Worst Kind of Doctor.

[lindz247]

The name says it all. What's your least favorite kind of doctor?
So today I went to go see the dentist.
I HATE the dentist. It's just the awkwardest place you can be. All those thingamigs put in your mouth, it's not right! I those that keep saying open ya mouth! I'm doing the best I can women I already got braces killing my jaw lol.
Before I left they told me I had a cavity and that really ruined my night. I floss and brush every night and morning what's the deal?
I really never liked any doctors in the first place.
And those drops the eye doctor gives you-What's in that stuff garlic powder? I'm blinded!
Let's see how many posts this will get.

[Cure]

I'm alright with any doctor. Keeping me healthy is alright with me.

[IndigoErth]

With you on the dentist. Sucky dental genes and been through the mill with that one all my life.

Doesn't help that my lifelong dentist has been in the process of retiring for the most part and handing the place over to other people, who are now bringing in the cosmetic dentistry bandwagon push.

[ssjup81]

Gynecologist....loathe them...

[Dirty Blond]

Chiropractors. Are they really doctors? No, but they love to pretend.

[Sage Ninja]

Originally Posted by Dirty Blond

Chiropractors. Are they really doctors? No, but they love to pretend.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Definitely the dentist for me, too. Had braces in high school, and man my mouth has never been the same! Thanks mom, you forced me to get something I've regretted ever since, and didn't really even NEED.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Dirty Blond

Chiropractors. Are they really doctors? No, but they love to pretend.

100% wrong. I literally couldn't walk upright if not for my chiropractor. When I have a legit problem, like my neck being misaligned, my shoulder being partially separated, or my coccyx being twisted, he fixes it. I lived with chronic back, neck, and knee pain from age 17 to 25, that literally cleared up in a week once I finally got off my ass and went. Every other "doctor" just wanted to get me hooked on painkillers. "Oh, your knee hurts? Yeah, you're f*cked, it's never gonna be right again. We have some pills, though..." Meanwhile, my chiropractor immediately fixed it and prescribed me some exercises to keep it from recurring, which it hasn't.

All of that was BEFORE I started wrestling, by the way. I was in much worse shape, and much more pain, before I started wrestling than I am now after doing it for 5 years. I get dropped on my head constantly, yet thanks to a few adjustments a month I have neck pain only rarely, despite having a chipped C6 since I was 14. I guess that's all "pretend"?

Also, my father was in a car crash where he went headfirst through the windshield and broke his neck. Doctors at the hospital told him that while he wasn't going to be paralyzed or anything, he would need to wear a neck brace for the rest of his life and wouldn't be able to move his head properly. After getting out of the hospital, he had a few weeks' worth of sessions with my chiropractor and not only regained full mobility, he never complained of any neck pain at all for the rest of his life. He never went back for more therapy because he claimed he felt perfectly fine.

So, yeah, I know for a fact there are quack chiropractors just like there's quacks in any field. But to make a statement like that, you literally have no clue what you're talking about. If anything, they serve a far greater function to peoples' well-being than many so-called "doctors" who only exist to prescribe expensive placebos. One masks a physical ailment, the other actually fixes it. That's NOT "pretend".

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I get dropped on my head constantly, yet thanks to a few adjustments a month I have neck pain only rarely...

So THAT'S what's wrong with you, LOL! JK. My mom sees a chiropractor periodically, too, for back and knee issues.

[Leo656]

It's probably more to do with all the blow and Schnapps my Mom supposedly partook of while pregnant. That'd be my guess.

[TMNT_Guy]

Any doctor that refuses to listen to the patient because they “know better”.

I’ve had so much trouble with doctors that I don’t think I have enough characters to explain all the problems I’ve had with them. If you’re curious, here is a synopsis of what I’ve been through. Do note that I’m leaving a lot of stuff out. Spoilered due to size.

Spoiler:

When I turned 18 a lot of weird things started happening to me. I had to go to the bathroom constantly, my feet and legs constantly felt like they were asleep and I kept tripping over everything. When this happened I’d completely lose control over my legs for a few seconds. I told my doctor about it and he assumed I had diabetes, I told him that I thought I had a nerve problem but he insisted on checking for diabetes. Months passed before he finally agreed that I had a nerve problem. Frustrating, but understandable; doctors need to make sure of the small things before considering the big things.

But then…

I found out that I had a tumor and a cyst on my spinal cord from T4 to C7. I over heard the neurologist while checking out talking to someone in the back. "Yeah man, it's from T4 to C7. Phew!" in a tone like he was talking about some big fish he caught. They wanted to do a biopsy on the tumor to make sure it wasn’t cancerous and told me I’d be in the hospital for a few days afterwards. Well, after the biopsy I woke up to find that I couldn’t feel anything below my waist, nor could I move anything. They told me it was due to swelling and I’d be back to normal in a few days. I really had to pee, so the nurses gave me a cup to go in. Only I couldn’t go, I couldn’t control anything below my stomach. When I asked the nurse what we should do, she looked at me like a deer in the headlights. My Dad who was with me suggested using a catheter, but the nurse said no. Her brilliant idea was to get five other nurses, pick up the 240 pound man who couldn’t use anything below his torso and hold him over a toilet so he could go on his own. You can imagine how well that worked, it took them forever to get me off the floor and back into the bed. Finally we had to get nasty with the nurse, and by the way feeling like your bladder is about to explode for over an hour and having no control to relieve yourself is a terrible feeling, before she finally used a catheter on me. Later I’d have to fight with the nurses a second time before they started giving me catheters permanently. I ended up staying a whole week before they shipped me over to a rehab hospital. So much for a few days.

