tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post5034686113694593014..comments2023-12-11T08:19:00.272-05:00Comments on DoctorMama: The Problem with Lists (Updated)DoctorMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05187502628715846144noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-29496677830539039822009-05-31T21:23:48.897-04:002009-05-31T21:23:48.897-04:00Fibromyalgia? Been going to my GP for 15 years. ...Fibromyalgia? Been going to my GP for 15 years. Had total hyst for suspicious cyst then I was found to have Stage 3 endometriosis (so much for all the doctors who refused strong pain meds for cramps)<br /><br />Made quick, uneventful recovery, as I was a perfectly healthy 48 year old who never got really sick, had never spent a night in hospital before the hyst (and only 1 night then).<br /><brcarolinagirl79https://www.blogger.com/profile/06284212448110505029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-53889586208349108682009-03-13T00:06:00.000-04:002009-03-13T00:06:00.000-04:00Sorry I'm late to find and comment on this post. ...Sorry I'm late to find and comment on this post. There actually is hope for the somatizer, which it sounds like might be your listy patient's main issue.<BR/><BR/>In my psychiatric residency training, I worked at a centre (Dalhousie) which focused specifically on somatization, diagnosing it and treating it successfully with short-term psychotherapy.<BR/><BR/>Here's a paper my supervisor Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-72723556083323256082009-01-30T23:56:00.000-05:002009-01-30T23:56:00.000-05:00I just wanted to mention that some of these things...I just wanted to mention that some of these things, like chronic pain in certain areas of the body, might be something better helped by alternative medicine. I see a chiropractor for aches and pains, some of which are the result of a sprained back at 12 years old...never been the same since. Some just due to stress. Acupuncture cured my asthma and greatly reduced my allergies. These alternative Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-47901759581124544512009-01-24T23:02:00.000-05:002009-01-24T23:02:00.000-05:00I wish you were my doctor. I could pay you in mix ...I wish you were my doctor. I could pay you in mix tapes.Mignonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07716330276288396317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-49870432791051088072009-01-23T15:46:00.000-05:002009-01-23T15:46:00.000-05:00I can tell you're a good doctor by your "Update" l...I can tell you're a good doctor by your "Update" list. You obviously care a lot. Which probably makes treating professional Patients all the harder, because you cannot help them.E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10023959769203103393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-91588346419111553532009-01-21T17:02:00.000-05:002009-01-21T17:02:00.000-05:00Wanted to add that I worry a LOT about being That ...Wanted to add that I worry a LOT about being That Patient. I was lucky enough to find a really amazing OB/family practice physician during my 7-week pregnancy and after I miscarried I stayed with her as a general patient. The sheer amount of respect I have for her makes me worry about making an appointment, for fear that I'm just wasting her time. I am almost tempted to just switch to a doctor MDThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03296473847987131734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-67519052795792648882009-01-19T19:04:00.000-05:002009-01-19T19:04:00.000-05:00Did you see Real Simple Magazine (my MIL's favorit...Did you see Real Simple Magazine (my MIL's favorite mag)this month? The cover says "20 ESSENTIAL LISTS to organize your life." Didn't look like any of the lists were for your doctor. ;)Just mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05671919237872985299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-71206961894662963312009-01-17T10:31:00.000-05:002009-01-17T10:31:00.000-05:00It's intriguing to read this post and these replie...It's intriguing to read this post and these replies. My 22 month-old son has an undiagnosed congenital condition (hypotonia that has lead to several secondary conditions). If he were an adult with these same symptoms, he would probably be in the frustrating patient category because the symptoms he has could seem a little benign when looked at individually. And yet, he’s fed through his stomachCShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13514010137133683526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-50695759572647906542009-01-17T01:16:00.000-05:002009-01-17T01:16:00.000-05:00I totally have to clarify (lol... I am SUCH the ob...I totally have to clarify (lol... I am SUCH the obsessor) that when I said trust I meant that I actually trust my doctor, and when I present him/her with my list, I'm doing it because I trust that I'll get an honest and thorough response, and I trust that s/he's more educated than me. I also trust that (thankfully) my doctors trust me and my instincts, so in a sense I feel free to make the listsHeidihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16707239750853070391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-63828924905863832712009-01-16T21:49:00.000-05:002009-01-16T21:49:00.000-05:00I have to say that 2nd list left me wondering "Whe...I have to say that 2nd list left me wondering "Where does a clinician start?"<BR/><BR/>And yet, I am one of four in my family.<BR/><BR/>My mom was sent to a dietician, after complaining of weight gain and excessive fatigue (2 appts. over 6 months). PC sent her to a dietician after the 2nd appt. She died of ovarian ca less than a year later.<BR/><BR/>My Dad complained to a different PC over a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-67745800952111165492009-01-16T19:40:00.000-05:002009-01-16T19:40:00.000-05:00So, when I am at my doctor's office (doctor is ver...So, when I am at my doctor's office (doctor is very involved in med education) and she sends an intern or student in to see me first, and I, helpfully, tell them everything I can think of in order to give them practice in sorting out essentials, am I really doing a bad thing? elAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-40022832729661485032009-01-16T13:35:00.000-05:002009-01-16T13:35:00.000-05:00Anonymous with X pain—“I'm just afraid ‘get worse’...Anonymous with X pain—“I'm just afraid ‘get worse’ will be something way bad, but if I mention THAT fear, I'm definitely going to be labeled as a hypochondriac or wanting to be a ‘patient.’”—if you saw me, absolutely not. I TRY to find out what the fear is, so that I can explain how I know that the symptom is NOT something terrible. And your doctors may suck, I don’t know, but sometimes one test DoctorMamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05187502628715846144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-64401651472607676272009-01-16T12:20:00.000-05:002009-01-16T12:20:00.000-05:00I guess what bothers me here is that the 2nd patie...I guess what bothers me here is that the 2nd patient's note seems to be TO HERSELF. I.e. not meant for your eyes. Ergo: So what if you find it offensive. It wasn't meant for you to see in the first place.