My husband is seeing an orthopedic specialist, or “back guy” as he likes to call himself, for chronic pain. He is also seeing an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist for vertigo. This is all in addition to his normally scheduled care with his Neurologist and his Primary Care Physician. We had 3 appointments last week alone, it can easily become overwhelming trying to keep up with his care needs. How do I prioritize it all to make sure he is getting the best care possible?

First, I need to make sure that everyone he is seeing knows he is seeing everyone else. In simpler terms, I need to make sure the back doctor knows about the ENT and vice versa and that his Neurologist and PCP know about all of them so someone can, hopefully, be on top of his care. The reality, however, is that I am very possible the only one who is aware of everything we are doing at any given time so I need to watch for possible conflicts, complications and opportunities.

Which leads me to my dilemma, how to decide which comes first? My solution is really quite simple, I attend every appointment with him and ask stupid questions. Okay, maybe they’re not so stupid but more simplistic. As an example, we were at the orthopedic office and I asked whether PT might help since he has been referred by the ENT for balance issues. He gave us a referral for back issues and suggested talking to the PT so they could figure out a plan that might address both. This was something he hadn’t even thought about until I mentioned it, an opportunity almost missed.

There are a lot of decisions that I face on this journey, finding good treatment options may be one that should be handled by professionals. Obviously my husband and his comfort level will always be a factor in determining what comes next, but it might be useful for me to step back and let the medical team do their job. My role may be simply to keep them informed and ask the right questions so that we can all be working together on the best possible plan moving forward. Maybe this is a decision I can provide input on, but don’t actually need to be making.