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It wasn't off-base for the orthopedist to recommend a podiatrist when you mentioned toenails. Some podiatrists offer services related to foot care including bunions, callouses, toenails, senior foot care (some seniors cannot do the care themselves). They might call it "foot care clinic" and those services are usually provided by medical assistants. I was surprised to learn about such services when my husband had a bunionette once (the podiatrist just sliced if off and it hasn't grown back), since we do pedicures ourselves at home. As for the "can't bend my knee" complaint, that is the orthopedist's domain and he should help you with that.
Perhaps you went in with a huge laundry list of complaints, instead of focusing on the thing that was the main problem. Ever notice that doctors ask "What brings you here today? What is your chief problem?"
While I would expect most orthopedists to know both the hip and knee joint, maybe your healthcare provider (HMO?) specialize so much that they forward hip complaints to some specific orthopedists and knee problems to other orthopedists.
The problem was that I could not bend my knee to cut my nails and I wanted to know what specifically was hindering it. The answer "it's arthritis" is just not good enough for me now. They (the ass't and the MD) looked at the x-rays and determined it was "bone on bone" and therefore I needed a knee (and hip) replacement. They did not address the pain. I like to know why. Also, the pain comes and goes from knee to thigh intermittently, so one hour it's the thigh, next hour it's another area in the same general location. So I couldn't tell the doctor exactly where I was feeling the pain. In reference to bending the knee towards me, I wanted to know WHY I couldn't bend it, not some answer about arthritis or 'seeing a podiatrist.' OK, if I go to an orthopedic dr again I will tell him from the beginning that I want to know WHY I have the pain and discomfort. The answer, "See a podiatrist" is not why I told him I couldn't bend my knee. I realize that would help to 'see a podiatrist,' I already knew that, and I should probably have told him that I already knew that, but I wasn't there to discuss my toenails. I think he thought he was being clever.
Same here. I feel like doctors need some major push back, as proven by this covid thing, but no one wants to do it. Defund the police? I say defund the doctors.
I even generally like my doctor but I feel like she and her office are trying to fire me.
I believe that. I know someone the doctor "fired" because one of the clerks complained, her feelings were hurt when asked why she did not let the patient know the doctor was not coming in, she cried, the doctor was losing too many clerks and so she fired the patient.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arya Stark
I believe this is a tactic doctors use because they are ethically required to take anyone who shows up. So they try to annoy people they don't want. Recently I made an appointment for my doctor for an office visit. I believe she doesn't like going into the office because of the corona. Even though I made it through a portal, her nurse called the next day to ask question about the issue. She didn't get me so she left a number. The number was the main number so I had to through 18 or 19 levels of voice mail to get her. And she wasn't at her desk. So I left a voice mail. When she called back, I was busy, you know, I do have a job. She left me another vague message and asked me to call her. After 3 rounds of this... I got her and she wanted to know my symptoms so she could see if the appointment was appropriate.
Amazing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arya Stark
Look lady, I will decide if the appointment is appropriate. But I played along. She then told me she wanted me to come in sooner. Of course that effectively made it so I could NOT have an appointment with my doctor but rather a Nurse Practitioner. No thanks. I am sure that is much more profitable for you, but I only want to see the doctor. She tried to freak me out about the issue but she was overreacting in the extreme and I told her no I would wait. But this *pre visit* visit has never been in place before.
The very next day I had another nurse *pretend* she didn't know about the first nurse and try the same thing. I just ignored her call. This is absolutely outrageous. But I am determined to play the game better than them.
Personally I have defaulted to a lot of things that I do myself. Currently you can
- get blood tests on your own. (some insanely cheap)
- get alternative medicine on your own.
- read the same medical studies that your doctor has access to ( but is typically too lazy to read ).
I consider myself my own nurse practitioner.
Anyway, I left a message w/the nurse today to see if tests were prescribed for thyroid level. She didn't call me back yet -- this oughta be fun...
