OT/

[Guest guest]

There are a couple of things I've learned in the last 8 years or

so. First, trust what your body tells you. If it says something is

wrong, then something is wrong. Second, don't take " no " for an

answer. I suffered from a " fixable " arrhythmia for close to 8 years

because doctor after doctor told me it was benign and there was

nothing they could do, or, worse, that I was imagining it. I gave

up after awhile, but did mention it to a doctor after

my brother DIED of an undiagnosed arrhythmia, and he LISTENED. At

that point I was scared, and would NOT stop until I found out what

was going on, and did what was necessary to prevent what happened to

my brother. I went to two cardiologists after that...the first was

dismissive, but the second actually believed me, and (gasp)

supported me. He actually ran the tests that the others refused,

saying they were unnecessary, and guess what? I had PSVT, which is

generally benign, but can be very debilitating. I was going through

a very long period of exhaustion at that time, and it was mostly

because my heart, at rest, was beating at about 120 bpm. If I even

walked it shot up to over 200 bpm. I was in for surgery within a

couple of weeks, and they found TWO extra nerve pathways in my

heart. I still have periods of tachycardia, but nothing like before.

Of course, I'm now occasionally dealing with some kind of atrial

fibrillation which is driving me nuts, but it is somewhat controlled

with meds (except when I've got pms ).

I also had to fight for my ADD diagnosis. No one seemed to be able

to figure out what was wrong with me. I finally did the research

myself, and gee...every problem I've had throughout my life pointed

to ADD. It was kind of mindblowing, actually. However, even armed

with this information, I hit brick wall after brick wall. I was

given anti-depressants, which was a VERY bad idea (I wasn't

depressed...and you do NOT want to take these drugs if you are not -

the psychological side effects are not pretty!), I was told I had

social anxiety disorder (I laughed in her face...she came up with

this after talking to me for 5 whole minutes, and I had actually

admitted to her that I was " a little bit shy " as a child!) Man, if

you knew me, you'd know this diagnosis was outrageous! I'm the one

everyone used to " draft " to go into the boss's office and ask for

things, since no one else had the guts to do it. I'll talk to a

stranger for HOURS if they let me....poor slobs... Anyway, back to

the subject. I eventually shelled out almost $1000 for a series of

tests, both physical and psychological, and ended up with a definite

diagnosis of SEVERE ADD, predominantly inattentive type. Geeee....

So, as you can see, this is not the first time I've dealt with

doctors who either have blinders on or are too afraid, or too

arrogant, to admit that they may be wrong. I've also noticed that 9

times out of 10, male doctors will dismiss a woman. We tend to be

more " in tune " with our bodies, and so often go to a doctor much

sooner with a problem, often before there are obvious physical

symptoms (i.e. permanent damage). Though I've had some really great

male doctors (the one who sent me to the cardiologist, as well as

the cardiologist himself were both men, and both wonderful), and

some women who were jerks (the " social anxiety " doctor was a woman),

generally I've had much better luck with female doctors. They are

less apt to try to hide the fact that they don't know something, and

also are more willing to listen and believe you. Shoot, my current

gp fights like hell for me! If she can't figure it out, she won't

stop until she, or someone else, does. I like her a lot.

I've been busy the last few days....interviews (90% sure I got the

job, too ) and checking out daycare options for my daughter, but

tomorrow I'm calling my gp and asking her for the name of the female

rheumy she mentioned. She is on the way to my potential new job,

and my doc said she is REALLY good. There is a long waiting period,

which is why I didn't go right away (plus, I still need to get my

bloodwork done the second time from Dr. Jerk, so I have a good

baseline from the same lab to compare to the new one), but I'm

calling and making an appointment first thing next week. There was

no reason for this guy to lie to me outright - what little trust I

had in him before (and I should emphasize " little " ) is completely

gone, now. I will NEVER believe a word he says. I should probably

confront him with it (and I may), but I'm just too tired, too

stressed, and too sore to bother. The weakness in my hands came

back a couple days ago (but not much pain, luckily), and my ankles

are KILLING me off and on since we went to the beach for Father's

Day, so I've been in kind of a rotten mood for the past week.

> Hello! How are you today? I hope that all is well with you! I

just

> read your post. Aren't the doctors fun? I swear, the more I

hear

> the madder I get. I " m seeing a pattern here. I've noticed that

more

> woman (not because there are more maybe) seem to be having the

most

> problems with the self proclaimed gods that we seem to be dealing

> with! Wanh!!! I understand your frustration. I also understand

the

> phrase to them, " see ya " ! I can relate about them standing there

> stumped like and saying that you have had that since birth, your

> chart says without finding what they are talking about, and

> especailly the " TUDE " . Ya know, ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!! I had some

fu

> dealing with my self proclaimed mini god just the other day. I

hurt

> my neck about a month or so ago and saw the doctor about my

arthritis

> and mentioned my neck. I informed him that I get really dizzy or

> that everything is moving. He told me in front of my witness

(yeah,

> that is correct, I said witness - I take someone now to verify

what

> they are saying to me) that I must have water in my ears. Didn't

> bother to look either. I asked about the scoliosis...he said that

he

> had it and what did I want him to do about it and that I couldn't

of

> developed it and that I've had it all my life. 3 days later, I

had

> full blown bronchitis. (maybe it was fluid in my ears) I then

> reinjured my neck over the weekend just by riding in a pick up

> truck. I asked for a x-ray at least for a baseline and to check

my

> neck. NOPE!!!! (I have bones spurs in it,etc...) He then said

that

> the only thing was to go to PT. PT doesn't know what to do

because

> they don't know what is going on. FUN! I can't get in to see

them

> until next Thursday anyways. Anyhow when he said PT - I

immediately

> popped off no that hurts. He literally, I kid you not (remember

had

> a witness) threw my chart and replied, " then what do you expect

me

> to do " ? It kinda stunned me to say the least. I then told him

that

> I would try it as it is my only option. So, I don't know?

Sorry,

> didn't mean to rant. I think I have a new condition...it is

called

> CTSD. Heard of it? It is CURRENT TRAMATIC STRESS DISORDER!!!

LOL

> Sometimes I crack myself up!!! Anyhow, I hope that you are

feeling

> better and can get to the bottom of all this. That what I really

> wanted to say. I hope that today is good for you. Take care! Kim

[Guest guest]

Hello! How are you? I just wanted to say hello and extend my best

hopes and wishes to you. I hope that this is the answer for you and

that it will be the thing that does the trick! Good luck! Keep us

posted on your progress if ya can and/or when you get done! Big XXX's

sent your way! Take care! We will all be thinking about you! Kim