Doctors, what would you like to tell your patients, but can't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, not ONE doctor has answered on this thread, probably because of the crass nature of some of the responses (chiropractor for one, BTW they are NOT medical doctors).

Did you not see the thread about why doctors won't answer questions posed to doctors a few months back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Get your mammograms, get your pap smears, get your yearly physicals. It's your best shot.

Ok, doc, follow-up question. About how often does someone come in for an annual (non gyn) physical with no complaints, symptoms, or other suspicion of a health issue, and turn out to have something requiring treatment? And if you say "pre high blood pressure" I will write you off as a quack in the pocket of big pharma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend's husband is a chiropractor (not an MD, but a doctor, nonetheless) ...

No he is not a doctor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, not ONE doctor has answered on this thread, probably because of the crass nature of some of the responses (chiropractor for one, BTW they are NOT medical doctors).

I always write "difficult" in the file when cranky women ask too many questions.

I hate the fat ones and resent that I have to touch them.

I want only affluent, clean, fit patients with good insurance.

Do you write "pleasant" in the file if you have a nice, easy patient?

I am PP nd am not a doctor My mother is a doctor, I married one, the family's full of them--they all are misanthropes. They like the challenge of fixing a body. They are surgeons. They don't much like actual people, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do tell you to eat fruits and vegetables, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise. All good things, all things everyone should be doing.

What I don't tell you is that lots of people do all these things and still get cancer. And heart disease. And plenty of other things.

No one wants to hear it, but it's true. A lot of it is genetics. A Whole Foods diet is good for you, but it won't save you if your genes have determined that you are going to get aggressive breast cancer.

Get your mammograms, get your pap smears, get your yearly physicals. It's your best shot.

On a side note, I always laugh when my doctor tells me to eat well and exercise (not to her face) because she's badly overweight herself!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, not ONE doctor has answered on this thread, probably because of the crass nature of some of the responses (chiropractor for one, BTW they are NOT medical doctors).

I always write "difficult" in the file when cranky women ask too many questions.

I hate the fat ones and resent that I have to touch them.

I want only affluent, clean, fit patients with good insurance.

Do you write "pleasant" in the file if you have a nice, easy patient?

I am PP nd am not a doctor My mother is a doctor, I married one, the family's full of them--they all are misanthropes. They like the challenge of fixing a body. They are surgeons. They don't much like actual people, though.

I think this is mostly specific to surgeons, which is why they have a reputation for being a-holes. This coming from the anesthesiologist that gave me my epidural for DC#1, my SIL who is an oncology nurse, my MIL who is an administrator at a major area hospital, the resident that is working with my OBGYN, and one of my good friends who IS a surgeon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop getting medical diagnosis from the internet?

It's really unfortunate that some doctors have this attitude.

When we experienced infertility, I spent hours and hours on the internet researching my symptoms and possible explanations. When I came to my doctor with a theory he blew me off and told me I needed IVF. I went to a second doctor with the same theory and was brushed off yet again. The third doctor finally agreed to run the tests I requested and, lo and behold, they came back positive. Had I listened to doctors 1 and 2, we would have wasted thousands of dollars on IVF at a time when my condition (an implantation disorder) precluded success.

Thanks for the advice, but I'll continue to consult the internet.

Seriously. Do you know how many times I've gotten a wrong diagnosis from a doctor? Or how many times I've been right? Or how many times I've had to push for the proper tests? We are our best advocates. There is no reason we shouldn't research conditions as we know ourselves the best. I would think this would be helpful to any doctor worth his/her degree.

[Anonymous]

I love my doctor, when I come to see him I tell him, "I think I have XYZ" and he says, "well lets see if Dr. Internet is correct"

He knows that I'm a fairly intelligent person and that I'm going to look on the internet. I pay him to verify, not identify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop getting medical diagnosis from the internet?

It's really unfortunate that some doctors have this attitude.

When we experienced infertility, I spent hours and hours on the internet researching my symptoms and possible explanations. When I came to my doctor with a theory he blew me off and told me I needed IVF. I went to a second doctor with the same theory and was brushed off yet again. The third doctor finally agreed to run the tests I requested and, lo and behold, they came back positive. Had I listened to doctors 1 and 2, we would have wasted thousands of dollars on IVF at a time when my condition (an implantation disorder) precluded success.

Thanks for the advice, but I'll continue to consult the internet.