<BR/><BR/>Maybe she has a hard time asserting herself. Maybe these problems have been bothering her for a while and she feels repeatedly blown off. Haven't you ever had thoughts/fears that Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-67421815909907682112009-01-16T10:03:00.000-05:002009-01-16T10:03:00.000-05:00I have no comment on the second and third lists bu...I have no comment on the second and third lists but I am awed by your first one - particularly the little boxes all ready to be checked off...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-75593231855127353172009-01-15T23:23:00.000-05:002009-01-15T23:23:00.000-05:00Thank you for the update. I've enjoyed your blog ...Thank you for the update. I've enjoyed your blog for a long time and I was hoping you would join this conversation. <BR/><BR/>I'm the anonymous with the foreign body. I also happen to be a lawyer. And being a lawyer I know that there are a lot of crappy lawyers out there. Not crappy in the sense that they sue people who shouldn't be sued or are jerks or anything like that. Most lawyers are Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-2927827184005629232009-01-15T22:59:00.000-05:002009-01-15T22:59:00.000-05:00I suspect that I'm a lot older than most of the do...I suspect that I'm a lot older than most of the doctors commenting on this post, but had you been practicing in the 1970s, you would undoubtedly be complaining about me. <BR/><BR/>I was a total Patient - a twentysomething, perfectly healthy (but not <I>well</I>) woman who presented over and over again with the same list of complaints:<BR/><BR/>- Four to six times a month, I got a metallic taste Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-31331566296239491592009-01-15T22:38:00.000-05:002009-01-15T22:38:00.000-05:00The job of a doctor is difficult, and determining ...The job of a doctor is difficult, and determining the crap from the real is incredibly difficult to be sure. However, what I described was not and is not isolated. My sister went to doctor after doctor in a well known, well respected medical community, only to have her symptoms dismissed because no one wanted to listen to what she had to say and perhaps do a little research. We did our own C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17677555290950815409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-81573363847373740272009-01-15T22:36:00.000-05:002009-01-15T22:36:00.000-05:00I think the list is fine, but the orders for the p...I think the list is fine, but the orders for the physician are not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-53038146009613424792009-01-15T18:12:00.000-05:002009-01-15T18:12:00.000-05:00The commenters who disagreed with this post cited ...The commenters who disagreed with this post cited specific instances of doctors who just wouldn't listen. It's easy to remember malpractice, but harder to remember that for every time a doctor overlooks something that turns out to be important, there are many, many more cases in which a doctor overlooks something that deserves to be overlooked.<BR/><BR/>Doctors make their decisions based on the Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00298748275161851712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-80477768525739582112009-01-15T17:54:00.000-05:002009-01-15T17:54:00.000-05:00Psychiatry referral?This is why I cannot do primar...Psychiatry referral?<BR/><BR/>This is why I cannot do primary care. <BR/><BR/>But also? I don't trust doctors myself, so maybe I'm the one who needs the psych referral.<BR/><BR/>I think many of these patients really just want to feel listened to.OMDGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17937425894428802591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-89639458777530401222009-01-15T17:11:00.000-05:002009-01-15T17:11:00.000-05:00When you posted, you know you were going to get so...When you posted, you know you were going to get some naysayers. Agreed with the lists and the incessant patients who must be sick but here is the rub. My sister suffers with a very severe case of a rare auto immune disease. She was in the ER twice for extreme pain after doing the proper thing and seeing her primary care. <BR/><BR/>Her primary thought she was a hypochondriac and prescribed an antiC.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17677555290950815409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-84720628358539772992009-01-15T14:04:00.000-05:002009-01-15T14:04:00.000-05:00I, too, am glad anon and Heidi responded as I dele...I, too, am glad anon and Heidi responded as I deleted several drafts because this post made me sad and angry. I've had a specific pain issue for years now and when I first brought it up, they did one test, and when it came back normal, they proceeded to tell me I was making it up (yes, after one test). When the pain didn't go away, I tentatively brought it up a year later at my next annual examAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-58648229283051632862009-01-15T12:25:00.000-05:002009-01-15T12:25:00.000-05:00Great post and interesting comments. I don't have ...Great post and interesting comments. <BR/><BR/>I don't have a problem with patients bringing in lists of symptoms. Sometimes it's helpful to glance over all the problems and prioritize at the beginning of the visit, rather than having the chest pain be brought up as you're walking out of the room. And sometimes a pattern does emerge from seemingly disparate symptoms. <BR/><BR/>It's the list of Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-31557397687425071832009-01-15T11:39:00.000-05:002009-01-15T11:39:00.000-05:00Ouch. Yep, me too. I had "wind" which turned out...Ouch. Yep, me too. I had "wind" which turned out in actual fact to develop rapidly into a torted ovary. Did they diagnose the ovary thing immediately? Nope again. Left me for a few hours to "clear the kidney stones" whilst my tube blackened and died, causing the loss of half of the meagre fertility I possessed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15583952.post-51710900683149495252009-01-15T11:15:00.000-05:002009-01-15T11:15:00.000-05:00I'm glad anonymous and Heidi spoke up. I typed ou...I'm glad anonymous and Heidi spoke up. I typed out comments to this post twice and deleted them because this post made me so angry.<BR/><BR/>These lists have a lot to do with trust. When you have had malpractice committed against you (in the form a foreign body being left in you) and then are IGNORED for a WEEK by THREE DOCTORS and it isn't until you DISCOVER IT YOURSELF (it was in my vagina, Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com