How many of you.....?

[Quixotic1]

Recently someone challenged me that people aren't dismissed, disdained, discarded or humiliated by neurologists as often as I seem to imply.  How many of you (with a brief description) have come away from a doctor visit angry, in tears, feeling humilated, or feeling ignored?  How many of you have had doctors imply that your symptoms were insignificant or stress-related or imagined?

After the second year that my first "evil" neuro dismissed me as "okay", despite worsening spasticity and then had the gall to suggest that all I wanted was to get medical testing as an attention-seeker (specifically the LP) - I swore that no matter what happen to me, I was never going to risk that with another docotr and cancelled all further appointments.  See my Journal entry.

I would just like to see a showing of posts on who has been treated this way.

Quix

[grannyhotwheels]

Where do I start... Without looking I honestly can't say for sure how many neuro's I have actually seen including a MS specialist at the Mayo Clinic. I think it's been 6 or 7 of them now.

I've been called crazy, lazy, a hypochondriac, depressed, attention seeker, a drug seeker, and that's just to name a few of them. I've been "diagnosed" with Lou Gehrig's Disease, Carpel Tunnel, and my favorite a Paranoid Schizophrenia... What???

My Primary Care Physician actually diagnosed me with MS from the start but all of the so called specialist seemed more interested in proving him wrong than trying to find out what was wrong with me...

I have been laughed at and completely humiliated at times but my family and I knew something was wrong and we decided early on that we wouldn't stop until we found someone that would give us an answer... It didn't have to be MS but we needed a good explanation for what was going on with me...

I would love to send each and every one of these doctors my current records and diagnosis along with a letter telling them what I thought of them.  I'm a better person that that so I wouldn't do it but dreaming of doing it makes me feel good inside...hahaha

Quix, I have never thought you where to hard on the neuro's out there and if anything your not hard enough.  I think all of these post pretty much proves that theory...

Any way I just wanted to throw my 2 cents worth out there...So now I think I will go have myself a weenie roast and throw each of their names in the fire...hahaha

I'll be praying,
Carol

[Phoenix177]

forgot to mention my PCP is doubting my fibro dx

[Phoenix177]

I've been told by different doctors (never by my pcp) 'it's in your head', 'you're a hypochondriac', you're a junky looking for pills' before my fibro dx in '04. never mind I didn't have any medical problems until after my ex attacked (5/2000) me and my upper and lower spine and my right shoulder took a direct hit/blow.
I would tell the doctor, just tell me what's wrong with me.

I started noticing a slight heat intolerance in '08, but blamed fibro even though it didn't make since. my ms-like sx struck hard in jan '09. my pcp believes me, for that I'm very greatful. a lot of doctors now blame the fibro, ignoring the fact my kinda-new sx don't fit. for example, I saw my dentist last month for a cleaning. I asked about tingling and pain I feel on the right side of my face and sometimes teeth. She blamed the fibro.

[Celery47]

Oh, count me in too!  Even my current neuro (who is incredibly thorough and careful and seems wonderfully smart) is cold and completely unemotional - I mean, I think he's pretty great at dealing with neurology, but you can forget hearing anything like "that sounds hard" or "congratulations on graduating from college"!  He interrupts and stares blankly at me during appointments.  I'm currently trying to figure out if I ought to dump him over this...  I mean, I know I'm going for his neuro expertise, not his sunny personality, you know - but yikes, talking about the ways my nervous system is failing is super scary; I could use a little babying - and appointments with him just feel kind of... cruel, I guess!  You bet I cry after them.  This is even when he ISN'T telling me to go see a shrink.

I had a Christmas Eve appointment with another neurologist a couple years back.  He said to me, "What is so wrong with your life that you have to come up with all these symptoms?"  Merry Christmas to you!  Ugh.  

Thanks for asking the question!  I think one of the BEST things about this board is how is shows us that we're not alone in our horrible experiences with doctors.  I'm so grateful for that, and for everybody who has shared their stories!  It just makes me feel so much better to know I'm not alone.

[willowwoman7]

I had my first major symptom at about 27 in 1984. My doctor told me to stop smoking and it would go away (my legs didn't work for about 5 hours). Then in 94 I kept waking up with my midrif numb and the doctor suspected MS right away, and he ordered mri..clear. He told me he knew something was wrong and checked pressure points for fms. I had 12 out of 19. So I was rather lucky that I had that to hold onto. The first doc who dismissed me? He teaches now in MA and I found his email. When I was dx'd in 2007 (yes, it took me 23 years to get an MS dx) I wrote him a long email about how he failed me and made me feel small and told him if he was going to teach medical students to please teach them to listen to their patients and not make assumptions. Geeeee...wonder why he didn't write back. LOL


My neuro who dx'd me? He's a wonderful gentle man and I love him. When I first saw him he didn't think it could be ms since I was 52 until he saw the mri results.Because I have several autoimmune deseases he sent me to CCF for a consult. I wasn't crazy about the guy, but he was polite and attentive...he recommended a drug trial to my neuro.  I said to my neuro, 'MS won't kill me so why should I test a drug that could?" He smiled and said, "You have a very good point there."

Perhaps I was blessed with this neuro because I did not mention MS at all. I just asked him to please help me find out what was wrong.

[twist330]

Although undx I do not feel my neuro falls into the dismissive catagory but while looking at the MSsociety site in the UK I came across this posting and thought it was disgrace full here is the link:-

http://www.mssociety.org.uk/applications/discussion/view.rm?post_id=930482&id=14320

Hope that works only I didn't want to cut and paste as names are mentioned.

It made me thank my lucky stars that my neuro is still trying to find the answer to my problems.