Alzheimer’s – Medical System Is Broke

Here Is Prime Example

by Rick Phelps,

Founder of Memory People on Facebook

This message was provided to me by Rick Phelps. Normally this conversation from his “Closed” group on Facebook “Memory People”  would not be reposted.  I approached  Rick on the importance of his message and Rick agreed it would be valuable for others to read as well and so we decided to  share it here with our readers.  I hope you see the value in Rick’s message like I do.

I wanted to give everyone an update of sorts. Things were a little rough the last couple of days, really bad yesterday.

To the best of my knowledge I was fine one minute, and wasn’t the next. I don’t really know. I can tell you I knew enough to call Phyllis, and she made the appropriate calls for me to get help.

To keep things short here, I wanted to talk to someone. I have a counselor who already has my case file, but how the system works, you get in when they have an opening.

I have an appointment the first of March sometime. In the mean time they increased my meds, my Doctor did. Which has been done so many times I can’t keep track.

They, the system have or are missing out on a golden opportunity not getting me in to talk to someone. What I have in my head, what I need to explain, I may not know, and probably won’t the first of March.

I hate to keep beating this drum, but no one listens. The way it works, unless this is a life or death situation, you take the next available appointment. I understand that I am not the only one with issues..

What they don’t understand is, there is always a small window of opportunity for me to get my information out. Come the first of March, this will not even be a memory.

There is no way I can explain in three weeks or whatever it is, what I am going through right now. Again, lack of understanding with this disease.

So, they medicate me. I went from just getting off of the anxiety meds all together, to now back on them twice a day. And what it does is masks the symptoms. These meds no more help me than a man in the moon.

They make it so I don’t care that I’m stressed, that I don’t care that I can’t remember anything. So now instead of talking to a professional, I am once again drugged into oblivion.

That is what is wrong with our society. They have a pill for everything. When so much more would be learned if they would just listen. I know how the game is played. Being in EMS for 24 years all I have to do is say I am suicidal, and things will happen then.

The problem is, I am not suicidal. I am reaching out for help…this is why I have said a long time ago. After seeing so many senseless suicides over the years in Law Enforcement, and EMS, I can now see how someone can get to that dark place in their mind.

Now someone took that and said I was condoning suicide, which I am not. There are many issues we deal with when you have this disease. Things that warrant immediate attention. Things that if not dealt with, and left unchecked could lead the strongest of person to do things they never would dream of, if they had help.

I am ok. I am not good. Don’t think I ever will be. But I have a handle on things. Phyllis would never have left me here today alone, if there was any thought of me being in harms way.

Our daughter has called me, I have talked to Leeanne, I have talked to Phyllis…I am on everyone’s mind. Which I appreciate. I wanted to post this not for people to try to give me advice on what to do. There is none. I just need to get myself settled down. Remember that I need to be stress free, which for the most part I think my life is.

But there is something that triggers these episodes. That is why I am so desperate to talk to a counselor, to let them listen to what I have to say. Then and only then maybe they will see what it is like.

I am afraid they missed the boat here. But I am more afraid there will be other episodes. Maybe worse, maybe more often. I don’t know. But neither do they…thank you all for the kind words. I see the number of posts but just can’t get through them right now.

Remember, its the disease, its always the disease…I hope this post made since, read between the lines if not. I am not re-doing it, or reading it myself. I can only hope I said what I meant to….

We would love to hear your thoughts!

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