What is most irritating about the atrial fibrillation is that at the time we
were with Kaiser Permanente, and I had sent two faxes directly to our supposed
doctor (internist) describing my symptoms in detail - pulse of 158, BP 80/54,
lack of energy, etc., etc.
I sent one on September 8th after one week of this, asking her to call me "If
she had any concerns" and followed up one week later with the same repeated
info, again asking her to call me if she had any concerns. The next week, she
was on the phone to Nora, and I picked up the line and asked her about the
situation - she said she "Was not impressed" but said I could see her if I
wanted to discuss it. I told her I had tried, and the first available
appointment was October 29th. She said that was not her concern, and that I
should not be communicating with a fax.
The next week, with every symprom continuing, I was urged by a couple of MD's
in my bicycling newsgroup to see a MD pronto. So, I made an appointment that
day, but when I fot to Kaiser was told that it was the next day! So I got to
see another MD, and he did an EKG and a rhythm strip, and bundled me up in an
ambulance and sent me 20 miles to the emergency room of the local Kaiser
hospital, where I spent overnight with diagnostic tests.
Anyway, I blame that I did not get to see a MD earlier on some of the
difficulty I am having getting into normal sinus rhythm. But, what to do?
We did write a letter to Kaiser's local clinic asking for a change of MD's.
When I got no response, I was able to get the, evidently secret, fax number of
the President of KP Colorado and faxed the faxes and my letter to the local
clinic to him.
We got a change of MD's, but in the meantime were told by the allergy clnic
that they could not see my wife on an ongoing basis for her severe allergies
because they were too busy with new referral evaluations.
We "escaped" from Kaiser on November 1st. Never again.
Denver Fox wrote:
However, there are no guarantees. September 1st I started continuous atrial
fibrillation, and have been fighting it ever since. This is despite my years
of biking, walking, hiking and eating right. However, my heart is otherwise in
such great shape that I can still do extended walks and rides with no
difficulty.
http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox
(Family Web Page)