This is where it gets good.

I stayed there for two months. I still couldn’t walk on my own, but I was able to move around using a walker. During the last week of my stay the doctors gave me the report of the biopsy: it was cancer free. However, they claimed the tumor was inoperable. Why? Because if they could remove the tumor, they would have during the biopsy. Which is complete bull: the surgeons were there to do a biopsy, not to remove my tumor. They told me my only option was radiation, but it would more than likely leave me paralyzed for the rest of my life. My Dad thought the whole thing was ridiculous, so he got a second opinion at Johns Hopkins.

A month passed and I had my meeting with the doctor. Based on the tests they sent him, I’d never walk again. However a month later he called and told me it could be removed no problem. I ended up losing control and feeling from the waist down again, but the doctor assured me that I’d be back to where I was again in a few months.

So they shipped me to another rehab hospital. I’ll never forget how horrible the one therapist was there. I still have no control over anything below my waist and she flops me on to a mat…right on to my balls. I’m trying to tell her I’m on my balls, I can’t move, I’m telling her to roll me over off my balls and she’s acting like it’s no big deal. “Calm down, your making a scene. {TMNT_Guy}! Look at me, look at me. Calm down.” I don’t think I’ve ever felt like punching someone as much as I did that day. Too make a long story short, I’m walking on my own now. If I had listened to what the doctors originally told me, I might not have the ability to type this sentence now.

Not all doctors are bad, but a lot of them from my experience are rude, dismissive, and just plain idiotic. They’re so busy looking at the puzzle piece that they fail to see the big picture on the box. You need doctors to stay healthy, but just remember they're not always right. By the way, if a doctor, nurse, therapist wants you to do something and you don’t because it sounds like a bad idea, they usually reply with “Well, just try it.” Never try it; it’s always lead to bad things for me.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by TMNT_Guy

Any doctor that refuses to listen to the patient because they “know better”.

Oh, gawds, yes. When I first knew I was pregnant, I was sent to an OB/GYN who took Medicaid (she was the only one in the area, apparently) and from the first visit, I told her exactly what I wanted- I asked for advice on using herbals for symptoms and supplements, and told her I fully expected to require a C-section due to my size and family history- my mom is similarly petite as me, and I was born that way, so it was a fair bet I'd have to do it, too. I also told her on the FIRST VISIT that I wanted my tubes tied as part of the birth procedure, as I was 30 already, and had neither planned on that pregnancy, nor did I ever want another one. She smiled and said I should consider waiting, as I might "change my mind later". Never mind that having one much older than that is usually NOT a good idea in the first place! (And since I'd already TOLD her I hadn't planned/wanted it to begin with, she was already ignoring my wishes.)

It got worse. I signed the papers for the tubal ligation on the very next visit, and still she protested that I should wait as I might not feel the same way afterwards. And she again ignored my questions regarding using herbal remedies and supplements, in favor of standard pre-natal and iron supplements. I was anemic, and also severely underweight, as I'd already LOST 10 pounds less than a week after learning I was pregnant, due to morning sickness that got so bad I went three and a half days without keeping ANYTHING down- not even water. I had gotten dehydrated, and went to the hospital for it. I was also treated rather rudely by the triage admittance guy at the hospital while I was puking my guts up into his trashcan. Apparently, they were afraid I'd walk out of there wit the IV needle still in me and that I wanted drugs. REALLY??!! I'M FREAKNING PREGNANT AND CAN BARELY STAND FROM DEHYDRATION, YOU MORON!!!

This sort of crap continued from the OB/GYN for the entire rest of the term. And she had the gall to tell me I'd "miscalculated" my conception date, and put it more than two weeks earlier than I'd estimated. According to her, I'd conceived on Dec. 17- which was coincidentally, the weekend my hubby and I had gone to visit his mom and dad while we were going to go to a concert in town, and we slept on the fold-out bed in their living room. No, you stupid b****, we DIDN'T DO ANYTHING that weekend! And it was New Year's before we finally did, so I KNEW when my conception date was.

Sooo, long story short, I fought with her over every detail the entire time, but couldn't go to another doctor because of the Medicaid. Ended up having to argue over the tubal AGAIN while I was in labor (four days earlier than she had expected, and also more than a week LATE, by my own count) with her saying I should wait six months after the birth to be sure I wanted that (not coincidentally, my Medicaid would run out long before then) and that she couldn't find the records that I'd signed WAAAY back on the second visit consenting to the tubal ligation, but fortunately, the prospective adoptive parents of my daughter advised me to go over her head to the admins if need be.

