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Re: Horrible Doctor Visit
From: Anne (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon, 21 Aug 2000 08:51:19 -0500 (CDT)
I agree with Jennifer, I am so sick of hearing these horrible doctor
stories, we need to start reporting these people to the AMA. I had a
bad experience once and I never did anything about it, now I cannot help
but think how many other women have been treated badly by this doctor.
It makes me furious. Good luck finding a GOOD doctor, I am sorry you
had to go thru this.
At Mon, 21 Aug 2000, Jennifer wrote:
>
>Tina, I know how you feel. I am so sorry that you had to go through it.
>You are doing the right thing to find a new doctor. But, don't just send
>her a letter explaining things, send her a letter registered telling her how
>bad she was, then send a copy of that letter and a letter of complaint
>against that doctor to your state medical board and the AMA. That is the
>only way to treat these doctors who don't care about us and feel we are
>"wasting" our time.
>Good Luck, and {{{{{{{Hugs}}}}}}},
>----Jennifer
>>----- Original Message -----
>From: Tina <anonymous@obgyn.net>
>To: Multiple recipients of list PCOS <anonymous@obgyn.net>
>Sent: Monday, August 21, 2000 12:29 AM
>Subject: Horrible Doctor Visit
>
>> I recently self diagnosed PCOS. It was a wonderful and horrible eye
>> openor. I went to a support meeting to see if this is really what I
>> had. At the meeting a Reproductive Endocronologist (BAD spelling)
>> spoke. I talked to him afterwards and he was amazed that I had not been
>> diagnosed earlier, I have nearly EVERY medically known symptom. And
>> most of those symptoms that people who have it tend to complain of.
>> Anyway, he told me I needed to go to my medical doctor, talk to her and
>> try to get a referral if I felt it was needed. So I made my
>> appointment. Now I have moved to this area in the last couple of years,
>> but I have gone to her for others things, ya know colds, flu, blah blah
>> blah and she seemed pretty nice. Unfortunately what happened was not,
>> and I was devestated. Thank god for this site. I know this is long,
>> but I wanted to share for anyone else that may have this experience:
>>
>> When I got to the doctors office the nurse asked me what I came in for.
>> I explained to him what I had found out and he was VERY nice. He asked
>> for any sites that I may know of where he can do to look up this
>> disease. I was excited, it seemed the visit may go well. After about
>> 15 minutes the doctor came in, I thought the nurse was looking up some
>> information.. BOY was I wrong. She walks in, slams the door and says,
>> what can I do for you. I started explaining the symptoms i have had for
>> the last eight years or so, since I hit twenty. I told her about the
>> severe weight gain, from 135 to nearly 300 in less than 2 years. And i
>> listed the other symptoms. I also explained that my family has a high
>> occurence of diabetes and heart disease, especially in the women. When
>> I got to the point of explaining what doctors have tried in the past to
>> help she suddenly jumped in. "So, you have PCOS, what do you want from
>> me" I just kind of sat there for a second looking at her. She then
>> started lecturing me on how "fat" people, especially women tend to look
>> for an excuse for being fat. And that she has had PCOS for 20 years and
>> is not fat, had children and never had the "side affects" everyone
>> claims to have. She told me that I needed to WORK to loose the weight,
>> a strict diet and excercise. "And I do not mean just a walk to the
>> mailbox and back" When I questioned her on new medical treatments such
>> as metphorin(?) she got very agitated. "You want me to write you a
>> prescitpion?? is that what you want? Fine, your insurance will not pay
>> for it but I will write it and you will waste your time". She kept
>> saying that I needed to excercise, that I was not eating right. But
>> never asked my how I felt, what was I eating, what had I tried. When
>> asked why I gained it so fast when put birth control, then gained more
>> when taken off she said "If I had the answer to all of these questions I
>> would be rich and doctors would be out of business" I tried to ask
>> several other questions with nearly the same effect. She then said "All
>> I can tell you is that you are going to die, you will get heart disease,
>> and have a heart attack, your legs will have poor circulation and will
>> probably have to be amputated from the weight, since you have not even
>> had a period in four years you will probably get cancer, so if the heart
>> disease does not kill you the cancer will". By this point she had me in
>> tears, I tried to calm and recompose but she would not stop. Finally I
>> got up and turned to the wall to try to recompose myself, I was so
>> ashamed for breaking down in from of her. When I kept trying to ask
>> things she got up, stated that we were getting nowhere and she had
>> already wasted 30 minutes with me, left the room and came back with a
>> name of a specialist, then told me to call her assistant for the
>> referral she does not want to talk to me anymore.
>>
>> When I left I was in tears. I nearly wrecked my car just trying to get
>> home, I felt so worthless. She made me feel like everything was MY
>> fault and if I was not so FAT I would feel better. She told me ALL I
>> had to do was exercise and it would ALL go away. Luckily I have a
>> supportive family and had done a lot of research, which showed that
>> excercise alone will not work. I know this is long, thank you for
>> reading. It is hard to put how I felt into words. I am now trying to
>> get my insurance company to change my primary care provider and writing
>> a letter to the Dr. including articles about the disease. I feel sorry
>> for any of her other patients that come to her suffering from this. I
>> am trying to keep hope, but people like her make it hard.
>>
>> --
>> Tina M. Robertson
>>
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