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Points: 0 Bank: 0 Total Points: 0 |  Doctor Rant
Ok, here's the deal:
As most of you know, with PCOS there is always some tenderness in the lower abdomen associated with cystic ovaries. Also, I find the there is a bit more tenderness around the time of ovulation.
Sunday night when I went to bed, I noticed that I was really, really tender around my left ovary. Assuming I was probably ovulating, I was not all that concerned. Monday morning, however, when I woke up, I was in unbearable pain. Enough to make me drive to the Emergency Room. While there, I had a trans-vaginal ultrasound that hurt more than anything I've ever been through in my life! I was told that my left ovary was so enlarged, it had pushed my uterus back a little bit and was almost next to my right ovary. The ultrasound tech said that there was so much inflammation and fluid, she couldn't tell if I had a cyst that had ruptured, an abscess, or just an infection. After the ultrasound, the ER doctor came in and said that they were going to give me some heavy-duty antibiotics via IV to hopefully alleviate some of the inflammation so they could see what was actually going on. He said that he had been on the phone with my regular gynecologist, who told him to put me on the antibiotics and have me call him first thing Tuesday to schedule an appointment with him for another ultrasound. I was told that if it was an abscess, it wouldn't heal on its own and would have to be surgically drained.
THEN the ER doctor said, "If you were younger and in child-bearing years and hadn't already had a tubal ligation, we might be a bit more concerned." I was totally flabbergasted! I told him, "I'm only 26, I AM in child-bearing years, I've NEVER had a tubal ligation and I very much want to have children, so what are you talking about?" The doctor looked surprised, and told me that someone in the ER must have mentioned that I'd a had a tubal, and he just didn't look at the chart to verify. This made me very nervous, obviously. I was so doped up on pain medication, however, I couldn't seem to make my brain work fast enough to ask the questions I later thought about.
The next day, I called my gynecologist and scheduled an appointment. I went in, still in extreme pain, and he pushed and poked to "see how tender I was" and then said he wanted to give me a few full days on the antibiotics before the ultrasound. He told me to schedule an ultrasound for Thursday. He then asked what surgeries I have had, and I told him which ones, but that I'd never had a tubal ligation. He said when the ER doctor had mentioned it, he thought it was wrong, but still didn't seem overly concerned. I started to ask some questions, but he said he'd know more after the ultrasound.
So, on Thursday, the 4th day of being in pain, I went back to my gynecologist's office for another ultrasound. It was still very painful, though not as bad as the one in the ER. The ultrasound tech said that my left ovary was still enlarged, there was some fluid around it, and some other free fluid further down. She said it could just be that the cyst had ruptured or is leaking. Then she told me that the doctor or his nurse would look over the ultrasound and call me with results later that day. I was kind of upset that he hadn't scheduled a follow-up appointment right after the ultrasound, but since I really know nothing about how the medical procedure works, I kind of let it go.
Around 4:30, I still hadn't heard anything, so I called in and the receptionist told me that I probably wouldn't hear anything until the next day because the doctor had to review the records and get back to me. I told her the ultrasound tech had assured me that someone would call me back the same day. So the nurse got on the phone and told me that my chart was sitting on the doctor's desk and she would have it back by the next morning and would call me then with results. At this point, I was getting extremely frustrated. I still felt like no one had told me what was wrong with me, no one seemed to be as concerned about this as I was, and I was still in severe pain!
Then, this morning (Friday), the nurse called me back and all she said was that the doctor wanted to see me again in a week and wanted to me have another ultrasound and very quickly tried to transfer me to the scheduling desk. I stopped her, and told her I had some questions. Everything I asked her, she said she would have to talk to the doctor and call me back. She said he would see me after the ultrasound and should be able to answer all my questions then. After scheduling the next appointment for Thursday, I called back and asked to speak to the doctor because I had some questions. I was informed that he is not in the office today, but I could feel free to call on Monday and see if he was available.
This pissed me off, so I immediately got on my insurance company's website and began looking for another doctor. Since I got married, I now have health insurance, so I might as well use it, right? So I looked up a few reproductive endocrinologists in Denver, and called to schedule an appointment. No one can see me until June, some of them didn't have an opening until July. I made an appointment for Friday, June 4th, and was told I would need to bring copies of my records.
So I called my gynecologist's office back and asked if I could get a copy of my records. I was told, rather rudely, that I couldn't just expect to get copies today. It would take at least 7-10 business days, but legally they have 30 days to get me copies of my records.
I am extremely upset now. Maybe it was just an infection that is being cured by the antibiotics, but would someone just FREAKING TELL ME THAT?! I feel like my doctor is not communicating with me at all. I feel like I'm the only one who's concerned about this, but maybe that's just because it's only my body and possibly my ability to have children. These are not just my ovaries we're talking about, it's my future babies, and my husband's future babies. I want to have children more than anything else in the world, so maybe I am being a little overly cautious, but my doctor should understand and sympathize with that, right?
I called around to try to find another gynecologist, also, but there is NO ONE around here who could get me in until July.
One of my biggest concerns is that I'm still in pain. They prescribed me Vicodin, but it knocks me out so badly, I can't take it if I'm going to attempt to function at all, including going to work or driving a car. Another concern is the misunderstanding about the tubal ligation. The ER doc had said that if I hadn't had one, they would be a little more concerned, so I'm afraid that they DIDN'T do something they should have because they thought I'd had a tubal. I'm in pain, I'm scared, and I feel helpless.
That's my rant, take it or leave it.
Saren |
you poor thing!!! I cannot believe how much those doctors are b.s.ing you!!! That is just insane. I dont have any wonderful words of wisdom for you but I just wanted to say that I understand how you feel (I had lots of problems with previous doctors not diagnosing me with PCOS, even though its completely obvious I have it) and I really hope that you can get things situated asap! 
I think it was a good move to contact a R.E. - If you cannot get your medical records in time, I would call the REs office and tell them that you are having a hard time, and the secretary will call this doc and handle it for you most of the time. 
