NOW the doctor DISMISSED me!

Camisado · 12-28-2007, 05:22 AM

Well the doctor whom I was referring to in the post "doctor calls me crazy..." has dismissed me as a patient. So I'm virtually doctorless.

When I asked why, the nurse said it was because I was "uncooperative." I refused the Prozac (sorry, would rather be taking mental health meds from a shrink), and I also missed an appointment. I called 5 minutes before my appointment time to let them know I wasn't going to make it, because I was having a panic attack.

I think what it all comes down to is that he thinks I'm just a nut.

Last night I ended up in the ER because the dizziness was ridiculous, I had a temp of 100.5 (though the doctor told me that's not a fever). I felt dehydrated and was peeing too frequently and too much. Unfortunately when I freaked out when they drew my blood, they wrote me off as a mental patient.

When they drew my blood, I went partially blind, my eyes were crossing and I kept telling them that I could hardly move my eyes, and my hands and legs were paralyzed/numb. They did not believe me. I truly believed I was going to die.

Finally 45 minutes later they said my electrolytes were low, Phosphorus being dangerously low, which was causing the parasthesias/numbness etc. They did not look into what could be causing my phosphorus to be so low, and I'm crushed because I'm sitting here fretting about becoming paralyzed or getting too low on my electrolytes. They prescribed me a week's worth of Potassium/Phosphate but what to do after a week?

It was easily the most traumatic event that has ever happened to me, and I think I have severe post-traumatic stress over it.

Now I read somewhere that PCOS can cause Diabetes Insipidus. I think I was losing all my electrolytes through my urine, was urinating waaay more than I was drinking. I'm not diabetic or anemic, but I really wish I knew why my phosphorus is near the "dangerously low" mark all the time.

I don't know what to do about my doctor dismissing me. I guess I'll need a new doctor...

Ella831 · 12-28-2007, 08:20 AM

WOW! What an experience. I am sorry to hear your doctor dismissed you but just as we can fire them they can let us go too. Until I worked in a doctor's office I wasn't aware of that fact. If I were you due to your bloodwork results I would find a doc. right away that can help you. They may need to put you on potassium regularly for awhile. Sometimes people just have low potassium. You can always ask the hospital you went who they recommend for PCP's or call your insurance and get several names b/c you might not like the first one you see.
I know it is hard and frustrating when doctors aren't listening to use but just keep looking you will find someone who will help you. God Bless.

debir · 12-28-2007, 02:18 PM

I am so sorry that you had such a terrible experience! I agree with the PP, I would seek out another Dr. as soon as possible.
You know, your Dr. dismissing you just irks me to no end! I have had several experiences that when I didn't agree with the Dr. they got upset over it. I have also been labeled as "difficult". Well, whatever! They are not god, they don't know everything (even if they think they do) and we have a right to be proactive in our health care!
Just irritates the peanuts out of me when Dr.'s take that kind of attitude. I feel like telling them "Hey! Grow the hell up!".
Sorry for the mini-rant!
Hopefully your next Dr. will not be such a schmuck! Please let us know what happens.

TechLady77 · 12-28-2007, 03:28 PM

http://www.labcorp.com/datasets/labc...o/pr007000.htm

Try this website for info on phosphorus levels. I think you needed a new doctor after he tried to prescribe anti-depressants to someone who was already on mind-altering medications and under the care of a professional. He obviously wanted to get rid of you because he had no idea how to help you and it was making him feel like a bad doctor. There are a LOT of doctors out there like this. I mean, like most of them. Even my current doctor is starting to give up on helping me and is now just throwing drugs at me and saying to come back when I want him to actually help me. (I told him I felt his diagnosis was wrong...they don't like that...but I am right).

I wish I could tell you this is rare, but it's really not. If you don't have a clear and easily treatable issue, you are pretty much thrown around from doctor to doctor. Have you ever watched Mystery Diagnosis on Discovery Health? That might help you feel better...because it actually happens to a lot of people.

