Cyst Lynn

It's a Ganglian cyst (should that be capitalized?); the little knot on my wrist is a ganglian cyst.

Turns out my doctor (actually the nurse practitioner - I've never even met my doctor!) also has one, but hers is in a slightly different place and doesn't hurt. I think mine hurts partially because of the location, but also partially because there is constant pressure on it (due to its location) - but mine really does hurt.

But also, like she noted, I am skittish - I am a nervous, skittish, distrusting, touchy person - and that has something to do with all of my many pains and ailments, as well. I understand that and am confident enough with myself to admit that. I mean, I'm a bit of a sissy, to put it bluntly; I stick my toe in the water first - everytime. Well, okay not every time, but the few times I haven't are what have made me change my position at 33, you get me? I'd rather be safe than sorry, and that's why I have no children - and no STDs. I do not think my life has suffered in the form of "lost opportunities" too much for my nature, though I'll admit there are areas of my life where the quality has suffered due to my skittish nature (um, yes, I do mean sexually - but that's only one area) - such as how I constantly have aches and pains that people with other personality types probably shrug-off.

Still, there's no denying that these conditions can be painful for some people even if they aren't for others, and one of the reasons I dig my doctor/nurse is because she, like me, accepts this about me (and her other patients). I'm a little guy and I have "little guy" problems - I'm skittish, I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, I tend to overcompensate intellectually, etc. - and that's not going to change... well, not much, anyway and no time soon. And where a lot of doctors and other professionals take that "get over it" approach - one they consider "no-nonsense" or "tough-love" - it's really a dismissal of you and a failure of the medical profession. We all know what a big proponent I am of the idea that we are an overmedicated society, but that's a general assessment of a general situation on a general level; what works for some does not work for others and medicine is not a "one-size-fits-all" area, though that is how it is treated in America.

Part of choosing the right doctor is finding one that works with you, and those that will have a more worldly approach to the situation; it isn't an instant dismissal because "that's not the way we do things here" or any of those other platitudes and hand-me-downs you, like me, have likely heard from lesser practitioners. My doctor discusses things with me and never condescends - or, when she does, it's that peer-to-peer kind of condescension that I appreciate (like when I dismiss a fellow blogger's opinion on Twitter [my opinion, btw, is that there's a reason it's called Twitter]) - and she actually listens. Honestly, my doctor would make a great, general Dinner Party Guest (any of you remember the Dinner Party Game we used to play? - I think I'll bring it back, actually: Choose three dinner party guests for the following menu; Choose three dinner party guests to discuss the following subject; Choose three dinner party guests to roast this celebrity; etc.).

We even got into a brief discussion on alternative medicine today, because I mentioned Echinacea. Her opinion, btw: it usually causes the sniffles - and because I respect her approach to her job and me as a patient, I'm going to stop taking Echinacea (why not? - I never noticed a dramatic improvement, so...).

But I'm not here just to extol the virtues of my doctor; I came to tell you about the ganglian cyst, more than anything. But really, as much as I - and everyone else - bitch about the medical profession and the professionals in it - justified and qualified gripes, all - I did want to say that it's best to shop-around when it comes to a doctor and find one that respects your opinion on you. Because you are the foremost expert on yourself, regardless of what all those other "experts" say.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008