Cindi - that sounds like a pretty impatient and uninvolved doctor. Definitely a bad experience.
But there are some good doctors out there that value the patient doctor relationship.
Don't give up on them all just yet.
AC
OK, I won't. :-) Maybe I'll find (after 4 drs) one I trust. I'm happy I found a good dr who did my hernia operation. So -- I'll keep hoping.
This is also part of what my doctor refers to as managed care. The doctor does specifically what the doctor does. And he kind of has to do that because of the insurance companies. We would probably get better care if we could get rid of the damn insurance companies who think they know everything, and don’t know very much at all.
My primary care physician is a board-certified surgeon. After a few years of surgery practice, he decided to go into general practice. There were a few years we didn’t have insurance. My husband had a cyst on his back, that popped internally. He went to the doctor and the doctor took it out. Stitched him up. He was qualified.
I really do like my doctor. He was the one who told me something after my sister had a mini stroke, TIA, eight years ago. I noticed she wasn’t quite right. I asked him how long it would take before she would get OK, back to normal. He looked at me for a second, did a deep intake of breath and said, shaking his head just very small movement, he said “dementia”.
He’s not a psychic, he’s a very good doctor. She’s got dementia.
I also feel like he’s not this godlike figure, he’s a partner in my healthcare plan. We work together, we’re a team. That’s very important for me. I tend to get a little passive aggressive with authority figures.
You make some good points. The more I look into science, medical care, etc., I see they make educated guesses. My fear especially with the knee & hip operations is that they won't solve the problem. And may lead to more problems. He told me some people opt for the operation, others opt to live with the situation. You're prompting me to see the hip surgeon he recommended, because I need to ask him (the hip dr.) which operation does he think I should have first.
I met one woman one time at a supermarket who was in a motorized cart of her own and I asked her about it. She told me she had a knee operation but it got infected. She had SEVENTEEN surgeries to cure the infection. Finally, believe it or not, she said, she opted to have the leg from the knee down removed. Frankly I don't think I will get an infection, but you never know. I'm not afraid so much of an infection as I am simply a botched operation. I'm not afraid of bridges, or going on a train. But I AM really kind of scared to get my knee & hip done. Maybe I shouldn't have them done at this point.
I believe you have other posts disliking doctors...not sure why you would continue to go?
You're making a good point there. OK, why do I opt to go to doctors? Finding out I'm low on some elements in my blood could be helpful. I want to take vaccinations to protect myself if possible.
If I feel really sick (like I did with stomach pain some time back) it could help to know why. My primary care physician didn't take me too seriously but the pain kept getting worse and finally, FINALLY, I had to see a stomach specialist who FINALLY told me I had an inguinal hernia. He patched it up, I am much better. I used to think doctors were like gods. I thought they knew everything. I found out they don't. But I appreciate one of the posters who said that the insurance companies take a toll on what doctors can say. Also, they want to make money, so I figure they will give you the basic answer and then get rid of you. The more patients they see, the more money they get.
If you stuck with one doctor for a few years and they got to know you and your medical history and lifestyle, I beleive your attitude would be much different.
I think judging from your post that you do talk too much when you should be listening to someone who trained for at least 8 years just to get the right to put M.D. at the end of his name. It is pretty hard for a layman to be as smart as a physician.
If you don't like one doctor's opinion, get another one. Simple.
Same here. I feel like doctors need some major push back, as proven by this covid thing, but no one wants to do it. Defund the police? I say defund the doctors.
I even generally like my doctor but I feel like she and her office are trying to fire me. I believe this is a tactic doctors use because they are ethically required to take anyone who shows up. So they try to annoy people they don't want. Recently I made an appointment for my doctor for an office visit. I believe she doesn't like going into the office because of the corona. Even though I made it through a portal, her nurse called the next day to ask question about the issue. She didn't get me so she left a number. The number was the main number so I had to through 18 or 19 levels of voice mail to get her. And she wasn't at her desk. So I left a voice mail. When she called back, I was busy, you know, I do have a job. She left me another vague message and asked me to call her. After 3 rounds of this... I got her and she wanted to know my symptoms so she could see if the appointment was appropriate.
