Dr was Re: New Books are out

[Guest guest]

You don't happen to take Servent, do you? (Or Advair, since there's

Serevent in it?) I'm just wondering if the muscular side effects of

the Serevent that I've been taking has exacerbated the problem. (I

don't think it's the cause because I tried going off it - for like a

month - and the problem didn't go away. I had to go back on it

because my asthma just couldn't handle only being treated with inhaled

corticosteroids.

> >Betsy, I have an appt w/Dr sometime in Sept.

> >Did she help you & what did you think of her? Kathy

>

> Overall, I had a positive impression and she did help, but I've had

a rocky

> time. But, some of it was my fault - I did not pursue some options

and I

> really dropped the ball on the physical therapy. I am looking

forward to

> reading her book.

>

> I saw Dr. three or four years ago. Just getting the

diagnosis was

> extremely helpful, and she was very sympathetic. At the time I saw

> her, she was still recommending surgery, although she was honest

about the

> success rate. I was very put off by that, especially since I'd found

these

> groups and was getting horror stories. But, according to my regular

GYN,

> she is no longer recommending surgery (they're all in the same

extended

> group, so that's second hand information). We also hit a bit of an

impasse

> when I had a very bad reaction to three drugs in a row and I balked

at

> trying any more drugs. The most helpful thing was the referral to

Holly

> Herman who is an excellent PT with a specialty in this. Actually, I

need to

> go back and see both of them again and try to get another round of

> referrals now that my insurance tangles. My overall symptoms have

eased up

> a lot but not cured. Partially, there's so much stuff in my life

that is

> out of whack - stress, poor sleep, poor diet, etc, that I hit a

point where

> the next steps were all up to me. Not to mention not doing the PT

> exercises. (my periods are so out of whack that I'd get way out of

any

> routine, but that's another story.)

>

> One of the things that my doctors have been very helpful with have

been

> debunking some of the theories that you hear on the internet, and

some of

> the less-than scientific theories that have been advanced. I think

some of

> the mail-order labs are really taking advantage of people. And, some

of the

> diet and self-medication theories are, well, unproven is a nice

word. It's

> good if something works for you, but I think it's also possible to

cause

> new health problems by trying too many different home remedies.

>

> I wish I'd had a better time with the drugs. I tried two different

> tricyclic antidepressants in low doses. They made the symptoms

*vanish*,

> but I could not tolerate the drugs. After a few weeks I developed a

racing

> heartbeat. I was waking up in the middle of the night and taking my

pulse

> and it would be 140. Not Good. I tried Elavil and I think

desipramine, and

> I refused to try another tricyclic. Then I tried Neurontin but it

made me

> *stupid*. I can't afford to be stupid, I work with computers and

have to

> compete with younger, wider-awake guys as it is. Asthma drugs are

enough

> for me. I do take some calcium citrate but not a huge amount, and

some

> assorted vitamins. And the external creme, which helps.

>

> Betsy