Ugh! Dr. Office rant!

[mrs. vr]

ugh! Dr. Office rant!

I just got back from a three hour doctor visit, and I had the kids with me!!! Actually, I should say a three hour doctor WAIT, because the time I spent with the doctor was actually MAYBE ten minutes. This was the rheumatologist, and you may wonder why I didn't just walk out (as did I, repeatedly), but I was already there, and I didn't want to have to wait all over again for an appt, and I kept thinking, surely it must be SOON.

To top it all off, I told him I didn't really feel I was getting benefit from the daily pain meds I'm taking, and I'd rather just take something when i'm actually HURTING, if that was possible, and he say's "Like WHAT? I'm not ready to start you on NARCOTICS for this, that's a slippery slope"...as if I'm a two year old??? Grrrrr.

The end result is, he is SO SURE I have crohn's, and we will just wait and see what the GI doc comes back with from my latest rounds of tests. Also, I'm stopping the daily anti-inflammatory, and am just going to take it as needed. (which is really what I was getting at when I asked him that question). He gave me a sample of an anti-inflammatory gel to try with my joints next time they flare.

I really don't want to find a new doc, overall, I've been pleased, and he's the first rheum to even take me seriously, but boy, I'm steamed.:ymad:

 

[butt-eze]

Does your rheumatologist deliver babies or something!?! There is no reason for a doctor to run that far behind. I have seen an hour (I work in a medical clinic) but 2-3 is awful! I'm sorry for your frustration.

You don't need to switch doctors but it can't hurt to see yet another doctor. The more opinions you can get from doctors the better. If you insurance allows it I would keep trying. You may decide you still like this slow poke better but at least you'll know and not wonder.

Amy

 

[mrs. vr]

Amy, this is, I think, the fourth rheum I've seen. I ended up going that route because my worst symptoms were joint pains, and my SED rate and C-Reactive Protein kept going thru the roof every time my joints flared. The intestinal stuff built more slowly, or happened infrequently enough, that no one ever considered it til about a year or so ago.

I *THINK* I like the new GI doc, and they work closely together. My hope is, if he dug something up with this last round of tests, I'll just be switching my care over to him. The only bad thing is he's about a half hour away. I can live with that because the first time I saw him, he had had an emergency, and I did have a wait (not three hours!), but had no kids and a book with me. When he walked me back, he saw the book and said "G-d forbid you should ever have time to read a book in my waiting room!"

 

[mrs. vr]

ok, I've been doing some thinking, and I think the reason I'm not on the phone demanding answers is two fold. First, I like this doctor, and if I'm going to have to be working with him, I don't want to start off on the wrong foot. Secondly, and probably more importantly, no matter what the answer is now, i'm not sure I wanna hear it. Let's face it, I'm either going to be told I have an incurable, crummy disease, or that they STILL don't know what's wrong with me or how to fix it. Neither prospect is very appealing