What to do?

[MercyL]

A friend suffered from COPD. Her Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease required steroid treatments and, after a lifetime of steroids, her doctor discovered stage 4 lung cancer. The doctor says the use of steroids led to her cancer.

She passed about 2 weeks ago.

Doctors had tried talking me into steroid shots to ease my chronic pain, last year, and has slowly been working back around to those shots, again. This isn't my pain management doctor, by the way, this is me primary care physician doing this.

She does not treat my chronic pain but obviously has something against my existing pain management plan. I finally got frustrated with her trying to talk about my pain issues, since she doesn't treat those, and I finally told her about my friend dying from using steroids.

It's as if I wasn't even in the room. The doctor continued on with her original thought. I' sure she heard my statements about wanting to stay on oral meds and why I won't go for long term steroids, epidural injections, and all of the other approaches they'd like to milk money with.

She has this habit of ignoring what I say.

Would you keep seeing a doctor who repeatedly manifest selective hearing? I am considering changing doctors. It's not my throwing a snit but, really, would you keep dealing with that?

 

[1sweed]

Mercyl,
I can see why your frustrated with your doctor. I hate having a doctor who does not listen to what I say or tries to push medications on me that I clearly do not want to use. So in answer to your question about changing doctors, I would have to agree. When you pick the family doctor, that type of doctor is the core part of your team of doctors. There has to be an understanding and a trust level between you so that any treatments thought of to be used can be agreeded upon.

My family doctor is always wanting me to take cholesterol medications. They give me severe muscle pain and I can not take them. Once in a while a new one comes out and he wants me to try. And I try, but they don't work, I stop taking them and he listens to my concerns and agrees with me, cause it is my body and my choice.

So try and find another family doctor that you like. Shop around and ask your friends who they go too, or who they might recommand. Let us know how you make out. You are smart to question and smart enough to take advice and use it well. Good Luck!

 

[mariposa]

Would you keep seeing a doctor who repeatedly manifest selective hearing? I am considering changing doctors. It's not my throwing a snit but, really, would you keep dealing with that?

First of all, I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, MercyL.

I wish I'd have an answer about why your doctor tried to push medications on you that you don't want to take. Or an answer as to why she won't listen to your concerns. I'm not sure I'd trust myself to not say something like "Look, this is my pain, and if I choose having it over the deadly garbage you're trying to feed me, shouldn't that be my decision?" But I guess they wouldn't listen to that, either.

Would I keep seeing a doctor who totally ignored my wishes about those things? Absolutely not. I can think of no reason except being forced by insurance to keep seeing someone who sees me as an experimental play-toy for their drug-pushing. Even when insurances demand seeing a particular doctor, it's always from a list of at least a few of them from which to choose.