"'Exaggerating.' 'Resistant.' 'Noncompliant.' 'Hysterical.' To be sure, there are problematic patients, even dangerous ones. But for the rest of us, the imbalance between our defenselessness and the doctor’s discretion can create an unhelpful dynamic, one that pushes us to stop advocating and start accommodating. The result is waiting rooms full of people pleasers and providers who never get the full picture. The pressure to be pleasant and pliant is especially strong for women. Just as 'bossy' women often don’t get promotions and 'uppity' women are more likely to be sexually harassed, women who are branded as difficult patients are at risk of not being taken seriously or losing access to care. This is one of the reasons women overapologize, even for their own pain. A simple disclaimer — 'I don’t mean to be difficult, but …' — can backfire as well...."
(Yes, I know this is my second "Seinfeld" post this morning. It was in looking for this Elaine-at-the-doctor material that I stumbled into the unfilmed episode stuff I blogged an hour ago, here.)
Wondering how to reconcile that with the fact that women use significantly more medical services (even excluding those related to childbearing) than men. They're obviously finding someone to treat them. Maybe women aren't the victims after all.
Wondering how to reconcile that with the fact that women use significantly more medical services (even excluding those related to childbearing) than men. They're obviously finding someone to treat them. Maybe women aren't the victims after all.
For the majority of visits the Hospital is therapy for women with extra steps and taxpayer funding.
The internet informs me that "Allison Sweet Grant Found ‘Kinship’ with Shannen Doherty After Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis. See the Cover of the Author’s Memoir Lump (Exclusive)."
Also, there's this: "I imagine there are a lot of women my age, women who grew up with Shannen on their television screens, who feel the same way I do," the author writes in her essay 'Life Is the Prize.'"
That's a really poorly-reasoned Op-Ed. To point out one problem with it, if the author wishes to argue from social conditioning, she ought at least to consider the well-known competing social expectation that men should endure pain without complaint.
Knowing a person in the industry, yes doctors can find reasons not to work certain patients. However, unless a doctor has their own business, the organization they work for will not want to alienate patients and will want their doctors to see many of them. So, if a doctor gets too picky, they'll be looking for another employer.
In short, profit motive solves another thing that marxist think is a problem.
This "major" problem that the author is lamenting is largely a construct, IMO - but she got her article out of the deal, I guess.
I treated a lot of pain in my patients for a lot of years. I don't recall much hesitation on their part to inform me - in all kinds of ways, I tell you - that they were experiencing pain. Of course there are the occasional stoic types who take it as a point of pride to not complain about their pain. And maybe there are some freaky women like this author who for various weird reasons do what she did and endure pain when that was totally unnecessary to do (her contention, not mine). But, um, sorry, that is on them, not on their doctor.
Here's an idea: Talk to your doctor about your medical problems, and for the love of god, especially about pain. As it happens, we can generally quickly perceive that on our own but, we're not mind readers.
Again American women either don't have, or refuse to take responsibility for, their own agency. I feel likei could cut and paste this comment i to about half of your posts.
"The pressure to be pleasant and pliant is especially strong for women. Just as 'bossy' women often don’t get promotions and 'uppity' women are more likely to be sexually harassed, women who are branded as difficult patients are at risk of not being taken seriously or losing access to care. "
LOL. "Bossy women" become bosses. And "Uppity" women don't get sexually harrassed more than others. I love this phrase because it makes a leftwing point but what is "uppity" ? And what is "sexually harrassed"? These words can mean anything.
My experience is that "Confident ballsy women" get push back. Because another word for that is "arrogant". And Arrogant people rub lots of the people the wrong way. Not everyone is a shrinking violet and just "takes it".
Patients have to suck up to doctors and doctors have to suck up to insurance companies. Fortunately, insurance companies will soon replace MDs with their own AIs so they can treat patients directly, thus eliminating a major cost center and one whole level of suckitude.
“The pressure to be pleasant and pliant is especially strong for women.”
Utter dogshit and, from what I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot in the healthcare realm), a complete inversion of reality.
White Karen overwhelmingly sucks the oxygen from the healthcare room. The doctor is not just some idealized healer, but also a manager of limited time and resources, and the chart comments aren’t sexist malice but simple observations in aid of that management. No different than notes on the hyperpigmented spot on your neck or the fungus under your toenail.
Some simple and obvious tips for getting what you need from your doctor. Be a responsible co-worker and not a supplicant. Dress neatly, and attend to your hygiene. Be friendly (but not over-friendly) and polite. Listen carefully and acknowledge what they’re saying. State your needs and concerns rationally and factually. If, as they sometimes do, they’re failing to understand your issue, that’s the time to press your case. But always without histrionics.
