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When the Doctor Leaves Questions

Based on the feedback on my last article, which was fantastic by the way; I am left with a growing number of questions for my doctor. I’ve been told to go ahead and have any scans and tests completed so my doctor can come up with the best treatment plan to help me. I am eager to find out what comes next, but I have run into a bit of a snag when it comes to this part.

Possible Doctor Issues

My doctor has not ordered any additional tests for me. She also has not given me any advice beyond the two medications she prescribed, which we had to remind her office to call in to my pharmacy. My once daily inhaler is one in a family of I believe five. However, the one she prescribed me is for asthma, called Breo, even though there is one in that family of medications made specifically for COPD. When I asked about the other medication, she simply that said she thought this one would work better for me.

I do not yet know enough to have an opinion one way or the other so for now, I will go with her answer. I am just surprised that she has not mentioned any other type of testing. It makes me wonder if she diagnosed me with COPD simply because I am a smoker who happened to have a cough when I saw her.

During my initial appointment with her, I had pneumonia, which she barely treated. She was more worried about a previous sleep study I had done. With that in mind, I don’t believe a cough would have been all that outrageous of a symptom. Since that time, she has not requested any follow up appointments either.

The once daily Breo inhaler along with the albuterol rescue inhaler she prescribed me have helped minimize some of the coughing that I may have for now. I am content with that part of things because when I had pneumonia, I was coughing so often enough that my body hurt all over any time I that I coughed. But, at the same time, I would like to know what other tests she plans on running (if any) so that she can give me a better or more accurate diagnosis.

Wife's Short Tolerance

At this point my wife is looking for other pulmonary doctors on our insurance and looking at making me an appointment. She does not like when a doctor provides subpar treatment to their patients and she has honestly used this doctor as well. Needless to say for a doctor who swore to be so committed to her patients at the beginning she allowed my wife to end up with extreme pneumonia, where another doctor had to direct admit her to a hospital. So my wife wants more answers for me concerning what pulmonary issues I may have going on and how we need to treat those issues in a way that is best for my health because she wants and needs me healthy.

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This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The COPD.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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