i thought since its taken me 20 years to be able to have a good go at the GP who has passed me off and even refused me testing at one point, said i was exagerating and hormonal.
well today i went to my practice for a work sick line renewal, and it was first i have seen this particular old school devoid of bedside manner, horrible dismissive man, and was i ready for him !!
he read my history and said sheepishly ah i see your being tested for sjogrens, its very hard to diagnose you know !! I said indeed it is one helluva virus eh doc?? ( what he told me i had ) , i said you know maybe today you should shut up and listen for once,i have for 20 years, now you can. pain IS what the patient says it is, symptoms that cant be seen by the naked eyes are no less real that ones that can, 30 years of dry eyes, 20 years of bowel and ENT problems, 20 years of on off tiredness and 20 years i worked a heavy job, somedays feeling like id just fall over mid shift ......so still think im a moaning hypochondriac ??, he look at his feet , i said you know next time a patient says there is something far wrong with them.... listen , over many years youve refused me testing and referrals, 20 years ive been told go home and eat healhtier , and 20 years youv ebeen rude to me, today was my turn doc.....and i am so enjoying it, so how does humble pie taste then doc ??having difficulty swallowing ?? worry not i know how that feels .
he wrote that sick line quick as he could and couldnt make eye contact with me,kept saying dr Paul magill the rheumy im seeing on friday was fabulous and id be in good handss and theyd get me sorted out soon. today i felt the one in control and it felt sooooooooooo good, next time a doctor tells me something is all in my head, im going to chew theirs !!
T x
Yea!
As I have learned the hard way....sometimes you got to take matters into your own hands when it comes to your health. Good for you!
Take Care!
Vicky
Sounds like he had it coming LOOOOONG ago.
Karin 8)
cathartic it was !!
Im not a horrible person, but just maybe what i said might change his manner with the next person, and that would bring me even more joy :)
T x
Yes, good for you! I was thinking the same thing, that dr might have learned something from you and would be a better dr for it!
Sue
Bravo! Maybe he will change his ways, we can only hope.
Pooh
Hip Hip Hooray!!!! Well done! Irish ;D
Cool! Good for you! You go girl!
Wow! What a girl. I would have liked to have been a fly on that wall ;D
Is the new found confidence anything to do with the recent marriage proposal?
I'm so pleased for you, both in telling the doc how it is and for your new life with your beloved.
Kathyx
You go girl, sometimes we need to speak up for ourself, esp with doctors who think they know everything. Doctors do not know everything, that is why it is called practicing medicine.
Whoa baby! You are the hero of the day!! :o
Power to the Wednesday!
I love it!! Couldn't make eye contact, Heh? I don't think he had the guts. I'm so tired of crummy docs who won't listen, when time and time again, we know our bodies. We know when something is amiss. It's not always depresssion......I hate that word. It's the catch I don't know what's wrong with you.
Hey, if I felt better and could sleep, I'd be on top of the world. Depression didn't cause any of this. Who wouldn't get a little down when you've been dealing with fatigue and pain for over 13 yrs??????
I should try to sleep again. I have had to take heavy sleeping meds that only work some of the time. I limit caffeinne...it's really a crap shoot as to whether I'll get some sleep. My neuro PA told me if I wasn't feeling better or started to backslide, I should come back in. Guess that is inevitable. I hate taking so many drugs.
I'll have to read up AGAIN on the plaquenil. My rheummie flat didn't want me to take it even though the pa wrote the script. My SS=B was 8,anything other over 1 is positive so I've got a pretty good case of Sjogren's. But no courage.
thankyou for sharing in my happiness :)
id like kathy to give credit where it is due , i honestly put my new found confidence credit in this forum, so much kind wards , fab information made me realise so many things, not knowing whats been wrong with me or why ive had these bouts of illness and remission worse my confidence down so much.
Not being working and symptoms can be over whelming, but i am being honest when i thank everyone here for the time theyve given me in their exhausted day, when i came here i had no idea apart from web info which isnt very specific, now i am armed with information here, i got able to argue my case with the doctors and thats been so good for me, that took any fear of hypochondria instille din me from doctors away, now i feel empowered and bale to say enough is enough !!
my recent good fortune has gave me the realisation that life goes on , nothing has really changed except my lifestyle , i always said i would wait for my death bed id crash into it on a skatebaord with my grand kids with scraped knees, and there is nothing to stop me , i shall dance at my sons weddings (even if its wheelchair formation dancing ) and i shall see my beloved grow older and i shall see my first grandchild, its all about attitude and ive changed mines :D sjogren has its limits
tinker very few of us realise how much courage we actually have and how much weve already gotten through, courage is subjective , i dont beleive anyone in history who got through something major didnt have fears , bad days , confidence knocks or felt a lack of courage at times, we just dont give ourselves enough credit, hope they can find a balance for you soon
T x
Hi Wednesday McH
What an amazing thing you did! Like Katy says, I would have liked to be a fly on that wall. Maybe if you'd looked up you would have seen a row of us cheering you on!
It's surely the truth about what this forum means to us all. What a wonderful mixture of kindness, welcome, sensible information, and an open-hearted attitude we all encounter here every day. And, as you say, all from people who have their own daily struggles.
Maybe that extra bit of courage (and I reckon you have buckets of the stuff, whatever you say) came because you knew what you were saying to your GP wasn't only for you. You were saying it for every other patient of his who ever comes with a mystery mix of symptoms. Maybe next time and the time after he'll have the humility to send his patients for tests, rather than offering a bland diagnosis?
Take care
Hi T,
I love your new outlook on life! Your positive attitude is an inspiration to us all!
You are right...life does go on no matter what it throws our way...so we might as well enjoy it all we can!
chana
its so true , so much warmth here and so many ppl worn out with fatigue and pain cheering others on, humbling to say the least. i think possibly your right about doing it for others, i cant say, all i know is a seen the " red mist " and out it all flooded, cant even say it was courage , it wasnt really premeditated, i just seen a chink in his armour first time in 20 years , and took my chance , truly hope it does change his attitude, what attracted thse ppl to a profession that meant daily contact with ppl and having to adopt a good manner and empathy , i ll never know , he should keep his words sweet, somedays he will have to eat them
Linda i am so blessed in so many ways, for everything life has taken or will take from me, its given me in friends and loved ones, and they deserve the person ive always been a madder hatter with a good heart, and that changing scares me the most, and sjogrens is not getting that part of me, its mines and i ll fight for it all my life, which will be long, i got a post on my facebook page from an old friend (pagan) got my head sorted out fast
"I believe the gods never give anyone more than they can bear; it sounds like cold comfort but if you think about it, it's a great compliment to character and yours never sours under hard times. You've always had my respect for that, lady. "
I see sjogrens as a stalker and im not giving into the fear of it, i wont allow it to sour me
I look at the open minded and open hearted ppl here and i realise were all in the same figh together and together we have strenght and sjogrens army is outnumbered by our love and concern, we have a weapon against it, and it nuclear strenght !!
T x