Lo and behold, when I threatened to do just that, she magically produced the paperwork, claiming her assistant had it. After nine hours, they realized my baby's head was stuck on my pelvis (Duh, could've told you that would happen! Oh, wait- I DID.) and they decided I had to have the C-section after all. So I ended up with TWO epidurals and could feel NOTHING from just below my boobs down, and asked the nurse as they wheeled me into the surgery to make SURE the B**** did the ligation or I'd start getting legal involved, which the nurse assured me later that they did. And then the doctor tried two months later to bill me for a follow-up visit I NEVER made, or even scheduled!

[Leo656]

That's the sh*ts. That's really awful. No offense to women, but I'm grateful every single day that I'm not one, and a lot of it has to do with nonsense like that.

[Mew]

Eye doctors.
Probably because I go there more than the average peep, as I said in the physical and mental health thread.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by MsMarvelDuckie

Oh, gawds, yes. When I first knew I was pregnant, I was sent to an OB/GYN who took Medicaid (she was the only one in the area, apparently) and from the first visit...

Wow, wtf? Talk about intrusive. You think any of it had to do with being a Medicaid patient? Have it myself, I do worry about being treated differently because of it. And with limited doctors as options... bleh.


Thankfully the last Gyno I saw was probably actually one of the most awesome doctors I've had in terms of personality. I wish way more doctors had her 'bedside manner.' Would/will gladly go back to her.

[Leo656]

Sounds like she had some "magic fingers".....

I'll stop.

[IndigoErth]

More like personality that puts patients at ease...

Spoiler:

[Leo656]

That's awesome, you're awesome.

[pennydreadful]

Originally Posted by TMNT_Guy

Not all doctors are bad, but a lot of them from my experience are rude, dismissive, and just plain idiotic. They’re so busy looking at the puzzle piece that they fail to see the big picture on the box. You need doctors to stay healthy, but just remember they're not always right. By the way, if a doctor, nurse, therapist wants you to do something and you don’t because it sounds like a bad idea, they usually reply with “Well, just try it.” Never try it; it’s always lead to bad things for me.

This. So much this.

I've had so many bad experiences with doctors while trying to treat my depression. I've had doctors literally tell me that I should just cheer up because there are people out there in wheelchairs and I'm not, so I should be happy because "it could be worse". I've had doctors tell me that I just need some fresh air, exercise and sunshine and then I'll feel better. I had one particularly awful doctor practically yell at me and say that I didn't want to get better, that me feeling like self-harming was just "being silly" and that he "was only willing to treat me" if I was going to make an effort - like he'd be doing me some grand favor instead of, you know, just doing his freaking job.

As a result, I've changed doctors a lot trying to find one who is the right fit for me - which then looks like you've been "doctor shopping", which isn't the case at all.

Then there's the problem of the treatments itself - antidepressants are basically trial and error and people with depression generally have to try two or three medications before finding one that works for them. Unfortunately, I have treatment-resistant depression which means that my brain chemistry often just doesn't respond to treatment at all.

Side note regarding this under the spoiler, to avoid rambling:

Spoiler:

Basically, when it comes to depression, you've got limited treatment options.
You can try herbal remedies (which I have, didn't work).
You can try psychologist/psychiatrist treatment (which I have, no marked difference as my problem is predominantly chemical in nature rather than situational).
You can try antidepressants. If they don't work, the only other options are ECT, vagus nerve stimulation or magnetic stimulation... all of which I do not want to do because they're insanely expensive, will cause short-term memory loss (which I can't afford to do as I need to be able to work) and let's be honest, the idea of ECT is pretty darn scary.)

Throughout the course of my life, I've tried 12 different medications, only one of which has worked (and that was for a period of two years, after which my system built up too much of an immunity and sent me back to square 1... which is where I am now). I often feel that doctors basically throw a dart at a board and select what they're going to prescribe for you that way.

Griping aside, sooo many doctors just write you up a script and don't tell you anything about what you're taking - whether there will be side effects, whether there's a risk of increased suicidal feelings, what to do if that happens, whether it's notorious for particularly bad discontinuation syndrome, whether you should expect weight gain. I've had this happen to me on numerous occasions - which is probably why I'm so controlling when it comes to my treatment now.

[Leo656]

Without hijacking the thread, I just wanna say, the fundamental problem I've noticed with depression and trying to treat it is: Stuff sucks. There's really no way of getting around that. If a person sat and counted the things about life that Suck, Vs. the things that make it Worth Living, the former list is going to be a helluva lot longer. That's indisputable. The problem with "treating" depression is, you have to find a way to ignore that, and that's hard. That's really, really hard.

Also, without inviting/starting a debate about religion or faith, I will say that if you don't believe in God, things automatically become 1000x harder. You wake up every day wondering WTF the point of all this is, and you don't find many answers.

Really, when I look around, I'm honestly surprised that anybody could ever find a way NOT to be depressed. "Happiness", to me, makes no sense. Maybe that sounds weird, but it's just genuinely how it feels. The world is sh*tty, people are awful, and I genuinely don't know how anyone could ignore all that.

That's why I think so many people who go to doctors or therapy for treating their depression don't often make a ton of progress. You basically have to lie to yourself in order to be "happy". There's no pill that can change the fact that literally everything is f*cked up.