Weird doctor situation

Nomad

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I believe I have good doctors, but sometimes observe odd things with one and now two.

A week or so ago, I got a call from the secretary of Dr. G. (Leaving out specialty on purpose). She's been freakishly out of the office A LOT and her PA, E. , has been taking a lot of her appointments. When I tried to find out why Dr. g. Is out of the office so much, I got the cold shoulder. I've seen E. At least twice over the summer, but probably haven't been in since early July.

The secretary tells me that Dr. g says I need to come in for an abdominal ultra sound. I ask why, since this was never mentioned at my appointments. The secretary very nervously says she thinks, but is not sure, it is in reference to some bloodwork my GP sent to them in March. (Six months ago).

I got a little pixxed and said I need to call her back.

I called an hour later and got the run around from the secretary. Left messages on her recorder. Took her about a week to call me back.

She calls me finally and nicely semi apologizes for taking so long to get back to me, but says that Dr. g is out a lot and if I could get on their internet portal, I could write my question, get a reply from the doctor and make the appointment. ok, I said...and was very pleased with this response.

I get on the portal and write the doctor asking her nicely what promoted my need for an abdominal ultrasound.

The secretary writes back the following:
Dr. g says that E. Made a mistake and didn't realize you had an U/S in July. Please send us any new bloodwork you might have.

I wrote back, maybe stupidly 'cause I'm missing something, that as best as I can recall, my last ultrasound with one of my doctors was over a year ago and certainly was not this summer, but I do have new bloodwork that I will send in. I also said that my original question was never answered: What prompted the call for an ultrasound?

My gut is screaming at me that something is NOT kosher about this.

Ideas? Help?

Fortunately, I see my GP Friday and I will have her review my old and latest bloodwork to see if she thinks there is something of concern.
 

dstc_99

Well-Known Member
I have that problem with my military provider. She tells me she wont fill depression or sleep medications because I should see a psychiatrist to get treatment. So I tell her to get me a referal to a psychiatrist who can do my RX. I then get a referal to a pain management clinic that only handles medications for patients in pain??? I have also gotten referalls to places that only handle immediate admitance for mental health care. IE: woman's gonna put me in the looney bin :p

We also have an internal system we can use to ask questions and get refills. Everytime I have emailed the nurse emails me back telling me to do something else. It's like a game of chase where we go round and round in circles.
 

Nomad

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Yep.
They are freaked out that I asked "why" the test was recommended. It seems like such a basic question.

And that response was bordering on nonsensical....for a second I thought they were talking about a different patient.
 

Nomad

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Ok...how did this go from three views to fifty in five minutes???? This site must be popular. :) I do wonder what in the world is going on in doctor offices....maybe they are overwhelmed. I'm finding it harder and harder to get excellent medical care.
 

nlj

Well-Known Member
In 2006 I visited my doctor 11 times for severe bleeding, abdominal pain and exhaustion. I was told "it's just your age". In January 2007, after 4 months of this, I collapsed and was rushed to hospital as an emergency. A ruptured ectopic pregnancy that nearly caused my death.

Doctors? My trust in, and respect for, doctors is now pretty much zero.
 

Nomad

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Hi Lucky, that is such a very sad story. How awful! Thank goodness you are around to even tell the story.
I know doctors sacrifice much and are a blessing, but it does seem that there are a fair share of mess ups as well.
I've heard doctor/hospital error is something like the third leading cause of death in the U.S...and I had a close relative die as the result of medical error....so I'm sensitive to it.

Early this morning ,the secretary called and agreed that they never answered my original question. Seems my GP forwarded blood work and asked them if they would follow up with a scan. However, she said something kind of questionable and defensive regarding when they got this original request. I immediately agreed to the scan and let it go about who sent what when. Then she did something weird. She said that maybe I don't need the scan if I have recent blood work from another doctor. So, I just sent them blood work I had last month. But, my senses are acute because I don't think they should of gotten defensive about my original question or acted peculiar about it. Now, I'm trying to simply take the test and let it all go. I suppose its impossible to find out what is going on behind the scenes...just know in my heart that this is peculiar. Oh well. I pray I'm ok. I think I am.
 
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HeadlightsMom

Well-Known Member
Nomad -- Ok, I found your post! What is the "Watercooler" forum for, in general? I get that it's "talking around the watercooler, etc", stuff. But is it just a general place of sharing?

