Dr. Ray - annual physical
I went to see Dr. Ray for my annual physical. I hadn't been to see him since that fateful day I had my mammogram and he called me into his office, and told me I needed a biopsy. We had a nice visit and all my labs came out normal. He was very pleased with my progress and we discussed the few side effects from the treatments that I am still battling. The chemo drugs sent me into menopause quickly, and then once the treatments were over my hormones changed back again. I continue to have trouble with sleep and memory and these could all be related to those changes as well as the chemo drugs themselves.
It makes me think of that commercial from the 80s - your brain on drugs - some days I think the chemo scrambled my brain. I don't mean to complain, because I can tell improvement as time goes by, but I have also learned to take notes, make lists and try not to let myself get overwhelmed. It's very frustrating, because I used to be able to remember phone numbers and dates and now I often have to look things up. Dr. Ray encouraged me to give myself plenty of time to let my body and my mind recover from all that it has been through. He encouraged me to cut back my hours or at least take breaks. I am going to try and take his advice and set limits at work and home as to how many projects I take on this year. Of course, that is always easier said than done.
I have known Dr. Ray since he was doing his residency at Baptist. He was one resident you knew right away was going to be a fabulous doctor. We often have to wait a bit to see him for an appointment, but this is because when you have an office visit he never rushes in and out. He really cares about his patients and wants to do his best to make sure you are taken care of. Dr. Ray was telling me that about half the patients he sees are stressed out because they have been laid off, and the other half are stressed out because they were not - and they are doing the job of 3 people.
It makes me think of that commercial from the 80s - your brain on drugs - some days I think the chemo scrambled my brain. I don't mean to complain, because I can tell improvement as time goes by, but I have also learned to take notes, make lists and try not to let myself get overwhelmed. It's very frustrating, because I used to be able to remember phone numbers and dates and now I often have to look things up. Dr. Ray encouraged me to give myself plenty of time to let my body and my mind recover from all that it has been through. He encouraged me to cut back my hours or at least take breaks. I am going to try and take his advice and set limits at work and home as to how many projects I take on this year. Of course, that is always easier said than done.
I have known Dr. Ray since he was doing his residency at Baptist. He was one resident you knew right away was going to be a fabulous doctor. We often have to wait a bit to see him for an appointment, but this is because when you have an office visit he never rushes in and out. He really cares about his patients and wants to do his best to make sure you are taken care of. Dr. Ray was telling me that about half the patients he sees are stressed out because they have been laid off, and the other half are stressed out because they were not - and they are doing the job of 3 people.
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