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Oh, @jessicamt I'm glad you are feeling a bit better tonight, but I am so sorry for what you are dealing with. I am a mother of a son and daughter, both in their 30s now. I have always hoped they would be totally up front with me on any problems, even now if it's something I can help or advise with.
You are a teen so your parents definitely need to know the full scope of what you are going through, and they need to advocate for you with the doctor. I always make sure that I am on a waiting list if I can't get in as soon as I want to, and very frequently I do then get in sooner. Is the doctor someone you have an established patient-doctor relationship with? That helps of course, rather than trying to get in with a doctor whom you have not seen before.
If your problems began before your friend was diagnosed with cancer then obviously that is not the cause, although it could exacerbate it.
I am hoping that when you finally do get a thorough workup it will turn out to be something quite benign that's more of a nuisance than a serious medical problem. I find there is always great relief in knowing what the problem is. That was even true when I went a long time without a diagnosis and when I did finally get a diagnosis it was pretty serious. At least I knew.
That has made me think too, are you going to a local doctor in a smaller town or city? I know that my diagnosis took a long time because I live in southern NH and the doctors here simply do not see as much as doctors in larger teaching hospitals. If you can possibly make an appointment at a large teaching hospital that would probably be the best route to take. I know nothing about healthcare in Canada, is that possible?
JK
Replies to "Oh, @jessicamt I'm glad you are feeling a bit better tonight, but I am so sorry..."
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I have a family doctor and a paediatrician. My family doctor is new and I have only met him once, so we do not know each other very well, and my paediatrician I have seen 3 or 4 times in the last two years, as I’ve never really needed to see him any time before that. My town has a population of around 11,000, but there are a lot of smaller communities who live around us who also go to our hospital as it is the nearest one for 2 or 4 hours (depending on which one they’re going to).
I was told that I have vasovagal syncope awhile back? Which is just essentially meaning that my blood pressure is super wonky in between standing and sitting positions. There is more to it but they told me it wasn’t a big deal and that it just means my blood pressure and heart rate increases and decreases sort of randomly.
Our province had reported our first case of COVID-19 today, so I’m not sure how much this will affect me from seeing my doctors. Things are progressing very fast and I am unable to predict what is going to happen next. Yesterday they said they expected we would be fine for another few weeks, but now the first case is here and everything is changing. It’s a bit scary for me to not know what is wrong with me at this time.
Essentially I am hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst.
I agree and I think not knowing is one of the worst feelings for me. It’s saddening to see how my medical mysteries are upsetting the people around me, too.
I just hope it isn’t anything too bad, and if it is bad I hope they can catch it before it gets worse. My friend tells me they think she had stage 4 lymphoma without any symptoms for over a year until she was diagnosed. They only found it because she got pneumonia back in the fall and they did a CT scan and found there was a mass in her chest, which by the time they diagnosed it, had spread to her bones and 33% of her chest.
She is doing well though, and her last round of chemo is in May. She is very strong and optimistic, and she sets an example for me and inspires me to keep pushing my doctors even though they keep saying nothing is wrong. I say that if nothing was wrong, why do I sleep for 14/24 hours a day? Or faint when unpacking a suitcase? Or fall to the ground from pain when I’m laughing with my friends?
I hope it is just stress and anxiety, or that maybe I’m just missing a vitamin. Whatever it is, I hope they can figure out something soon.