Ever seen a D.O. type of dector?

General
#1

Ok. Super long story short:

about 2 years ago I was travling to a wedding in the EAST COAST...hurricane hit....either Irene or Sandy... can't remember which.

Anyhoooo.

I was violently ill. swollen badly all over body.

debilitating migraine and upset stomach.

Unable to eat or drink or take meds more importntly.

I was too afraid to seek medical help because I knew I would be admitted immediately in a hospital in a different state...where I didnt know anyone.

SO with many-many-many prayers....i eventually made it to PA with family.

My best friends husband was in school to become a D.O. -- he was almost finish- with exception of needing to do the residency for a year.

He gave me a treatment int he middle of the night after seeing how ill i was.

He was aware I had Lupus and has always been very concerned about me knowing its still life threatening though most look over this fact with lupus.

Lets just say when he was finished treating me... about 1-2 hours later.... I felt like I was high on life. The swelling all over was gone. The migraine that didnt allow me to stand up straight was gone. The swollen fingers were gone. and It felt like I had taken pain meds but without the drowsy affect.

I felt fluid movement...and truthfully like MY OLD SELF!

it was unreal.

I share this with you all to say... that I am aware that D.O. offices can be quite costly. They are regular doctors - with ADDTIONAL training in natural healing. Such as physical manipulation...accupuncture... some chiropractic therapy etc...

The treatment he provided me that night in his own home would have been at least 3 different office visits somewhere else. Which is like 75-100 each visit INLCUDING insurance. And some D.O. do not accept Insurance.


As we all know- pharmicudical companies and doctors and pharmacies make a ridiculous fortune off of our illness. the D.O. doctors believe in western medicine but combined with lifestyle change and natural healing as a part of it.

So the insurance companies do their best to make it difficult for them to see you.. or wont approve some of their services for your health care.

They truluy care about your well being..not the ability to write a prescription tor the symptoms.

So if you can find a good D.O. near you....... It is worth every penny to be treated.

Some docs were meant to serve there communities... i hope you find one that is concerned with serving you and not making money off of you.

I too am looking for a D.O. near me that is GOOD *truly cares.......... so hard to find.

#2

** note****

I am aware that there is not a a cure to lupus... but the treatment I recieved that day made me realize that I could have a large portion of my regular life back. I just didn't have the money to keep up treatments when I got home.

Money is always an issue for most of us. And becuase we cant afford this care-- we do the cheapest things..... take the drugs taht take care of symptoms.

Well after a few nights of sleep/ YES SLEEP (thanks to Lunesta for 2 days)...... I am in my right mind... and realize tht I have to figure out how to make this sacrifice financially.

Yes i only work pt....my husband supports our basic neccessities... and there is no room for this.

But i must make room to get bettter. I must INVEST in MYSELF.

and this will in turn INVEST in my family..

So wish me luck on adding natural medicine/HEALING back into my long term care for LUPUS.

I don't think my mental stability would be right today - if i iddnt have this sight.

I found it with tears in my eyes.. uncontrable crying. Thats what happens when you suffer silently.

You burst open one day.

-Cynthia.... busting open :)

#3

Always good to hear that there are doctors out there who truly care and listen to their patients. I know if I didn't have the rheumatologist I do now, I'd be a mess. He listens and really does want to help as much as possible.

#4


ANN!

i love it... this message made me chuckle and smile.

I sure hope I fins a good D.O. here in phoenix that takes insurance so i can see them regularly


Ann A. said:

Over the past 46 years of living with lupus I have developed a preference for osteopaths. Even when they do not include spinal manipulation as an integral part of their practice they tend to touch their patients and to pay as much attention to the patient as to the print out of lab results. My PCP is a DO board certified in internal medicine. He is now helping me to manage the lupus. My gynecologist is also a DO.

I started developing this preference when I was in grad school in the 1970s. When I started school full time I only had student health insurance. I could get treated at the medical school, which was OK when I was not very sick. The OD that I had been seeing me when I had insurance agreed to keep seeing me for $10 a visit. He took care of my entire extended family and made it easy for us to get care. One day I was sitting in his waiting room and saw a mother with several small children smack one really hard across the face. When it was my turn to be seen, I jumped on him about his legal obligation to report her. My thesis was about child abuse. He told me that I was very wrong to think that calling social services was the correct answer to the mother's problems. That same day he sent me straight to the hospital. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Go straight to Chicago Osteopathic Hospital. When I was finally in a room, I noticed that the young mother was my roommate. We were both exhausted and ill. That day the DO taught me a lesson in compassion that I will always remember,

It may come as no surprise that I annoy many physicians. My PCP finds me more amusing than irratating. And when I leave his office I feel satisfied that I have been heard by my physician. I cannot over emphasize how important that is to me. Many physicians are like "there is no cure for what ails you, so shut up and get out of my office." My PCP, the DO, on the other hand, seems to think, "if I listen I might be able to help." The fact that he listens HELPS.

#5

thanks for reading my BIO. LOLOLOL!!! smile/

so true tho..... our doctors now seem to be WAY more impiortant than it was years ago.

Where u saw them 1-2 years a day.

anyhow---- THumbs up for the doctors who lOve their JOBS... and do it becuase they were born to do it.

Ballerina8876 said:

Always good to hear that there are doctors out there who truly care and listen to their patients. I know if I didn't have the rheumatologist I do now, I'd be a mess. He listens and really does want to help as much as possible.

#6


thanks so much for the support.

they didnt decline it... but i had to pay 75-100 for my portion of the visit is what i was told.

And the rhuematologist i see is already 55 pervisit...not incuding meds..

so it was too much.

And i hd to definitely way the cost up front.

But now things are a little different for me and i have more room in the budget to take care of my needs/... so thats exactly what i am dong now.

I lost the will power to care..... but care again.

sometimes that happens...depression kicks in after too many years of suffering.

it is such a fight toWANT to be healthy again... and do what it takes.


Ann A. said:

Dear Lifewithlupus

I think you may be depriving yourself needlessly. Most insurance companies will now even cover some chiropractic visits. They limit the number of visits they will cover per year but they do not refuse to cover them all. As I pointed out both my PCP and my gynecologist are ODs and they accepted the insurance that I had before I retired and now they accept Medicare plus my supplemental. I have also seen a DO who does spinal manipulations and had it covered by my insurance. He wouldn't touch me because of my stenosis, which is why I went ahead and had back surgery in 2011. But the visit to his office was covered by insurance.

So do not delay seeking help from a DO because you fear your insurance won't cover a visit. That has not been my experience.