In short, be a middle-aged, middle-class White man with a mortgage, a healthy marriage, and two children at the state university.
“ Here's an idea: Talk to your doctor about your medical problems, and for the love of god, especially about pain.”
A lot of good it will do you. Most doctors are now batshit paranoid about prescribing pain medications even for the people who really need it, thanks to the opioid ‘crisis’. I’m not in that situation myself, thank God, but I know people who are, and it’s hell.
>Smilin' Jack said... Most doctors are now batshit paranoid about prescribing pain medications even for the people who really need it, thanks to the opioid ‘crisis’.<
That is a secondary issue to the crux of the OP but an absolutely accurate observation of an appalling circumstance in medicine, born of deplorable politicians' mindlessly jumping on the "opioid crisis" bandwagon to signal their "War on Drugs" virtue. As a result, you get to suffer your cancer bone pain in despair because your doctor can lose his DEA license if he adequately treats it, while we delude ourselves that we have put a dent in the drug "crisis" that will in fact never go away. Absolutely shameful.
As big a problem as opioid abusers are for the rest of us when we are in pain, narcissists are for those of us who, wait a minute, if you can’t think of a way to communicate with your doctor without making it a major drama, you might be a narcissist. The most important truth about narcissists is that they are never wrong, that other person is an *ssh*le.
You would think the market was saturated at this point, but the formula still sells: just explain why women are the most oppressed people in any situation. That one formula probably provides over 50% of the revenue for most left-leaning print media. Easy money.
This story made me wonder if anyone had yet written a story or article suggesting that women are most impacted by prostate cancer, so I asked Grok. He says no, because it is a male affliction, but there have been numerous articles written about how it affects the women around men afflicted.
We have a female friend, early 70's who is in generally good health who has 3-4 doctor's appointments every week, year round. In addition, she also used to go to a couple of quack "holistic" healer types (there is a great Seinfeld episode on that) until her husband put the kibosh on those because of the cost.
Most doctors are now batshit paranoid about prescribing pain medications even for the people who really need it, thanks to the opioid ‘crisis’.<
Very true. The therapeutic dose for oxycodone pre-crisis was 40-80 mg. Now they send you home with a 5 mg pill, which is essentially a placebo. And they lace it with Tylenol so you can't just take 5-10 to get a therapeutic dose.
When I started paying attention to my provider's online records portal, I discovered that the notes of my visits to our GP bore little relation to what I understood to have happened. A whole lot of little things like "Patient declined prostate exam against advice" when I recall that she asked "you don't have any reason to think you especially need a prostate exam this year, do you?" So I changed practice, but I was somewhat worried that rejecting one practitioner might get me red-flagged as a difficult patient even more-so than usual –– I find in many situations where I'm asking questions to get clarity, others often think I am disagreeing, I am arguing, or I am being difficult. I suspect my current G.P. of being a high-intelligence person on the autism spectrum, and for me it's the clearest communication I've ever had with a doctor.
"Just as 'bossy' women often don’t get promotions and 'uppity' women are more likely to be sexually harassed, women who are branded as difficult patients are at risk of not being taken seriously or losing access to care."
Similarly, men who get on the bad side of HR don't get promoted. Are "uppity" women more likely to be sexually harassed? Hard to say without more evidence. I suspect it's not the determining factor in harassment.
Medical bills make interesting reading. Things we get for "free" from Medicare cost the government a lot of money. Are the prices legit or is Uncle Sam being gouged?
I have little use for the doctors in our modern system. I need surgeons occasionally, but all the rest is satisfied by the internet and anybody who can write a prescription. A.I. will talk to me for hours if I want, and it's not embarrassing to ask it anything. It knows everything in multiple specialties and never forgets, but it seems to have an occasional drinking problem, so you might need to get a second opinion on the important stuff. Still, his colleagues are virtually free too.
>rhhardin said... Enter the medical system at the lowest level you can, physicians' assistant or nurse, if you must.<
Nurse practitioners are well-trained in their respective limited field. I've seen a few of them as a patient and found them not wanting.
PAs (physician's assistant) are minimally trained, though sufficiently to tackle the rudiments of general medicine. But, I've worked with a number of them and the common characteristic that I found was that they tend to overtest, overdiagnose, and especially, overtreat. They are duly thought of by many in the medical and nursing professions as frustrated doctors. God bless them...but I avoid them.
