I Never Had A Dr. Act This Way Before

[Darlene]

My rheumatologist referred me to a neurologist. He kept asking me if i went through a trauma or if i was abused or sexually assaulted. What the **** does that have to do with anything? I told him, "I know where you are going with this, you think it's all in my head". I said, "I had a good life growing up, no trauma, no abuse of any kind". Then he asked me if I had anxiety. I said, "yes, but i think it is secondary to dysautonomia or mcad". he said dysautonomia doesn't cause anxiety lol. I said, "you don't know about dysautonomiathen, because it can cause anxiety". Then he asked me if i was depressed. I said, "no". he said every person with dysautonomia is depressed. he said, "why do you think the first they prescribe is ssri's". i think this dr. thinks dysautonomia is all in a persons head. here is why dr.'s use ssri's..

SSRI's are used because serotonin is the principal neurotransmitter that the brain uses to govern autonomic control, in particular to govern blood pressure. some patients with autonomic disorders may have disturbances in central serotonin production and regulation. SSRI treatment can suppress the sympathetic nervous system. SSRI's may also be effective in treating the chest pain that is associated with dysautonomia.

We are given ssri's, because they can help our symptoms, not because the dr. thinks we're nuts.

he said i was wasting his time, and that he had two other people waiting for him. how am i wasting his time? i m not the one who wanted to go there. my rheumatologist referred me to him.

Why did he act this way?

I m not going back there again.

[futurehope]

Oh, good grief. What a waste of time (and money). Move on. Not only is this doctor uninformed, but it sounds like he is too close-minded to listen and learn.

[derekliz]

And to think you had to pay him for such a useless office visit!! That stinks!

Liz

[Angela]

what a complete ****

[southbel]

Oh if a doctor said I was wasting his time, I would respond, and yet you're still getting paid, so who is wasting time again or is it just my money you're wasting? Seriously, I would not let anyone speak to me that way. I would definitely not go back and make sure your rhuemy knows you refuse to go again and why. Otherwise he will continue to refer to this doctor. Wouldn't cast aspersions to make it seem personal, simply say that you're not going to visit a doctor that says you're "wasting his time" and thus found his professionalism lacking in your visit.

[bustersacc11]

I have no idea why he acted that way but i can tell you ways to make sure it doesn't happen again or at least a paper trail is started on them so if it becomes a consistent behavior hopefully they are discipline appropriately. for example, Every doctor has to be licensed in the state they practice. Each state has a dept. of licensure. For cases where they have not lived up to his or her professional responsibilities you can file complaint. Insurance companies have patient satisfaction surveys on drs they reimburse. If enough complaints are filed they will drop the dr. if it is a clinic within a hospital setting they have patient affair dept. they will directly investigate your complaint.

[Tobiano]

Ahhh these stories make me want to scream! So sorry that you were treated that way. The doctor was very unprofessional and obviously had his facts mixed up. What a waste of time. Hope you can find someone more helpful.

[Guest Alex]

Unfortunately I've been reading too many such stories lately. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

I won't speak my mind as I don't want to get in trouble, but I know first hand how frustrating such an appointment can be.

No one can or should blame you for not wanting to go back there, but please don't give up. Maybe if you let your rheumy know about your experience s/he can recommend someone else to you, someone who can really help rather than waste your time. Better yet, if you have the time/energy/resources, maybe you can find a dr on your own and then ask your rheumy for a referral to the dr of your choice...just an idea.

Alex

[corina]

I once had a doc treating me very bad while I was laying down on his examination table (which made me feel extra vulnerable). I stopped his tirade by telling him I no longer wanted him to waist my energy, time and money and asked my husband to help me get into my wheelchair. I told him that I was referred to him to get HELP and we left his office.

I am very sorry you've been treated like this, you do not deserve that. Doctors should be aware that when you come to see them you need their help.

[rach73]

Hi,

I am so sorry that you had to deal with this "dr" with a massive god complex. Unfortunately as soon as I saw that it was a neurologist what you continued to write didnt surprise me at all.

