Let’s Talk About… Your Health! 

 

Renowned Neurologist

Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy’s

Life Was Saved By Self-Advocacy

And Now She’s Teaching Others

How to Speak Up

“Communication with your doctors

is paramount for your continued recovery.” — Dr. Ruhoy

Invisible No More: Embracing Your Road to Recovery from Long Covid and Other Complex Chronic Illnesses

By Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy

Hits Bookstores June 17 by St. Martin’s Essentials

NEW YORK — If it weren’t for Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy, MD asking myriad questions, advocating for herself, and pushing her doctors to order various exams and tests, the renowned neurologist might not have found that she had a brain tumor, let alone be here today.

After several attempts to get an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan for her severe headaches, her doctor finally granted her one… and just in the nick of time. As soon as Dr. Ruhoy came out of the MRI machine, they sent her straight to the emergency room for surgery on an ominous brain cancer called a glioblastoma multiforme, which is usually a terminal diagnosis.

A lesson was learned that day — when you know deep down that something is wrong and you feel like your doctor is just not seeing it, or really seeing you, push through and ask one more time for what you need. It just might save your life. Of course, she is a doctor and knew what to ask for. But anyone suffering from mystery illnesses or undiagnosed symptoms can learn from her experience the valuable tool advocating for yourself and keep speaking up until you get answers.

Dr. Ruhoy tells this story, along with similar medical journeys from patients, in her forthcoming debut book, aptly titled, Invisible No More: Embracing Your Road to Recovery from Long Covid and Other Complex Chronic Illnesses,coming to bookstores nationwide and online on June 17 via St. Martin’s Essentials.

“I went through post-operative pain that was so severe,” writes Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy, MD.

“I thought, if just one doctor had listened to me sooner, I could have avoided much of that. Communication with your doctors is paramount for your continued recovery. And it should be done without fear they will drop you or, worse, not believe you. It is your health, and yours to be in charge of. It is all part of the work you are doing to get better and, again, it is part of the two-way relationship with your doctor.”

Here are just some of the useful guidelines Dr. Ruhoy outlines in Invisible No More about how to be the best advocate for yourself and how to get the most out of the patient/doctor relationship…

●      Make notes about your symptoms, including activities that make them better or worse, what time of day they are heightened or lessened, when they started, and any other detail you can think of.
●      Gather your own medical history, as well as your family medical history.
●      Do not be afraid to ask any and all questions. Remember: It is your right to get answers.
●      Ask specific follow-up questions. Example: If your doctor suggests a supplement, ask which brand they recommend, what form they should take it in, and what dosage.
●      Ask about side effects of any medications or supplements prescribed.
●      Don’t give in to your frustration. This is normal. Keep trying and don’t give up.

“I believe the gap between patient and doctor has widened to a point where our conversations are lost in translation, and that does not help either side,” writes Dr. Ruhoy in Invisible No More.

Invisible No More: Embracing Your Road to Recovery from Long Covid and Other Complex Chronic Illnesses,which aims to empower patients living with chronic and complex illnesses to take their health into their own hands and work with healthcare professionals to make actionable steps to improve their lives, will be available in hardcover, e-book, and audio formats on June 17 from St. Martin’s Essentials.

  About Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy  

Dr. Ilene Sue Ruhoy is a neurologist and environmental toxicologist who specializes in chronic and complex illness, including ME/CFS, EDS, and Long Covid. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, completed her residency in neurology at the University of Washington, and earned a PhD in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Nevada. In addition to her private practice in Seattle, WA, Dr. Ruhoy serves as a Medical Director, co-editor, and speaker on the role of connective tissue in neurological disease.

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