Doctors : Arrogant, rude, highhanded and dismissive - NY Times Report.

[Guest guest]

 

November 30, 2005

Being a Patient

 

When the Doctor Is in, but You Wish He Wasn't By GINA KOLATA

Joanne Wong's doctor correctly figured out what was wrong with her. But he

would not tell her.

Ms. Wong, a software engineer in Sunnyvale, Calif., was having abdominal pain

and nausea. Her doctor told her to have a blood test, then ushered her out of

his office, ignoring her when she asked what the test was for.

" The test came back, and he said I have a virus, " Ms. Wong said. " He said,

'Take this medicine for two weeks.' I asked, 'What kind of virus do I have? How

did I get it?' But he just said, 'Take the medicine and come back in two weeks.'

"

Two weeks later, she still felt ill. " He said, 'You're fine, you're fine,' "

Ms. Wong said. " I said, 'At least tell me the name of the virus.' " But, she

said, " He just patted my shoulder and sent me out, " telling her to return in

three months for another blood test.

Perhaps, Ms. Wong said, the doctor did not want to spend the time to talk to

her, or perhaps he was put off by her Chinese accent and thought she would not

understand. In any event, she never returned to that doctor. When she got her

medical records, she learned that she had had hepatitis A, a viral liver

infection.

Ms. Wong had come across a bane of the medical profession: the difficult

doctor. These doctors may be arrogant or rude, highhanded or dismissive. They

drive away patients who need help, and some have been magnets for malpractice

claims.

 

Read more at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/30/health/30patient.html?th= & emc=th & pagewanted=pr\

int

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Precisely this is why we should all retain and fight

to retain the right to " Self Medicate " . It is not self

prescription. Let us not touch the prescription

medicines. But we should oppose the attempts of some

drug companies and medical associations to convert

some vitamins and aminos etc in their high dose into

" Prescription Medicines " . Such totally harmless and

beneficial things should be available to common people

without prescription and over the counter in

supermarkets at whatever dose the educated people

choose.

We the educated informed people will not harm

ourselves after all.

The World Industry for Self Medication in France is in

our favor.

Ratan.

 

 

 

--- Jagannath Chatterjee <jagchat01 wrote:

 

>

>

>

> November 30, 2005

> Being a Patient

>

> When the Doctor Is in, but You Wish He Wasn't By

> GINA KOLATA

> Joanne Wong's doctor correctly figured out what

> was wrong with her. But he would not tell her.

> Ms. Wong, a software engineer in Sunnyvale,

> Calif., was having abdominal pain and nausea. Her

> doctor told her to have a blood test, then ushered

> her out of his office, ignoring her when she asked

> what the test was for.

> " The test came back, and he said I have a virus, "

> Ms. Wong said. " He said, 'Take this medicine for two

> weeks.' I asked, 'What kind of virus do I have? How

> did I get it?' But he just said, 'Take the medicine

> and come back in two weeks.' "

> Two weeks later, she still felt ill. " He said,

> 'You're fine, you're fine,' " Ms. Wong said. " I

> said, 'At least tell me the name of the virus.' "

> But, she said, " He just patted my shoulder and sent

> me out, " telling her to return in three months for

> another blood test.

[Guest guest]

--- psych doc <psych_58 wrote:

> Precisely this is why we should all retain and fight

> to retain the right to " Self Medicate " . It is not self

> prescription. Let us not touch the prescription

> medicines. But we should oppose the attempts of some

> drug companies and medical associations to convert

> some vitamins and aminos etc in their high dose into

> " Prescription Medicines " . Such totally harmless and

 

Amen to that! I've discovered (by continued trial and error, and by searching

out info on the internet for things to try) a way to get myself feeling better.

And all it's taking to get me going is an over-the-counter amino acid that will

cost me about $20 a month to maintain. At this point, I have an almost complete

recovery of my neuropathies, etc.

 

Counter this with the thousands of dollars I've spent on MDs, as well as

physical and occupational therapists. And counter this with the completely

ineffective, just symptom-masking, and/or worse-than-the-disease prescription

pills I've been prescribed - all to get no relief whatsoever.

 

If I had to rely on traditional western medicine, I'd still be nearly

incapacitated by my medical issues. Only to be told by the MDs that my numbness

and such must be " psychological " since they couldn't diagnose it without

thought or effort in the 6 minutes they allowed me per visit (at $125 a pop for

an " extended " visit).

 

Here's another example of why doctors should be considered ONE opinion, but not

THE opinion, regarding our health:

 

For most of my teen years and into my 20s, I suffered from horrible hip and

knee pain that made walking excrutiatingly painful. I went to doctors and

specialists for 10 years, to be told " nothing's there " , " it's all in your

head " , etc. Then one day I realized I hadn't had pain for the last few weeks,

and I started trying to figure out why. Come to find out, I have flat feet, and

the shoes I'd been buying weren't giving me the support I needed! Even to

today, when I wear only shoes that give me good support, I have ZERO pain. I

can tell when my shoes are too old to give good support anymore when I start

feeling the beginnings of knee and hip pain again.

 

The fact that years of specialized (and narrow) medical education has often

failed to develop or provide common sense means going to the doctor can not

only fail to benefit us, but it can also be dangerous! Caveat Emptor!

 

Gert