One of my pet peeves is that medical people do not tell you everything about a procedure before it has been done. One of the downsides of some immunosuppresants is that your hands may tremble or shake. For most people, this might meant that their handwriting isn't as clear or nice, but my husband had been a very serious fly tier, tied for a few minutes or longer at least once every day. This isn't tying flies in order to catch fish, but tying superior flies to catch people who appreciate tying as an art. We thought that we had learned all the important things about transplants long before a kidney became available, but no one had ever mentioned the trembling hands! I believe that the fact he can no longer tie "perfect" flies led to the depression that has made life difficult for both of us since his transplant. If we had known about this effect, we certainly would not have rejected a transplant, but knowing it in advance might have made a real difference in how he accepted the trembling...or not. If you know that there will be a certain effect but elect to do whatever in spite of it, you feel that you made an informed choice, rather than having a bad effect imposed upon you.

My fear of docs that only mention the plus points and overlook the minus points is what has made me be very cautious about the possibility of a CI, which cannot be reversed. I have Meniere's, which has "special effects" of distortion and recruitment, along with fluctuation. These discouraging effects make it totally impossible for me to wear an aid on really bad days, as all I hear are horrible loud, sharp noises. I won't proceed toward a CI (a moot point during this time!) until I can find a Menierian who has had the procedure done and isn't bothered by amplified distortion or recruitment. So far, the docs at the hearing clinic have said, "Everyone just loves the improvement in their hearing with a CI," but when I ask about Meniere's they avoid commenting.

Sometimes the omission is only bothersome, like when he had a spinal MRI. When we saw the doc beforehand, he said that they do lots of them and that we'd be home in no time at all. So, we were surprised to learn that he had to stay in the hospital for several hours plus stay flat for another day afterwards. As it turned out, he had an appt. with our kidney doc the next day, which means a five-hour drive, obviously impossible for someone who has to stay flat, so we had to cancel the appt., which was awkward for us and even more awkward for the renal clinic. What's the point of a pre-procedure visit if you aren't given all the facts?