Seriously. Do you know how many times I've gotten a wrong diagnosis from a doctor? Or how many times I've been right? Or how many times I've had to push for the proper tests? We are our best advocates. There is no reason we shouldn't research conditions as we know ourselves the best. I would think this would be helpful to any doctor worth his/her degree.

Most doctors (like lawyers) are in it for the money and prestige and never think they're getting enough of either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, not ONE doctor has answered on this thread, probably because of the crass nature of some of the responses (chiropractor for one, BTW they are NOT medical doctors).

I always write "difficult" in the file when cranky women ask too many questions.

I hate the fat ones and resent that I have to touch them.

I want only affluent, clean, fit patients with good insurance.

Do you write "pleasant" in the file if you have a nice, easy patient?

I am PP nd am not a doctor My mother is a doctor, I married one, the family's full of them--they all are misanthropes. They like the challenge of fixing a body. They are surgeons. They don't much like actual people, though.

I think this is mostly specific to surgeons, which is why they have a reputation for being a-holes. This coming from the anesthesiologist that gave me my epidural for DC#1, my SIL who is an oncology nurse, my MIL who is an administrator at a major area hospital, the resident that is working with my OBGYN, and one of my good friends who IS a surgeon

YES, so true. My husband is an anesthesiologist so he works with ALL kinds of surgeons. He said some even troll the hospital looking for patients who may need surgery. They really do like to cut, and a certain smaller percentage of them truly do not care whether the surgery will help the patient or not. It's sad.

[Anonymous]

Yikes on all of the people saying the internet is completely bad. FIL is a surgeon and we talk about this a lot. He said that there are plenty of sites with very accurate descriptions of symptoms and that the key is to differentiate between the good (mayo clinic), the decent (webmd) and the bad (yahoo answers, about.com). Disease can be complex. An educated patient who is committed to bringing the doctor information is in better shape than a patient who wants the doctor to figure everything out. Sometimes the internet can help us connect symptoms that seem so disconnected a patient might have failed to bring them up. On the flip side, a patient who is convinced the doctor is overlooking something can sometimes be right, but can also be undermining his / her care. Find a balance, have a doctor you like, and be respectful.

[Anonymous]

And yikes on the surgeon bashing. my FIL is low-intervention. He works on children and goes out of his way NOT to cut. He lead his industry in developing a non-surgical fix for a problem that normally required surgeon. Not all surgeons are crazy misanthropes who just want to cut people open. Most were drawn to their trade because they care about people and health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Get your mammograms, get your pap smears, get your yearly physicals. It's your best shot.

Ok, doc, follow-up question. About how often does someone come in for an annual (non gyn) physical with no complaints, symptoms, or other suspicion of a health issue, and turn out to have something requiring treatment? And if you say "pre high blood pressure" I will write you off as a quack in the pocket of big pharma.

Hmm. Well, a good amount are obese or morbidly obese and need treatment for that. A good number end up being diabetic, but that usually comes with symptoms. If you're asking how often someone has the lightening-bolt case of something terrible out of the blue, where they had no symptoms, the answer is rarely. But most things are not symptomless, so I'm not sure what the point of your question is.

[Anonymous]

I was at my eye doctor today for a follow-up on some minor surgery I had a few weeks ago. After examining me, he said that my eyesight was now nearly 20/20 in the affected eye. I told him that I found my x-ray vision was still a little weak in the eye. Without missing a beat, he mimed picking up a bottle of eye drops and handed it to me and told me to use the eye drops and my x-ray vision would be better in two more weeks. We then both laughed. The only time a doctor has every laughed at one of my jokes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Get your mammograms, get your pap smears, get your yearly physicals. It's your best shot.

Ok, doc, follow-up question. About how often does someone come in for an annual (non gyn) physical with no complaints, symptoms, or other suspicion of a health issue, and turn out to have something requiring treatment? And if you say "pre high blood pressure" I will write you off as a quack in the pocket of big pharma.

Hmm. Well, a good amount are obese or morbidly obese and need treatment for that. A good number end up being diabetic, but that usually comes with symptoms. If you're asking how often someone has the lightening-bolt case of something terrible out of the blue, where they had no symptoms, the answer is rarely. But most things are not symptomless, so I'm not sure what the point of your question is.

That's exactly my point. I don't understand seeing a doctor based on the calendar, instead of based on symptoms. If I am a healthy weight, eating and sleeping and pooping to my satisfaction, energy is ok... what is a doctor going to find during an annual physical? What are they even going to look for? It's a waste of my time AND the doctor's.