What I learned about The Hospital

[NateTheChops]

I had a bad cellulitis infection finally catch up to me this week. So the weekend was spent in and out of the hospital for IV medications. What I learned here, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that no two doctors can ever seem to agree on how "bad" something looks.

Where one doctor will look at the leg and say, "I think we should admit you for a couple days." The second one look at the same leg and will say, "I don't see any real advantage in admitting you."

So, I really just learned that every doctor is going to think their opinion is the king shit. It's got to be the reason why people ask for second opinions. But what it comes down to is that as a patient I still have the right to choose who's opinion is the most convenient for me.

So I went with the option that allowed me to come in over the course of a couple days for an IV while I kept taking the oral medications and sure enough things started clearing up.

(BTW, I was successfully admitted on Saturday. An event that lasted precisely six hours before I snapped and signed the AMA. That is for another post.)

[Seshat]

What I learned here, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that no two doctors can ever seem to agree on how "bad" something looks.

But what it comes down to is that as a patient I still have the right to choose who's opinion is the most convenient for me.

Different doctors will have different opinions and experiences, yes. At a certain point in any given illness or situation, every doctor is going to go 'ohshit, do something NOW'. At the other end of the spectrum, every doctor is going to go 'let's just keep an eye on that, tell me if it changes at all'.

Between those two points, it's pretty much a judgement call.

As a patient, you have the right to choose whichever course of treatment you feel is most appropriate to your situation. I wouldn't say 'is the most convenient', because - well, taking my case, 'most convenient' would be not doing my exercises and not fussing over what I eat.

But don't ever take a doctor's word as infallible, totally correct, You Must Do As He Says. Because doctors are humans. It's like choosing a plumber, or a carpenter, or an electrician. Each has specialised knowledge that you (presumably) don't have. Find one you can work with, listen to what they know that you don't, and make your own decisions.

[Sapphire Silk]

Medicine is not an exact science. It is still very much a matter of experience and judgment. This is why it is so important to have a regular relationship with a doc whose experience you trust.

And they are not always right. Get a second or even third opinion if necessary.

Hope your leg is feeling better.

Let us know about your AMA story!