I finally made an appointment for my mom with an internal med doctor who is also a geriatrician. We saw her yesterday, and I have only one thing to say: DR. I. KICKS POSTERIOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She was a little behind in getting to see us but it was worth the extra time. She really listened to what we had to say and she was floored that Mom hadn't had any follow-up.... she immediately called for an EKG and labwork, just based on some initial questions and "breathe deep" exercises.
Sometime during the exam, she asked about something and Mom replied, "I'm sorry, I don't remember...." Dr. I said, "No! No need to apologize, we're here to find out the answers to help you move forward." Let me tell you - I dropped my head right then and offered up a big ol' thank you to God, the angels, the saints and whomever else was responsible for that moment.
I just learned that she called Mom back yesterday afternoon after some of the lab results came in. She's increasing Mom's dosage of Lasix without adjusting anything else for right now. This is a good thing; Mom has a lot of noticeable fluid retention. From the ankles up, it really is just like a medical text drawing of what a CHF patient might look like.
Mom is scheduled for an ultrasound on her heart next Wednesday, and a follow-up to this appointment in 2 weeks. Dr. I was startled by the previous lack of follow-up. She didn't seem to fazed by the medication combinations, so maybe the side effects/combinations I had read about aren't quite as bad as I thought, or it might apply more to long-term usage. We'll see.....
And Mom likes Dr. I too - she's direct but caring, and it was pretty obvious that she really takes an interest in her patients. I'm definitely glad I did this for Mom.