My late step-monster and her year-older sister both had Munchausens and enjoyed ill health. They fell out over custody of their ancient father & his money, trying to get each other arrested (and my father). But they ended up with the same doctor, who happily dispensed dozens of pills. SM had tried every quack therapy for her ailments, but she never missed an event she wanted to go to. Pain pills ruined her colon, and she was on Prednisone her last years, which made her head swell up freakishly. Oh, and she was an RN.
I wonder if this Clancy killer was similar, and her family was tired of and discounted her complaints as just more drama. Turley said she was bipolar, but I haven't seen that anywhere else. Would you want a bipolar maternity nurse?
rhhardin has it bass ackwards six ways from Sunday. First of all to have a long healthy life, you need to pick really good parrots with solid genetics. The first point of contact with the medical community should be a specialist. Preferably a Harvard professor. The lowly morons can't do s*** and are very intimidated by a knowledgeable patient. Besides, you could already figure out your diagnosis better than they can. Go straight to the one that can actually do something. I know you people don't like Harvard but most docs get b**** slapped by insurance companies. Harvard docs can b**** slap back because reasons.
And people want to believe Doctors are Gods the walk the earth, and will diagnois all our ills and cure them. But they're people like everyone else and people make mistakes. So, if its really serious, get a 2nd opinion.
“First of all to have a long healthy life, you need to pick really good parrots with solid genetics.” You sadist. First you tell me I have to eat sauerkraut. And now I have to buy a parrot? Parrots are hell to live with. I’ll stay with my coffee and cat, thank you very much
My partner got herself fired by her primary care practitioner a couple years ago. Partner had been on hormone replacement therapy for over half her lifetime, with no ill results. Primary Care, a woman, was never happy with that. But then went through menopause, without hormone replacement. And was miserable. Fired my partner over her insistence on HRT.
I have it on good authority that cats are a tremendous stimulator of oxytocin, so you got that going for you, Eva. Don't get me started on near infrared light therapy:
**Yes, the RubyLux ($35 for 250W) Near Infrared Bulb emits near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths capable of penetrating biological tissue to stimulate photobiomodulation. While many photobiomodulation devices use LEDs or low-level lasers, the RubyLux NIR incandescent bulb provides broad-spectrum near-infrared energy and therapeutic heat that interact with cellular mitochondria.How It WorksWavelength Output: Delivers near-infrared frequencies that reach deep into muscles, joints, and tissue layers.Cellular Stimulation: Absorbed by cellular components to encourage ATP production, blood flow, and localized recovery.Thermal Effect: Generates noticeable radiant warmth alongside the light energy, distinguishing it from cool LED panels.**
Doctors and RNs do this to everyone. They love to omit or outright lie in patient's medical records.
The best defense any patient has is
1) NEVER go to any .medical appointment without a witness accompanying you. 2) NEVER go to a medical appointment in a state that is a 1-party recording state. 3) NEVER tell the provider you are recording them. 4) NEVER believe or trust a "patient advocate." 5) NEVER tell the records office why or what you need ypur medical records for. 6)NEVER speak to any hospital or provider office over the phone unless you are recording the call. 7)NEVER sign anything electronically. They will save your signature and forge it on everything.
This is an unstoppable force meets immovable object.
Uppity college educated women go to the doctor and demand to be HEARD! damnit. Listen to woman. Woman important. I went to college. I am smart and you will listen to me!
Then they get to the doctor and they run into the average family practice practitioner who got a B+ in anatomy on the second try and proscribes statins to people without knowing what a DNR test is or why a Coronary Artery Calcium scan would be important.
The biggest problem is we are subsidizing both groups of idiots, not that these idiots are fighting.
I’ve “fired” (always without announcing it) several doctors in various specialties over the years. If you live long enough, human nature being what it is, this seems inevitable. Happily I’ve found satisfactory replacements in each case.
The first time I went to my cardiologist he described me in the post visit notes as “pleasant.” I later learned that is a code word for. “He won’t give you any trouble “ in the medical community.
Anyway, I'm sorry for wimmen. Always getting the short end of the stick. Always being oppressed and told to be "good little girls". Even by other women.
Its sad. Maybe even tragic.
Of course, a male. One of those. A misogynist. May say that some wimmen just want special privilages. That they are emotional and selfish, or aren't being treated any worse then men.
But these "haters", don't know what it means to be female. To be treated as inferior, despite your genetic, and obvious, superiority.
I have found the medical services in foreign countries to be delightful. Access to medicine in Ukraine was quick and affordable, but not for the faint of heart. I could go to the orthopedist and get knee injections, but there was no "numbing me up" first. I have a hemorrhoid surgery without anesthesia, but at least the lady assisting the doctor had soft hands. In Thailand, my experience is wonderful. They see you swiftly, treat you kindly, and you go home with change in your pocket. Oh, and they lack the perverse obsession that Americans exhibit with "limiting opioids".
