You deserve a vacation.

One thing I have learned is that we all must be our own medical advocates and assume the doctors, being human, can and will screw up unless we intervene, question and challenge them. We must keep records and notes to be sure we get the treatment we deserve. Good medical news is reason to celebrate, Mitch. Stay strong.

Thrilled to hear there's a turn of the tide to good news. You do have to be the vigilant captain of your own medical ship, triaging and connecting all of the professionals treating you. End of nautical analogies. Keep up the good progress, MT!

It's interesting how this is something we all learn AFTER or almost after the fact. In health care hindsight is really scary. Doctors don't talk to each other and nobody seems to read the history in the patient's chart. That's why having an advocate - a personal one not one assigned by the hospital - to keep an eye on everything is crucial. The patient should be able to focus on getting well. Glad homeostasis is on the horizon!

So glad to hear you're on the mend. Many years ago, I had a health issue that required weekly blood tests for one year. I quickly learned that, if I failed to go for the blood test, no one from the doctor's office would call to remind me. I had to schedule them myself. Moreover, I generally had to call to get the results. I learned then you have to be your own advocate.

You also raise an interesting subject that the doctors at our South Shore group go off on all the time. Electronic medic records are supposed to make it easier for doctors to communicate. But, for some reason, its not happening. If you come to a South Shore meeting, they'd be more than happy to discuss. :)

So glad to hear you're back on the way up and there IS a light at the end of the tunneel... Keep it up... A major part of feeling well, being well and getting better is a strong positive mental attitude... Who better than the "Mitch"

Smiling at your good news :)

So glad to hear things are better. Welcome to my world of doctors that don't talk to each other. The good news is that we are addressing the problem. The bad news is that there may be 90 different methods among 500 doctors about how to do that which includes electronic, paper, and verbal.

Just glad you received confirmation that you are doing well.
When I saw you last week the only sign of change was you looking fit and trim. I think it natural to feel some trepidation when you visit the dr. Heck I i worry about fillings for cavities when I visit the dentist.

Glad to hear it. Hope to see you at golf.

As a doctor I tell my patients all the time that they must do syome basic advocating for themselves. For example if they are diabetic they should know what their blood sugars are and not merely except when their Internet says oh it's fine. Ditto for blood pressure. Interestingly patients do not across-the-board seem to have any interest in doing so. While I as a physician will go over somebody's past medical history at least in outline form, when somebody comes in with a four inch stack of Medical records, I simply do not have the time in 10 or 15 minutes to review that, examine the patient, perform testing, explained to the patient what is wrong and discuss options with treatment, stay on or near sch perform testing, explained to the patient what is wrong and discuss options with treatment, schedule and of course fill out the inane electronic medical records which is supposed to help me, but actually slows us down. And of course fill out the inane electronic medical records which is supposed to help me, but actually slows us down. Of course it also prevents us or at least me from looking at a patient while filling out the records. I am in my 50s so I will admit that in our generation we learned to talk to people. Fortunately for electronic health records our kids generation learned to text therefore they should be very fascile with typing electronic health records. Of course the other thing is that none of the records actually talk to each other. But I digress. I think most of us physicians strive to give the best possible care, but in increasingly complex world I really encourage my patients to b I think most of us physicians strive to give the best possible care, but in increasingly complex world, I really encourage my patients to become my partner in helping them get better. Todd Bragin, MD