RANT: my doctor's visit this afternoon

[janetg]

let me preface this by saying - i am not seeking any medical advice here...

so..long story short, i have crohns disease, and for those of you that don't know, it's similar to irritable bowel syndrome, but has a genetic origin wheras ibs does not.

the last time i was treated for the crohns was 10 years ago, at age 42. i have been medicine free since then, and while i do have episodes, i manage.

so in march, i went to the doc because i had been having wicked indigestion/heartburn. all i wanted was an acid reducer that didn't cause me to break out in hives, which most of the otc stuff seemed to be doing.

the doc gets on his high horse, that it's been 5 years since my last colonoscopy, gives me the speech about people with crohns need to be more careful than that...and so on, and so on.

i agreed to the colonoscopy because it made sense. they threw in an EGD (which is the same scope, only down the throat).

did that.

then they call...and said - you need a ct scan of your abdomen...and i'm thinking, wow, they found something dastardly..ok, let's do that one too, so ok, did that.

then they call and said..you need a small bowel follow thru - i'm like OK..so i do that one too -

end result of all of this? i have crohns! duh!!

so they called, wanted me to come in and discuss the tests, so i said ok. get there today, and he starts talking about this new blood test they have to detect crohns. so right off the bat..i'm like uh...i already have it, have had it since i was 16, i've had 2 surgeries for it, there really isn't any doubt i have it, so why bother. he didn't like that.

then he goes on to tell me, the xrays showed a problem area and i need to be on medicine to control the inflamation. i replied...if you couldn't see it on the colonoscopy, how do you know it's inflamation and not scar tissue? and if it's scar tissue, then the medicine is useless, correct?

well, the perverbial crap hit the fan then... the doc got really really mad..basically said i was refusing treatment and why did i bother coming to see him in the first place. i was pretty angry at this point and told him i didn't come to him for crohns treatment, i had heartburn! i only did the tests to rule out cancer, etc which is prevalent in crohns patients. he told me i was refuting all of his years of medical school training, all medical logic, blah blah blah..

and i was pissed because i don't want to take meds... and the meds are NOT pleasant folks, they are nasty concoctions that have nasty side effects.

i've been ok for 10 years without them...and who knows, maybe i'll die tomorrow of crohns, but i got really pissed off at his attitude.

end of rant..

[d2creative]

Just an FYI.... i know one of the best widely respected nutritionalists in Houston and he too has Crohn's. Super cool guy and really knows his stuff.
If you want to talk to him, feel free to PM me.

[tropicpine]

Originally Posted by janetg

...they threw in an EGD (which is the same scope, only down the throat). ...

Actually they do use a clean scope!

Seriously though; I hope your medical coverage will let you see another Doctor. The big piece of lamb skin on the wall from the medical school lays claim the the individuals education, not an ability to be a good doctor.

[Ahh!]

Check it closely. It might be goat skin.

[rockpics]

Some docs are know-it-all jerks who give no credit to the patient's intelligence or experience.

[ka5txl]

Sounds like time to find a dr that's not a horse's ass.

[Hanky]

I'll never forget when I was in traction with a broken leg and they came in at midnight to change the pins in my leg. Can't prove it was the cause of my life long bone infection but they ate my chocolate chip cookies while working on me. That's when I figured out they are just like anybody else only skilled in the area of medicene. A helpful book is "The Self Test Nutrition Guide" by Dr. Cass Igram, any way I hope things improve for you.

[DSL_PWR]

I can give you two names of two very good doctors that I refer patients too if you are interested.

I never force treatment on my patients, I give them options and let them decide. Sorry you had a bad experience.

[janetg]

i will take all referrals for docs and nutritionists...

thanks for all the replies on this. i am the first to admit, i don't know jack medically, but i do know how i feel, what sets me off, and how i react to just about most medicines - which is, if there is a strange side effect, that would be the one i would get. i'm 52, and had this since i was 16, and trust me, when i need help, i'll ask for it, because there is nothing worse than living on liquid diets and codiene for months on end, been there done that. i currently have some pain and other symptoms, but overall i have a completely normal diet and am able to work a 12 hour day shooting weddings, and having a great time doing that. but...as i said, i'll ask for those docs names and referals, because it could all change in a heartbeat.

[DSL_PWR]

Janet, info sent via PM. Good luck and if you need anything else please don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,
Doc...

[Coogie]

Just to play the devil's advocate, if you went to the doctor with symptoms, wouldn't the responsible thing for the doctor be to check to see what you have? I know you SAY you had Chron's but a lot can happen in 10 years especially when you're aging. If he would have just gave you a prescription for Protonix (I have acid reflux so I'm all to familiar with acid reducers) and been done with it and a year later you found out (god forbid) you had cancer or what ever else could have also caused your symptoms and they were missed because the doctor didn't bother testing, wouldn't you have done everything you could to sue the doctor and revoke his license?

Speaking of pet peeves, since I've had my GERD (acid reflux), I've had everybody tell me about nutritionists, telling me it's in my head, etc. and I shouldn't take acid reducers. I decided to get them off my back and control it with diet and it ended up making it much worst and I had to undo that damage too on top of the regular GERD. My point is that while doctors may not be perfect, they did go to med school and dedicate their life to treating people so I tend to take their word over nutritionists, herbal "doctors", and google.

[danchez]

In a sense, Dr.'s are the same as any business. The try and upsell.

[janetg]

arie, i understand the point you are trying to make, and we did do the responsible thing, we ordered all the usual tests. i had 2 tiny polyps, both benign, the ct scan was to rule out anything in the area of the stomach where the previous surgeries had been done, and the small bowel follow thru was to check that area that has had two resections.

and once you have crohns, it never goes away, only to remission. you have it for life, it's a genetic thing, and it does not disappear. when i went to the doctor, the symptoms were for gerd, which was my only complaint. i am fortunate that i have learned to live with my disease and it doesn't cripple me as it did years ago. however, i know enough about how i feel day to day to say, that if i needed to go, i'd be first in line. you can't ignore crohns. i am reminded every waking minute of every day, with various symptoms and lower right side pain. BUT, it's pain i can live with, and symptoms i can manage. i do not care to be on medicines that will kill my liver, and be toxic to my entire body - nor can i tolerate steriods. one medication made all my hair fall out 10 years ago... and the bottom line is, the symptoms still don't go away, it's never completely gone, it's what i term, low grade chronic.

anyway - i appreciate everyone's thoughts and responses

[Dobick]

I had a doctor in the past prescribe steroids for a problem I was having with my wrist. It effected me in a very adverse way, from changing the way food tasted -- made my skin hurt -- caused hallucinagenic dreams -- and mood swings.

Two weeks later the same doctor prescribed steroids for my mom for a completely different type of problem that she was having.

Figured he was on the take from this particular drug manufacturer so I fired him as my physician immediately.

Turns out a simple pain suppressant and time took care of my issue.

Point is -- If you are unhappy with the doctor that you have employed, fire them and get a new employee

[Jeff_Green]

Originally Posted by janetg

let me preface this by saying - i am not seeking any medical advice here...

so..long story short,...
end of rant..

Well, Janet. if you weren't so mean...

Seriously though, that has to be frustrating. I know how frustrating docs can be as my dad had scans done because they saw something on xrays they thought might be cancer spots on his lungs. They didn't get him in to go over his scans for about 2 months. Nothing like waiting to see if you have cancer for 2 months! Turns out they finally told him today that it wasn't. Not sure what it was, but ruled out cancer.

I hope you can find a doctor who is knowledgeable and not a jerk!