sheila32 · 12-28-2007, 03:44 PM

Geeesh...what a day for you! First of all, let me say i know how you feel about panic attacks. I fight them off before the appointments and even while setting in the waiting room. Once i am back in the rooms the nurses know to let me set for about 15 minutes to calm down...craziness. Sounds like you had some panic at the ER which probably made everything that was already going on seem worse. Panic and anxiety is a terrible thing to deal with. Only people who go through can actually understand how debilitating it can be. Sometimes i set and cry, wishing that i didn't have the anxieties that i have because i know it isn't normal.
I think maybe your doctor did you a favor. Now you can find a different doc who will be compassionate...they are hard to find but believe me, they are out there. I have had pretty good luck in finding great docs.
I hope you get feeling better. Its probably a good idea to find yourself a doc before you finish your scrip so they can keep on eye on your levels.
Keeps us posted on how your feeling.

seats · 12-28-2007, 06:25 PM

sorry to hear your doctor dismissed you. i would find another doctor right away.

it could be something you are taken that is causing your potassium to be low. like any pills for nerves or anything like that. i know this because not to long ago a cousin was kind of going something like that and his potassium was low and it was because of some nerve pills he was taken.

calmwaters · 12-29-2007, 09:45 PM

SSRI's can cause low potassium and phosphorus and other electolytes as well. Techlady cited a good link. Also, are you anorexic or malnourished? I know you've posted before about being very thin and about recent weight gain, but just a thought... That could be the problem as well. I think in your case, you would be best suited to doing as much research as possible and presenting your thoughts on paper to any doc you see. Provide a list iwth your medical history with dates, your symptoms, with dates of onset and your concerns with suggested testing, etc. You've been treated poorly and it seems to me you've got a lot going on which can not only overwhelm you but possibly a doctor as well. I am sorry you keep getting dumped out and stepped on. You certainly need to see a doc for repeat testing before your meds run out. Even if you can't get into a new PCP, you should go to the ER again or a walk in clinic before your potassium is used up to follow up on that. Also, I would really recommend a female doc for you and perhaps even a nurse practitioner instead of a medical doctor. I find that NP's tend to have a more holistic approach due to their nurse training, I think. Also, when your lytes were tested, did they tell you your glucose? Your symptoms also sound diabetic...

jamielynn_wantingababy · 12-30-2007, 09:14 PM

Well sounds like you need to find another dr even if he has not dismissed you. Good luck and you will find the right dr!!

CAheather · 12-31-2007, 12:23 AM

I'm so sorry to hear that you had to go through that, but good riddance to him - he sounds like a nightmare. I hope you find a good doctor soon. One who will listen to you!

guineapig · 01-03-2008, 04:08 PM

I went through 23 (yes, twenty-three) doctors before I found one that fit. Some were GP, totally clueless about PCOS. Some were RE who wanted me to ttc right then and there and we weren't ready. I would say 80-90% of the GP and OB and internists tried to prescribe me Prozac. They would tell me I was crazy. I had clear symptoms of PCOS and was having AF twice a month and they told me my problems were in my head. WTF!!!! I felt like slapping a bloody maxipad on their desk. Plus, at the time I refused "the pill" as the solution, so another half of docs wrote me off after that.

Years later, I found a doc who listened and didn't tell me I was crazy. Didn't push the pill or serious ttc. And a herb that straightened out AF. I ovulated, stopped shedding hair, and had DD. Gosh, I guess I wasn't "crazy" after all!

GRRRRRRRR It really makes me angry when docs blame PCOS on mental things. It's the other way around, dumb@ss!!! And I'm not depressed!!

In short: find another doc. Eventually you'll find a fit.

Jeannette · 01-03-2008, 05:25 PM

I would find an endocrinologist to see vs a gp or pcp. An endo. has a lot more knowledge and training in regards to PCOS than a gp or pcp will have as I've found most pcp don't understand it that much. PCOS is an endocrine disorder and what's going on in your body is related to the endocrine system with your potassium being out of whack.
It might take you a few endos. to find one that's perfect for you. I've fired 3 doctors personally for how I was treated in their office. Two were endos. and one as a pcp who put me into tears over my weight. This told me that he didn't understand PCOS and being IR to say what he did to me. What the heck did he think I was doing when I told him that I ride my bike to/from work 5x a week, run errands on my bike after work or in general for the most part and worked out at Curves 3x a week.
Your experience was horrible but you know what. Say good riddance to this office as the doctor wasn't willing to listen to you in the first place! Find another doctor that will and if you lived in my area I'd recommend my new endo. He's wonderful and I finally find a doc. that can treat me long term with my PCOS plus be happy with at the same time.

