Dr Doolittle Is Real!! :-) Haha! And He Has Secret Codes!! Lol!!

[Mikey69]

Hi Guys and Gals,

I hope you are all as well as you can be and in good spirits?

Ok, so i had a rather disturbing meeting with a GP yersterday, i don't suppose it's funny really, but i do find it comical, so i thought i would share - i may cheer some of you up. Hopefully it won't enrage anyone, because i'm sure lots of you have had similar experiences.

So, i couldn't see my usual GP, who is awesome. My usual GP has listened to everything i have said to him, has supported me throughout the past two years of Dysautonomia, and my diagnosis was made by negotiation between myself, my GP, a cardiologist and a neurologist at one of the UK's top Nuero centres.

I saw a different male GP who i've seen before. I was never sure about him, but he seemd ok for the simple stuff. I have seen him a few times previously for Dyssy stuff, and he appeared to listen, and did order tests, so i guess he was ok. He was also very amusing an approachable.

So, i saw him yesterday to discuss an ongoing problem with botched minor surgery and for an long standing problem with erectile dysfucntion, and more recently the inabilty to ejaculate normally. I also wanted to know the results of a MRI brain scan - I still don't know how my cauliflower is!! (no results as yet).

i suggested i thought my 'man problems' were likely due to Dysautonomia - this is the point where everything changed!

He suddenly asked me how i was doing - i told him honestly that "i'm crap thanks, but i'm dealing with it"

He then asked me how i feel about it - Again with complete honesty "P****d off, i'm 46, i have no job, no financial security, etc, but i'm working on it"

He then said that he's been wondering for some time when to have "a difficult conversation" with me..ooh err

This is when the alarm bells went off in my head!

He then recounted a story of a female 'psyche patient' who apparently thought she knew what was best for her. Turns out she didn't and she had to submit to her GPs and Psychologists opinions/treatments.

He then wrote down three codes without explanation:

ICD-10, F45.3, F45.0. He wouldn't explain what they were - the plot thickens!, but i knew this was something to do with mental disorders, etc. I challenged him for more information - he refused! Weirdo!! What use is that!?!?

He warned me that i may not want to ever see him again.

He then sent me on my merry way because i'd had my 10 minutes! This experience is getting stranger by the minute!

So, I go home and look up the codes - guess what!

In his expert medical opinion i either have 'Somatisation Disorder' or Autonomic Somatisation Disorder - this is what the two 'F' codes refer to on the ICD-10 - which is the International Classification of Diseases.

Wow! I was so impressed, i mean really, he's only seen me a handful of times, doesn't know me at all and he diagnosed me so quickly and easily! haha!

I couldn't stop laughing for a while, my partner was furious he'd even suggest that!.... She ranted and a chuckled a while!

So, according to him, the fact i can't ejaculate any more, keep collapsing if i don't eat a diabetic diet, can't regulate my heart/cardio system and blood pressure properly, and can't control my pain levels is all my fault!! :-) (This is just to mention a few of the autonomic process that have gone awry over the past two years).

He was basically saying that in his opnion i'd inadvertently caused phyiological responses to occur in by body as a direct result of my psyche!

Wow! Cooll! Surely if i could do that i could cure myself!!!???!!! hahahaha!

He then quoted Occams Razor - i.e. the simplest explanation is usually the correct one!

REALLY!

Then how come CFS/ME, Fibromyalgia, Lymes disease, Diabetes, Parkinsons, and many, many more 'conditions' were all considered to be 'psyche conditions' until they were proven to be physiological? Sadly, many of these patients were institutionalised over the years for their apparent 'stupidity'! (More accurately the medical professions stupidity!)

The best bit of all is that his opinion is directly opposed to that of my usual GP, my cardiologist and neurologist, who all concur with the diagnosis of Secondary Autonomic Neuropathy as a complication/development of Severe Fibromyalgia and CFS/ME. Hmmm - i don't know who to believe! hahaha!

