just want to thank everyone for the great ideas/suggestions/information.i really appreciate the attention you all have paid to this issue.

so true that the culprit is inflammation...my crp was elevated. don't recall how high.

i wish there were a dietary equivalent of the exercise program i'm enrolled in. my eating habits are getting better but i need some kind of ongoing hand-holding support to help with food choices.

to call the doc's attention to the newest cholesterol thinking & other current research would most surely not go over.

maybe a brand new cardio would be a first step out of the statin dilemma!! but
i hate to start a search for someone new...i picked him so i would have access to the hospital he admits to. unbelievably, this hospital does not permit doctor-shopping so i could not switch from the current one.

thanks again for all the help!

Hi Antonia,

Changing from a current doctor to another—with a clean break (a.k.a. change of care)—is not doctor shopping; the hospital should not object lest you take your business elsewhere. (You may not wish to, but they don't know that! )

How to Change Doctors

10 reasons why you need to change doctors

9 Signs You Should Fire Your Doctor

How to Change Doctors

Doc

this hospital has insanely rigid policies.

the last time I tried switching I had to jump thru major hoops...ie, explaining to doc why I was firing her...all messy & extremely cringe-inducing. And because their cardiology dept. is very tiny, a switch is even more unlikely.

I think it's either stay put or walk. I have an app't with a new cardio in a new hospital in Jan. Gonna see if he's more flexible.

is it hospital for special surgery?

I don't know the specifics, and don't need to. There may possibly be redress in the NYS Patient Bill of Rights, which every hospital in NYS is bound by (among other laws, rules, regs, etc.).

New York State Patients' Bill of Rights - Revised July 2010

I'm thinking items 14 & 17 may apply, but you'd know better than I.

Best wishes on finding better care.

Doc

no it isn't. i don't mean to act coy but i'd rather not name names. i have no problem discussing hss however.

about 5 years ago i was treated @ hss for a broken wrist and come to think of it, i tried to switch docs at that time but when i showed up for the new doc's app't, he scolded me for not staying with the original one. i was taken aback and wondered why i was not entitled to a second opinion. needless to say, i did not go back to either one. i guess the thinking is that they must unite against an attack by a mutual enemy....the patient!

btw, i have not been impressed with hss over the past 30 years (broken ankle, ruptured disk, etc.) and cannot understand the high ratings they garner.

me either. if my wife had listened to their doctors she would have lost her leg. doctor at Hospital for joint diseases on 17 st saved her leg

you were very lucky to have found a competent ortho! glad you escaped the clutches of hss. so much for their expertise....