I can indisputably say that the ER doctor was right about taking Doxy for my bad cough.

I took two doses (the one in the ER and then one more), and the cough got a little better. I thought it was the IV Zithromax I started 24 hours after the ER visit that was making my cough better.

But no, my cough is back with a vengeance this morning.

This cough is a beautiful example of why my case is so difficult for both me and the physicians who would like to help me.

One the one hand, this ER doctor was *horribly* wrong about my toe–he said point blank he would cut my toe open if he really thought there was something in my toe, but he was almost positive there was nothing in there even though I insisted there was something.

Then the next day, the podiatrist pulls out a 1/2 inch thick splinter out of that same toe. Much to her shock and dismay as well.

I started and stopped the Doxy, because he was wrong about my toe, so I figured he was wrong about the cough too.

BUT, now here I am with this crippling cough. He was right it was doxy I needed for it. It hurts so much today he was also right the cough is something bad brewing.

This is just one example of too many I can even remember of why my medical case has to be such an ongoing collaboration between me and physicians. It’s very difficult for either one of us to be right–the physician doesn’t understand entirely what is going on with me because I don’t present with diseases normally, and I’m not always right about what to do medically because I am just not trained in medicine.

It’s just a recipe for a bumpy ride. And often neither the physician or I know what is best until we try something and see how it goes–*not* the way doctors like to practice medicine. That is for f***ing sure.

And sometimes we can’t even agree that I even need medical attention–that’s why I often need to see multiple doctors to get help, because doctors often mistakenly think I *don’t* need medical attention, when I know that I do (like in the case of my toe–the splinter in my toe is a *classic* example of how I present atypically, and so this ER doctor didn’t think I needed his help when I actually did need his help–)

But this cough is unmistakeably bad, and I messed up as a patient because I started taking my antibiotic then stopped…and we all know what that means.

He was 100% right about my cough. It’s something brewing very bad, and doxy would help.

And this is just another example of too many times I could write about where in one medical appointment both parties end up being right. I was right about my toe, and he was right about the cough.

I also think he gave me the doxy to cover my toe, just in case there was something in there…he didn’t say that, but I saw a glimpse of it in his eyes. 🙂

This is really the heart of the problem with me going into the ER, on any day, even when it’s life threatening. There is just so much to digest in my medical case, its like being told ‘you have 5 minutes to make a very important speech in a dialect of English you studied a long time ago in school about but never actually spoken before. Now go do it.”

That’s just really hard for people to do that…even smart people like doctors.

But he was definitely right about my cough. And it super hurts.