Hospital: My body is not an experiment

Hospital in a jiffy

Life punctuated by landmarks and appointments, a longing to be seen and cared for when discomfort sets in.

A week had passed before heightened concerns were enough to call the hospital for an emergency appointment.

At my last meeting with the consultant, took me off a prophylactic regime with the hope that a condition I once had will no more reoccur. Whilst I was a bit sceptical, I did not challenge that premise but allowed that decision to stand.

Over the detail again

The discomfort was becoming unbearable, I could not wait for my next consultant appointment to address it, and so once again, I was telling the stories of medicaments and reactions to another new face.

I am already too aware of my medical history, I have good knowledge of the blood work and I have to align that with my state of mind.

My view was that whilst a therapeutic approach might grant immediate relief, it could easily be temporary and we could find ourselves reviewing this matter again without consideration of the fact that I am beginning to look like a trial and error experiment.

For now or for longer

For what I know about myself, there are certain issues that have responded well to therapeutic intervention but others that require my sometimes-stressed immune system to battle for supremacy require prophylaxis and I am happy to carry that course of intervention until such a time that my blood work indicates a clear reduction of risk.

With that sorted, it was then a matter of dosage, the duration of intense intervention before settling down to prophylaxis.

My body first

I intend to maintain some control on the regimens I undergo stressing the importance for my new consultants to have a long and studied view of my medical situation before they begin to alter any of the prescriptions I have comfortably managed over the last 4 years.

This is not to exert medical primacy which is their field of expertise, but we cannot ignore the fact that it is always my body first before it is an object of research, analysis, conjecture or decision usually based on their observations and diagnosis, but needful of my consent and acquiescence on any course of action after that.

After a 40-minute wait for my prescription at the pharmacy, I realised one thing that remains constant is my date of birth – how uncanny.