Awesome! Clearly he didn't read my notes beforehand - even though he stated that he had. Perhaps he got my notes mixed up with Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairies!?!?! hahaha! I wonder if he believes in Unicorns and Dragons too!?!

On a serious note, this isn't actually good; because i now have to take the time and more importantly - energy (in short supply) to respond to this formally in writing. i cannot let this go, because i cannot allow an unproved psychological condition to be on my records if i don't have one (which i don't!). i can only begin to imagine the difficulties this would cause in the future if i wanted/needed more tests, etc. if my records stated i was psychosomatic!

I wonder if this is why it took years of my asking for a Brain MRi for it to finally happen??!!

So there you go!

What have i learnt form this experience?

That after being ill for over 3 decades there is still so much disbelief, misconception, and damnright stupidy amongst the medical profession here in the UK.

Looks like the old 'Yuppie Flu' label is still lurking amongst us!

I hope this has been an enteratining read for some of you at least!

Please stay well and take good care

Mike

[dancer65]

Wow! I like to say it's unbelievable but being from the UK I have has similar experiences of being labeled neurotic panic attack and depressed. It is sad because this sort of attitude makes us wary of the medical profession. ! I have found since I had my pots diagnosis I have been treated pretty well at my surgery by three Drs however some I just will not see, ever!

I admire the fact you can joke about it and totally agree you need to make sure that this information is deleted from your notes , but it is another problem to deal with , more energy expended because of an ignorant Dr. I actually went down the path of a formal complaint when a gynaecologist told me all my pain was in my head for 2 years even though the scans showed numerous problems , although a hassel it was worth it as I was then treated by the head of the department and was given a emergency hysterectomy.

Good luck I hope you get this resolved !

[Nymph]

Ha! Mike, this is classic.... and the reason I will not see ANY doctor for anything other than a minor infection without patient recommendations first!!! Unbelieveable but so common!

[Katybug]

It's very frustrating to have doctors behave like this. Early on in my search for answers, I had an endocrinologist ask me when was the last time I had a boyfriend. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I told him I was sure my projectile vomiting was NOT from lack of a boyfriend (I may have used a bit more flowery and explicit language with him as I was exceptionally offended.) He was fired on the spot!

It was a terrible experience at the time, but, honestly, now I can look back on it and laugh. While it hurts when your trying to find answers to medical problems, I remind myself that there's always bad apples in every crowd....including doctors. They are service providers and if they behave badly, they should be fired by you just as you would any other service provider.

[Guest ANCY]

I agree with Katy and have run into the same trouble too many times. I have had drs try to pin all my troubles on several different psychological diagnosis, comical there reasoning behind some of them... Not having a boyfriend, choosing to be a virgin on my wedding day when it comes, being homeschooled, my faith in God, really like they were grasping at anything lol! The funny thing is I have had a great life, minus the health stuff, with a stellar family and the only thing giving me emotional diress is these drs who don't want to believe what I have going on is real. I do have 3 very supportive drs on my side now, one of which is well known in this city, so when I say he gave me the diagnosis they usually stop that line of questioning. I wish everyone could have such a Dr in there corner!

[Mikey69]

Hi All,

thanks for sharing your experiences of the 'not so impressive' medical profession. A certain black and orange lispy quacking Warner Bros. character springs to mind when i read your posts. Only i think i would change the 'Daffy' to "Dafty" or perhaps something much more 'flowery' as kateybug suggests! :-)

I guess it's fortunate for me that i'm a male - at least doctors can't pull the 'you're just neurotic' rubbish on me! I imagine that must feel very demeaning - especially if it's sprouting forth from the typical 'male chauvenistic consultant' who has apparently replaced both his brain and mouth with a proverbial dustbin, along with it's less than savoury contents! hahah! :-)

I should be shocked, but i'm sad to say i'm not! What a sad state of affairs in this day and age.

For my part, i intend to do all i can to ensure that the GP i saw will not try this with anybody else!

I have been beavering away on a somewhat satyrical formal written response, which, I hope will be a useful educational tool for all of the staff at my GP practise.

"THATS ALL FOLKS"

Mike :-)