So, yesterday I went to dr. Ks in Brooklyn. We had decided that I would go to her facilities there to get all of my baseline tests done and see if the trip would be something I could do weekly considering she offers physical and massage therapy all under one roof. Well, to sum up my experience I will use the word awful. I would say bad, except the first time I met her it was so perfect and yesterday was the exact opposite of that… It all started with my nurse. I had her in Manhattan and even there she made me nervous. She is completely absent- minded. So much so that I asked if she was new to this “no, I’ve been here for years”. She’s always unorganized, nervous, looking for stuff, looking for a pen, looking for a chart, etc… So I sit down to get blood taken and already I can tell this is going to be “off”. The room turned me off, it wasn’t very clean, the trash with the needles were overflowing which grossed me out. So I tell her the vein she has in her sites is not going to give her blood. I know this 100 percent. She still insists on sticking me there and surprise! Nothing. After being stuck and her trying to maneuver the needle inside me to get blood I finally tell her to take it out and do the other arm! Ugh. My stomach is turning. Now for the ekg… Something I’m a pro at. She tells me to get undressed and lie on the table. She then leaves me there, exposed, freezing, while she looks for the sticky leads to put on my body, she boots up the machine, it looks like its the first time she’s ever seen the thing. She leaves the room twice to ask where the leads are. She then can’t find a pen. After all this drama, I am so cold I can’t feel my feet and I find myself actually putting on my own ekg leads cuz I know where they go and this woman is clueless. Anyway, this whole horrible experience continues, and worsens when I have to leave a urine sample in a filthy bathroom with no toilet paper. I was weak to begin with yesterday and doing a balancing act of not letting my pants hit the urine sprinkled floor while I try and pee in a cup left me exhausted and angry. I told the disinterested girls at the front desk they should get that bathroom clean which they didn’t seem to appreciate. I almost left then but wanted to see the doc. I was disappointed by her; she didn’t remember me, she asked what was wrong with my heart (we covered that last time) and she spent 2 minutes with me. They didn’t have my chart there and she was just blah. She suggested I get massage therapy because my feet were white and freezing. No shit, I’ve been sitting here for 2 hours freezing, teaching your nurse how to do an ekg and how to take blood properly! I finally relax a bit… I’m gonna get a massage! So I lie down, still a little uneasy of how clean this place is, but I do it anyway. My pants are rolled up and my massage therapists answers her phone when it rings and steps outside the curtain and chats for almost 10 minutes so I’m laying there, freezing, again! I’m fuming. She comes in and starts the massage… Only, she is screaming on her cell! And it’s in Russian so I don’t even know what she’s saying! Can’t even eavesdrop if I wanted to! She’s holding her cell up with her shoulder and giving me a cursory massage. That’s it! I get up, tell her she’s rude, wipe the oil off my legs, and walk out. Now I’m full on roid rage, I walk out tell them to bill me. But they made me come in and take the robe off before I left! Lol. I dont know what I’m gonna do going forward but I do know I’m never going back there to BK. It ruined my whole morning and I wAs freezing and exhausted from the whole experience. Luckily my dad drove me, so Big Dave and I had a pleasant lunch which made things better. So that was that. I need a break. From docs. From everything medical. From cabs from xray machines and from needles! I’m taking some clear my head time. I will be back to blogging in September. Have great summer days and smile lots and lots! Xoxoxo
Lauren

(for Lex)

it’s been a really great week in healing terms.

monday’s doctor visit left me hopeful.  happy and hopeful.  i don’t believe i have ever said that leaving a doctor…  i had a permagrin the entire day. probably have had it the entire week.

i went to see Doctor K based on a recommendation from a friend. thank you jackie, for leading me to her.  we liked her initially because Dr. K is an actual MD, a rheumatologist to boot, yet she practices integrative medicine. this means she heals holistically, without aggressive drugs, steroids, immune suppresants, etc..

i have created this person in my mind over and over again throughout the past several years (especially this past year); the missing link.  i didn’t think i’d ever meet this person. i didn’t think they existed.  after my last visit to the rheum at columbia where they were basically like “ok, let’s just see what happens” “we have no plan” , etc…  i was convinced i would be on my own (medically speaking) to rid my body of all of its problems.  until now, no docs seemed to “get it” .  none of them realize what it’s like, that you can’t just keep putting bandaids on a problem, that it takes me 45 minutes to get out of bed every morning, that this heart thing shouldn’t have happened the way it did!, that i am terrified of what else is around the corner! aaah! sorrry i get frustrated and sidetracked.  anyway, more about the amazing Dr. K…

i don’t even know where to start.  i’ve decided to just paste part of an email i wrote about my experience.  enjoy.

Someone who “gets it”!  Someone who is an MD yet practices the integrative
stuff, and is all about the mind-body connection.

so, it was overall an amazing experience.  thank you again.

And there it is, the beginning of my new path with Dr. K.  I am so happy to have her to help and guide me on my way to healing.  Combine that with the restorative yoga and my acupuncturist who is focusing on getting my stomach strong and healthy, and it seems like this team is unstoppable.  it feels great to have a goal, to work toward something, especailly with people who believe in you getting better.  healers.  true healers.

i hope this news makes you all as happy as it made me.  i can’t wait to tell tales of dr. K’s plans as i work with her.

i wasn’t feeling so great over the weekend (stomach) but i am back on track thanks to acupuncture yesterday… i actually ate a meal for the first time in forever last night.

ok, i am going to watch a movie now.  i am currently sweating because this is when the roids seem to really kick in.  hot flashes and roid rage on the couch , awesome.

happy friday tomorrow!

sending love and smiles

Lauren

today was a good day.  lots to tell but i am actually tired so i am going to take this rare opportunity of being tired at “bed time” and try to SLEEP!

i went to a doc that we will all be soo happy with. it was amazing.  7 years of trying to find someone like this…  i left actually feeling HOPEFUL and HAPPY.

sorry for the cliffhanger.

sweet dreams

xxL

didn’t fall asleep last night until 6am this morning!  slept til 10am.  been buzzing around ever since.  and here i am, almost 3 am and wide awake.  my body is tired but my brain says “go” and my heart is pumping hard and fast and i cannot sit still!  definitely the roids, they have me buzzing.  eventhough I am down to 10 mg less they are still full force.  i want like, 10 hours straight of sleep! i walked around today feeling so jittery, shaky, and generally cracked out.  not a fun state to be in.  although, i seem to get a lot of organizing done when i am like this…

So, I have lots to write about especially my Tuesday of healing (yoga, acupuncture, etc)..

Yesterday wasn’t so bad but the day before I was in BED.  Could not move at all. Total fatigue. Came out of nowhere.  Completely useless and miserable.  All I could do was sleep.  Today I woke up refreshed (finally!) and am feeling good about heading outdoors.  I have my very first appointment with a chiropractor in hopes that she will perform a miracle and cure my neck and back pain.  I rack my brain for reasons why I am always uncomfortable and there are so many.  I personally think my body is just completely out of whack!  Meaning, it has gone through so so SO much in the past year —even the fact that I’ve lost about 25 pounds adds to the equation.  I mean, my body has to learn how to live this new life of mine.  The new life of healing, of a fragile ticker, of learning to adjust to the Kicker (still!)… everything is just “off” and different.  I am working on getting stronger but there’s also a lot of adjustments that my body is learning to live with everyday.  Patience, Lauren.

So, my hopes are that this neck/back thing can be fixed by helping my alignment.  That would be great!  I am not crazy about getting “cracked” but this chiro takes a “whole body” approach and I trust that she will not do anything to harm me.

Let’s see how this goes.  Happy Friday!