I read your story and so sorry to hear you got the run-around. That stinks! Especially when it's for your health. I see that was just yesterday you posted and I feel like I came in in the middle of the story? Are you ok, Nomad? Hoping things get straightened out for you?

2 quick thoughts about the medical profession....

1) I worked in healthcare the majority of 20+ years (variety of positions from rehab to respiratory to pharmaceuticals -- but I'm neither an MD nor an RN). Some aspects of it I thoroughly loved, respected, appreciated and enjoyed. Sometimes it inspired me greatly to be in a position to do help). While most providers I worked with were ethical, a few seemed more concerned about quantity than quality. Rush, rush, rush and stay detached. That's the antithesis of what healthcare should be.

2) As a patient, I have also experienced a wide range of responses. Once I disagree/questioned a doctor and he didn't like it at all. In fact, he booted me off as his patient. I gladly switched to another doctor in same office and she's been fantastic.

On the other hand, when I had cancer (2.5 yrs ago), I was just treated SO well by everyone I saw -- from surgeons, to radiation oncologists, to follow-up appts. Stellar. They saved my life and they did it with love. The cancer care center I was at was FULLY dedicated to patients and their recovery. As I sat outside, I wondered why ALL medical practices weren't like this one.

I'm so sorry you had to experience that nightmare of confusion with your doctor. I'm impressed that you became your own healthcare advocate and pressed for answers! Way to go, Nomad!

Now...... My wish for you is that you get the good medical you deserve and that you are feeling better quickly! Take care and may that medical mess clear up pronto!
 

HeadlightsMom

Well-Known Member
Nomad --- I just re-read your story and think I may've misunderstood it a little. Are you saying they mixed up your records? I hope not saying there's been a misdiagnosis or treatment? Whatever the case, I hope you're ok!

Doctors and mix-ups.... Our most comical brush with that was when my husband went into the hospital about 5 years ago with what we suspected was another round of kidney stones. Shortly after he got in and did blood tests, they came back and said, "You've had a heart attack, Mr. S" husband replied, "Huh? I'm Mr. H!" Oh, so sorry, wrong patient. Then they came back 15-20-min later and confirmed he had kidney stones -- 2.5 cm in size. 2.5 cm? That's HUGE! husband said, "I have kidney stones the size of golf balls in me?" Then they said, "Oh, no..... make that 2.5 mm." Whew! Tiny grains, not golf balls.

Dstc99 & LucyJ -- So sorry to hear of your awful experiences with doctors. And LucyJ.......I'm glad you lived to tell the tale! That's horrible!
 

Nomad

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Many thanks HM. Yes, Watercooler, as I understand it is a place to discuss mostly either non difficult child related business or something that is a little different than typical.

That is kind of funny about the ER and the mix up...but then again, quality control is sooooo important in ER's and the medical field.

My poor cousin, who was as straight as an arrow, was having trouble with fatigue, headaches and just acting different. One day at work, she started hallucinating elephants in her office. Her husband freaked out and took her to the ER. The ER doctor announced that she was depressed and gave them an RX for Prozac. Grrr. Husband was freaking out that he was sure beyond a doubt that something was very very wrong with his wife and the doctor needed to take an xray or something. The doctor got PO'd. So, they left. She had brain cancer.

And I also had a relative that died as the result of some paperwork mix up...so I suppose I'm sensitive and alert to this stuff.

Very briefly what happened is my GP took bloodwork in March. On it was something of concern to her. But, I have a specialist doctor and it was in her area. Apparently, my GP sent the bloodwork to the specialist's office asking them to follow up with a scan. At issue is when the GP first sent this request...may have been in March. But, the first I heard from the specialist's office was very recently, in Sept. This is what the secretary relayed to me happened...but was unsure. I was shocked, since March was six months ago. When I asked for clarification, they (the specilist's office) acted VERY peculiar and started giving me the run around and even saying things that didn't make any sense. So, I tried to put a stop to it and said this morning that I would take the scan....doesn't matter when it was originally ordered. And instead, the specialist wants any recent bloodwork in an effort to prove I don't really need the scan after all. By coincidence, I have an appointment. with the GP relatively soon, so I'll try to get it straightened out. What raised a red flag is the specialist' office got very defensive over a simple question..."what made you call me now to order a scan?" I sense something is wrong....I'm also trying to honor my intuition....it is usually right. Although I think something is screwy here, I do think I'm ok. I'll get to the bottom of it (in terms of my health). I may talk to my GP. Right or wrong...I don't care. It might be best if she sees something screwy on blood tests, to tell me and give me the option to follow up with her or my specialist.
 

