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but how can they look at someone with a fractured pelivs and tell her to just go home? I was brought in by ambulance, what was i supposed to do, jump up and walk home?
I edited my first post because it was so long. When I first got to the hospital, the doctor in the ER kept asking me how much I had to drink. You'll just have to take me at my word when tell you I'm not a drunk, although I occasionally have a glass of wine to relax. However, I would never in a million years drink and drive, and my accident happened while I was out shopping. At one point the ER doctor said something like "Well, we don't want people coming here to detox." Anyway, after my test results showed no sign of alcohol or drugs, I got a shot of morphine and was finally taken for X-rays a few hours later.
I didn't post this at first, because there will always be people who think there must be a valid reason for his suspicions. I was told later that it's standard procedure to assume she might be intoxicated when a person acts "confused" or "disoriented." I was knocked over so hard in a store that I couldn't get up or even move. Then I was transported in an ambulance while EMTs were asking me if I knew what year it was. I was shopping one minute and riding in an ambulance the next. Wouldn't anyone be a little out of it? The ER doctor came by to visit me a few days later after I was diagnosed with the fracture, so I think he felt badly and told me he sees a lot of people who are looking for free drugs or even a place to stay. That's really sad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix lady
You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince.
I edited my first post because it was so long. When I first got to the hospital, the doctor in the ER kept asking me how much I had to drink. You'll just have to take me at my word when tell you I'm not a drunk, although I occasionally have a glass of wine to relax. However, I would never in a million years drink and drive, and my accident happened while I was out shopping. At one point the ER doctor said something like "Well, we don't want people coming here to detox." Anyway, after my test results showed no sign of alcohol or drugs, I got a shot of morphine and was finally taken for X-rays a few hours later.
I didn't post this at first, because there will always be people who think there must be a valid reason for his suspicions. I was told later that it's standard procedure to assume she might be intoxicated when a person acts "confused" or "disoriented." I was knocked over so hard in a store that I couldn't get up or even move. Then I was transported in an ambulance while EMTs were asking me if I knew what year it was. I was shopping one minute and riding in an ambulance the next. Wouldn't anyone be a little out of it? The ER doctor came by to visit me a few days later after I was diagnosed with the fracture, so I think he felt badly and told me he sees a lot of people who are looking for free drugs or even a place to stay. That's really sad.
Wart's that?
I never thought they thought I was some bum looking for a place to stay, but you could be right!
They kept saying I couldn't stay there. I had no way home, I came in by ambulance, no way back. I'd called my dh, he came, but was about 3 hours away. In the meantime, a nurse told me to keep asking for pain med, I could get it every 3 hours, they had to keep me at least 3 hours after the last pain shot. Honestly, I wasn't in pain, until I tried to get up! Even if I had a car, there was no way I could drive it. I really think at the end the nurse was giving me half doses of the pain shots, just to justify my staying there. He also told me I wasn't acting like a person in pain, it would help if I did. Well, what should I do, scream and groan? Like I said, i didn't feel much unless I tried to move around..
The whole thig was ridiculous, and I'm still experiencing problems from the back injury.
so, do you think the eye therapy actually did you any good? We spent thousands out of pocket for eye therapy for my son, because "they" diagnosed him with eye teaming problems. Finally we had to stop due to insurance issues, etc.
But, my ds was about 5-8 at the time, and a master at playing people (he still is). Much of eye therapy is subjective. he was quite good at telling you what you wanted to hear. I still to this day don't know if the eye therapy actually helped, or it was just a hoax that he played into. would like to hear your perspective!
i had eye teaming issues, among other eye issues, as well.
oh, it definitely helped! in fact, my going blind had nothing to do with vision therapy. vision therapy was very successful for me, one of the most successful cases known. like i said before, my case made it into medical journals. i way surpassed anything my eye doctors even predicted was possible.
i can't say how well it works for your son or if it's helping him because i don't know his eye problems, but there are objective ways to tell if it's helping. does he enjoy reading or playing sports more than he did before? does he have better posture in general? did he used to get a lot of headaches and now he doesn't? do his eyes look like they work better, for example, do they not wander around or look as shaky as before?
