Living in one of the richest countries in the world, I realize that there is much I take for granted. One of those things is access quality healthcare. I don't know why it is, but I find myself continually questioning the authority of the doctors I go to for treatment. This isn't true across the board. I loved my family care practitioner in Kansas City and trusted her judgment in almost all things.
Yet, in my first pregnancy I canceled my first scheduled induction because I thought it was a dumb thing to have to do and I wanted a natural childbirth. (She had a lot to say about that, by the way!) And recently, I've completely ignored picking up a prescription another doctor sent in for me because I think I can manage things better on my own. This sounds dumb, I know, but my experience with doctors throughout this pregnancy is that they're really kind of a pain. Although I like my ob, I can't stand the clinic he works with. They don't take care of anything "in-house". I've been sent all over the place for various routine tests and procedures, and when I recently tested positive for gestational diabetes, I was sent to an entirely different doctor who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. This is the doctor who phoned in a prescription for me to boost my insulin levels after checking my sugar levels four times a day for less than a week showed that my sugar after lunch has been a little high. The same thing occurred in my last pregnancy, but instead of putting me on medication, I worked with my nutritionist to lower the sugars naturally. And, we did. So, I think it can be done again. I've tweaked my snack time and added some extra protein at lunch, which is seeming to help. I don't want to risk the health of the baby, but I also don't want to rush into any sort of medicinal treatment that can be avoided.
I think my overall frustration is that I feel like my doctor's office, instead of treating me, is just trying to cover their butts. And I'm tired of being told where to go, what to do, and when to do it without any sort of input or thoughts on my part. I don't feel like I'm part of the process for my own treatment, and I have a real problem with that. Although I appreciate all of the advances made in medicine, and all of the things doctors are capable of doing, I want to have some say in it as well. My family care doctor in Kansas City was excellent in overall patient care. She took the time to get to know me, to know how I felt about medicine. I always felt like I had a say in my treatment, for the most part. What she really did best was to take time. She always sat and talked, and would stay as long as I wanted or needed her to stay, for both myself and my son whom she treated as well.
I know I should be grateful to live in a society where I have access to good healthcare, and to have the insurance to cover that healthcare, I just don't want to get lost in the treatment process.
So, that's my rant, and I feel better for having given it.
Blessings and Peace,
Sara
