Haims: Following doctor’s orders is a game-changer
Many factors contribute to one’s well-being and recovery after a visit to see a medical provider. The one factor you can actually control, and the one that works best, is simple: Follow the doctor’s orders.
Managing a home care agency places my staff and me in a unique position. Daily, we play an active role in people’s management of their health. While we always try, getting people to follow through with the plan their medical provider has laid out is, at best, challenging.
While I don’t think most people expect to be cured immediately following a medical visit, I do find it interesting how non-compliant and impatient people are in managing their recovery from an illness or injury.
Quite often, I find people who struggle with upper respiratory conditions fail to adhere to their medical provider’s recommendations for treatment. Whether it’s a case of strep throat, bronchitis, asthma or even pneumonia, people seem to frequently stop their treatments too early or not use the medicines their medical providers have suggested they use. When people fail to adhere to the treatments their medical providers suggest, frequently there’s a substantial worsening of condition, sometimes even death.
In my own experience of recovering from orthopedic procedures, I have found that following doctor’s orders has been challenging at times. Recommendations that had sounded like friendly reminders or even kind suggestions were, in fact, precise directions intended to be followed.
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It may not have been until after my third or fourth knee surgery that I actually followed my doctor’s orders exactly as ordered. Prior, I was impetuous and impatient. I thought I was young, in good shape, healthy, and saw little benefit in waiting to get back on my mountain bike. After all, I’ve always heard that biking was one of the best recovery exercises for the knee.
What I had not considered after the first few surgeries was, tendons, ligaments and soft tissue need time to heal. The doctors had clearly told me such, but I felt fine and thought I could advance my recovery by doing more, sooner. Outcomes didn’t work out for me as I had thought.
Don’t assume that if the symptoms have gone away that it’s OK to stop following a doctor’s orders. Finish your antibiotics even though you feel better. Take your cholesterol medication consistently, even though you feel fine. And, when your blood pressure suddenly becomes irregular, fatigue and muscle weakness occur, anxiety and nervousness arise with greater frequency, and memory problems suddenly become a concern, it may benefit you to take heed to what your doctor said about skipping your thyroid medication. (We occasionally see this in some female clients.)
Most of us place our lives and well-being in the hands of our medical providers. Perhaps, it may be a good idea to listen to them and follow their medical orders.
Communicate with your doctor(s) and let them know if you have questions or problems with the medical directives or medications they have provided.
Judson Haims is the owner of Visiting Angels Home Care in Eagle County. He is an advocate for our elderly and is available to answer questions. Connect with him at jhaims@visitingangels.com.
