First Ammendment Rights and Communication: Disability
I am beginning to think that we live in a country where, if someone does not like what you have to say, they give you a pill to shut you up. I had an appointment with a new(er) doctor yesterday, he has only been attempting to treat me for a few visits now. I had a surgery that didn't go that well years ago, and as a result, have had a total of 3 corrective surgical measures taken. Over the last few months, I am getting stabbing pain when there is any pressure near the surgery site. In the past this has meant: Migrated clip, suture granuloma, hard plastic gut suture poking me because it shifted/broke/etc.
He did an endoscopy. Wooptie freakin' do. It doesn't visualize the surgery site. Without further testing or imaging or even speaking to my surgeon who has done repairs, he tells me it is basically "functional abdominal pain," and recommends I increase an antidepressant, not knowing anything about my history of medication-related problems, some of which have been VERY severe.
I ask him about the dilated bile ducts in my liver: A National health organization says this is not normal; he says it is, and that it is a 'compensatory' mechanism following gallbladder surgery. I'll give him this, he made a good argument. And, my last liver enzyme count was fine.
After I am crying, telling him that I do Not normally have this pain, and that I only called him BECAUSE I was having a problem, he decides to order an MRI to check the bile ducts.
He tells me HE gets frustrated with "functional" abdominal pain, because he can't do much for it, and recommends Tylenol. For some reason, it took 3 tries for me to tell him, I do NOT have diffuse pain, rather, point tenderness. Give me a freakin' marker, I'll put an X on the spot.
He has so far suggested a medication which I KNOW I cannot take, and increasing a dose of one that I am currently on, but that from past history, my doctors and I have learned the hard way, needs to be kept to a minimum.
Rather than initially ordering the MRI on someone whose current set of symptoms started with a new exercise in physical therapy, that may have aggravated some old insults from a "dirty" surgery, he recommends an increase in an antidepressant. Nice. Try to SHUT ME UP, because you can't wave a magic wand.
But, when you have a history of depression, or any other psychiatric disability, or anything affecting/viewed as affecting cognition, and any difficulties communicating your needs (my old Independent Living Specialist says communication was always my issue) people don't listen. Suddenly, instead of looking at the whole picture, it's "You must be mental." It doesn't matter that you had a clip removed from your stomach and they had to take your appendix, too, so your insurance would pay. It doesn't matter that you've had "revisions" done to surgical sites. You must be "mental."
The frustration is overwhelming. I am crying, begging the doctor to help me, and he tells me to up my antidepressant, without considering the fact that I've skirted Serotonin Syndrome (yes, it's VERY real, it's basically a drug overdose. Do your research, look it up) in the past. Meanwhile, he is repeatedly poking my stomach while I am telling him he needs to STOP, each time he presses down, it feels like a thorn is being stabbed into my guts. He doesn't even know if he is damaging something!!
I call my good surgeon who has done all the repairs from the first, crappy surgery. The nurse who knows me and my history, is very kind, and accommodating, and knows the first surgery was a bit of a FAIL, to say the least. She is already thinking, remembers me as the one they took the clip out of. Apparently, (thankfully) this does not happen every day, and is rare enough that I am memorable. Doesn't register with the gastro doctor, though. I have an appointment for a consultation with my "hero" surgeon, in a few weeks. Thank goodness!
His office is already concerned about hernias, gallstones, spasming, more debris from the original surgery......
Meanwhile, the gastroenterologist, disregards the fact that I have definite point tenderness. Disregards my past surgical history. Doesn't even ask to speak to my surgeon if he thinks I'm full of you-know-what. Tells me to up a drug when I tend to react badly to that approach, we are talking EXPENSIVE FAILURE when I get a drug reaction. Everything from heart issues on down the line.
Literally, its someone not taking the time to comprehend, and saying, I don't know what to do, you must be unhappy and that is causing your pain, instead of realizing I am unhappy because I am IN pain and apparently have difficulty communicating that fact, or they just have difficulty understanding it, but cannot admit to their own limitations.
He did an endoscopy. Wooptie freakin' do. It doesn't visualize the surgery site. Without further testing or imaging or even speaking to my surgeon who has done repairs, he tells me it is basically "functional abdominal pain," and recommends I increase an antidepressant, not knowing anything about my history of medication-related problems, some of which have been VERY severe.
I ask him about the dilated bile ducts in my liver: A National health organization says this is not normal; he says it is, and that it is a 'compensatory' mechanism following gallbladder surgery. I'll give him this, he made a good argument. And, my last liver enzyme count was fine.
After I am crying, telling him that I do Not normally have this pain, and that I only called him BECAUSE I was having a problem, he decides to order an MRI to check the bile ducts.
He tells me HE gets frustrated with "functional" abdominal pain, because he can't do much for it, and recommends Tylenol. For some reason, it took 3 tries for me to tell him, I do NOT have diffuse pain, rather, point tenderness. Give me a freakin' marker, I'll put an X on the spot.
He has so far suggested a medication which I KNOW I cannot take, and increasing a dose of one that I am currently on, but that from past history, my doctors and I have learned the hard way, needs to be kept to a minimum.
Rather than initially ordering the MRI on someone whose current set of symptoms started with a new exercise in physical therapy, that may have aggravated some old insults from a "dirty" surgery, he recommends an increase in an antidepressant. Nice. Try to SHUT ME UP, because you can't wave a magic wand.
But, when you have a history of depression, or any other psychiatric disability, or anything affecting/viewed as affecting cognition, and any difficulties communicating your needs (my old Independent Living Specialist says communication was always my issue) people don't listen. Suddenly, instead of looking at the whole picture, it's "You must be mental." It doesn't matter that you had a clip removed from your stomach and they had to take your appendix, too, so your insurance would pay. It doesn't matter that you've had "revisions" done to surgical sites. You must be "mental."
The frustration is overwhelming. I am crying, begging the doctor to help me, and he tells me to up my antidepressant, without considering the fact that I've skirted Serotonin Syndrome (yes, it's VERY real, it's basically a drug overdose. Do your research, look it up) in the past. Meanwhile, he is repeatedly poking my stomach while I am telling him he needs to STOP, each time he presses down, it feels like a thorn is being stabbed into my guts. He doesn't even know if he is damaging something!!
I call my good surgeon who has done all the repairs from the first, crappy surgery. The nurse who knows me and my history, is very kind, and accommodating, and knows the first surgery was a bit of a FAIL, to say the least. She is already thinking, remembers me as the one they took the clip out of. Apparently, (thankfully) this does not happen every day, and is rare enough that I am memorable. Doesn't register with the gastro doctor, though. I have an appointment for a consultation with my "hero" surgeon, in a few weeks. Thank goodness!
His office is already concerned about hernias, gallstones, spasming, more debris from the original surgery......
Meanwhile, the gastroenterologist, disregards the fact that I have definite point tenderness. Disregards my past surgical history. Doesn't even ask to speak to my surgeon if he thinks I'm full of you-know-what. Tells me to up a drug when I tend to react badly to that approach, we are talking EXPENSIVE FAILURE when I get a drug reaction. Everything from heart issues on down the line.
Literally, its someone not taking the time to comprehend, and saying, I don't know what to do, you must be unhappy and that is causing your pain, instead of realizing I am unhappy because I am IN pain and apparently have difficulty communicating that fact, or they just have difficulty understanding it, but cannot admit to their own limitations.
posted by Who I am Today at
6:35 AM
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