I saw a new doctor a couple days ago, Dr. Alvin Pettle. I had to drive all the way to North York to see the guy but it was well worth the trip. This is who you wish for when you wish for a doctor. Okay, maybe it’s a little soon to make a recommendation but my initial feeling is that he’s a really decent guy who really cares about his patients. I got a really good vibe from him.

He’s just as pressed for time as all the other doctors, but he listened to my whole story. (He did hurry me along a little but I don’t blame him–I babble–a lot.) He asked me how I found out about him. I told him I had read his name in Misinformed Consent, the very helpful book I had read a few months back. I told him I also had a recommendation from my chiropractor.

I told him how I feel about the idea of having a hysterectomy and that I’m more terrified of the life-long after-effects than I am of even cancer. He wasked me why I was there to see him specifically. I said that I felt like all the others were reading from the same script–telling me I needed a hysterectomy and refusing to admit there were other treatments to try first–and acting like I was just a troublesome broad for having the nerve to question them. I told him that if HE said I should go have a hysterectomy that I might be more inclined to believe him because from what I gathered from my reading of Misinformed Consent and his website, He was definitely not reading form the same script as all the others.

He did tell me that I might still need the hysterectomy–but not just yet. He gave me a prescription for a bio-identical progesterone and some supplements to take and told me to take them instead of the Provera. good. That’s exactly what I was hoping for. I

I’ll see him again in three months. I’ll see the surgeon in 4 months but I’m not going to tell him I’ve been taking bio-identical hormones. We’ll just get the ultrasound and see what’s up with my endometrium. If it’s thinner than before, that will be a good sign. If not, we’ll have to revisit the hysterectomy discussion.

Meanwhile, Dr Pettle also told me about a weight loss clinic, right here in the GTA, that is covered byt OHIP. Maybe I can dodge the weight loss surgery too! Whoo hoo. (I’ll report on that too after I have an appointment.)