Be Your Own Doctor.
A few weeks ago, my IBS and acid reflux emerged stronger than ever before. Unabated episodes of belching, extreme bloating, and burning in my stomach exacerbated daily. Lying on the couch curled up in pain, my parents and I called my primary care: I was eager to see a doctor. He told me we could arrange a telemedicine appointment as in-person visits were being limited to potential COVID-19 patients.
The telemedicine call lasted for approximately 12 minutes. Acquainted with my condition in the past, my physician advised me to cut my fruit intake and to keep a food diary. He concluded the conversation by promising to follow up in two weeks.
Each day, I only felt worse. This was shocking to me as my diet consists of all-natural and healthy foods, and through quarantine, my symptoms subsided tremendously. But now, anything I ate caused extreme inflammation and distress in my gut. As a highly active person who craves intense workouts, it was even harder: bouncing caused my insides to flare up: a fire in my stomach, as I like to call it. The 7 am runs that served as my morning remedy only aggravated my body. The burning consumed me entirely. Belching for hours-on-end left me dizzy and fatigued, which even made walking outside utterly exhausting. I couldn’t function; I simply couldn’t tolerate more.
As the two week period came to a close, I was desperate for treatment. There was no follow up.
We called the office several times, but my physician was unavailable. Messages were left via the front desk, but there was little to no response. We proceeded to call several different hospitals, but without a referral and time slots booked solely for COVID patients, no appointments were available until August.
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My story is not unique. I know that many people live with IBS and acid reflux, and I’ve been able to cope with it for the past few years. But when a situation becomes unbearable–whether it be medically, socially, or emotionally– I’ve always been taught to relieve myself. Simply put, if something’s wrong, forge ahead and take action. Life is too short, life is too precious.
But when all plausible solutions are tried and all fail, professional help is necessary. Deprived of attention by my primary care, I felt completely hopeless: how long will this go on? What if I have some underlying condition I don’t know about? Emotionally ravaged by my physical pain, I began to frantically research my symptoms. Stomach cancer? Pancreatitis? No way, Sabrina, cut it out– you’re paranoid. The wealth of information lingering on the internet is vast, nor is it specific enough alone.
