What to do when your doctor goes away

Dear readers,

I recently met a gentleman who, as it turns out, suffers from trust issues. Apparently he was seen by an overseas doctor a year ago and he was of the opinion that no one else should touch his eyes, except that same doctor. I succeeded in convincing him to have us look at his eyes, just to find out that he was going blind in both eyes and that his condition was too far advanced for much to be done.{{more}}

He is not a unique case. There are countless cases like this in St Vincent and elsewhere.

Here is the big question. What do you do when you have seen a doctor, built confidence in that doctor and then he/she either goes away or comes back every year or every few years? Do you wait for the doctor to come back to follow up, or do you look for another doctor to check with in the interim until your doctor comes back?

This situation plagues many patients. There is a fear of changing practitioners. However, sometimes it is absolutely necessary to follow up, especially with chronic cases such as glaucoma, diabetes and cataracts. I have seen many cases go wrong because of a lack of follow-up.

Here are several reasons why you need to be consistent in your follow-up care.

1. Poor communication – Sometimes the advice of the first practitioner is misunderstood or not heeded properly and it is imperative to make sure that one is charting the right course, to review one’s medication and have the doctor explain why we need them and how to take them properly.

2. Post operative complications – Sometimes even the best surgeries can develop complications over time. Some examples are :

a. Worsening of diabetic eye disease after surgery.

b. Inflammation of the posterior pole of the eye.

c. Development of an opacification of the posterior capsule after cataract surgery.

d. A shifting or dislocation of the lens after cataract surgery.

3. Understanding what a true emergency is – Too many times I hear the patients say “well I took it for nothing and I thought I would just wait until the next appointment.” This is where your “back-up” doctor becomes very important.

4. In cases of glaucoma, medication prescribed may not always work properly. There may be a deterioration in the field of vision, even if the eye pressure is under control and that is why the WHO recommends that glaucoma patients be seen every four months.

Please remember that prevention is better than cure and that you are responsible for your health and your life.

I hope this will remind you to follow up on whatever disease you may have, even if the doctor you would rather prefer to be with is not present.

Remember the song: “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with”.

Have a great week.

Dr Kenneth Onu is a resident Consultant Ophthalmologist at

the Beachmont Eye Institute/Eyes R Us Send questions to: Beachmont@gmail.com

Tel: 784 456-1210