Posted in behalf of an elderly American living in Colombia
Please help me. I am a 70 years old person living in a 3rd
World South America Country, where medicine is of more inferior
quality and bereft of human feeling.
A feeling of sadness has been dominating my life in recent weeks.
Relationships and activities I once enjoyed have lost joy. I can't
sleep, and when I am able to fall sleep, I find myself waking up
too early in the morning. I am having trouble concentrating and
remembering and making decisions. I am experiencing crying spells
and an unexplained dizziness and ringing in my ears with a sudden
loss of hearing. My vision is also getting worse with every passing
day. A mild headache is my constant companion. I dread going to bed
because I am anxious over my ability to fall sleep. No sooner I
place my head on the pillow my neck begins to pain.
My blood pressure is under control. My chemistries, with the exception
of my Alkaline Phosphates, (303 U/l), Creatinine (1.28 mg/dl and Uric
Acid (7.0 mg/dl), are all within normal limits.
I just finished explaining all my symptoms to my disconcerted
physician, and all he did was scratched his forehead with his
left hand, while writing a prescription for sleeping pills with
his right hand. He seems to know less about my problem than I do.
Suggestions, Please!
Pete Lawrence
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