Do i pick the stupid Drs?

sdcblt · 05-31-2009, 02:45 AM

When dealing with PCOS, should a Dr worry about me fixing the symtoms more then fixing the underlying problem?

The drs keep telling me that I have to loose the weight, and I try. But since I have a condition causing me to be over weight, wouldn't it make more sense to fix that, so that I don't have the symptoms of being fat?

It just seems that the Drs are all acting like my problem would go away WHEN i loose weight, instead of understanding that the problem CAUSES the weight.

I seem to have an uncanny knack for picking the stupid drs. Am I unfounded in this thought process?

Goddess Hectate Help · 05-31-2009, 01:34 PM

In my experience they all have been stupid.. lmao... But changing your diet (following a low GI diet) & excercise will help drastically reduce your symptoms, The problem itself does not cause the weight (although it makes it easier to gain weight) it's the wrong diet that does.. Have your doctors tested your hormones? Have you been tested for insulin resistance? If you have any of these issues they can prescribe medication which may aid in wieght loss and other symptoms

Somewhat Damaged · 06-02-2009, 01:19 AM

You don't 'pick' the stupid doctors. It's luck of the draw!

Here's the thing... the medical system in the US is, for the most part, focused on treating disease (versus preventing it) and controlling symptoms (mostly with pharmaceuticals). It's rare that you'll find a doctor anymore who wants to find out what the cause is... it's much easier and more profitable to treat the symptom.

With PCOS, however, it's a 'syndrome' and we don't know with 100% certainty what causes it. Many women with PCOS have a belief about what they feel caused it to happen to them, but from a research perspective there's no definitive answer. All we can do with PCOS is treat the symptoms.

So there's two issues... yes, it's not your imagination that most doctors are focused on treating symptoms instead of fixing the problem that's causing the symptoms. AND, with PCOS the treatment protocol is... treating the symptoms.

That said, however, many women are finding success in acheiving a reduction or complete remission of symptoms with 300 + mins of exercise a week (both cardio and strength) and a clean, portion controlled diet (including lots of veggies!). Check out the bootcamp posts over at fitcysters.com (a sister site to this one).

TheNewMrs. · 06-02-2009, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Somewhat Damaged

With PCOS, however, it's a 'syndrome' and we don't know with 100% certainty what causes it. Many women with PCOS have a belief about what they feel caused it to happen to them, but from a research perspective there's no definitive answer. All we can do with PCOS is treat the symptoms.

Agreed. We don't know about it...neither do docs. More research needs to be done. It's not like all the answers are just floating out there and the docs are "stupid" if they don't know them.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to play devils advocate here when I say that I don't think the docs are stupid (although I'm sure there are a few that shouldn't be practicing). I think that WE depend too much on our docs to just know everything. Med school can NOT teach you everything there is to know about medicine. PCOS is not diabetes nor a heart attack. It isn't understood as well and that is NOT our doc's faults. It's science - we just need to do more research. It happens with time.

I understand that PCOS, the drugs, IR, etc all cause weight gain but I agree with the PP when she states her comments about exercise. It's up to US. There is no, and never will be, a magic pill for weight loss. It is NOT up to the docs to provide that for us. It's really up to us. It stinks, because it's hard. It's not easy for us in the least, but it is our life and we need to take more responsibility for ourselves.

I do not mean to offend anyone here, but I just think we're so quick to put our problems on others and the docs are so easy to blame. Look at all the good they do for us - without them everyone would be a mess! Just keep in mind they're human, just as we are and 8-12 years in med school seems like a lot, but they will never know it all, ever.

sdcblt · 06-02-2009, 02:07 AM

Well I can certainly understand the whole "its up to the individual to get her stuff together", but I wish it were easier to find a Dr that knows about PCOS and not just the text book crap that doesn't get anywhere (just yet). I feel, and maybe this is my own situation, that there is something causing me to be over weight. Not my habits or food (as much, although they can stand to improve) but something outside of the norm, and the Drs are doing nothing but telling me to loose the weight, which I already know, because nothing else is going to do anything. I just feel that coming at the whole thing from a different angle would be a more successful approach.

I have not been tested yet for Diabetes. I've got the day off coming up with another Dr's apt (unrelated) an he's right next to my regular fam Dr. I think I might kill two birds with 1 day and get myself in there.

That's something else, I feel the OB that I went to doesn't know most of just the basics of PCOS cause he didn't even think to ask me about possible diabetes testing or results that i might have gotten before. Now I find that its actually a very common thing to have that checked out and treated. It never even came up in my 2 apts with my OB. So I wonder how much he really knows, or is he just "reading a text book script" somewhere?

I wish I had learned about that possibility first so I could have asked and gotten it done by now. As it happened I learned about it the very next day, and smacked my forehead. lol After all the reading I've done, It never registered in my head to worry about diabetes. Oh well. I've gone this long now without knows, what's another few weeks till my next apt?

TheNewMrs. · 06-02-2009, 02:12 AM

You haven't had basic labs done at a general doctors visit? You can get an idea from those about dx of DM. I was never specially tested for diabetes either even though it runs HEAVILY in my family along with other metabolic diseases.