HeadlightsMom

Well-Known Member
Nomad -- Thanks for clarifying your situation. I see I missed part of your story. Yikes! That is odd. I wonder what the full story (for the doctor's office) really is?

Yes, honor your intuition. Now I see how you connected this with my other post. Trusting our intuition matters! Even when we can't put our finger on it. If something feels odd, it may very well be odd.

Glad you're following up with more trusted doctors. And I'm sending all best wishes your way for clear info and a clean bill of health!
 

susiestar

Roll With It
What is your gut telling you about this? Are you keeping track of ALL of your medical testing and results, regardless of what dr orders them? On a question about liver lesions a few weeks ago, I posted about the NEED to keep track of your tests and the actual results, NOT the letter that says you are 'normal', but the actual numbers and to plot these on a graph so that trends in the results can be seen.

Even specialists don't actually do this, and it is easy with computers so there is no excuse, in my opinion, except that they have never done it. Why the graphs? They show how things are changing over time, rather than the snapshot of what is going on at one moment in time. Think of how a photo o a mole shows how big it is, but several photos over a few months or years shows if it is growing or changing shape, color, etc.... THAT is the info that the docs need, but they don't put it all together even though they actually often have the info.

something is going on. I would push for the scan if at all possible, regardless of why. I would also get into the doctor that you TRUST and ask what the lab result that triggered this was, what the scan is looking for, and what the scan is seeing, and why a lab result would mean that the scan isn't needed.

I would be suspicious about the scan and want it done, but only if there is a real reason. As you already have a specialist to treat problems of this type or in this part of your body, I would go with what the specialist wants as long as you trust the doctor. If you don't trust the specialist, then push the other doctor to get the test done anyway. Either way it works out, I hope nothing is wrong that isn't very easily healed.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Nomad I know you probably remember this but your account of your cousin going into the ER and all that reminds me so much of what happened when they took me in with the meningitis. Now I dont remember any of it but from what I was told the ER doctors tried to tell my son's that my only problem was that I took an overdose of my medications. Well Cory went ape over that and almost had to be restrained because he told the doctor that I dont take more medications than I am supposed to, that my medications are always in a pill box so I couldnt get confused and there was NO WAY IN HELL that I did drugs. I was sick!!! Cory wouldnt let the doctor leave my room until they did more testing and it was good they did because within minutes they had to put me in an isolation room because they found out I had the meningitis. From what I was told, Cory wanted to beat that doctor...lol.
 

Nomad

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Janet, Grrrr. These kinds of stories bother me. Doctors are often jaded. They form an opinion based on something other than facts at hand,and it can be dangerous. Thank goodness you got the proper medical care eventually. Grrrr.

There has been more weirdness at the specialist's office...so I'm convinced by their odd behaviors that they dropped the ball. Too boring to go into details.n

But, fortunately, I had an appointment. at the GP office on Fri.

Susiestar...the GP reviewed my old tests vs. my new ones, and my liver tests are fine now. They really weren't off too terribly before. I'm going to ask her or my rheumie (or both) to test them again next visit and do the comparison yet again. A graph would be ideal. I might need to do that myself. My intuition is telling me the specialist office never got or lost or misplaced/delayed the original communication from the GP.

Now, I'm not sure how much I want to stay with the specialist...just have to give that some thought. Their behavior throughout this has been very weird.

Thank you everyone!
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
Wishing glowing health, wishing growing strength, and wishing happiness, Nomad.

:0)

We have had the strangest kinds of things happen with doctors, too.

I wonder whether part of it is the speed with which everything is processed and put away these days? In the time when orders were written down and then, transcribed by hand, there were multiple opportunities for clarification and chart review.

Everything happens so fast, now -- so everyone can see more patients.

And it all just keeps getting bigger.

Cedar
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Nomad,
sorry I'm so late to this.
It surely appears as though they either had you confused with someone else, or they confused the instructions they received from the doctor.
If the doctor is not in very much and they won't simply say, "Oh, she also works at XYZ clinic 4 days a week," I'd look for another doctor.
I just don't have your patience.
 
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