>mongo said... The first time I went to my cardiologist he described me in the post visit notes as “pleasant.” I later learned that is a code word for. “He won’t give you any trouble “ in the medical community.<
Oh that crafty medical community! Absolutely diabolical - using a "code word" for “He won’t give you any trouble" that is a "code word" for “He won’t give you any trouble" in pretty much every other community.
"The pressure to be pleasant and pliant is especially strong for women." Says who? I've spend a lot of time in hospitals recently and most of the employees you'll interact with are women. And they don't take attitude from anybody; male or female. And I also think that it's human nature to treat the people who hold your life in their hands a little nicer than most people you interact with. The pressure to be pleasant and pliant is actually coming from inside you, not from the staff.
rehajm said... "…you’ll have to please the social worker to be cleared for a transplant if you need one. A black mark on your chart could doom your survival…"
Social workers who deal with people who might have addiction issues are especially judgmental and inflexible. They're used to people lying to them a lot.
I have been fortunate to have received excellent medical service and treatment over the past decade. I believe some of that is due to my filling out the numerous online survey requests I get after every visit. Recently I injured my back doing some lifting. I went to the ER, thinking I might also have my first UTI (pain the the pelvic area, frequent urination at night and trouble doing it AND a UTI OTC kit showing a slight rise in white blood cells). They did blood, urine tests and a CT scan - no UTI, no kidney stone: diagnosis was skeletal/muscular strain. Send home with muscle relaxant and some Turadol. No improvement. Got worse. Went to primary for followup and, to be fair, gave her a general review of what happened. She gave me some steroids and a different muscle relaxant and some Bactrim just in case there was a possible of UTI infection. Took urine. That came back clean. Pain was stabbing in the the lower right quadrant of my groin. Went on AI and I was diagnosed, after answering multiple, specific questions about my physical activities during day, with a possible hernia. Went back to primary, got an ultrasound with a few hours and guess what? Two cm hernia! Next stop surgeon consult. Primary gave me a different muscle relaxant and Celebrex. Funny -- they won't give you percs for pain, but they will give you a pill that one of the side effects is a heart attack.
In the paper chart years, I saw a young man with a wart on the sole of his foot, that might interfere with being a pusher on an Olympic bobsled team. On review, he's seen an interest in my multi specialty clinic, for hair loss, which had been caused by his use of anabolic steroids for a body-building event. I brought this up, which surprised him I had access to that info. He came back for a second wart treatment appointment, but actually stole the paper chart to hide the evidence. I replaced the original chart with the steroid use info, as well as the fact he'd stolen the chart, in case anyone requested old medical records. So it goes.
A month or so ago I had my annual physical. I had been having some serious back pain for a month, and of course was trying to figure out what it was. Back pain, numbness, and muscle weakness. All of that goes away when sitting or laying down but trouble walking or standing. Matched perfectly to spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal canal with cases the spine and nerves to the legs to get pinched. During the exam he said you're walking funny and I gave a brief description of what was going on and for how long, ending with that I thought I had spinal stenosis. He kinda chastised me with a sort of "are you doctor now?" response saying they would need more than what I thought and I would need to get x-rays and an MRI of the lumbar region of my back. I'm like sure, and that I wasn't expecting treatment without tests. At the end of the exam he said that he thought I was right, and the diagnostics later confirmed it.
I'm very skeptical of doctors since I spent 30+ years in epidemiology and public health and learned that much of the research that underlies What We Know is really flimsy.
Also since one stated confidently that I had tennis elbow, when in reality I had a weak biceps brachialis. Six weeks of failed PT later, I figured it out and fixed it myself in about a week.
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पोस्ट्स
६७ टिप्पण्या:
…you’ll have to please the social worker to be cleared for a transplant if you need one. A black mark on your chart could doom your survival…
Wondering how to reconcile that with the fact that women use significantly more medical services (even excluding those related to childbearing) than men. They're obviously finding someone to treat them. Maybe women aren't the victims after all.
The problem is Obamacare.
If a patient and a doctor were able to form their own relationship the patients and doctors would be responsible for the outcomes.
But Big Health and Big Pharma and Big Insurance set the system up to fleece the US economy.
Right now Obamacare is the cornerstone of this evil.
james said...
Wondering how to reconcile that with the fact that women use significantly more medical services (even excluding those related to childbearing) than men. They're obviously finding someone to treat them. Maybe women aren't the victims after all.
For the majority of visits the Hospital is therapy for women with extra steps and taxpayer funding.
Seinfeld is the hitchhiker's guide to planet Earth.