JoyannaWants2BaMommy · 06-02-2009, 02:20 AM

what gets me is that if i am not mistaken in 1935(or around that time) they discovered Stein Levinthal(sp?) disease. and some dr's today look at you like pco who? but what dr can get a license without knowing what diabetes is, or other syndromes? i think not that many people care to learn. i know people are doing studies all the time, and thanks to the internet, we have access to that, cause im telling you MY dr's sure aren't tellin me that stuff when i go in!

also like somewhat damaged said, some things are not profitable. pcos is one of them unless you are in the fertility field. the endos i went to couldn't give a rip less about pcos. all the wanted to treat is diabetes, and a little thyroid for measure. i had to beg for friggen metformin. diabetes is their meal ticket, it's their bread and butter. so so many people have it esp elderly people who have medicare and medicaid. when i went to the dr's office i swear i was the only person under 45 there. i went for over 2 years to 2 different doctors in different cities and same situation. with diabetes there is pills, insulin, diets, all the complilcations. lots of stuff for them to 'treat'. with pcos, it's trial and error, with us being the ones that have to go home and do the work. i think for alot of them it is just easier to dismiss us than to have to admit they are at a loss, or don't know much about it. i haven't met many dr's that actually do know about it. mine don't seem to take it seriously, it's the basic, oh just lose some weight. hmph

mamagato · 07-01-2009, 06:49 PM

I was misdiagnosed and the issue trivialized until I reached such a level of virilization it was ridiculous. Some doctors do not listen, some have prejudices towards patients, especially if it's a new one they have no previous experience with. Had they seen me pre-PCOS, they would have realized something was amiss. Doctors also tend to rush through appointments, more patients seen equates to more money.
If a doctor dosent listen or patronizes, and disregards what I have to say, I'd find a new doctor.
The group I have now are very good, listen, explain, and give me explanations as to why we are pursing specific treatments and not others.
Diet was not the issue for me, I was eating less than 500 calories a day, many cruciferous vegetables, things like whole grains, no desserts, few pastas, and low fat foods. I knew all about carbs being a diabetic. I was slender and quite fit. When my Endo first saw me he told me: "Listen to me, this is not your fault, in fact, if you had not eaten so healthy, you would be dead." He was flabbergasted that I had not been properly diagnosed, I was a textbook example.
I don't think of those doctors as being stupid, I think of them as being uniformed, poor at communication skills, and prejudiced in terms of thinking towards women's issues as being trivial or emotionally based.

sdcblt · 07-23-2009, 01:21 AM

Its the emotional thing. I know it. I have had a skill in reading people. I can translate body signals kind of good. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he seemed, exasperated at me at telling him what I had. I said the worlds "I saw on the internet" and it was all over for me. I'll never make that mistake again. I was just a paranoid woman that saw something on the internet and thought I had it.

He didn't realize that I knew I had it since I was a young teenager. Its in my family and I knew the symptoms. I just needed him for the DX and the meds to get it treated. Funny thing though... I'm going a different route now. I'll have a new post soon. Go read it. LOL

JoyannaWants2BaMommy · 07-23-2009, 10:35 PM

yeah alot of time saying you saw on the internet or tv or something is an automatic dismiss! i have been through that too!

TheNewMrs. · 07-24-2009, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdcblt

Its the emotional thing. I know it. I have had a skill in reading people. I can translate body signals kind of good. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he seemed, exasperated at me at telling him what I had. I said the worlds "I saw on the internet" and it was all over for me. I'll never make that mistake again. I was just a paranoid woman that saw something on the internet and thought I had it.

He didn't realize that I knew I had it since I was a young teenager. Its in my family and I knew the symptoms. I just needed him for the DX and the meds to get it treated. Funny thing though... I'm going a different route now. I'll have a new post soon. Go read it. LOL

I totally know what you mean. When I was about 18ish, I want to say, I started going to an OB/GYN because my Mom told me I should.

I unknowingly saw a Nurse Practitioner instead. She was terrible! I told her about all of my problems...VERY heavy periods, skipping many months, blood clots, cramps that could bring me to my knees, etc. She stated that it was normal and a lot of people suffered from PMS like this. I didn't believe for once second this was "normal."

I refused BCP's because I used other methods of protection and have never been one to one to take meds - of any kind. It seemed as though at that moment she kind of gave up on me all together like I'd just end up a pregnant 18-year-old in a few months. lol (maybe I was younger. I can't remember now)

I did go to her one year later (I was attempting to start seeing a GYN yearly). I asked the same questions and this time asked "Could it be PCOS or endometriosis or something similar?" She dismissed the idea and said that other than skipping periods, I have no other symptoms. Although, I found it funny that she could tell that just by looking at me because never did she ask if I had excess facial hair, acne, etc. Both of those I definitely had, but shaved my hair and covered my acne.

At this point, since I've always known I wanted a family, I was concerned for my fertility and asked "would anything that's happening now effect my chances of becomming pregnant later on when I'm ready?" She literally stated to me: "well, now there are so many drugs on the market that you can take to help you become pregnant when you want to. don't worry about that at this time. you'll be fine." WELL, hearing this and knowing (or believing) otherwise, that was the last time I saw her. Again at that second visit, she tried to get me to start BCP's and I refused.

Luckily, now that it had been a 6-7 year break from seeing GYN's, we have moved to a different town. I work at our hospital and did my research. I now see a wonderful OB/GYN who has listened and researched what I've suggested to her from the very first word out of my mouth. I was diagnosed nearly immediately, but she ran tests and ended up doing a transvag ultrasound just to check further. My female family physician is the same way. Wonderful. I feel so lucky to have good care now.

I just can't believe a Nurse Practitioner such as the one I saw can still practice. She was so unprofessional and so unwilling to help me. After that I'd heard from MANY more people that similar things had happened to them. Disguisting.