So I’m going through the rudiments of Caring For Your Aging Parent 101. My dad has been confused for a while (not severely), and fell during his mall walk about a month ago. He exhibited signs of aphasia, and had a fat leg. I persuaded him to see a doctor, and he found a clot in his leg.
We also had an MRI done, and they found that my dad had a small stroke (not a TIA…the doctor characterized it as a small stroke with irreversible damage). He also said he has artherosclerosis.
The doctor didn’t say what part of the brain the stroke affected. After a month on the coumadin, the swelling is gone and the doctor prescribed aspirin therapy and told my dad he could resume normal activities (which includes mall walking and drumming…which my dad does for enjoyment and cardio workout). He will continue the coumadin for 3-6 months.
His doctor seems to be too busy to do his job (i.e., not explaining one fucking thing without me having to come up with every single fucking question). I get a vibe that he doesn’t like when I ask questions (not that I care, but I don’t know if I’m asking the right stuff all the time).
So…I have a couple questions:
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I need to know if I should be seeking a 2nd opinion or if this looks like the correct course of action. I’ve seen ads on tv about artherosclerosis and a drug that is supposed to help, but the doctor acted like he’s never heard of it before. He wanted me to come up with the name of the drug (which of course I couldn’t) and was just rather unhelpful with my question. I don’t know if another medication would be better than aspirin therapy.
a) My dad is on high blood pressure meds, and has been for at least 10 years. His BP was 130/90-ish a month ago, and 170/something-ish yesterday. The doctor didn’t prescribe any change to that medication. I think he may have been nervous about the MRI results, but ??? … who knows?
b) My dad is on the “booster pill” for diabetes. His numbers are consistently in the 130 and below range, usually 110-120-ish.
c) I wasn’t able to find a “geriatrics specialist” or a “vascular medicine specialist” in our area in the Medicare listing or in the Yahoo yellow pages. Is there some other kind of doctor I should be looking for for a 2nd opinion, if I even need one?
d) Is the doctor being a dick or am I being overly concerned?
Thanks. I really appreciate any insight you doctor types can offer. I want to be sure I’m going in the right direction (or if Dr. Too Busy is!).