MRI Today!

[Keith_Hixson]

Sometimes I wonder about the tunnel vision of Doctors and the Medical community.
Six weeks ago I noticed my blood pressure was on the rise. It was running about 170/80 my blood pressure always runs about 120/70 and I excersice 6 days a week by jogging (waddling at my age) six to seven miles every morning. My cholesterol has always been 135 combined, and I told him that the rise in blood pressure was probably associated with my back pain in the kidney area. So what does he do, he gives me a ekg., which comes out perfect. Then he sends me to a cardiological specialist in Yakima for a complete cardiovasular test and a stress test (if climbing a major peak isn't a stress test enough), they ultrasounded all my major arteries. Shocking they came to the conclusion that my rise in blood pressure isn't a heart or cardiovasular problem. Mean time the pain in my kidney area continues to get worse. Finally they run some tests on my urinary tract, call in a urologist he says there are some signs you either have a tumor, cyst, stones or infection in one of your kidneys (that's where the pain is). He said says stress on the kidneys will cause a spike in blood pressure. So, today I get an MRI on my kidneys. The only problem is its been six weeks. To me this long drawn out process was much to long. And as the urologist says, I know we'll find something on or in kidneys but why couldn't they have followed the pain to the problem in the beginning. In the meantime they haven't given me anything for pain or anything to lower the blood pressure because they want to find the problem before they treat it. I find this multiple testing diagnosis spread over such a long period of time somewhat dysfunctional way to practise medicine. Is this the way they practise medicine these days? I don't mind them covering the bases but its the time spread that makes frustrated, especially since I'm dealing with pain everyday.
I told my wife, "by the time I get any relief or treatment I'll be dead but they'll know why I died."

Keith