Doctors

From: Christine M. Smith (smithy@maine.rr.com)
Thu Jun 10 07:11:08 1999


Hi!

I'm getting a little tired/annoyed/worried,upset whatever about the doctor bashing that's starting to occur on this forum on a regular basis. True, there are doctors who do not "meet our needs" as the expression goes. (as there are in every profession. Did you love all your teachers and think all of them were good at what they did? Nooooooo.At least we have a choice (usually) with doctors, most of us were stuck with teachers for at least a year) It's also true that I'm not always 100% happy with my doctor, as my posts have sometimes indicated. Sometimes I think he isn't listening as well as he should or his office doesn't call me back quick enough. But he has always been caring and concerned about my problem. I have never gotten the impression from ANY doctor I've seen about this problem-2 gynecologists, a GI doc, a colo-rectal doc, my internist pcp, and a general surgeon-that they don't believe me or don't care. It is obvious to me that they are concerned that they aren't helping me as well as they (and I) would like. They are in the business to help people! It is not their fault that we are in chronic pain!!!! It is also not their fault that enough research isn't being done on this problem. (or on a lot of other problems) Maybe I'm lucky and there is something special about Maine doctors.

So, this is just my impression that I'm getting lately, please don't criticize me for it. Ask yourself if YOU are communicating to your doctor as well as you could be. They are not God. Instead of fuming, take an active role and insist on being treated the way you want to be. I work on a nursing unit in a hospital and see how some people can do this very well without being obnoxious. Someone on another forum wrote that she keeps a binder with everything in it about her problem, research being done, treatments etc. Some doctors would not appreciate this "proactive" attitude. The other side of demanding that a doctor take you seriously is that you then have to take him seriously and respect his professional opinion. I don't mean you have to trust him "blindly" but you can't just pick and choose what you want to hear and do. If you can't do that, then its probably time to find another doctor. If you can never do that then you are going to have trouble with doctors. They are only people. How would you feel if the roles were reversed and a patient came to you demanding a certain treatment and was not interested in your opinion?

I know this is really hard to do when you are beaten down by chronic pain. Chronic pain stinks.

Chris S.


Enter keywords:
Returns per screen: Require all keywords: