It's true that Dr Abazari's office is sometimes a bit rushed and sometimes there are long waits. Good luck in finding a doctor for whom this is not true, especially one associated with a charity hospital like St. Lukes.
But I love Dr, Abazari. I have always looked forward to seeing her. She really listens to what I have to say and she's helped me with some problems. I like her better than any conventional physician I've ever gone to. The only thing is.....
The thing is, at this point in my life, I've been to a lot of conventional physicians, and it's always the same. On the first visit, they listen to all my problems, many of which I consider fairly severe. Then they give me a slip for lab tests. On my next visit, the doctor says, "Your blood pressure and your cholesterol are a bit high," and gives me a couple of prescriptions. So I come back for another visit, and it takes me a few more visits to realize that this doctor is never going to consider anything except my blood pressure and cholesterol. So I decide that doctors are never going to be any help to me, so I cancel my next appointment and don't go to another doctor until something else really bad happens.
Gradually I've come to understand that these doctors have been practicing what they consider preventative medicine, which they've been taught means checking blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and other things which show up in the blood tests, plus telling patients to stop smoking (not relevant in my case) and drink less alcohol. (My liver enzymes confirm that the amount I drink is not all that high.) It certainly does not include recommending vitamin D or co-enzyme Q. Well, okay, they do what they know how to do. You shouldn't go to an optometrist and complain because your toothache didn't get cured.
I've explained to Dr Abazari that we are working at cross purposes. She's trying, more or less, to help me live forever. But what I'm looking for is help in being more functional right now. If I were given the choice between living another ten years the way I am, or living only one more year but being actually functional, I would certainly choose the second. And she listens and understands what I am saying, but she can only do what she knows how to do.
So I look in books and look on the internet and take what seems to be a pretty good selection of nutritional supplements. But this sort of self-medication is certainly not ideal. Meanwhile my real problems (hypersomnia, neuropathy, and some really weird neurological problems, for instance) are making it more and more difficult for me to have a decent life.
Dr, Abazari has been an improvement over the conventional physicians I've seen before. She has referred me to several specialists who did a bunch of expensive tests. (My insurance paid.) In the past three years I've had two MRI scans of my brain, plus an EEG test. That's about as much as one can ask for, and it's not her fault that they didn't do much good. I also had a prostate operation (not for cancer) which may have helped a little, but not very much, since my urinary urgency and frequency are both still very much there.
But recently I've been able to find a naturopath who accepts Medicare, and he's been recommending some amino acids and other supplements. Not that I haven't taken these things before, but this is the first time I've had intelligent guidance with them.
Then the next time I went to see Dr. Abazari when my prescriptions ran out, she was fairly unfriendly (not hostile, I don't think she's capable of being hostile) and asked me whether I now had two primary care physicians. Well, I sort of understand her point of view; she doesn't like being used simply a a convenience to get prescriptions from. And I thought about it and wondered quite why I should be going to two different doctors, especially when they don't communicate with each other and one of them is very suspicious of what the other does.
So I asked Dr, Tan, my naturopath, and he said that it's very important that I have a conventional MD as my primary care physician. He recommended that I keep going to Dr. Abazari, but said that if I didn't want to do this, then I could see one of the MDs who work out of the Noe Valley Clinic, where he is. He also urged me to continue taking the Meformin, blood pressure medications, and statins which Dr. Abazari has been prescribing for me.
I'm really conflicted. I hate to lose my connection to Dr. Abazari. But going to the Noe Valley clinic would mean that my two doctors would be able to work cooperatively, plus I would have the advantages the Noe Valley Clinic offers, such as hour-long appointments with no significant waiting time (at least not so far).
And I've absolutely go to find some kind of treatment for the problems I have. Otherwise, it's not worthwhile being alive any longer.
I'm really going to miss Dr. Abazari. read more
