A Tale of Five Doctors
On July 4, 2023, I awoke with a cloudy left eye. My eyes have always been the weakest part of my body, teeth being a distant second. Over the years I’ve had 2 cataract surgeries and two detached retina surgeries. I take three different drops in each eye to keep the eye pressure “normal”. Normal for me means a number in the mid-teens.
I enjoyed the holiday and on July 5, 2023 called my Optometrist (doctor 1). He said come right in. My pressure was normal but he thought he saw maybe a drop of blood in the back of my left eye and made an appointment for me to see a Retina Specialist the next day. On July 6, I visited the Retina MD (doctor 2) and he did not see any blood but said my symptoms might be caused by Hypertension. When was the last time I had a physical? Answer is 2016 before a Hernia operation. I made an appointment with my GP.
On July 21, 2023, my GP (doctor 3) did blood work and found I have “borderline Hypertension” with blood pressure of 140/80 and “borderline Diabetes” with A1C of 5.7. He prescribed 5mg of Amlodipine for the blood pressure and 40 mg of Furosemide for the swelling in my feet that I told him were concerning me. He also set two appointments for specialists. An Ultrasound guy (doctor 4) who studied my leg veins and proclaimed no problem there. The second specialist, a Neurologist (doctor 5) studied my feet and decided I might have borderline foot neuropathy. He wants to see me again in 6 months.
Around the second week of August the clouds in my left eye disappeared. No one could tell me why. So, what have I learned so far? That I was right to avoid the medical profession for as long as I did. Not one of the five doctors that I visited asked me any questions about my diet. Not one. My GP, who you would think would be on top of the situation is overweight as is 3 out of 4 of his staff. He’s a lovely man, don’t get me wrong. But he is not helping me. I bought and read “Lies my Doctor Told Me” by Dr. Ken Berry – very enlightening. On my own, I decided to cut most sugars and carbs and start keeping track of my blood pressure and glucose levels. I joined a Twitter Community that emphasizes more Meat less Carbs. I lost 25 pounds. My Blood Pressure and Glucose levels slowly dropped. My A1C went to 5.2. My eye pressure is in the low-teens and was a 9 in one eye on a recent visit. I stopped using one of my 3 eye drops (I dropped the $400/month brand!). I think I’m on the right track health-wise but am disappointed with the medical profession as a whole. Now if I would only start exercising, I’d be perfect.