You think you're funny, little woman? No treatment for you. Next!
The internet informs me that "Allison Sweet Grant Found ‘Kinship’ with Shannen Doherty After Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis. See the Cover of the Author’s Memoir Lump (Exclusive)."
Also, there's this: "I imagine there are a lot of women my age, women who grew up with Shannen on their television screens, who feel the same way I do," the author writes in her essay 'Life Is the Prize.'"
It there anything that women will not bitch about?
Brilliant comedy writing.
I image after they drew those black sharpie pen eyebrows on uncle Leo - they were all doubled over laughing.
Is this the first tentative flickers of Social Credit scoring, in the health industry? M.A.I.D. coming next?
That's a really poorly-reasoned Op-Ed. To point out one problem with it, if the author wishes to argue from social conditioning, she ought at least to consider the well-known competing social expectation that men should endure pain without complaint.
Knowing a person in the industry, yes doctors can find reasons not to work certain patients. However, unless a doctor has their own business, the organization they work for will not want to alienate patients and will want their doctors to see many of them. So, if a doctor gets too picky, they'll be looking for another employer.
In short, profit motive solves another thing that marxist think is a problem.
This "major" problem that the author is lamenting is largely a construct, IMO - but she got her article out of the deal, I guess.
I treated a lot of pain in my patients for a lot of years. I don't recall much hesitation on their part to inform me - in all kinds of ways, I tell you - that they were experiencing pain. Of course there are the occasional stoic types who take it as a point of pride to not complain about their pain. And maybe there are some freaky women like this author who for various weird reasons do what she did and endure pain when that was totally unnecessary to do (her contention, not mine). But, um, sorry, that is on them, not on their doctor.
Here's an idea: Talk to your doctor about your medical problems, and for the love of god, especially about pain. As it happens, we can generally quickly perceive that on our own but, we're not mind readers.
Again American women either don't have, or refuse to take responsibility for, their own agency. I feel likei could cut and paste this comment i to about half of your posts.
"The pressure to be pleasant and pliant is especially strong for women. Just as 'bossy' women often don’t get promotions and 'uppity' women are more likely to be sexually harassed, women who are branded as difficult patients are at risk of not being taken seriously or losing access to care. "
LOL. "Bossy women" become bosses. And "Uppity" women don't get sexually harrassed more than others. I love this phrase because it makes a leftwing point but what is "uppity" ?
And what is "sexually harrassed"? These words can mean anything.
My experience is that "Confident ballsy women" get push back. Because another word for that is "arrogant". And Arrogant people rub lots of the people the wrong way. Not everyone is a shrinking violet and just "takes it".
M
Today's everything is on the computer and every doctor everywhere would instantly know that Elaine is "difficult". LOL.
Patients have to suck up to doctors and doctors have to suck up to insurance companies. Fortunately, insurance companies will soon replace MDs with their own AIs so they can treat patients directly, thus eliminating a major cost center and one whole level of suckitude.
“The pressure to be pleasant and pliant is especially strong for women.”
Utter dogshit and, from what I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot in the healthcare realm), a complete inversion of reality.
White Karen overwhelmingly sucks the oxygen from the healthcare room. The doctor is not just some idealized healer, but also a manager of limited time and resources, and the chart comments aren’t sexist malice but simple observations in aid of that management. No different than notes on the hyperpigmented spot on your neck or the fungus under your toenail.
Some simple and obvious tips for getting what you need from your doctor. Be a responsible co-worker and not a supplicant. Dress neatly, and attend to your hygiene. Be friendly (but not over-friendly) and polite. Listen carefully and acknowledge what they’re saying. State your needs and concerns rationally and factually. If, as they sometimes do, they’re failing to understand your issue, that’s the time to press your case. But always without histrionics.
In short, be a middle-aged, middle-class White man with a mortgage, a healthy marriage, and two children at the state university.
How much of this conflict could be averted if Doctors were simply not allowed to use clicky pens?
“ Here's an idea: Talk to your doctor about your medical problems, and for the love of god, especially about pain.”
A lot of good it will do you. Most doctors are now batshit paranoid about prescribing pain medications even for the people who really need it, thanks to the opioid ‘crisis’. I’m not in that situation myself, thank God, but I know people who are, and it’s hell.
I’ve changed healthcare providers several times because they didn’t seem to listen to what I was saying. I recommend that as a procedure.
>Smilin' Jack said...
