Re: Appreciate your kindness, BELLE
From: Judy (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 11 May 2000 17:52:12 -0500 (CDT)
I can't thank you enough for sharing your info and time, Belle.
An aside: I'm seeing Dr. Legro-- who apparently is well-versed in
PCOS--on Friday morning. Since I seem to tbe the litmus test for how
doctors treat a slim PCOS-er, I'll let everyone know how it goes!
Thank you so much again,
Judy
At Wed, 10 May 2000, Belle wrote:
>
>Thanks for your kind words.
>
>There are several reasons I can think of that would prevent a dr from
>using your appearance to diagnose PCOS.
>
>Since you are slim, it would be my guess that many drs would dismiss the
>possibility of PCOS because it is thought that women with PCOS are
>heavy. It is hard for some drs to get over that. With the new
>information about insulin resistance, some women have had problems
>getting their drs to follow through for the same reason. Some drs
>simply think that we must be heavy!
>
>If you have hair loss or facial hair and the tests come out "normal",
>your dr should consider your physical appearance with more importance
>because something is obviously going wrong. In this instance, would not
>be unsafe but thorough to hold the physical appearance firmly in mind.
>
>Some drs may also shy away from using your physical appearance because
>of fear of lawsuits. Blood work is a hard piece of evidence of a
>person's physical condition that can be shown to an outsider if
>necessary.
>
>I have always used appearance as a big part of the patient evaluation.
>This, when taken with the history and labs, help define the whole
>picture.
>
>One thing to remember is that some drs have more experience with PCOS
>than others. The ones with more experience my be able to ask better
>questions to help them arrive at the diagnosis and they may not need to
>rely on as many tests. Ex: A dr familiar with the insulin connection
>may be able to look at the physical signs and ask about dizziness or
>"crashes" and about skin tags and have a really good idea about what is
>going on inside.
>
>At Tue, 9 May 2000, Judy wrote:
>
>>Your explanation helped immensely. A quick follow-up question: Is
>>unsafe for doctors to diagnose based on appearance?
>
>--
>Hope this helps,
>
>Belle
>
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