab policy, everything else works better. The doctors that call

with the labs, when they get them, also spend time with me, listen, care, think,

are resourceful, can focus, have empathy, seem to love their job, call back when

I leave messages...they are hard to find, unfortunately, but are worth looking

for.

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> >> Just had a funny experience I would like to share.

> >>

> >> Just came back from the VA hospital which I went to for an Agent Orange

exam. I mentioned to the doctor about the PA I was diagnosed with a year and a

half ago and she asked me if that was the condition where your face turns brown.

Then she asked me if it raises your potassium and lowers your sodium. The

intern that was in the room with her at least knew what it was after she looked

it up before she spoke.

> >>

> >> Hope I don't get to the point where I have to rely on the doctors at the VA

for treatment. I know the the Endo docs would be more aware of PA but I found

this to be a very scary experience.

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >>

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[Guest guest]

That sounds like me and I only charge $500 for a years access for you and your medical team for 1 year by email Skype or tele. May your pressure be low!CE Grim MS, MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertensionOn Feb 27, 2012, at 16:09, maggiekat7 <ljurkovic@...> wrote:

Doesn't matter (in my opinion) where a doctor went to school, as much as whether the doctor uses his or her brain and education. Many professionals don't take good enough care of themselves, have huge, unmanageable caseloads, have huge overhead to meet among other issues. Many, it seems, are reluctant to admit they are not familiar with something and refer. Most I've seen don't spend enough time with their patients to really listen and figure out a complicated issue. Last, but not least, is whether or not the dr. cares. Many young people should never be admitted to med schools; they aren't in it for the patient care, but have other motivations to become a doc. Whether or not they are invested in your care; invested in your opinion of their care, and develop an actual reelationship with you, makes or breaks even an Ivy league educated doc.

Same thing applies to just about any job really. A motivated, caring person who is healthy and able to focus, be resourceful and think, come up with original ideas is what makes a successful anything, but a doctor needs the additional ability to listen and have empathy.

I have a new set of screening steps for new docs since this whole PA journey...first thing I ask is not if they take my ins., or have an appt avail, but how the doctor lets me know the results of my labs? My expectation is that the doctor will call me himself/herself and explain the results to me as soon as they are available whether or not they are normal. If this is not the doctor's practice, I won't go further, unless it's close to that. One of my doctors is an exception in that her nurse calls, but if I have a question, the doctor will call me the same day, so that works for me too. It seems that when doctors have this kind of lab policy, everything else works better. The doctors that call with the labs, when they get them, also spend time with me, listen, care, think, are resourceful, can focus, have empathy, seem to love their job, call back when I leave messages...they are hard to find, unfortunately, but are worth looking for.

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> >> Just had a funny experience I would like to share.

> >>

> >> Just came back from the VA hospital which I went to for an Agent Orange exam. I mentioned to the doctor about the PA I was diagnosed with a year and a half ago and she asked me if that was the condition where your face turns brown. Then she asked me if it raises your potassium and lowers your sodium. The intern that was in the room with her at least knew what it was after she looked it up before she spoke.

> >>

> >> Hope I don't get to the point where I have to rely on the doctors at the VA for treatment. I know the the Endo docs would be more aware of PA but I found this to be a very scary experience.

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