At the First Meeting, the Doctor Ignored Me

Yep,  he ignored me.  It was as though I wasn't there--the mere wife of the patient.  I scratched off all my nail polish sitting in the examining room (a little stressed?).

Two months later, at the second meeting, the doctor looked at me and said "I don't think we've met."  Then he described a procedure he'd mentioned earlier, that he could perform on Jerry's heart to increase blood flow.  We'd read up on the internet and were worried about the risk, particularly at Jerry's age.  Also, he feels fine.  The doctor said he didn't want to pressure us, but it would be an idea to do it.

 Sketch of what the Oakland doctor said he could do

I came straight home and called Stanford for a second opinion.  Boy, were they accommodating!  I made an appointment in January, a week after we'd see Dr. I-Don't-Think-We've-Met again.   In the meantime, we got a copy of the results of Jerry's last cardiac stress test.  There were contradictions in the summary;  neither of us could figure it out.

Two days ago, we went to appointment at Stanford.

 Entrance to Stanford Medical Center--so busy it could have been an airport.

First, we saw a Fellow in Cardiology, a patient young doctor who listened carefully, asked a lot of questions, and went over the test results.  Then, he studied the list of  Jerry's medications.

Why, he asked, puzzled, did Dr. I-Don't-Think prescribe Drug X?

We weren't sure.

Does Jerry have any cardiac symptoms?  No.

Has he had any change in quality of life?  No.  The Fellow asked me about that in detail.  No.  (The wife exists!)

Oh, and by the way, Drug X and Drug Y, which the Oakland cardiologist told us to have our primary care doctor prescribe, can be very dangerous if taken together.

Mass puzzlement--him, Jerry, me.

He fetched his Professor Cardiologist.  Together they told us they would not recommend the procedure proposed to us by the Oakland doctor.  Not indicated.  Risky.  What would be the point?  He has no symptoms.  Also,  Professor Cardiologist gave us good news that Jerry has the fitness of someone 15 years younger.

We were so relieved when we left that we didn't even care about the thick traffic on 880.

I'm glad, but honest to God, what if Jerry had had a procedure that was unnecessary and risky?  He could have died.  The Oakland doctor had withdrawn his suggestion at the third meeting, but inexplicably, with no additional data, which left us even more confused.  Why did he suggest it in the first place? 

We're transferring Jerry's cardiac care to Stanford, despite the long trek from Berkeley, the currently-wretched Stanford parking situation (construction), and the overall hassle.  I feel shaken and distrustful of my doctors, which I shouldn't, because I have some wonderful doctors who would be the first to suggest I get a second opinion.

As my sister said, Wow.

My friend Claudia M. said, Are you going to kick that twit to the curb?

Yes.

Eating a heart-healthy lunch before the appointment