bad experiences with doctors?

Question

Has anyone else had bad experiences with doctors? I am going to check ups for shortness of breath and severe reflux. I find that I am doing all the research and am not getting enough help from there end. For example, I was diagnosed with severe reflux (I asked to do a barium swallow and it was found) yet I wasn't even told what foods to stay away from!! There have been times that male doctors have flirted with me. There have been times when male doctors have disrespected and dismissed me since I am only in my 30s and am having severe symptoms (they're not taking me seriously). And there have been times when I've felt like either the doctors didn't know enough, or just wanted my money. I am tired of this. I may have a severe condition and I am scared that I won't be cured just because there are so many bad doctors out there! Anyone had similar experiences??

Answer 1

I had an experience that I will never forget. I actually had a dual problem going on, Diseased Gallbladder and Early Menopause. I was going to my family Dr. and he did all these weird tests on me. After 9 months of suffering, I began to think something horrible was wrong with me. I was very ill everyday. It got so bad I could not eat much other than peanut butter, but the Drs. diagnosis was that I was having anxiety attacks and he gave me an Anti-Depressant to take. The only think that did was keep me from being angry at him. He then tried to send me to a Neurologist. I told him that the problem was more in my stomach, not in my head or nervous system. I requested that he send me to a gastrologist and he granted my request, but at the same time told me he would not treat me anymore. Anyway, to make a long short, it turned out that I needed to have my Gallbladder removed and also HRT. The Gastrologist said I had classic symptoms. Not sure why the other Dr. could not see that. Until all this happened, I had blind faith in my Dr., but now I will get 2nd and 3rd opinions if I ever get sick like that again. You know your own body, so please request a referral to someone else. Some Drs. cannot admit they do not know what is wrong and they end up making you think you are unstable or subject to hypochondria.

Answer 2

Oh yes, let me tell you. I have several injuries that have resulted in nerve damage. I also have had serious health problems, illnesses and such. The thing is, I am only in my 20's. It took me a very long time to find a Dr. that would listen to me and really tried to help instead of pat me on the head and tell me I was fine. It got to the point where I had to really insist that certain tests be done, and told the Dr. if nothing was wrong that I'd never bring the symptom up again. Finding a good Dr. who will take you seriously is important, but it will also take some effort. I have a female Dr. now who is not much older than me and she actually acknowledges what I have to say. She may not always agree with me, but I have the utmost respect for her. If ever I thought she was dismissing me, I'd look for a second opinion. No one will look out for you like you.

Answer 3

I have had acid reflux and have had it for 10 plus years now. I was diagnosed when I was 30. I have done the berrium stuff and have vomited it every time. I have taken loads of medicine which includes, prilosec, prevacid and so on. I still take prevacid now and the pain is still there. I was told to stay away from foods with seeds, like cucumbers and so on and was told to eat more healthier. I found that after babying my system, 4 days or so then I could eat something not so good for me like peppers. Seeds are no good and neither is spicy foods. Sauces and tacos, etc.
As for the doctors, been there, don't that. I also (at the time of diagnosis) was diagnosed with gallstones. I had a doctor who litterally asked me if I was trying top terminate my pregnancy because I lost 46lbs during pregnancy. He was rude, called me a liar and made me suffer for 71/2 months. By then I had exploratory surgery and a stong was found lodged in my bile duct. In short, doctors are pains in the butts sometimes BUT not all. I was lucky to have one who cared enough to do a surgery when there was little proof of physical sickness.
Hang in there, avoid seeded foods, sauces and gassy food. Roughage is also a nono but little by little you can add it all back in. Tell your doctor that you want to know what to eat and what not to eat and surf the web for reflux, many times they have lists of good foods and bad. Hang in there, there is always someone out there who really cares about their patience.

Answer 4

My most recent experience with an inexperienced doctor was only about a week ago. Now, I go to the VA for all of my medical care, alright? It is a learning hospital which means it works with the University of Nebraska medical students, those about to graduate but who need x number of clinical hours under their belts for graduation. The majority of the people I have met there are usually on top of the game. However, last Friday night, I had the chills really bad, my temp went from 101.3 to 104.7 in less than 30 minutes and when my son got me to the ER, my sister in law (a LPN) met us there. I was rushed in right away and don't remember much of anything that went on. Think I passed out at one point. When I woke up, my concerned son was standing next to me holding my hand, my sister in law was the one who told me I was one sick puppy. Apparently, I had celluitis, a potentially fatal disease. The ER doctor didn't know what was happening and my sister in law had to point it out to him. Otherwise, God only knows what he would have treated me for or how!

