THE #LUPUS SECRETS: NUMBER 2 .... KEEP PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS, CARRY AROUND MED LIST AND ALLERGY LIST SHARE with everyone who has lupus. Be proactive in your healthcare. Know some of the most important things to do and avoid when you have lupus. My next 28 posts will each discuss one of my Lupus Secrets. As I have said many times, these are not secrets in the sense that I dont want people to know them. They are secrets in the sense that most people who have lupus, and even many health care professionals do not know some of them, yet they are extremely important to know in order to live as healthy as possible when you have lupus. Secret #2: Keep your own personal medical records + keep an up to date med list + allergy list on you at all times. Good habits: - Every time you see your rheumatologist, ask for a personal copy of your last office note + lab results and keep them in a binder. The office will usually do this for free. But if you ask for a bunch of records at once, you will most likely be charged as it is time consuming. Also, it is best just to ask the front desk to do this and not bother the doc (let him or her concentrate on your labs, physical exam, etc.) - *** Especially have the notes + labs that made your initial diagnosis of lupus! **** 20% of the time, ANA can become negative on treatment. If you end up having to see a new doctor in the future... you see him or her... your labs may all be normal to include ANA... he or she doubts the diagnosis of lupus and stops your meds = DANGEROUS. Ive had at least two patients have severe flares when this occurred. If you arm yourself with the original labs + notes on how your diagnosis was reached, it can prevent this. - Keep an up to date med list that contains names of meds, dose of each particular tablet/capsule (mg, mcg, gm, mg/mL, etc), how many you take each time, + how often. - When ever ANY doctor changes a dose or adds or takes away a med..... IMMEDIATELY change it (or else you will forget to!) - Whenever the nurse, medical assistant, doctor asks you what meds you are taking, dont even answer (you will say yes or no incorrectly) ... instead... hand them over the up to date list. If you are not 100% compliant and miss any doses of any of the meds... let them know (it is much more important for your health to be honest rather than pretending you take everything all the time). If something is not doing well (for example your vitamin D level is still too low, but you keep missing doses... they will know to talk to you about compliance instead of increasing the dose) **** NEVER ASSUME the doctors med list is correct! We see many medical mistakes occur with this assumption (old meds refilled at wrong doses, etc.) - If you have had any biopsies (skin, kidney) ... get and keep permanent records of those as well. - Dont forget to always carry that allergy list on you at all times with your med list (and make sure sulfa antibiotics are on it as we discussed in Secret #1. BE PROACTIVE in your health care so that you can do better in the future! Read about all the secrets at: buff.ly/1BAKKKP .... thanks to Mollys Fund Fighting Lupus SHARE with everyone who has lupus. by Donald Thomas, MD buff.ly/1BAKKui buff.ly/1BAKKKQ
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:04:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015