doctor's restrictions

Hello fellow pacers!

I'm having kind of a situation with my EP doctor. I recently called his office to schedule an appointment because I was feeling a little weird. The secretary told me that I had to wait a few months because he's seeing pacemaker patients only one day a month. I told her it was important, and she recommended going to my cardiologist. When the technician checked the PM at the cardio office, he realized that the EP had posted an alert saying that I was 100% paced, that it had been very difficult to achieve the best settings for me and that he did not authorize anyone to make any changes. My cardio tried calling him but he was on vacation. She didn't dare touch my PM. So I ended up leaving the office with nothing to do but worry. How is it possible that he's the only one that can touch my pacemaker? What happens now that he's not available when I need him? I know that the logical thing to do would be to change to another doctor, but where I live, electrophysiologists are very scant and I've seen most of them without much success in the treatments. This doctor was doing wonders with my condition. Now I don't know if it's worth it to stay with him or risk going back to someone less experienced.

Have anyone experienced something like this?

3 Comments

Frank and Don

by mereiriz - 2012-08-07 02:08:37

The situation doesn't seem to be causing any serious problem right now but it definitely is affecting my quality of life. I'm not feeling as well as I was a few months ago. Being a medical student, I need to be in good shape to do a good job. That's why I've decided to wait for the time being.

Regarding the doctor, I've been asking myself the same questions Don asked. I believe that what the doctor is doing is seeing patients in his other offices and doing lots of procedures. I live in Puerto Rico and unfortunately we're not using electronic medical records yet. So, if I started seeing him at a particular place, I cannot change now and visit him at another hospital. Maybe I could if it were an emergency but I don't believe this is one. I also believe that the problem is not him. In other instances, he's made concessions to office hours with me. The problem is that his secretary keeps telling me that's the way things are and she can't do anything to help. I know that if I were able to speak to him directly, things would be different. Anyway, it's true that he won't live forever and won't be available at all times, so I don't agree with the restrictions. I'll keep thinking...

Thanks guys!


Tis guy has an ego...

by donr - 2012-08-07 09:08:38

...big as a cadillac limo! And sounds like you have to live with it!

There are a few things you need to hash out w/ him - If he is an EP & only sees PM patients one day a month, what, exactly does he do w/ the other 20 or so business days in a month? If you are so special that he is the only person who can change settings for you, why can you not be special enough to break his restriction on the "One day a month" bit? Last but not least, by all means - IS HE GOING TO LIVE FOREVER? What happens if he gets hit by a speeding concrete mixer? Shot by a jealous wife? Falls off a ladder & breaks his back & winds up in a body cast fore 6 months?

You deserve more consideration than this!

BTW: Frank is correct in his comments.

Don

What kind of weird?

by ElectricFrank - 2012-08-07 12:08:41

A lot depends on what you are feeling. Is it continuing or causing serious problems? From your profile it looks like you do have some complex issues so it would be better if you could wait, especially if he has been doing a good job of it.

One thing to keep in mind is we have strange feelings even without a pacemaker. We are just more sensitive after getting one.

frank

You know you're wired when...

A thirty-day guarantee is not good enough.

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I am 100% pacemaker dependant and have been all my life. I try not to think about how a little metal box keeps me alive - it would drive me crazy. So I lead a very active life.