Once admitted, I spent another 2 days there and every morning, the on-call doctor would come in, with his students trailing behind him. He explained what happened, but on the last day, he allowed his students to determine which antibiotic to send me home with and the dosage and told me to wear my support stockings and keep my leg elevated. Oh, forgot to add, my leg was red as a lobster and hotter than all get out. So, the first day I tried to wear my support stockings, it hurt like a mother and it drained. I had so many water blisters that were popping and pouring. So, off came the stocking.

I see a new doctor on Tuesday. In the meantime, a alternative doctor suggested I take 1500 mg. of L-Arginine a day (I take 1 500 mg capsule 3 times a day) to improve the circulation, etc. Have been using those for about 3 days and my leg isn't near the size that it was a week ago, nor does it really hurt like it did, either.

So, yeah, 8 years of college doesn't always guarantee a good doctor. What makes a lot of this hard is that people are requiring more specialists and there aren't any, or not enough anyway, and that puts the general practioner on the spot.

Answer 5

have had acid reflux and have had it for 10 plus years now. I was diagnosed when I was 30. I have done the berrium stuff and have vomited it every time. I have taken loads of medicine which includes, prilosec, prevacid and so on. I still take prevacid now and the pain is still there. I was told to stay away from foods with seeds, like cucumbers and so on and was told to eat more healthier. I found that after babying my system, 4 days or so then I could eat something not so good for me like peppers. Seeds are no good and neither is spicy foods. Sauces and tacos, etc.

Answer 6

Generally I have had good experiences ... with one notable exception. When I was pregnant with my first child I was going to my 8 month prenatal exam. When I got there the office was completely shut down with a "Closed. Dr. ______ is no longer practicing medecine in the State of Ohio" note on the door. The whole way home I thought every Braxton Hicks contraction was the real thing. It turned out fine, but it really got to me that the doctor hadn't even contacted her third trimester patients!

Answer 7

People have the misconception that b/c Doctors have 8 years of college then they know everything.NO doctor does.You are responsible for your health so I suggest you take an active part in it.Tell your doc that YOU want more tests done and that if he can't do it then you'll find one that can.YOU are paying him.HE works for YOU.This is your life.Fight for it.You know your body better than anyone.I hate when doctors are condescending.I know more about life than they'll ever know.Book smarts doesn't mean they're "Intelligent".You need more than a book to teach you about life.Good luck and I hope everything turns out right.

Answer 8

worst experiences with doctors
for my kiddo ~ 15 YEARS trying to get a diagnosis or ANY possible reason why he was acting "almost" autistic - got everything from schizophrenic to bi polar to it's NORMAL for him to be biting himself hard enough and often enough to leave highly visible scars, have episodes of repetitive motion lasting up to 3 hours at a time, and fly into uncontrollable rages 3-5 times daily. The medications they put him on caused him to have tardive kenesis which is permanant and caused other people to think he had Tourette's syndrome and their answer for that was to prescribe seizure medication which can cause sever liver damage even though he had NEVER had a seizure.
Finally got a diagnosis of hi functioning autism complicated by ADHD with a reccommendation to try dietary changes first from a STUDENT doctor. This has been so successful that he is now within a year of grade level
for myself ~ EWWWWWWW~ had a urologist who did not leave room for me to disrobe, as a matter of fact, did not allow disrobing at all and did not wash hands before TRYING to do a catherterization to ensure that blood in urine was from urinary tract instead of external source as first step to determine possibility of bladder cancer and had the temerity to say during pre exam interview (at same appointment) that since she would now be my doctor she would not be sending the reults of my test to my previous doctor. I told her no thanks, I would have better survival chance with bladder cancer than with an uncontrolabe infection due to unsanitary procedures.
I have to drive 5 hours to get my cancer treatments because that's the next closest urologist with oncological associates, but I'm still alive and kicking 3 years later :-)

Answer 9

yeah, my first week of marriage a gynocologist told my husband and I that we couldn't have children due to endometriosis.....all he did was a physical.....he never looked me in the eyes ....and he laughed about it....I was 21 and naive. I was 800 miles away from friends/family in another state. It was scary..he was such a jerk...well, now I have 3 kids. I have always wanted to send him a pic of them. He had me so upset i called the adoption agency and told my husband to find someone else to marry.

Answer 10

I also had bad reflux and went to many doctors. Have a ultrasound of your gallbladder. My gallbladder was enlarged and almost ruptured.Do get yours checked.