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Sharing even the embarrassing stuff to recover: Meet @linda82 Jun 30, 2025 | By Teresa, Volunteer Mentor (@hopeful33250)Comment receiving replies
Good morning Linda. I loved reading your story, and I can totally relate to you. I'm retired, live in New York, and my organic garden has become the center of my days. I'm 75, and struggle with poly neuropathy, and dimming vision. I've healed liver steatosis in 2024 with an anti inflammatory food plan I created. Basically I'm all alone and managing a large house and 800 sq foot garden, I do the best that I can. Food is the answer. We are what we eat, and I'm still tweaking menus. The garden's hard work, the 4 months of sowing seeds indoors throughout my main living spaces under many hanging grow lights has paid-off. The garden is now giving back with fresh, just picked, nourishing organic food. I began to have digestive problems this winter & chronic constipation so I saw a gastroenterologist who did my first colonoscopy in 2001 when I was 51. My Mom died of CRC at age 74. I was also 74. I told the gastro doc I needed my next colonoscopy and that I discovered I had hemorrhoids that looked severe (either stage 3 or 4) He looked old and burned out. Never examined me on April 1. Said he'd look at them on July 7 when he'd do the procedure. My hemorrhoids are severe. I should have seen a protologist. How can my gastro doc do a colonoscopy and address possible hemorrhoid surgery at the same time?? I'm worried. I feel large bumps around the area of the hemorrhoids. I mistrust many specialist doctors. They compartmentalize your body and only adrress their specialty. I do believe they limit their time and services based on what insurance you have, and need to label your symptoms with a diagnosis that pays them the most. My digestive system is back on track after eating only pure, whole simple foods. What a relief. I refuse to take any drugs or pain meds. But I'm so worried about this gastro doctor. Now he's going on vacation and called to cancel July 7. I told my Primary Care geriatric doctor, and she said nothing. It makes me think there is "agism" in the medical field. We are the disposable patients. Sounds dreadful and pesimisstic, but there is some truth to this. We have to heal ourselves. I'd love to hear about your garden. My name is Linda, too. (picture of one of my many gardens. June 13 2025. Swiss chard, peas, kale, carrots, broccoli, broccolini, onions, cabbage, string beans, asparagus) Roman chamomile to help deter aphids.
Replies to "Good morning Linda. I loved reading your story, and I can totally relate to you. I'm..."
Lindy you said in your previous post: " My hemorrhoids are severe. I should have seen a protologist. How can my gastro doc do a colonoscopy and address possible hemorrhoid surgery at the same time?? I'm worried. I feel large bumps around the area of the hemorrhoids. I mistrust many specialist doctors."
I'd like to address hemorrhoids. Being the unlucky owner of pretty severe hemorrhoids myself. Hemorrhoids are almost always associated with either a) difficult bowel movements; 2) repeated vaginally delivery childbirth - OR even one difficult vaginal delivery, let alone multiple deliveries over a woman's lifespan; 3) lifting too much weight too many times, without having Kegel's engaged during the lifting; 4) being overweight for long periods of a lifetime; 5) anal sex trauma; or 6) other trauma.
It appears from your post that your doctor said he would "take a look" when he did the scheduled colonoscopy. This means he would take photos with the scope, as all scopes have a camera, and since he had planned to be down there he was going to take photos and assess them; not perform surgery at that time.
Let me address specialists. Personally, I PREFER specialists. I also deplore SOME insurance companies who make us all jump through hoops just to GET to the point we CAN see a specialist for a very specific problem we, ourselves have discovered.
Example: I kept going to my "primary care gate keeper" at the VA for TWO years, referencing my neck sounding like a garbage disposal when I turn it and fits of excruciating pain associated with such grinding when I would try to turn my head, especially to the left. After the younger (50yo) primary care gate keeper physician kept telling me it was just "old age" and to expect such...I finally demanded an MRI of my cervical spine. He ordered an X-ray of my lumbar spine. That took six months to straighten out: he entered the wrong body part wrong. Then the X-ray finally got done THIS April. Then an MRI was ordered by this bozo: he ordered the wrong body part AGAIN: my lumbar spine INSTEAD of my cervical (neck) spine. I finally got MRI of my cervical spine and now am seeing a neurologist because my cervical spine is pretty much hosed....and I am going to have cervical spine surgery as my discs are bulging in THREE spaces pressing on my spine. And I even asked ONE second opinion "Nurse Practitioner" IF the MRI showed any spinal cord compression...and HE told me "No...". SO, I knew better, as I too can READ X-rays, so I went and got a THIRD opinion.
I ALWAYS get second or even third opinion on everything if I get even an inkling someone is not doing their job correctly or my intuition tells me something isn't logical.
I feel sorry for those not in the medical field as I have been since 1980: patients beware.
Note: By law Medicare must let you have one or two if you seek to do so. Your life and health depend on it.
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I am a gerontologist - MA, Northern Colorado University, May 1990.
There definitely is ageism in medicine and everywhere else, that is for certain. We cannot rely on anyone to take care of us as physicians "cared" years ago. I strongly recommend we take care of ourselves. Do not fear being labeled a "pesky old" you-know-what. Our later lives depend on ignoring that fear of being assertive and demanding appropriate, definitive, and non-discriminatory care.
Lindy: your solution is impressive. I am in the process of beginning my own garden next year. I am presently building my retirement home of a 900 sf house on four acres. Building raised gardens, etc, so I may rely on myself to take care of me and withdraw from this weird world we are living in.