his vision therapist should also be doing regular evaluations, every 3 to 6 months or so, and those results should also show if vt is helping. improvement isn't always gradual overtime either, though. sometimes over one 3 month period there is little improvement or no change, but the next 3 months there might be a marked improvement. a lot of that is often because of other factors, like school. having to strain your eyes for school or work can really slow down the whole vt process.
i know insurance generally doesn't cover vision therapy. if you can't afford to keep going, then you can at least keep doing home exercises, maybe even home exercises with less frequent visits. you can ask them to assign home exercises that are designed to replace (as best possible) or fill in wider "gaps" in visits to save money. the only thing is if you take the home exercise route, you have to be adamant, because the retention rate for vision therapy can be pathetic, to the point that missing a day or two means losing months of hard work.
Last edited by nimchimpsky; 09-28-2010 at 09:15 PM..
What really makes them uneasy, if you use medical terms. Then they feel like you might know what you are talking about and now they feel like you are not some pesky idiot, so they have to take you seriously. I love to watch them sweat!
really? most of my doctors love when i use the medical terms they use. the thing they don't like is if you walk in and state what you think your diagnosis is. you have to play into letting them feel like they came up with it.
Many doctors are good for nothing nowadays. Given that most med schools accept many people with MCAT scores of below 32 (which is already like borderline incompetent) says a lot about how low the standards are for who they allow into medical school. Trash in, trash out. This is a problem of the inferior American school system. A lot of doctors do not think with their brains but rather, go solely by "evidence-based medicine". It is good to follow best practice guidelines, but when a patient comes in with strange or unfamiliar symptoms, then the doctors become totally, utterly useless. They aren't even clinically or scientifically interested because they have lost all their academic ability. You might as well have a nurse practitioner do all your care; at least they will refer you to some specialist. Usually specialists are a bit better since it is more competitive to get into those fields.
There are also many good doctors around, but unfortunately you don't get a chance to choose the good ones and let the crappy ones lose their business.
My doctors are all decent. But I usually have to do most of my own research and tell them what I would like to have done for me. Even if they may mock my ideas, I know all the research out there does not support their "evidence-based practice". Plus I have higher powers of logic than they do so in the end they always end up doing what I say. I am glad that they are open minded enough to do this for me, but I will not bow down to people who are irrational or incompetent. You should never have to wait so long - the doctor should be working your condition up if it is chronic like that. Doctors forget that they are getting paid for doing a job -- mostly because the insurance system and crappy reimbursements make it so unrewarding that most people are now jaded. And here is a secret - most doctors despise some of their patients.
Unfortunately not every has the luxury of understanding medicine and research data... so unfortunately most people have to fend for themselves. Most lay people come up with some dumb explanations off the internet and just make the doctors more annoyed. Be sure to understand what you are saying before you say it. And PLEASE don't ask the doctor about homeopathic or diet related cures.
Then you have the doctors who order everything for every little symptom (usually ER docs). That's the flip side of uselessness and wasteful medical spending. A good doctor should know when a patient needs workup based on history and physical exam, or if it is justified to wait awhile longer before doing anything. Doctors who don't diagnose serious problems right away cause great waste for the medical system because then the patient has to be hospitalized and have emergency surgery, yadda yadda yadda.
I've also done troubleshooting on the work of certain doctors on cancer patients... suffice to say they were killing their patients by robotically following their "guidelines" and ordering pain meds when it is clearly not needed. Anyways, I'm done ranting.
Honestly, I wasn't in pain, until I tried to get up!
Same here!! My records show I had X-rays and a CT scan for a broken leg and broken hip. Now I'm a little angry. Obviously, what we're both describing is a symptom of a pelvic fracture. I'm not saying they should rush to do an MRI on everyone who is brought to the ER in an ambulance, but it certainly shouldn't take 4 days to finally order one.
Of course it would be nicer to have a doctor with a great personality and a compassionate bedside manner, but where is Gregory House when you need him?
