Dumb uneducated medical workers.

strongernow · 10-22-2007, 04:43 PM

So I went in for my pre-work physical before I start my new job at a hospital and I was being seen by a nurse. Well when she asked me why I was taking Spironolactone, I told her for my PCOS symptoms and she looked at me weird and said "You have PCOS? Alot of my patients have it, but it's a syndrome that is brought on my obesity..and you're not obese. Alot of them are trying for children and the weight is the problem." I really was just dumbfounded on how stupid this nurse could be, if she so called has a lot of patients with PCOS. I told her yes, in fact I do have it and was dxed 2 years ago with extensive testing by an Endochrinologist and in fact it's a misconception of all women having to be obese to have PCOS..and she just goes "hmm", like what I said in her view wasn't right.
It's just irritating that health care professionals can be so ignorant when it comes to PCOS.

TrishainAZ · 10-22-2007, 08:14 PM

Just remember ALL the things they have to learn about... if they don't specialize in it, its hard to be an expert on everything. My brother in law learned a bit about it in medical school and was shocked that I had what he was learning about since I sure didn't fit the type. I just feel fortunate to have gone to someone that DID know about it, but to me thats what specialists are for.

strongernow · 10-22-2007, 09:00 PM

I work in health care and know that there is a ton to learn. But, this woman says she has many patients with PCOS..therefor she SHOULD know about it and all the possibilities of it. That is why I am saying she was ignorant. Plus she shouldn't have been trying to correct me.

guineapig · 10-24-2007, 05:19 AM

Ignorant. I got out of nursing school a year ago and we were not taught anything about PCOS. Shoot, my OB professor thought progestin was a drug for pregnancy (it's class X) and still pushed depo on teenagers (black box warning for osteoporosis). So that should tell you something about nursing education. And most laypeople don't know anything about it unless they have it or a relative does.

refrain02 · 10-24-2007, 10:41 AM

I agree it can be frustrating...and that's why I feel it is the patients responsibility to investigate as much as possible their own conditions. I like the way you have journal articles in your sig. To me it shows that you have taken control of your own research.

I think those of us in the healthcare field have a(n)(dis)advantage because we are around doctors/nurse/clinicians all the time...and we see first hand how much of medicine is guess work, ruled by insurance and drug companies. And how ridiculously clueless some are (but lets not forget the good ones). To an unfamiliar eye, medicine still has a stigma of authority and scientific dedication. I know most of us would beg to differ

I too had to see many doctors before getting diagnosed with PCOS. I always had a gut feeling about it, but every article I ever read talked about the link between obesity and PCOS. Common people get common diseases...we unfortunately, are the uncommon.

I recently was rejected from my insurance company for coverage when it came time to renew. According to their charts, PCOS means you're obese, and therefore more prone to diabetes and heart disease. So I was denied for coverage.
When I called the medical underwriter, I asked her to look at my height at weight (5'5'' 115) and she said that had no effect...people lie about that all the time. sigh. Denied!

It is my hope that some day they will have a different name for "non-obese PCOS". I believe obese and non-obese PCOS function through different pathways. However, that day will only come if the pathway is ever unraveled and we can call it something new. (Something like IRS-1 Deficiency or badass-chick-syndrome (BCS)). That way, we get our own syndrome and quit getting lumped into such a broad catagory, to which we may not belong.

And that's my two cents this morning.

aufachse405 · 10-24-2007, 12:24 PM

I know how you feel! I thought I had PCOS for FIVE YEARS, but my OBGYN kept telling me there was 'no way'. Even though I had a cyst removed, cysts on my ovaries during vaginal ultrasounds...she refused to test me for it. I finally got a new doctor who actually DID bloodwork on me and was diagnosed. Its so frustrating!

lmcole81 · 11-07-2007, 01:22 PM

I totally agree. Everytime I go to a doctor, they:
1) Look at me weird when I say I have PCOS.
2) Say "Oh, you must have a very mild case."
3) Assume I should be able to conceive without meds.

I was recently talking to my friend who is doing her residency for gynecology. She was shocked that I had PCOS because I didn't fit the "profile". She did say, though, that she knew of another doctor that specialized in it and she would know a lot more about it. It is super frustrating!!

sgordon · 11-07-2007, 04:30 PM

I'm preparing for this type of response from my doctor when I go in next week. I have this vision of me going in, telling him I think I have PCOS, telling him I want to be tested for it, him taking one look at me, rolling his eyes, asking how my cycle is (to which I reply "normal"), and him showing me the door.

I'm 5'4, 114lbs, and I have normal periods, but everything tells me that PCOS is causing my problems. I hope it doesn't resort to this, but I'm not willing to take no for an answer!