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@sunnyflower

So glad you got the referral!! I'm surprised you can't get your lab results online through secure messaging like I do. Hope this endo is a perfect fit for you and that you get some clarity on the direction you want or feel you should take. Unfortunately, working in patient care for over 20 years and being a patient myself for longer than that, I've learned that everything in medicine is a risk/benefit ratio and often seems like a no-win. A tool proven valuable in my life for making decisions is to write the pros/benefits and cons/risks to a situation such as whether or not to take a medication for example. Make a pro/benefit column and a con/risk column. So you may have 8 pros/benefits in that column and maybe less or more cons/risks in that column. Then assign each pro/benefit and con/risk in their columns, a numerical value of meaning or importance to you. Then add up the scores at the ends of each column and you will be able to see which direction to go. If the pros/benefits outweigh the cons/risks, then you would take the medication. If the cons outweigh pros/benefits, then you would not take the medication. We just have to hope and pray for the best outcomes b/c our decisions will never be without some risk and even the pros/benefits can be uncertain. We can only do the best we can do.

As I mentioned quite some time ago, I had a total of three endocrinologists who wanted to start me on IV bisphosphonates, starting over 5 years ago and then 2 who did ever since he and my next one retired or left or move their practices. Now my third one is moving on. I love her! She is so sweet, patient and kind and spent so much time, so many times, teaching me about bisphosphonates, even sending me links to trials, etc. That's where I learned that most of the trials are sponsored/paid for by the manufacturer of the drug! That blew my confidence in the trials!

I chose to beef up w/ extra nutrition and I changed my bone health supplements, instead of taking any medication. We'll see what my next scan says but it won't be for a while; about 1.5 years.

Warmest wishes and prayers, Sunnyflower

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Replies to "So glad you got the referral!! I'm surprised you can't get your lab results online through..."

@sunnyflower, Yes, I failed to mention earlier that nurse reported tech problems with "patient portal". Thanks for the good wishes and more help from endocrinologist. I so agree that everything is a "risk/benefit" decision in choosing medical directions.

Realizing yrs ago that I had more trouble making decisions than some others, I bought "Yes or No" by Spencer Johnson; Had read his "Who Moved My Cheese" and gave this one a try. Can't remember much about the book now but it started me on what has now become a habit in helping guide me toward better choices with the Pros and Cons lists I do whenever stumped on whatever issue.

If you are like me in becoming attached to especially helpful professionals and having to find a new one when they retire, move or die is hard. Change itself can be difficult and finding a good fit with someone new isn't always easy.

Thanks for your response and best wishes for a good relationship with your new doc as well.