The Importance Of Getting Second Opinion

Believe me when I say I know how it feels when you hear that you are diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. I have been through it all and today I am going to share how getting a second opinion changed my journey of treating this disease.

After hearing my diagnosis like everyone else, I put all my trust in my doctor. But with time I realized that getting a second opinion isn’t a bad idea at all. One of the main reasons I had to get a second opinion was for financial reasons. I had just retired and health insurance was very different.

As you know, this treatment can be very costly. I wanted to make sure that I was making smart choices in terms of money and my treatment decisions. By talking to another specialist I got to know many other treatment options which were cheaper and more effective. This news was a huge relief for me as now I was able to get a better quality treatment without worrying about the finances.

Why should I get a second opinion?

Your place in life also plays an important role in deciding whether you should get a second opinion or not. In my case, I live in a rural area. The doctors here are good but they are not specialists. Was my diagnosis correct, or do I need more tests? These are questions I kept asking myself. So I decided to see doctors in a nearby town who was a kidney doctor so that I could get better answers. This decision changed the course of my journey.

I got to know more about my disease and different treatment plans to choose from. The doctors there ran several tests, analyzed my past medical records and made treatment plans that were specifically tailored for me.  The specialized plans made me feel more confident about the choices I made for myself. One thing I realized in the early stage of my CKD is that treating it isn’t a one-size-fits-all sort of thing.

Getting more opinions could lead to better outcomes

Getting opinions from different doctors can lead to better treatment and options. After that second opinion, I got more active in my healthcare journey. I started taking more interest in my appointments and got clear answers to my questions. It was like working with a team whose main aim was to tackle my disease. I know that everyone circumstances is different and we all can't get a second opinion.

There are different challenges that one can face like money, access to good healthcare etc. So many of us disagree with what a doctor is saying.  I know personally that, I didn’t understand what my doctor was saying and just wasn’t comfortable with her telling me that I just needed to drink more waster.

But I urge everyone to do what's best for you, especially dealing with serious healthcare problems. Many health centers now offer telemedicine so that you can talk to specialists no matter where you are. Overall getting a second opinion proved to be beneficial for me. It helped me make smarter choices.

We are all in this together.