why i hate doctors, part #12834 in a series
Had intake appointment with physio recommended by regular doctor today.
I'll just cut and paste from AIM:
synecdochic (12:12:43 PM): okay, that is a record: the doctor i was seeing today did not make it past the first appointment before i fired her.
synecdochic (12:16:14 PM): it began with: the appointment was made with her, but her (male, old crotchety country doctor) physician's assistant did the exam. i was sitting in the wheelchair in front of the exam table. first thing he does? grab the frame of the chair and try to pull it over towards him.
synecdochic (12:22:32 PM): he put me through a physical exam for various function, testing the pain hotspots, including pushing on the various sore bits, even after i yelped. loudly. his interview technique is basically centered around "we're not giving you any drugs, so don't even ask, and by the way, you're probably faking it." he then sends me for xrays, which hurts even more. (the xray tech was theo nly person in that office who treated me like a human being.) come back into the exam room, the actual doctor shows up. she starts off telling me that she only treats back injuries, even though i clearly specified multiple times that it was the hip that was bothering me; proceeds to interrogate me about my medication, again with the undertone of "we aren't giving you any drugs, you fucking drugseeker"; tell me that her colleagues whom she consulted say my xrays show absolutely no sign of any damage to the hip so clearly there's nothing wrong with me; tell me that her colleagues whom she &c say that it's really hard to subluxate a hip, so clearly i'm mistaken; and finishes off with a repeat physical exam, doing the exact same things her PA did, all of which have me in tears and screaming, punctuated by "Does that hurt?" I then ask, through gritted teeth and tears, "Is it *really* necessary to repeat this exam when I'm in such acute pain?" She mumbles something about needing to confirm (I mean, hello, if you don't trust your PA's exam, WHY DO YOU HAVE HIM DOING EXAMS), sits back down, doesn't even bother to offer me a tissue (Sarah had to get up and get one for me), and asks, while I'm still sobbing, "So, why do you use the wheelchair?" after having been told *five times* that I cannot currently put any weight on that hip.
synecdochic (12:23:30 PM): I say, "Why do you *think* I use the wheelchair? Because I've told you multiple times that I *can't fucking walk*." She says, "There are other reasons someone could use a wheelchair, and there's *no need* to give me an *attitude*." I say "That's it, this appointment is over."
synecdochic (12:23:54 PM): She says, in this really snotty voice, "*Fine*, we'll tell your doctor that we saw you but you declined to cooperate with us."
synecdochic (12:24:20 PM): i'm like, okay, fine, lady, you tell them whatever you'd like. give me my fucking xrays and let me put my fucking pants back on.
synecdochic (12:24:45 PM): Did I mention that when she was doing the physical exam, she was jabbing her fingertips into every single one of the tender points?
synecdochic (12:24:52 PM): Like, *really fucking hard*?
synecdochic (12:25:23 PM): Sarah said, as we were leaving (and I was sobbing), "I never quite knew what you meant about doctors until now."
synecdochic (12:25:35 PM): And now, I shall go and spend lots of money on yarn to make myself feel better.
Did I mention that the entire time I was talking to her, she refused to meet my eyes? (Both of them did.) Did I mention that the entire time, she was all but shouting "YOU ARE A FAKE, A DRUGSEEKER, AND A HYPOCHONDRIAC"?
I hate doctors.
This post was originally made at Dreamwidth. You can comment there using OpenID, or read comments.
I'll just cut and paste from AIM:
synecdochic (12:12:43 PM): okay, that is a record: the doctor i was seeing today did not make it past the first appointment before i fired her.
synecdochic (12:16:14 PM): it began with: the appointment was made with her, but her (male, old crotchety country doctor) physician's assistant did the exam. i was sitting in the wheelchair in front of the exam table. first thing he does? grab the frame of the chair and try to pull it over towards him.
synecdochic (12:22:32 PM): he put me through a physical exam for various function, testing the pain hotspots, including pushing on the various sore bits, even after i yelped. loudly. his interview technique is basically centered around "we're not giving you any drugs, so don't even ask, and by the way, you're probably faking it." he then sends me for xrays, which hurts even more. (the xray tech was theo nly person in that office who treated me like a human being.) come back into the exam room, the actual doctor shows up. she starts off telling me that she only treats back injuries, even though i clearly specified multiple times that it was the hip that was bothering me; proceeds to interrogate me about my medication, again with the undertone of "we aren't giving you any drugs, you fucking drugseeker"; tell me that her colleagues whom she consulted say my xrays show absolutely no sign of any damage to the hip so clearly there's nothing wrong with me; tell me that her colleagues whom she &c say that it's really hard to subluxate a hip, so clearly i'm mistaken; and finishes off with a repeat physical exam, doing the exact same things her PA did, all of which have me in tears and screaming, punctuated by "Does that hurt?" I then ask, through gritted teeth and tears, "Is it *really* necessary to repeat this exam when I'm in such acute pain?" She mumbles something about needing to confirm (I mean, hello, if you don't trust your PA's exam, WHY DO YOU HAVE HIM DOING EXAMS), sits back down, doesn't even bother to offer me a tissue (Sarah had to get up and get one for me), and asks, while I'm still sobbing, "So, why do you use the wheelchair?" after having been told *five times* that I cannot currently put any weight on that hip.
synecdochic (12:23:30 PM): I say, "Why do you *think* I use the wheelchair? Because I've told you multiple times that I *can't fucking walk*." She says, "There are other reasons someone could use a wheelchair, and there's *no need* to give me an *attitude*." I say "That's it, this appointment is over."
synecdochic (12:23:54 PM): She says, in this really snotty voice, "*Fine*, we'll tell your doctor that we saw you but you declined to cooperate with us."
synecdochic (12:24:20 PM): i'm like, okay, fine, lady, you tell them whatever you'd like. give me my fucking xrays and let me put my fucking pants back on.
synecdochic (12:24:45 PM): Did I mention that when she was doing the physical exam, she was jabbing her fingertips into every single one of the tender points?
synecdochic (12:24:52 PM): Like, *really fucking hard*?
synecdochic (12:25:23 PM): Sarah said, as we were leaving (and I was sobbing), "I never quite knew what you meant about doctors until now."
synecdochic (12:25:35 PM): And now, I shall go and spend lots of money on yarn to make myself feel better.
Did I mention that the entire time I was talking to her, she refused to meet my eyes? (Both of them did.) Did I mention that the entire time, she was all but shouting "YOU ARE A FAKE, A DRUGSEEKER, AND A HYPOCHONDRIAC"?
I hate doctors.
This post was originally made at Dreamwidth. You can comment there using OpenID, or read comments.