Look lady, I will decide if the appointment is appropriate. But I played along. She then told me she wanted me to come in sooner. Of course that effectively made it so I could NOT have an appointment with my doctor but rather a Nurse Practitioner. No thanks. I am sure that is much more profitable for you, but I only want to see the doctor. She tried to freak me out about the issue but she was overreacting in the extreme and I told her no I would wait. But this *pre visit* visit has never been in place before.
The very next day I had another nurse *pretend* she didn't know about the first nurse and try the same thing. I just ignored her call. This is absolutely outrageous. But I am determined to play the game better than them.
Personally I have defaulted to a lot of things that I do myself. Currently you can
- get blood tests on your own. (some insanely cheap)
- get alternative medicine on your own.
- read the same medical studies that your doctor has access to ( but is typically too lazy to read ).
I consider myself my own nurse practitioner.
Doctors are not "ethically required to take anyone who shows up". They can "fire" you for being "determined to play the game better than them".
Many doctors are limiting in person visits because of the coronavirus if the reason for the visit does not require a physical examination. It is appropriate for the office staff to ask why the patient wants a visit. Telemedicine might be an option, too.
I haven't read thru this whole thread, but I get the impression some people are expecting too much of some doctors. Specialists specialize. You don't go to a psychiatrist for your skin rash, and you don't go to a gastroenterologist for your manic-depressive disorder.
Old joke:...A psychiatrist walks into the doctors' lounge and sees a surgeon sitting by himself in the corner, head in hands, moaning, "Oh, me. Oh, my, Oh, no."..."Why, what's wrong Joe. You look so worried."..."I feel so miserable. I actually had to talk to a patient today!"..."I know just how you feel," replied the psychiatrist. "I had to touch one."
While FPs & Internists should be trained in doing "the 15 minute hour," dealing with the whole pt (if they advertise themselves as "Holisitic" then they're charlatans. They're all supposed to be holistic), don't expect that from any other specialist. It's not their job.
In the OP, Cindi discussed her knee problems with the ortho, who told her what could be done. At the end, she complained it was so bad she couldn't reach her toes to cut her nails. Having already established that there was a knee problem and it needed to be fixed, he offered an alternative to deal with her toes until the knee was fixed....Had it been an elbow problem and she couldn't brush her teeth, would she have expected him to do that for her too until the elbow could be fixed?..
I won't make any excuses for rude behavior just because you're asking a specialist to deal with something out of his area of expertise. That's a matter of civil, inter-personal behavior, having nothing to do with medicine.
Yes, that seems to be the norm these days. Some of the doctors I have seen were like that. I actually had to explain to one doctor why someone who had a hysterectomy couldn't be pregnant. Then he did a pregnancy test on me anyway and informed me later that I wasn't pregnant.
There is a big difference between incompetency and arrogance.
Assuming the MD actually had an undergrad degree focused on Biology/Chemistry and went to medical school (not just stayed in a Holiday Inn Express), they would know a woman isn't going to be pregnant after a hysterectomy.
Maybe they were mandated by policy to get a pregnancy test as some type of a legal malpractice mitigation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantom Fan
Go see another doctor. There a good doctors out there. My orthopedic doctor was fantastic. He treated me for a broken ankle, repaired my rotator cuff, and repaired my torn meniscus.
Indeed, a 2nd or even a 3rd opinion can help to find the right MD.
That said, just as there are MD's with great skills and poor bedside manners, others will be great hand holders, but not so great on ability to do the best job.
I'd much rather have an arrogant specialist to perform the best procedure possible (that you will live with for the rest of your life), vs. a MD that makes you feel good emotionally, but does just an average or poor technical job.
Sure it is nice when you find both in one MD, but I will take skill/experience over personality every day of the week.
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