I need help ASAP with Dr. L's contact info

[beatle]

I need help ASAP with Dr. L's contact info

Neva, even if you don't have a doctor who knows, make sure you have some people close to you who know. You could even sign something that says you are taking this much meds at these times and give them to a couple people you trust. I don't think ER personnel are going to ignore that just because it doesn't come from a doctor.

Also, maybe consider carrying one of those medical emergency cards in your wallet. You might even ask Dr. Levin if it is ok for you to list his name and number as your prescribing doctor?

If you are worried your doctor will insist you stop bac, I would advise you not to tell her. You will have to argue and/or lie, and that will jeopardize your mutual trust. (IMHO)

[Grommet]

I need help ASAP with Dr. L's contact info

Neva,

Do let us know how it goes with your doctor today. I have my annual physical in mid-Feb and I am thinking about laying this all out for my doctor as well.

Right now only my wife and a Dr friend in the midwest know that I am taking Bac. Neither knows how much or how often. I taped an emergency card to the back of my drivers license that I update each week with the amount of Bac I'm currently on with explicit directions. Other than that, I'm flying blind.

Good luck today!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

I need help ASAP with Dr. L's contact info

Grommet, I really appreciated your post a while back about what your doctor friend recommended--keeping back ups for the back ups of bac!
My doctor's appt went off without a hitch. She couldn't have been less interested in the bac, which brings me a great deal of comfort. Last week when I saw her and told her how much I was taking she balked! So I assume (for what that's worth) that it's safe enough and she just doesn't care. (an alcoholic buying some snake oil to find a cure...Not new in the scheme of things, right? But if it were harmful she would have to say something, right?)
I've put the emergency plan into place, beatle. But I'm apparently healthy, so no ER visits for me anytime soon!
I'll update my thread soon.

[Grommet]

I need help ASAP with Dr. L's contact info

Neva,

First and foremost - great news that you're healthy! :wd:

Thanks for providing this update. I'm still debating whether to tell my primary care. I would like her to know but I don't want anything in my medical records.

On the other hand, the only thing I can see that would put an end to taking Bac would be my concerns over being on a high dose and having an emergency. As a small example, I slipped in an icy parking lot early Sat am (sober and not hungover ). I had my son with me and my wife and daughter were out of town for the weekend. I was fine but it really made me think about things. So in sum, I've been having the occasional wtf am I doing moments...

Yet the other hand (err, that's 3 hands), it pales in comparison to the risks of drinking the way I was :H. So now, in addition, to my emergency supply, I have Bac in my car and my office, and I started carrying 2 sheets (250 mg each) in my pocket. This may be overkill, but if it feels good do it! (ummm, maybe I should strike that cliche)

Beatle, if I understand correctly your are not officially under Dr. L's care, but you have contacted him for guidance - is that right? I'm thinking it may be time for me to put a call into the good Dr. Any thoughts/suggestions from the two of you would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[beatle]

I need help ASAP with Dr. L's contact info

Neva, great news about your doctor. I hadn't realized you had already told her. I thought you were worried about telling her. So I guess that means all your info will be assembled in one place, right? I still think it's good for some people close to you to also have that information.

Also, great news about your health. But, not to be a killjoy wet blanket, perfectly healthy people can also have accidents... just saying.

Grommit,

I only called Dr. L once (2 days before my little "emergency") and he didn't have time to talk to me for more than a few minutes. We agreed that I would send him my background information by email and then schedule a consultation. I wrote out a long history (6 pages), and then 4 pages of side-effects. That's when I had my pain problem, and tried to reach him because of that. Since then I have written and apologized and we spoke on the phone and scheduled a phone consultation on Friday night (for me -- 3:00pm for him). I will send him a revised version of the tome I wrote last week.

(I will explain in a separate thread what he told me in the brief time we talked, and why I wanted to contact him on the weekend... coming soon)

If you have questions and problems, I suggest you contact him and schedule an appt.

I have a list of questions/problems, including:

Side effects-- I have severe, frightening side effects, even though I have been titrating up extremely slowly. Some of these I have not even heard others mention here.

I wonder if the brand has anything to do with the side effects-- maybe different people react to different brands differently (see terryK's posts on this).

I wonder if drinking/going AF really have anything to do with the whole equation, and if perhaps my severe side effects are a result of continuing drinking (so far this has not held up -- the short periods in which I drank far less than usual -- a couple drinks a day -- my SE were worse, if anything. I'm now on AF day 4 and no relief of SEs (yet).)

I'm also interested in what he has to say about the genetic/weight factors in terms of how much we need to hit the "switch" (there's been conflicting information on here -- lots of hearsay -- I want to get it from the horse's mouth).

Anyway, if you want to wait to hear what I get out of our conversation, then fine, but if you have your own concerns, I'd say go ahead and make an appointment.