LandonsMommy · 01-03-2008, 05:35 PM

(This is kind of long, so bare with me. I was not dismissed from my first endocrinologist, I fired him. Therefore, I became very proactive about my healthcare and decided since I pay for it, and the doctors are working for me, I will get the care I need/deserve.)

The first thing I would do is request all of your medical records from the doctor who dismissed you and any other previous doctors you have seen. As a patient, you have the right to that information (by law they are required to house it for up to7 years if not longer). It is yours, you paid to be seen, and thus should be given copies.
When asking, request office visit notes, all lab work results (down to the very last urine sample!), request any cardiac tests (EKG, for example), any x-rays, CT scans, MRI's (reports and a copy on CD of the films themselves). If some of the tests were done at a local hospital or outpatient facility, call those locations and get them. (you may have to pay a small fee for printing, but those are your medical records). Most of the time they will mail or ask for you to pick up the copies from the office/clinic/hospital itself.

Oh and make sure you get copies of the lab results and any other tests done at the ER the other night.

*Create a binder/folder starting at your last ER visit going backwards to the beginning (most recent to past). Eliminate any doctor visit notes that are negative or hint towards a mental diagnosis from that binder/folder (you do not want to sway a new physician with the same notion the last idiot gathered). Find all the low or high lab results and highlight them. Take this with you to MD appointments and always request a copy of any new results of labs/tests/scans you have done for your records.

It does sound like that doctor did not want to listen to you. I agree the next best step is to call your insurance company and get names of internal medicine physicians and endocrinologists. These doctors are a good place to start fresh all over again. When seeking a new physician, you do not have to tell them who you went to previously, do not give them permission to call for records (thus, the reason for the binder/folder). You sign a HIPAA agreement at each MD office in the US, and that gives the office permission on who they contact about your medical care. Don't give them this information,they do not need to know it! You can act like you have never seen anyone or tell them I am bringing all my medical records with me to the appointment.

1.) If starting with an internist, ask for a complete physical exam and mention a recent low phosphorus. If seeing an endocrinologist (if no referral needed from a PCP first) the reason for the visit is PCOS work-up and low phosphorus.

2.) Show the new MD your information (bringing it with you to each visit). Ask questions about those labs that are too low or too high. If you ask direct questions that have to give you an anwser. Make a list of questions to ask so you do not get side-tracked and forget.

3.) Request what you can do to better your health and the problems you are having. This shows you are interested in your health and how to better it. Doctor's like this in a patient.

3.) Always keep an updated list of your meds (mg-dose, how often, start and stop date if applicable; not just the name of the drug) so that they know what you have tried, are currently on, your allergies, and what you are not williing to take (prozac, etc.) Very important!

This may seem like a lot to do. But having gone through the process of not being heard, I was fed up and figured I was intelligent enough to know that something was wrong with me. Finding a good MD is through trial/error. It is in a way a relationship. You have to trust them and they have to show you they are willing to work with/help you. If you are organized and have everything available to them they should be able to put the pieces of the puzzle together and come up with a diagnosis.

Now as far as the phosphorus:
Decreased levels can be caused by several things. Those are:
-inadequate intake of dietary phosphorus
-chronic acid indigestion (are you taking Tums, pepcid, zantac)
-high calcium
-low vitamin D (do you drink milk?)
-high insulin levels (hello, PCOS!?!)
-malnutrition
-some anti-depressants can do this to
(This is from a diagnostic lab manual-I am a nurse)

*when/if you get your lab results, I would be curious to know what other electrolytes were low.

Good luck to you. Hope 2008 is better for you and you can begin on your journey to better health and happiness soon!

calmwaters · 01-04-2008, 02:17 AM

Nice Landons! So, Nova, what's happening?

Karyan · 01-04-2008, 02:38 AM

First of all. This flat out sucks. I think you might need to do the same thing I should do. Find a doc in a different town! That's what its coming down to with me, anyway. Second of all...allow me to tell you how terrible my internist is...she is a woman with PCOS and guess what? All she wants to do is throw the pill at me! I might as well be seeing a man. PCOSers have the worst luck I think.

debir · 01-04-2008, 03:52 AM

LandonsMommy ~ That is EXACTLY how I feel.. the Dr's are working for us, not the other way around. They should be willing to listen to our concerns and ideas and quit acting like they are the do all and end all. Thank you so much for the information on being proactive in our own health care, going to get started on my folder tomorrow!