Most doctors are now batshit paranoid about prescribing pain medications even for the people who really need it, thanks to the opioid ‘crisis’.<
That is a secondary issue to the crux of the OP but an absolutely accurate observation of an appalling circumstance in medicine, born of deplorable politicians' mindlessly jumping on the "opioid crisis" bandwagon to signal their "War on Drugs" virtue. As a result, you get to suffer your cancer bone pain in despair because your doctor can lose his DEA license if he adequately treats it, while we delude ourselves that we have put a dent in the drug "crisis" that will in fact never go away. Absolutely shameful.
Whatever you do, don’t use the phone in the room while waiting for the doctor!
I think that Larry David got a lot of mileage out of doctor’s offices.
As big a problem as opioid abusers are for the rest of us when we are in pain, narcissists are for those of us who, wait a minute, if you can’t think of a way to communicate with your doctor without making it a major drama, you might be a narcissist. The most important truth about narcissists is that they are never wrong, that other person is an *ssh*le.
You would think the market was saturated at this point, but the formula still sells: just explain why women are the most oppressed people in any situation. That one formula probably provides over 50% of the revenue for most left-leaning print media. Easy money.
This story made me wonder if anyone had yet written a story or article suggesting that women are most impacted by prostate cancer, so I asked Grok. He says no, because it is a male affliction, but there have been numerous articles written about how it affects the women around men afflicted.
We have a female friend, early 70's who is in generally good health who has 3-4 doctor's appointments every week, year round. In addition, she also used to go to a couple of quack "holistic" healer types (there is a great Seinfeld episode on that) until her husband put the kibosh on those because of the cost.
ChrisC
I see you've met my wife.
Most doctors are now batshit paranoid about prescribing pain medications even for the people who really need it, thanks to the opioid ‘crisis’.<
Very true. The therapeutic dose for oxycodone pre-crisis was 40-80 mg. Now they send you home with a 5 mg pill, which is essentially a placebo. And they lace it with Tylenol so you can't just take 5-10 to get a therapeutic dose.
"but there have been numerous articles written about how it affects the women around men afflicted."
Hillary Clinton:
"Women have always been the primary victims of war. Women lose their husbands, their fathers, their sons in combat."
When I started paying attention to my provider's online records portal, I discovered that the notes of my visits to our GP bore little relation to what I understood to have happened.
A whole lot of little things like "Patient declined prostate exam against advice" when I recall that she asked "you don't have any reason to think you especially need a prostate exam this year, do you?"
So I changed practice, but I was somewhat worried that rejecting one practitioner might get me red-flagged as a difficult patient even more-so than usual –– I find in many situations where I'm asking questions to get clarity, others often think I am disagreeing, I am arguing, or I am being difficult.
I suspect my current G.P. of being a high-intelligence person on the autism spectrum, and for me it's the clearest communication I've ever had with a doctor.
"Just as 'bossy' women often don’t get promotions and 'uppity' women are more likely to be sexually harassed, women who are branded as difficult patients are at risk of not being taken seriously or losing access to care."
Similarly, men who get on the bad side of HR don't get promoted. Are "uppity" women more likely to be sexually harassed? Hard to say without more evidence. I suspect it's not the determining factor in harassment.
The secret to a long healthy life is avoid doctors.
Enter the medical system at the lowest level you can, physicians' assistant or nurse, if you must.
Medical bills make interesting reading. Things we get for "free" from Medicare cost the government a lot of money. Are the prices legit or is Uncle Sam being gouged?
I have little use for the doctors in our modern system. I need surgeons occasionally, but all the rest is satisfied by the internet and anybody who can write a prescription. A.I. will talk to me for hours if I want, and it's not embarrassing to ask it anything. It knows everything in multiple specialties and never forgets, but it seems to have an occasional drinking problem, so you might need to get a second opinion on the important stuff. Still, his colleagues are virtually free too.
>rhhardin said...
Enter the medical system at the lowest level you can, physicians' assistant or nurse, if you must.<
Nurse practitioners are well-trained in their respective limited field. I've seen a few of them as a patient and found them not wanting.
PAs (physician's assistant) are minimally trained, though sufficiently to tackle the rudiments of general medicine. But, I've worked with a number of them and the common characteristic that I found was that they tend to overtest, overdiagnose, and especially, overtreat. They are duly thought of by many in the medical and nursing professions as frustrated doctors. God bless them...but I avoid them.
My late step-monster and her year-older sister both had Munchausens and enjoyed ill health. They fell out over custody of their ancient father & his money, trying to get each other arrested (and my father). But they ended up with the same doctor, who happily dispensed dozens of pills. SM had tried every quack therapy for her ailments, but she never missed an event she wanted to go to. Pain pills ruined her colon, and she was on Prednisone her last years, which made her head swell up freakishly. Oh, and she was an RN.
