I've had enough!

missmelanie23 · 02-03-2004, 12:37 PM

Sorry but I need to vent. I'm getting so sick of this .. all of it.

sooooo sick of doctors who treat you like you're just another number and doctors who accuse you of not following instructions. of doctors who think they know it all and doctors who beleive no one else has a right to offer an opinion.

My family doctor claims that my endo is the best doctor ever to treat pcos, while my experience with my endo has been the worse experience i've ever had with any other doctor. I find her rude, always in a rush, never able to answer questions or maybe she just doesn't care to do so. treats me like i over exagerate things, and maybe i do but instead of treating me like an idiot (or so its how i feel with her) she could calm me down and take time to explain things.. UGH.

I asked family doctor for another reference. not a second opinion, another doctor. She's always told me she would support me if in need of finding someone i would feel comfortable with but I think since she doesn't know a thing about PCOS she assumes that the doc my derm recommended is the best to treat me. She gave me another reference alright. HA! she's sending me AGAIN to a weight management clinic! UGH!

I don't get it! I just don't!

New symptoms... I ask for tests to be done. I asked both doctors for tests to be done. Family doctor said my thiroid is fine. YAH! ok. but the first test showed as fine... did you test the T3, T4, free T3 and free T4? NOoooooo!! but you told me at my appointment that you would request those tests if the initial one was ok. Now she doesn't want to.

I asked my endo to run some tests, her reply to that was "I can't because of the meds you are taking" so I'm like.. "What the heck?" I approach my family doctor about this.. she agrees! Said some meds will give the tests odd results because they are taken with other meds! Well HELL! If they are doing a counter effect or that the results my tests show are out of wack, is it because the meds arent the right ones for me and its time for me to try something else??? BAH!

With all the meds I am on.. plus new meds.. shouldn't thorough blood work be done regularly to monitor i how I doing? Maybe something will come up that show why i am losing hair or feeling so darn weak lately... why my facial hair is growing faster than ever with the finestaride.. why my acne is back full pin for no odd reason.. and why this and why that.. i want answers and I keep getting shoved one way or another. given a sheet a paper to fill in a new drug at the pharmacy where the pharmacists contradicts the doctors?

I don't know where to go, what to do, what to think.. BAH! Its my health dammit.. why doesn't anyone care?

*time for new doctor* Just called back a doctor i used to see a while ago.. my parents' doctor whom i really liked before. but i haven't seen him for so long that my file was closed and his secretary doesn't know if he'll reopen it.

Cross your finger Maybe with this "new" family doctor, who will provide new references and more knowledge towards PCOS, there will be hope? God pls let him be the one who'll help me and take time to listen!!!

peonies4 · 02-03-2004, 12:53 PM

I can appreciate where you're coming from. My husband and I had an appt to see an RE at the end of February, almost four months of waiting just to get in, and that's on top of the 8 months we've wasted with the urologist that hasn't been able to tell us anything. Then around Christmas, I got a call from the receptionist saying that she decided to take a vacation that exact week so they're going to push our appt back a week. Needless to say I wasn't too happy. The receptionist then said that if it made me feel better, there are people waiting six months. Why that should make me feel better I'm not sure. The whole medical profession had me so stressed out that we had to go on vacation to get away from it all. Vent away because you're not alone.

Echobelly · 02-04-2004, 12:31 AM

First of all, congratulations on your weight loss so far - that's great!

I sympathize with you - I've also had my turn with really stupid doctors who knew nothing about PCOS, looked down at me through their noses, and were only too quick to scribble something down on a prescription pad to get me out of their office. SIGH....

I have a fantastic doctor now, though sometimes she brushes me off. The only way to deal with her, is to be REALLY persistent. I do lots of research before I see her, and I make sure that I challenge her constantly. It sets the tone that I'm not willing to settle for just anything - and also that I care about my health.

It's your health, darn it - and you deserve the best in medical care. Sorry that you're having such bad luck, but don't give up - FORCE them to listen to you.

Good luck.

hopeless · 02-05-2004, 10:10 PM

I'm with ya.

I was sent to a doctor who is supposedly the best hair doctor in Vancouver. My 5 minute appointment with him resulted in a prescription for Rogaine, and another appointment a few months later. When I saw him again, I asked about hormone testing. He skeptically asked all kinds of questions, and finally humored me and ordered testosterone and DHEA-S. Then, he calls me back and there are 4 doctors/med students there..... just so he can tell me that my test. is twice as high as the top of the range! I wish I had rubbed that in his face, but I was so shocked at the time.