The first Dr I was under at the hospital was a neurologist and he to this day will not admit he was wrong about his diagnosis of somatisation disorder and that I do in fact have EDS and POTS. His embarressment must be extreme because he refuses to see me still despite other Drs at the same hospital asking him to see me.

Neurologists have writen many articles in their own journals about how 60% of the patients they see in outpatients have nothing neurologically wrong with them and that the patients have functional disorders ( eg somatisation disorder etc etc).

With neurologists it appears that unless you have a neurological condition that they have heard of, that can be quantified by their tests and follows the rules of that condition set out in their text books you are on a hiding to nothing!

Im so sorry that this dr was so rude to you especially when you were paying for the pleasure!

Rach

[bebe127]

So sorry you were treated this way. I have had such experiences, as many of us have, but you just have to perservere and find the one that is helpful to you and your situation. I know that it can be so frustrating, defeating and deflating.

I wish you luck in your search. Just don't give up and don't for one minute think that this is all in your head. You know you!! I consider dr.s my employees since I'm paying for their services. If I am not satisfied with them, I fire them and move on. It's not worth my time, money and energy to have someone not take me seriously.

[Joann]

With this syndrome I think we all have experienced this reaction from doctors and people as a whole. I saw a very nice neurologist early who never even gave a thought to dysautonomia, she just wanted to look at my neck and told me to go to endocrinologist to rule out a pheo tumor and cardiologist for bp issues. At the time, I didn't know that neurologists often treat this symptom.

Just keep searching, its all we can do. I know its exhausting, sometimes I take a small break because I get so upset.

[SeattleRain]

Sounds like the worst doctor ever. Wasting his time? Pfft. He's wasting YOUR time!

[Darlene]

thanks for listening. i do see dr. blair grubb, and never met such a compassionate dr.

he did prescribe gastrocrom the last time i was there, so i hope it helps.

[Katybug]

I'm sorry he was such a, well...fill in your superlative of choice. :-) The first cardio I saw treated me that way and told me he was"sure that if I would get up a half hour earlier and go for a walk every morning, that 90% of my problems would go away." I told him I appreciate him wasting my time and leaving me to chase my tail again and that if I followed his recommendations that my mother would be scraping me up off the sidewalk. Then I left, got a referral to my current cardio, got my POTS dx, and filed a formal complaint against him. Not only was he condescending, but he missed my dx and I wanted that on his record. I later found out from a nurse at my current cardio's practice that the former cardio was let go from their practice for just that kind of behavior. I am glad you aren't going back and would encourage you to complain about him to the hospital he works for or to the manager of the practice he works in (if he does) because you're probably not the only one he has treated badly.

[Kate2011]

I've had 2 experiences like that. Once, I went in to see a Dr. once and he actually insisted I fill out an anxiety checklist before he would let me leave the office. The second time I was in with my old cardiologist (who had upped my fludrocortisone to 6 pills a day to try to get rid of my symptoms) and things were just getting worse. I was in yet again telling him this and he told me I had Munchousens and I needed psychiatric help. I went to see my PC who did a blood test and it turns out my potassium had bottomed out because of the high dosage of fludrocotisone. It was one of the most maddening experiences of my life. I can definitely relate. I wish more people knew about Dysautonomia, I feel like a lot of the responses are out of ignorance. :-/

[jlmahon]

Well, I've had my share of awful docs over the years. It makes you want to stop trying to get help. A few years ago I had a doc tell me I should ask my "genie in the Bottle" what is wrong with me. Really?!! I literally got up and walked out. I refused to pay my copayment. I was almost in tears then but now I laugh about it. You have to sort through the bad docs to get to the good ones. I try to find patient reviews for docs before I see one now. We don't have the time or energy to waste on bad docs.

[jknh9]

That is simply unacceptable. There ought to be a black list of doctors so we can all avoid situations like this that just add unnecessary stress to our lives. Is there such a thing?