I'll try to spare you the details, because they are boring, but this post is about my doctor and why I am mad at her.
As you may or may not know, I am out of town, visiting family in Denver for the holidays. I arrived on Thursday afternoon, and that evening I had one of the most severe hot flash experiences of my life. For those of you who know me, I am always cold. Now granted, I know that pregnant women tend to run warm, but do they lay naked in 65 degrees sweating and awake until 2am, while covered in cold wet towels? I don't think that is normal. Let's not forget to mention how on the flight out to Denver I sweat through my sweater and jeans, while the girls next to me kept their wool jackets on. I take thyroid medication. One of the symptoms you can experience when your thyroid is out of wack is.... hot flashes. Now I am not a doctor so I don't know how concerning it may be to have a thyroid problem when you are pregnant, but I decided I should get things checked out. Friday morning, I placed a call to my doctor. I left a voicemail message explaining my situation. I waited for a return call. I waited until 4:00 pacific time and placed another call before the office closed for the weekend. I left another message. I informed my doctor that she would no longer be able to reach me on my cell phone because I was now headed to the mountains where I have no service. I gave her an alternate number to call.
I never received a call.
Saturday morning, once I was at lower elevation I discovered that my doctor had returned my call, on my .....cell phone. She thought it was a splendid idea for me to get a blood test to check my thyroid, but she needed to know where to send the orders. Alas, my doctor does not work on the weekends and thus everything would have to wait until Monday.
I called back on Monday morning and left a message. I told her that I would be going into Denver that afternoon, so it would be great if she could send the orders to the lab there. I left the fax number. I asked her to return my call so that I would know everything was all set. No call back. I leave another message at 11:50 with the receptionist who assures me that I'll get a call back before 3:00. I get no such call. Finally I contact the lab and ask them to contact my physician to get the orders. I drive down to Denver.
When I arrive at the lab, the technician "Denise" informs me that she did in fact get in touch with my doctor's office. They had noted my calls and that I was "upset". Great. Now I am the problem patient. Denise told me that they tried to convince her to leave a message as well, but that she was very forceful and stayed on the phone with them until they faxed the orders over.
So they drew my blood in 2 minutes and I was on my way.
A part of me is embarrassed. My doctor is going to think that I am one heck of a high-maintenance patient. If my thyroid results come back normal, I am going to feel really stupid.
But should I? Were my requests unreasonable? Am I expecting too much? I realize that my doctor has many other patients, and that she is very busy, yet does that mean that I should be ignored? I am not a doctor. I do not have the answers. All I have are my symptoms, the Internet and my imagination. Is this all I can expect for my super expensive health insurance?
What do you think?
I wouldn't worry about it too much. I don't think you were unreasonable or should be labeled as a problem patient. If she's not used to dealing with pregnant women who are highly emotional due to their hormonal state, then she needs to find another line of work. I'm guessing that there are some crossed wires and perhaps she did not get the message that your cell phone was unreachable. At least the lab did their job and it all ended well.
ReplyDeleteI hope your thyroid results do come back normal. Feeling a bit embarrassed is better than having to worry about your baby. Besides, there's really no reason to be that embarassed. We all have to do what's necessary to protect our babies and that includes while they're still growing inside. I had to kick my first ob/gyn to the curb because he wanted to do an amnio at the earliest end of the time range which could have caused a miscarriage. All because I would be 35 for one whole month when I gave birth. Gee Sherlock way to stick to the numbers. Where's the common sense?
You did everything right and they were not on the ball. Just because there was some labeling of you as "upset" it doesn't mean that you are considered a "problem patient" or that your relationship with your doctor is going to be affected from here on out. Remember, she's the one who has a faulty emergency procedure in her office; that's not a problem you created, just one you were a victim of.
ReplyDeleteYour not crazy! You have symptoms that are out-of-the -ordinary and should be checked out. And you are not a problem patient. If your clinic wants to see problem patients have her meet some of the folks on my caseload!
ReplyDeleteMeant to say You're not your. The grammar police are ever present in my mind!
ReplyDeleteThanks all! I really appreciate the support!
ReplyDeleteYou are NOT crazy..... You know when something is not right and better safe than sorry!
ReplyDeleteRemember when Elaine in Seinfeld was the PROBLEM PATIENT and every doctor she went to had a note on her chart? Maybe you can sneak into your doctor's office and erase the whole episode.....HA! Screw them! You are a raging hormonal pregnant chick with 2 kids, a job, and you were SCARED! I say stalk them until they get you the info you need. I know, I've been in Israel too long.....
ReplyDelete