It's interesting to me how different people have different experiences with doctors. In my short life, I have been to several different doctors. Not that I'm extremely unhealthy, however I have moved around quite a bit. With the few problems that I have had, I personally have had trouble finding anyone who would take my complaints seriously. Now the question for me is does everyone have trouble like this or is it something about my personality that makes doctors disbelieve me? I tend to think it's because a) I'm so young and b) I look young. It's like people think that nothing ever goes wrong with young people. Case in point, I visited one doctor a while back because I was really tired all the time. I mean I would wake up in the morning feeling just as exhausted as I went to bed, and I would be sobbing because I would actually have to get up and go to work. At 24 I felt that this was a little extreme. I visited the doctor hoping against hope that he would be able to help me. His response? Well, as long as you aren't falling asleep at the wheel you are okay. What? Where's the compassion? How about trying to figure out what's wrong with me? Nope. That wasn't done.
More recently I have been to another doctor who just seemed to be rude to me and not really concerned about who I was or what my problems were. The interesting thing is that I have heard that doctor and practice praised up one side and down another by someone else. I suppose my only conclusion is that finding a doctor is an extremely personal thing. The treatment that you get will vary from one person to the next. So, I'm off to try and find the next doctor that will genuinely care about my conditions. I feel like I'm searching for a new car.
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Comments: 58
I hope you can find the right Dr. for you that will listen & take you seriously.
It definitely is a personal thing, and finding one who takes you seriously is one of the most important parts... unfortunately, that seems to be harder than it should be!
I have had a physical here this year and the doctor I saw was really nice and tested me for a lot of stuff. I will have change doctors, however, because I just got new insurance and they do not cover the one I just went to.
We rarely went to the doctor, but when we did, he listened. His nurse lived down the street and if we had an injury that was "maybe" needing stitches, our parents would run over to her house and if she was home, she would tell them to take us to the office or she's just plaster us back together.
Yesterday I spent over an hour and half waiting to see a doctor who was triple booked because she went on vacation last week. I would have left if not for the fact the office staff had taken my money within 10 minutes of my arrival. I figured it would be a huge hassle trying to get it back so I asked to use the phone so I could let my co-workers know I'd be late.
A little background- I never would have gone to the doctor but the dentist has refused to see me until my blood pressure drops about 10 points. Since April, I've been on 3 different meds and none of them make a difference. Mind you, I never felt bad or had any symptoms of high blood pressure. I don't eat a lot of salt, I don't drink highly caffeinated drinks, and I don't live la vida loca. Two of the medications I've been given made me feel horrible.
The doctor saw me for about 7 minutes. Agreed I was not on a beneficial medication, handed me 4 boxes of samples and told me to come back in 2 weeks. She's a pleasant enough person but she doesn't have time to care or even consider that perhaps 10 points higher than the "norm" is okay for me. Maybe that's my norm.
I don't have much faith in today's doctors, and now the dentists. They go by a preset list of what's healthy and have no imagination.
Hang in there Sarah! If you haven't tried a multi-B vitamin, it probably won't hurt you. You've lived in your skin and you know when it doesn't feel okay. I'm hoping you find someone who will listen - it will probably be a nurse or PA before it's an MD.
I agree with some above comments B 12 shots are very good when you feel tired all the time ,I took them many times over the years.
I used to have very good luck with doctors and I usually try to go to female doctors--not all of them are better/better listeners, but it seems male doctors, in general, aren't as willing to take as much time or at least make you feel like they are taking the time.
Also, don't wait to meet a new doctor until you feel sick--you are at your worst, won't remember as much and are likely to get an attitude quicker(and then, when you hit the doc, we'll have to bail you outta jail). If you can afford it, have a well-being check--get some bloodwork done(check up on cholesterol, sugar, etc.). That way you have a better idea of how a doctor behaves.
It's just a random luck of the draw sometimes.
And, that's the sad truth.
If you are an insomniac like me, you may be having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or you may be having a sleep disorder that you may not be getting as much sleep as you think you are.
Look up sleep disorders on Google and see what you may find. Look up your symptoms.
It may just be the difference between having a good snooze or not.
I don't have to hunt since I belong to a clinic, but what a pain.
our current doctor who was the head of oncology at bethesda before coming to great lake naval hospital.
