hipmama42
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Teri, I'm glad that you have a good primary doc, at least, who will go to bat for you! I do have to ask though, what the heck is "beaver fever?" Please tell me it's not like what it sounds! lol, I have a sick mind and I have to laugh or I would cry myself to death over all that we have to go through with the medical system! I am finally building up a wonderful relationship with my primary with regards to the fibro. After almost a year with her, she really listens to me and actually is willing to try some of the things that I mention I would like to try, including some that I read about here on our forum,as well as stuff I've read about online. I even told her about my fibro friends and how knowledgeable and helpful they are. I was lucky in that I just chose her at random off of a provider's list not knowing anything except that I wanted a female primary and I wanted someone reasonably close (so I don't fall asleep driving to appointments!) She believed in fibro completely and is up on some of the latest treatment and also has several other fibro patients, thank goodness. She also has several patients who see Dr. Mark Pelligrino, the man who has fibro himself and has written many books about it, and is not bothered with her patients consulting other docs for fibro treatment. I am hoping to set up an appt. with Dr. Pelligrino soon myself. It is terribly stressful when you have to switch docs due to insurance issues or because the old doc is leaving town or retiring. You never know what to expect and whether or not they are fibro friendly and have a good bedside manner. I agree with RKSelter's comment up above on this thread. Doctors are working for US and not the other way around! We are paying for their sometimes lavish lifestyles and country club memberships, and they are providing a service to us, the "customers." If the "customer service" is lousy as provided by the doc themselves or his/her office staff, then we have the right to move on to someone we can work with. The days of doctors being "Gods" are over. Managed care has seen to that! Lots of bad things have come from managed care, but there are some good things as well, and that is one of them, the idea of the doctor providing a service FOR US. We have the right to be treated with respect and dignity and not have our concerns, ideas, and suggestions poo-poohed or arrogantly dismissed. Rude behavior from docs is not something I am willing to put up with beyond the first visit. I simply will not be back, and I will find someone else....ditto if their office staff is nasty or neglectful and not doing their jobs. I am lucky in that I live in a major metropolitan area between two large cities, and even though I am on Medicaid I still have plenty of choices of primary providers. It's funny that so many docs still don't believe in fibro or think that it is a "trash" catchall diagnosis which is a mere inconvenience to the patient but nothing more, and certainly nothing painful enough to require strong narcotics and pain relievers. My theory on this is that it's considered primarily a "women's disease" and as we know, docs, esp male docs from the "old school" tend to regard any "women's issue" as being mainly psychological in origin or resulting from hormones or depression and nothing to be taken seriously. Adult ADD and childhood ADHD can't be "proven" with any lab tests or brain scans either, yet doctors and psychologists rarely question that it does exist. I believe this is because more adult MEN exhibit symptoms and ask for treatment. Men are automatically believed without having to "prove" themselves or "prove" that they are in real pain. The doc sees the man in his office and gives him Rx for MAJOR narcotics immediately, no questions asked! Hey, if a man says he has pain, then he must REALLY be in pain, because after all, only women are "drug seekers" because they are weak about pain or in denial about the "psychogenic" nature of their problems. Whew, I get so ANGRY about this topic that once I'm started I can't stop ranting! I get so mad when I read about how so many of us have been abused and treated badly by doctors! Once in awhile I just have to get it off my chest. I have wonderful docs now, all of them, but it hasn't always been this way. It's taken me years of suffering and abuse to be assertive enough to stand up for my rights and not take any c**p from uncaring or inconsiderate doctors, and it's taken me till advanced middle age to realize that I don't need to put up with this this C**P and I can keep looking till I find a good doc. It is well worth the search if you finally find some good ones! But the process can be exhausting.... Post edited by: hipmama42, at: 04/05/2008 21:30 Post edited by: hipmama42, at: 04/05/2008 21:36 |
"I joined this site when i hit my ultimate low. Joining has helped me connect with others who understand me and how i feel and has helped me keep some sanity in my life.