My endo kinda brushes me off. I'm thinking about trying a new one....

missmelanie23 · 02-05-2004, 11:02 PM

My family doctor called me back today realising that she had already sent me to the weight management clinic.. "no sh*t" I thought. she then said the doctor there is a specialist and thought it would be a good idea to see him not realising that I had gone 2 yrs ago. "check the file" i told myself! ugh.

Then asking me questions she realised that what I was/am looking for are answers and doctors that know what they are talking about.. i wanted to tell her "well its what i've been telling you all along!" but i held it back. So I told her, ok.. I got diagnosed with PCOS 11 yrs ago. But what about all the rest of the stuff that's going on with me???

She took a moment. viewed the list of doctors I had gone too in the last 12some years. She looked at my tests results which showed everything was fine. Again i had the question about my thyroid which she avoided. I think she realised she may be in the wrong about something? So over the phone we went over the list of things as I never recieved any other diagnoses about everything I was complaining about.. but she had them all confirmed in my files. Every thing i self diagnosed, she confirmed.
Plus some. So there, I got my answers. Finally. after all this misunderstanding.

I still don't like my endo but my family doc remains firm on the fact that my endo is the best in Ottawa to help me. I have no doubt she is qualified. I guess I just have to get myself on a certain level and make my endo go down to a certain level, so we can meet half way and understand eachother. Which could be worked out.

So now for my hair loss which I asked for a diagnosis. My derm has a clinic at a hospital which deals with treating hair loss... specifically, alopecia. (I never was made aware of this in the last 7-8 months that i have been complaining of hair loss). But I am finally being refered there. I also learned that my derm and endo are actually partners and have each their clinics in different hospitals and they both work with hormone related issues.. such as.. guess what... PCOS!

So now that I am aware of this maybe things will go somewhere as I will challenge em both, even if it takes the life out of me. I am probably one of many patients they refer to each other, but due to lack of communication between them, the patient stuck in the middle is going no where.?? its a possiblity.

Anyway.. maybe there is hope. well see what happens next.

hopeless · 02-06-2004, 12:12 AM

I agree with you about the meds and testing.

I've been on BCPs for a long time now, and had been told that hormone tests wouldn't do anything since the BCPs would change the results. Well, duh....if my hormones are messed on BCPs, maybe I shouldn't be on them! I eventually went off them so I could be tested and then my abnormal testosterone was "discovered". UGH!

I've been on spiro for a year, during which time my hormones were never retested. In fact, since my dx I haven't been retested for hormones. Only for ferritin, which I specifically requested. (only to discover that it had dropped....a lot)

How come my doctors don't realize that I have a decent "hunch" and listen to me?!

jewels12345 · 02-06-2004, 01:30 AM

Melanie,

I'm pretty sure that we see the same endo and I totally understand where you are coming from. My family doctor provides me with much better information than my endo does. I think she sent me to the endo just to confirm the diagnosis of PCOS. Anyway, I totally agree with the complaint about short appointments and lack of information. She really hasn't explained much to me. I've learned more on my own. Funny thing is, my family doc is of the same opinion that this endo is the best to treat my problems. My endo hasn't even gotten into the fertility issues, even though I've brought it up on more than one occasion. She seems to think that there will be no problems even though I have been annovulatory for 5 years! Grrrrrrrr. Let me know if you have any success in finding someone better. At least I have an awesome family doctor who is well informed about PCOS. I can give you her name if you're interested.

Alright, enough venting for now.

Julie

missmelanie23 · 02-06-2004, 11:19 AM

Julie:

I would love the name and number of your doctor. I could call and see if she is taking new patients. My family doctor, as much as I like her... she doesn't know much about PCOS.

As for the endo. I'll keep you posted on my search... if you are also looking, would you pls send me what you find?

Thanks

Ladies:

Thanks for your postings. I'm glad to see i'm not the only one having doctor troubles!!

*hugs to all*
Mel

jewels12345 · 02-06-2004, 08:58 PM

Her name is Dr. Riva Levitan and her number is 721-6788. I have no idea if she's accepting new patients, but it's worth a try.

Julie

Lisa2008 · 02-20-2004, 01:11 PM

hi, sorry to hear all the trouble you are going through. i noticed you are only on 100mg Spiro. that is very low, and would not be of much help with the acne/hair stuff. i believe 200mg is what i am taking,