Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just FYI: I can't remember where I learned this -- maybe Becker's, maybe Stat News -- I'm sorry I can't remember -- anyway, old women who are fat are the least likely to get the treatment that they need. Were you ready for that one?
I have become fat in my age of 71.
So my new GP is about 45, in my Medicare Advantage Plan, and is supposed to be one of the best Internists in my state.
When I saw him, I had the results from blood tests taken about a year prior. I had low Vit D and while Vit D is not the miracle vitamin it was once touted to be, it is still very important that our blood test for Vit D is at a normal level.
He said to me: "I have plenty of patients with lower Vit D than you." (Really? So what?) Then he said, as he looked me up and down: "When people start to fall apart in their 70's, it's primarily because of an unhealthy lifestyle."
He refused to order all the annual blood tests that Medicare allows once every year.
As I left the room, I said to him, "Thank you for practicing good medical insurance and not good medical care."
I haven't been back since. And I can't go to just any doctor. I have to be assigned one by my Med Adv Plan.
He was very rude! It's a shame - some people are limited by their insurance or by their location.
It's a good thing "Doc Baker" was a nice guy on Little House on the Prairie - who else did they have?
Some people mention a rude staff - that's also a good point and hard to take.
Just FYI: I can't remember where I learned this -- maybe Becker's, maybe Stat News -- I'm sorry I can't remember -- anyway, old women who are fat are the least likely to get the treatment that they need. Were you ready for that one?
I have become fat in my age of 71.
So my new GP is about 45, in my Medicare Advantage Plan, and is supposed to be one of the best Internists in my state.
When I saw him, I had the results from blood tests taken about a year prior. I had low Vit D and while Vit D is not the miracle vitamin it was once touted to be, it is still very important that our blood test for Vit D is at a normal level.
He said to me: "I have plenty of patients with lower Vit D than you." (Really? So what?) Then he said, as he looked me up and down: "When people start to fall apart in their 70's, it's primarily because of an unhealthy lifestyle."
He refused to order all the annual blood tests that Medicare allows once every year.
As I left the room, I said to him, "Thank you for practicing good medical insurance and not good medical care."
I haven't been back since. And I can't go to just any doctor. I have to be assigned one by my Med Adv Plan.
That statement reminded me of a conversation I had with my father's doctor when the procedure didn't go as well as expected. He said, "you know your father did not take good care of himself." I said, "doctor, how many patients would you have if everyone took good care of themselves?"
A friend told me that many years ago her mother had a very painful exam by a rude doctor who told her she "needed a
hysterectomy." The mother never went back to him or had the procedure. She'll be 88 this fall.
I don't have to like them, I'm not there to socialize. As long as they give me decent medical care, that's all I care about. Be rude, inconsiderate, I don't care, just write me my prescriptions and I'm outta here, doc.
Yes, another cardiologist case. I dropped the first one when he told me I would likely need 5 different BP meds to control my BP. Turns out my problem was more due to afib and I was hospitalized with it. The first doctor never mentioned afib. In the hospital another cardiologist told me I would spend the rest of my life on the razor's edge between kidney failure and heart failure. I asked if there was another cardiologist in his group because he was depressing me. The other cardiologist was a silent Sam and signed my release papers without comment. I finally got a third cardiologist from the same group and have had him for 4 years. A very low key and personable guy. I've been taking 2 meds for the BP and three for the afib for about 4 years now.
Mine is just the opposite...the Drs. quit. Primary Dr moved to New Zealand last year. Also last year I was supposed to get a colonoscopy from another Dr on a Monday, the Friday before his office called and said he quit his practice. The eye dr who gives me an injection in my right eye for wet macular degeneration has moved back east.....
I don't know why some people put up with this nonsense. So many of them think nothing of paying a mechanic big bucks to fix their car, yet resolutely refuse to write out a check to a doctor who "fixes" them. Oh, but that's covered by insurance (or Medicare, etc) they chirp.
Until you pay the medicine man yourself, you have NO say in what s/he does. The power of the almighty dollar speaks the loudest. Look up "direct primary care" and agree with me that its the most affordable, the docs are freer to spend lots of time with you (vs those whose staff is still doing coding), you get to see them at a moments notice, there are no unnecessary tests, all non-controlled drugs are issued right there for free (usually), and you enjoy sweet, blessed privacy. You also get the respect due you as a paying customer.
The obverse of this coin is that your insurance bills can be lowered to just catastrophic.
After a long, rocky road with an ENT, I finally found a new one. The former ENT is supposed to be very good in his field but I got fed up with some of his arrogant behavior. For one example, he would sometimes make a snide or rude comment when it was just the two of us in the examine room. But when he was being observed by some medical students, he was sweet as sugar. Another example, he prescribed a new "pain" med after one of my ear surgeries. It ended up making my heart pound, my mind race - thought I was having a heart attack or headed for a stroke. I ended up in the ER. He told the ER doctor I must have been having an "anxiety attack" over the surgery! This was after the surgery. The ER doc even told him it was a bad reaction to the medication. He was trying to "cover himself." I reported the med to the FDA.
The reason I stayed so long is, he was supposedly only one of a few doctors who performed the surgery I needed and he accepted my insurance.
What about you? Every drop a "highly regarded" doctor who you just didn't like???
You understand sometime meds have different side effects to different people... How is that his fault?
Mine is just the opposite...the Drs. quit. Primary Dr moved to New Zealand last year. Also last year I was supposed to get a colonoscopy from another Dr on a Monday, the Friday before his office called and said he quit his practice. The eye dr who gives me an injection in my right eye for wet macular degeneration has moved back east.....
Oh boy - that's not easy.
On the other side of the coin, our family had a really nice older man for a pediatrician. He actually made house calls! When he retired (forget the year, long time ago), he sent my mother a handwritten
letter thanking her for allowing him to be our family's pediatrician. (We had 8 kids - gave him a lot of business-).
He mentioned he was looking forward to spending more time with his wife and grandchildren.
One for me and one for my late husband. My pulmonologist insisted I have a bronoscopy. He knew what my problem was. He took x-rays and CT scans of my lungs every year. He just wanted to check things out. I was the one stuck with expensive medical bills, still paying on them four years later. I told him no and canceled it. He sent me a certified letter, threatening me that I had to have this or I might wind up needing a lung transplant. After several years of trying alternative medicine, I tried a pulmonologist at the teaching university. He took no x-rays or CT scans, just did a lung function test. He put me on a new type of inhaler and a long course of prednisone to heal my lungs. I finally off the prednisone but will be on the other inhaler the rest of my life. But I have my lung function back.
The surgeon that did my husband's second hip replacement did a five hour surgery and told me that he'd have a lot more surgeries. We had to schedule followups a year out. Finally went in for it and talked to the physician's assistant. When we left the office, the doctor was right outside, talking to the receptionists! He said hi and that was it. A month later, we got a letter from his office, wanting us to come in again. We didn't.
It's like everything else. There are some great doctors out there and some lousy ones. You have to take charge of your own health and decide if you are getting good advice or not.
What would you expect the doctor to say? I doubt he would remember you. Hint...that is why your file is on the outside of the exam room.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I reported the med to the FDA. 
). 
