Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Are There Any Doctors that Actually will Listen?

I have been having ongoing health problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and few other things that are fairly normal in today's high paced high fat world.
I have been diagnosed with a couple of strokes, and several TIA's (mini strokes) 'they think' what I don't get is "they think"

I have had endless cat scans, sonograms, x-rays, blood work etc. etc. etc. it's still "they think".

Well the worst part is I have severe pain, I have been sent to a number of neurologist and neurosurgeons for this. I finally found a good neurologist in Berlin, Dr Yonkers, I really like her, she at least found some of the problems that cause me such pain. Now she is a great Dr but she is also limited in what she can do after a diagnosis so she has to refer me to others that again... "they think" this has been going on for a number of years.

Just over two years ago "they thought" so long that I'm now disabled do to severe pain and "they think" a couple of strokes.

I have also found a PA I really like and she wants to help so bad but again, she's a PA so she can only do so much because she has to listen to her boss, the Dr that "thinks"

Now to the meat of the subject. Why do I say and title this post "Are There Any Doctors that Actually will Listen?"

Because they wont, not one Dr I have ever been to since I have started having problems will listen when I say I am very tolerant to drugs, ALL drugs. VERY tolerant.
I explain that I have had a couple operations that required Anesthesia and the Anesthesiologist actually became upset because they had other appointments and I would not respond to the medicine, I would not go under and I was making them late for their next victim.

In one case the paralyzing drug took affect and the Anesthesia DID NOT and I could not move, blink, or talk to tell them I could feel everything they were doing while they were slicing and dicing, I think I passed out in shock during that operation.

Now what I mean about this whole thing is after I tell every Doctor this they go to a book and look at the medicines that they think I need to try and they always start with the lowest dose, again after I have stated it wont work. I have gone as far as telling the doctor to look in the book for the highest dose, double that, then lets see what happens. They wont listen.

Here's an example for those of you that take or have taken for example strong pain medicine. lets use vicodin, they moved me up to 750/7.5 vicodin the strongest you can get by law. I can take 4 of those at once with absolutely zero effect.
After finally convincing them that the vicodin was equal to taking M&M's candy they finally moved me up to Oxycontin, the lowest does again. That did absolutely nothing.
Then they told me take the Oxycontin and wait a couple hours and take a vicodin.

Ok, I followed those directions and again, refer back to the M&M's comment.

I was then sent to a pain management specialist, what a piece of work she was. I explained everything I could remember and gave her a list of my medication and results of what they "think" is causing my pain. Now believe it or not this pain management specialist said to me and I quote, "If you came to me for medicine to help with pain you're in the wrong place, I could care less about your pain"

I know what you're thinking right now but that's the truth, I was stunned and started to walk out but the wife was with me and convinced me to stay and listen to what she had to say. By the way, that quack that calls herself a pain management specialist is Dr. Jafferys in Salisbury. She told me I would be doing physical therapy under her care and would never be medicated for the pain.

Ok again, I complied with Jeffery's orders and went to therapy and even the therapist thought Jeffery's must be nuts, they put some hot towels on my neck and back and said they wouldn't do any more until I had a positive diagnoses as it could cause more damage.

Now back to the Dr today because I've been getting sick and things are just falling apart and getting worse, I cannot do any regular life chores NONE if you get my drift. At this point I have no life outside being able to type on this stupid computer and that's even a chore because I also have glaucoma and my chair does not hurt me to set for a short period of time.

Trying to explain to my favorite PA (I wish she was a doctor) that there is really no way to describe my pain and that unless I can get the strongest pain meds to even help ease the pain is fruitless, I really think she understands and does her best but the Dr is another story, he's only going to write a prescription that he "thinks" (there's that word again) will work because it works on 99.9% of other folks.

So today I come home with a lower dose from what I previously had and will be expected from the Dr that they will last as long as the prescription before. Look, when you hurt like I do I could care less if the bottle says take every 6 hours or not, I'm going to take them when I hurt, I have too, this is not a toothache. Sure I wait as long as I can before the next dose and then some because I know I'll run out to soon and will not have anything to curve the pain and government has made sure that you wont get a refill if you do run out a day or even an hour early.

Now this gets me to the other subject. Today I was presented with a new "contract" now I'm familiar with these contracts that you have to sign that says you wont sell these medications and that you must use one and only one pharmacy for the purchase and refills of narcotic pain medications to help deter fraud. I have no problem with that.

What I do have a problem with is the new "contract" has an added clause, the patient and/or receiver of the prescription will now be subject to a random piss test by the Dr. or his office. I assume this is for a few reasons.

1) to make sure the patient is taking the prescription and not selling it.

2) that the patient is not using any other illegal drugs.

3) that the patient is taking this drug as prescribed.

4) that the patient is not taking another prescribed narcotic possibly from another doctor.

5) Liberal democrats don't think we have enough personal responsibility and have a need to control every aspect of our lives.

6) use your imagination.

I REFUSE to sign such a contract as it is completely and totally unconstitutional, it's a violation of our rights and imposes on personal life.+


So, at this point I guess not only has my pain medications that is almost non affective the dosage has been lowered by a Dr that's to busy to look back at his notes I will not be able to even receive any when this prescription run dry.

That's my rant for today, looks like I'll be strapping myself down in a couple of weeks while my body goes berserk from uncontrollable pain.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:09:00 AM

    Public Eye-
    I suggest if at all possible that you change doctors. There ARE doctors out there that WILL listen because your problem, though uncommon I think, is not unheard of.

    Try herbs, surely your doctor knows about their importance. My doctor does. I wouldn't go to a doctor that could just advise me and not treat me. What is the reason for your pain? Do they know for sure?

    I just can't imagine living with unexplained pain.

    jmmb

    ReplyDelete
  2. the neurologist in Berlin found the reason for most of my pain,
    Dr Yonkers, she is new and from John Hopkins.

    She is a very determined Doctor.

    What she found was that my neck is really messed-up and the nerves are knotted and pulling so tight that they are like rubber-bands stretching and pulling away from my vertebrae. That was the way she described it.

    She also said if I were one of her family members she wouldn't even let me ride in a car. She said one jolt from like a rear-end collision and I could very easily be paralyzed.

    I'm definitely going to find another Dr after the conversation I had last night with the Dr's wife.

    I'll post on that conversation soon and it wont be very nice.

    Stay tuned.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:20:00 PM

    WOW! That is painful. BUT you are not the only person ever to have this condition. What is done? Surely with modern medicines and procedures there must be something besides medications, that you can never get prescribed enough of, to feel no pain. What a situation!

    ReplyDelete
  4. 2:20
    I don't know how many folks have the same problem that I have, but.. I have other problems that hamper the way I need to be treated, for one example, I cannot lat down flat because of a problem call achalaisha, that is a swallowing problem and when I lay flat... well... everything comes up.
    That in itself limits some of the test I need.
    The other thing is I have yet to find a Dr that says they would even touch the problems in fear of the outcome.
    From what I understand it's a very delicate and dangerous surgery that could very well leave me worse off than I am now.

    There are other factors also but not really worth going into as no one likes to hear others woe's LOL

    bottom line is I can't be fixed, either I take meds or deal with severe pain. And other very weird and embarrassing symptoms.

    ReplyDelete

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