My daughter's neurologist and the other nuerologist who removed her rib and stopped her awful pain. My hsuband had a great doc in the 80's who saved his hand when he got shot.
Do you have the sweats? racing heart? Crying all the time or emotional? Headaches? Could be HYPER thyrpid
tired, cold, emotional, listless? HYPO thyroid
You can ask friends for recommendations or call you hospital's referral center. Tell them what you are looking for in a physician and they can match you up with the right one.
If your doctor isn't giving you enough time or is not answering your questions satisfactorily, let him know in person or by letter. Then find another doc. There are plenty of good ones. I worked in Medical Quality Assurance for years and I know there are many highly qualified doctors and, sadly, many who are not.
I don't know what types of food you eat, nor how much sleep you are actually getting. It's more important than one might think.
Eat real home cooked foods. They can be quick and simple, as long as they are not overly processed, with lots of added things like a long list of foreign names and words on the ingrediants list.
No soft drinks, or juices with added sugars.
Up your intake of vitamins, especially the B vitamins.
Take a good mix of Amino acids, as well.
Go to bed at a reasonable time, each night, and try for 8-10 hours of sleep a night.
I don't know if you get healthy exercise or not, but I'd recommend try walking in a nice time of day, in a relaxed manner. Taking some nice deep breaths of the fresh air, and taking the time to enjoy a nice morning, or evening, as you walk.
I also do not know about your menstal cycle, but try to be very aware of how, or if your energy dips or rises, as well as your emotional state. I made very good improvements in my life experience when I did this, and was able to make needed adjustments, like making more time for naps, or treating myself to a good cathardic movie, or book, or a nice pampering soak in the hotub.
Try these suggestions for awhile, and see if you have any improvement. In the meantime, you can still keep searching for that right doctor.
But I will tell you a good way to find a kind and compasionate doctor, while also being reputable and honest.
ASK A NURSE!!!
No kidding, do you know any nurses that work at local hospitals. They see the doctors' bedside manner as well as behind the scenes. We know who orders tests and treatment sensibly. We know who makes good medical decisions.
Beware though, if the nurse is not a friend or family member, we will never stick our neck out to give physician references to a stranger (Liability, you know...plus just not real ethical, either)
Good luck on your physician search.
(Don't forget to look up your potential doc on the internet...check out his track record at:
Quack Watch
It took 12 yrs before they looked seriously at me barfing everyday. It's been several years and no answer about numbness and tingling and lack of feeling in my legs and feet and several other things. Sometimes it was meds they prescribed that caused problems but they wouldn't admit it. Ok, off my rant! :)
One time, I took my son to the doctor he had been seeing for years and years....he had been having pain around his heart and we asked her to listen to see if she could hear a murmur, which an er doctor had diagnosed....to see how long he had had it by looking at his records...her reply..."I don't have time to listen to your heart and I don't have time to read your records" as she flipped the pages quickly. She told him to 'get over' the complaint he had that day and then went out of the room. As we left, we heard her talking to a nurse about the vacation she was beginning the next day...out of the country. It was years later that my son had his offical dx of Marfan's and the serious damage to his heart had begun. And now I am ranting.
I saw one of them for a while, she listened to me, for the first time in a very long time.
She listened not just to WHAT I said, but the way I was saying things (words and tone) pointed her toward a possible clinical depression issue. BINGO! Not the full solution, but I have also been diagnosed with PCOS and Sleep hypopnea (sp??). My CPAP has worked wonders.
I am still mildly fatigued, but more with it than I have been in a few years.
Sit down and write out symptoms and dates. Describe the symptoms in analogies as well.
I was diagnosed with IBS as well (currently very mild...knock wood!) but only after I had already told the doc a few times that I had a twitchy stomach discomfort - and in a serious, but humorous description that the pain often felt like a couple ferrets wrestling in my gut, did he listen and work toward eliminating possibilities.
SIGH!
Some insurance plans will have a supplemental service that you can call and speak with an RN - you can talk with them and see if they have any pointers for questions you can ask.
Contact the state equivalent of the AMA (Amaerican Medical Association) and ask for a referral - they may not be able to tell what insurance companies they are accepted by tho.
Good luck!