I wonder if this Clancy killer was similar, and her family was tired of and discounted her complaints as just more drama. Turley said she was bipolar, but I haven't seen that anywhere else. Would you want a bipolar maternity nurse?
another one
rhhardin has it bass ackwards six ways from Sunday. First of all to have a long healthy life, you need to pick really good parrots with solid genetics. The first point of contact with the medical community should be a specialist. Preferably a Harvard professor. The lowly morons can't do s*** and are very intimidated by a knowledgeable patient. Besides, you could already figure out your diagnosis better than they can. Go straight to the one that can actually do something. I know you people don't like Harvard but most docs get b**** slapped by insurance companies. Harvard docs can b**** slap back because reasons.
The key to dealing with the medical system is to keep out of nursing homes and hospital beds. These places of full of sick people.
Which sounds like a joke. But what it means is there are lots of bugs and viruses floating around. So recover at home if you can.
And people want to believe Doctors are Gods the walk the earth, and will diagnois all our ills and cure them. But they're people like everyone else and people make mistakes. So, if its really serious, get a 2nd opinion.
We've dealt with plenty of PA's and they've been just as good as a Doctor for the low level issues we had to get treatment for.
“First of all to have a long healthy life, you need to pick really good parrots with solid genetics.”
You sadist. First you tell me I have to eat sauerkraut. And now I have to buy a parrot? Parrots are hell to live with.
I’ll stay with my coffee and cat, thank you very much
My partner got herself fired by her primary care practitioner a couple years ago. Partner had been on hormone replacement therapy for over half her lifetime, with no ill results. Primary Care, a woman, was never happy with that. But then went through menopause, without hormone replacement. And was miserable. Fired my partner over her insistence on HRT.
I have it on good authority that cats are a tremendous stimulator of oxytocin, so you got that going for you, Eva. Don't get me started on near infrared light therapy:
**Yes, the RubyLux ($35 for 250W) Near Infrared Bulb emits near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths capable of penetrating biological tissue to stimulate photobiomodulation. While many photobiomodulation devices use LEDs or low-level lasers, the RubyLux NIR incandescent bulb provides broad-spectrum near-infrared energy and therapeutic heat that interact with cellular mitochondria.How It WorksWavelength Output: Delivers near-infrared frequencies that reach deep into muscles, joints, and tissue layers.Cellular Stimulation: Absorbed by cellular components to encourage ATP production, blood flow, and localized recovery.Thermal Effect: Generates noticeable radiant warmth alongside the light energy, distinguishing it from cool LED panels.**
Doctors and RNs do this to everyone. They love to omit or outright lie in patient's medical records.
The best defense any patient has is
1) NEVER go to any .medical appointment without a witness accompanying you.
2) NEVER go to a medical appointment in a state that is a 1-party recording state.
3) NEVER tell the provider you are recording them.
4) NEVER believe or trust a "patient advocate."
5) NEVER tell the records office why or what you need ypur medical records for.
6)NEVER speak to any hospital or provider office over the phone unless you are recording the call.
7)NEVER sign anything electronically. They will save your signature and forge it on everything.
This is an unstoppable force meets immovable object.
Uppity college educated women go to the doctor and demand to be HEARD! damnit. Listen to woman. Woman important. I went to college. I am smart and you will listen to me!
Then they get to the doctor and they run into the average family practice practitioner who got a B+ in anatomy on the second try and proscribes statins to people without knowing what a DNR test is or why a Coronary Artery Calcium scan would be important.
The biggest problem is we are subsidizing both groups of idiots, not that these idiots are fighting.
RCOCEAN II said...
We've dealt with plenty of PA's and they've been just as good as a Doctor for the low level issues we had to get treatment for.
This is the same problem our country has on most things.
The longer people are in our University system the dumber they get.
I’ve “fired” (always without announcing it) several doctors in various specialties over the years. If you live long enough, human nature being what it is, this seems inevitable. Happily I’ve found satisfactory replacements in each case.
The first time I went to my cardiologist he described me in the post visit notes as “pleasant.” I later learned that is a code word for. “He won’t give you any trouble “ in the medical community.
Anyway, I'm sorry for wimmen. Always getting the short end of the stick. Always being oppressed and told to be "good little girls". Even by other women.
Its sad. Maybe even tragic.
Of course, a male. One of those. A misogynist. May say that some wimmen just want special privilages. That they are emotional and selfish, or aren't being treated any worse then men.
But these "haters", don't know what it means to be female. To be treated as inferior, despite your genetic, and obvious, superiority.
I was saddened when i saw a doctor for a problem and was described in the notes as being X years, and looking it.