Same here!! My records show I had X-rays and a CT scan for a broken leg and broken hip. Now I'm a little angry. Obviously, what we're both describing is a symptom of a pelvic fracture. I'm not saying they should rush to do an MRI on everyone who is brought to the ER in an ambulance, but it certainly shouldn't take 4 days to finally order one.
Of course it would be nicer to have a doctor with a great personality and a compassionate bedside manner, but where is Gregory House when you need him?
How are you doing now?
I had a sacroplasty done last March, its where they inject a type of bone putty into the crack to stabilize it, so it will heal quicker and in a correct position. They told me it would heal on its own in 1-3 years, or in about 1 month with the sacroplasty.
Only problem is, since the sacroplasty, I've had balance and coordination issues. That's why I'm seeing various specialists, including neurologists, etc. But I think I found the problem myself--muscle weakness. After the sacroplasty, I lost muscle tone. I've been doing some strengthing and stretching exercises, too soon to tell if they're helping, but I can definitely see the weakness in my left leg. That alone would create a balance and coordination issue!
After reading your post, I find this very easy to understand.
Now, now, lets not get nasty with each other.
I happen to agree with Niyu, doctors aren't the demigods they used to be.
I had a doctor a few years ago who was on the admissions board for a leading medical school. he said there's been a big decline in the quality of applicants. Used to be they wouldn't even look at someone without a near-perfect GPA, now they're accepting b+ and even c- students, simply because they're the best they have to chose from.
What she said about 'evidence medicine" is so true. I call it textbook medicine. Many procede in a flowchart fashion. If a, go to b, then do C.
If you don't somehow fit a classic pattern, they're stumped. For example, I have RA (rheumatoid arthritis). My blood work never looks like it, I'm always negative for rheumatoid factor, etc. But other signs indicate it (including the massive joint destruction I've suffered over the years). Well, something is doing that joint destruction!
I went to several doctors, way back when this first began, they just told me, based on my blood work, I was "fine", then suggested counseling because I appeared "anxious". Well, anyone would be anxious with a health condition that was undiagnosed, untreated, and progressive.
Now the disease has taken its toll, any 1st year medical student could realize its RA, its a no brainer.
I continue with the same rheumatologist I've had for years, because he's excellent at diagnosing. He often brings in students (with my consent), to see an example of an atypical patient. They have to learn somehow.
Also, I'm allergic to penicillin. I had an atypical reaction years ago, but a reaction is a reaction, I don't want to challenge it again when there's plenty of other antibiotics out there. But try convincing some doctors. They always ask if you have any allergies. Then when I say penicillin, they look puzzled, then ask about the reaction. They ask if I had hives or a rash. No, but I had other symptoms. Well, if I don't fit the classic pattern, such as hives,rash, they dismiss it. If it doesn't fit their little chart, they don't know what to do. I finally learned to tell them what they want to hear, oh, yes indeed, I had a rash, hives, etc, that makes them happy, now I have PCN allergy written all over my chart.
That's just one example of how if you don't fit the mold, they don't have a clue, they can't think, just go down a checklist.
Like Niyu said, you have to interview many to find the right fit. I think of it as I'm hiring someone to perform a service. You'd check out your car mechanic, or contractor for a house, wouldn't you? Well, why should you blindly trust anyone with MD after his name?
Just like if I was hiring someone for a job, I screen background, check out references, and go with my gut. If they don't feel right, something's not right. Its your money, and, more importantly, its your life.
Baloney! I can think of two other powerful reasons:
1. The fascination of learning how the human body is put together and how it works. Difficult to think of anything more interesting.
2. The deep satisfaction involved in alleviating human suffering and saving human life. I recognize that doctors are not always successful in this, but they often are.
Moreover, if what you are saying is true, why so many cases of poor doctors? Why doesn't society admit that the only real reason for the medical profession is prestige?
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I'm not saying they should rush to do an MRI on everyone who is brought to the ER in an ambulance, but it certainly shouldn't take 4 days to finally order one. 
