iam just curious as to how often your LLMD switches up your meds.
My current doctor switches pretty much every 3 months but I have a friend who sees THE dr H in NY and she said that she has a phone consult with him every 4 weeks and he will switch out a med if she hasnt noticed any change in the past 4 weeks.
i was thinking about seeing this doctor however i find it very hard to imagine even knowing if something is working or not within a short 4 week time period (especially when you factor in starting at a lower dose for the first couple of a days or however long).
Anyway, main question is this.how often do you talk to your llmd and how often do they switch meds for you?
[ 09-09-2012, 10:54 PM: Message edited by: jackie81 ]
Posted by Garden (Member # 31671) on :
I can tell you that Dr J (for kids) only sees them every 4-5 months. He had been seeing them every 3 months - or at least, that's what he had claimed - but he has so many patients, he was spreading them out.
After 4 months (between appointment #1 and appointment #2), he claimed they were improving, so we were going to keep the same medications. Their next appointment is 5 months later, which gives them 9 months on the same meds, without even checking in often to see if they have plateaued.
I'm not convinced this is ideal...
That said, I agree that 4 weeks seems like much too early to determin if it's working.
Posted by soccermama (Member # 35101) on :
My LLMD sees me and my girls every three months. She has switched my daughter's meds in between appointments due to adverse reactions etc.
I don't know how often meds should be switched. I think it depends upon the person and the LLMD's philosophy.
Posted by jackie81 (Member # 27031) on :
anyone else have input?
Posted by WendyK (Member # 18918) on :
Early on, I was having appointments every 3 weeks, and he only changed stuff when it became ineffective. Which in my case was about 2-3 months. Now its 5 weeks between appointments.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
We changed if I plateaued or had no reaction.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Frequent follow-ups are good. You need to keep in touch with the doctor to make sure that your treatment is focused properly. If things need to be changed they should be addressed quickly, not months later when you've gotten much sicker.
If you have a doctor that starts slow and wants you to work up to full dose, then you will probably need a little longer time between appts, maybe 8wks instead of 4-6wks? My doctor recommended starting all antibiotics at full dose so that did not cause a time problem.
You also asked about money. I highly doubt that any of our Lyme doctors are in it for the money. There are much easier ways to make money in medicine (example: anti-aging, weight loss and cosmetic treatments...). Lyme is not one of them. Caring for Lyme patients is complicated and risky for the doctors.
Posted by jackie81 (Member # 27031) on :
quote:Originally posted by sammy: Frequent follow-ups are good. You need to keep in touch with the doctor to make sure that your treatment is focused properly. If things need to be changed they should be addressed quickly, not months later when you've gotten much sicker.
If you have a doctor that starts slow and wants you to work up to full dose, then you will probably need a little longer time between appts, maybe 8wks instead of 4-6wks? My doctor recommended starting all antibiotics at full dose so that did not cause a time problem.
You also asked about money. I highly doubt that any of our Lyme doctors are in it for the money. There are much easier ways to make money in medicine (example: anti-aging, weight loss and cosmetic treatments...). Lyme is not one of them. Caring for Lyme patients is complicated and risky for the doctors.
I completely agree that frequent follow ups are a very good thing and i feel that every 8 weeks is very reasonable. Im not sure about every 4 weeks though in my opinion just because i cant see how you can possibly know if something is working within 4 weeks
Posted by birdie67 (Member # 35994) on :
I see mine every 5 weeks and meds are changed or added to if there has been no improvement.
Posted by desertwind (Member # 25256) on :
I think it is so very dependant on individual circumstances as this is not a one size fits all disease/treatment.
I see Dr. H. and it really depends on so many different things. I have gone as long as 4 months without changing and then changing things up in only 4 weeks.
Depends on treatment goals, my response and a host of other factors. I have follow ups every 4-6 weeks.