I have found the medical services in foreign countries to be delightful. Access to medicine in Ukraine was quick and affordable, but not for the faint of heart. I could go to the orthopedist and get knee injections, but there was no "numbing me up" first. I have a hemorrhoid surgery without anesthesia, but at least the lady assisting the doctor had soft hands. In Thailand, my experience is wonderful. They see you swiftly, treat you kindly, and you go home with change in your pocket. Oh, and they lack the perverse obsession that Americans exhibit with "limiting opioids".
>mongo said...
The first time I went to my cardiologist he described me in the post visit notes as “pleasant.” I later learned that is a code word for. “He won’t give you any trouble “ in the medical community.<
Oh that crafty medical community! Absolutely diabolical - using a "code word" for “He won’t give you any trouble" that is a "code word" for “He won’t give you any trouble" in pretty much every other community.
>NEVER go to a medical appointment in a state
> that is a 1-party recording state
But that's where you are legal recording them w/o informing them.
Every patient has right to doctor's notes. Go to medical records and get a copy. You might be surprised.
"The pressure to be pleasant and pliant is especially strong for women." Says who? I've spend a lot of time in hospitals recently and most of the employees you'll interact with are women. And they don't take attitude from anybody; male or female. And I also think that it's human nature to treat the people who hold your life in their hands a little nicer than most people you interact with. The pressure to be pleasant and pliant is actually coming from inside you, not from the staff.
And my gastroenterologist, liver specialist and liver surgeon were all female.
rehajm said...
"…you’ll have to please the social worker to be cleared for a transplant if you need one. A black mark on your chart could doom your survival…"
Social workers who deal with people who might have addiction issues are especially judgmental and inflexible. They're used to people lying to them a lot.
I have been fortunate to have received excellent medical service and treatment over the past decade. I believe some of that is due to my filling out the numerous online survey requests I get after every visit. Recently I injured my back doing some lifting. I went to the ER, thinking I might also have my first UTI (pain the the pelvic area, frequent urination at night and trouble doing it AND a UTI OTC kit showing a slight rise in white blood cells). They did blood, urine tests and a CT scan - no UTI, no kidney stone: diagnosis was skeletal/muscular strain. Send home with muscle relaxant and some Turadol. No improvement. Got worse. Went to primary for followup and, to be fair, gave her a general review of what happened. She gave me some steroids and a different muscle relaxant and some Bactrim just in case there was a possible of UTI infection. Took urine. That came back clean. Pain was stabbing in the the lower right quadrant of my groin. Went on AI and I was diagnosed, after answering multiple, specific questions about my physical activities during day, with a possible hernia. Went back to primary, got an ultrasound with a few hours and guess what? Two cm hernia! Next stop surgeon consult. Primary gave me a different muscle relaxant and Celebrex. Funny -- they won't give you percs for pain, but they will give you a pill that one of the side effects is a heart attack.
In the paper chart years, I saw a young man with a wart on the sole of his foot, that might interfere with being a pusher on an Olympic bobsled team. On review, he's seen an interest in my multi specialty clinic, for hair loss, which had been caused by his use of anabolic steroids for a body-building event. I brought this up, which surprised him I had access to that info. He came back for a second wart treatment appointment, but actually stole the paper chart to hide the evidence. I replaced the original chart with the steroid use info, as well as the fact he'd stolen the chart, in case anyone requested old medical records. So it goes.
A month or so ago I had my annual physical. I had been having some serious back pain for a month, and of course was trying to figure out what it was. Back pain, numbness, and muscle weakness. All of that goes away when sitting or laying down but trouble walking or standing. Matched perfectly to spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal canal with cases the spine and nerves to the legs to get pinched. During the exam he said you're walking funny and I gave a brief description of what was going on and for how long, ending with that I thought I had spinal stenosis. He kinda chastised me with a sort of "are you doctor now?" response saying they would need more than what I thought and I would need to get x-rays and an MRI of the lumbar region of my back. I'm like sure, and that I wasn't expecting treatment without tests. At the end of the exam he said that he thought I was right, and the diagnostics later confirmed it.
WebMD is the bane of the medical industry.
Kirk Parker said...
"But that's where you are legal recording them w/o informing them"
Correct. Sorry-typo mistake on my part. Should be never go to any hospital or doctor in a 2 party recording state.
I'm very skeptical of doctors since I spent 30+ years in epidemiology and public health and learned that much of the research that underlies What We Know is really flimsy.
Also since one stated confidently that I had tennis elbow, when in reality I had a weak biceps brachialis. Six weeks of failed PT later, I figured it out and fixed it myself in about a week.
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