For the past few days I have had bouts of lightheadedness, to the point of setting on the floor until it passes. I don't understand the reasons for it, only that it has happened. Earlier tonight I had an english class at the local community college location. On my way home it hit again, and has yet to subside some three hours later. My vitals are all normal, but still I have this dizziness. I have had vertigo before, but this doesn't feel the same. vertigo feels like it is in the ear. This feels like it's in my head.
Realizing that I have a chronic illness makes it more confusing. The Sarcoidosis in my lungs has kicked up lately, after my pulmonologist started playing with my medications. An immunosupressant drug he started me on gave me dangerous side effects, and ever since then things just haven't felt "right." I stopped that medication two weeks ago, but I am having unusual symptoms that I don't think I can contribute to the drug changes.
All this sounds very melodramatic, but the purpose of this post is the realization that unless an ambulance drags me in to the emergency room, the doctors in Las Vegas haven't a clue how to deal with my illness. My pulmonologist finally referred me to UCLA two weeks age, stating that he has done all he can for me, and now I must see someone with more experience with Sarcoidosis. I made my appointment with UCLA. Their first available is in four months! Therein lies the rub.
Medical care in las Vegas feels like a sick joke, pun intended. When I need to wait four months to see a physician in another state because the doctors here can't understand my disease enough to recommend treatment, there's something wrong. Waiting a third of a year in and of itself is ridiculous. Medical care in this city is more medical careless. People die every day here from conditions that are misdiagnosed, untreated, or just plain improperly diagnosed or treated. For as much as I don't want to be a statistic, I must realize that this in probably one of the worst places to have a chronic, rare illness, as each doctor gets a new set of the same tests, basically starting over with each new visit. That is after you wait for months to even get seen.
I don't know what will happen with this current problem, which seems to include my vision and tinnitus in my ears, but I am certain that an E/R trip would yield no results, and would just be a waste of time.
