Medical The Joke That Is Our Medical System

[mary1979]

Throughout my life I've avoided doctors, hospitals and even my own medical issues like the plague.

Mostly because I have an intense fear of not being believed or taken seriously and every experience I've been forced to have with our medical profession has resulted in me feeling like I have to fight tooth and nail to be taken seriously.
I'd generally rather pretend a problem doesn't exist until it goes away.

So. 2 months ago I went blind in one eye. It was temporary, and while frightening momentarily, I put it down to a side effect from using too much anti histamine that I was taking to help me sleep since I quit drinking (it was causing me some other weird grief also, like muscle spasms and twitches)
I pushed it to the back of my mind, laid off the allergy pills and moved on.
The blindness kept occurring, usually when I was tired.

Then a month later I developed a really stiff neck. Tension I told myself, thats happened to me before.
4 days later though and my 'tension' had moved down my shoulders into my arms, had caused total loss of feeling to the skin of the affected areas and my motor control became weakened.

When I lost the ability to write or change gears while driving (left arm being most affected and I'm left handed) I thought maybe I should get checked out.

First doctor I spoke to checked my blood sugar levels and pressure and said 'you have anxiety dont you? Haha'

Waited a bit longer, by now I also had pins and freaking needles in my brain! My hair was falling out, and I kept fainting.
Second doc panicked and sent me to hospital.
Hospital doctors were so lovely, but found nothing.
Some low vitamin levels but nothing to explain my symptoms.
There was some talk before they decided an MRI was needed to look for multiple sclerosis.
A letter written to advise my doctor to arrange it.

I spent the weekend reading and convincing myself that anxiety could cause these symptoms, right?

Today I saw my gp.
Who arranged the mri but told me I would need to pay the considerable gap because, wait for it.

I DONT HAVE A HEADACHE.
So the test isn't deemed necessary.


Ok.
So I'm going blind, losing sensation and my limbs work part time.
But because I dont have a headache, the test isn't needed?

Maybe I should try some Panadol for that blindness?
I'm totally over reacting.

Why do I bother?

Am I the only one who feels like a joke to the medical profession?

 

[Changing4Best]

There was a lady in our town who just died last week at the age of 111. She claimed that her long life was due to never having seen a Dr., never having gotten married nor had kids. There just might be something to all that! Her name was Jean Christy and she was a school teacher, so I guess being around kids was not something to worry about so much, out of the 3 things she attributed long life to.

 

[mary1979]

There was a lady in our town who just died last week at the age of 111. She claimed that her long l...

I love this.
And I believe it lol

 

[Changing4Best]

I met her in person on her 110th birthday and the person who told me what she attributed her long life to knew her personally. She was a member of my church and lived in the community I live in.

 

[Sideways]

Wtf???

Pins & needles in the brain doesn't qualify as a headache?

Please please tell me that if the mri comes back clear you'll seek a second opinion. Hair doesn't tend to just fall out of it's own accord, and even if it did, it's not just a little bit concerning to these people that you're experiencing blindness and loss of motor control in one limb??

The shite that docs expect us to put up with just because it's complex!

Are there meds you've been on long term? Even cholesterol stuff? Long term side effects don't tend to be well documented for a lot of meds. Interactions between meds can also be hard to pick up..?

Something's going on. Please don't cop the "you're imagining this" line from them.

 

[Changing4Best]

I was given a medicine called Prednisone last winter for pleurisy (which is a lung infection, the outer layers of the lungs), and it caused me to end up in the Hospital for 8 days. The Dr.'s that gave it to me did not explain or ask if I had had it recently, so I got two courses of it, one right after the other, first for a sinus infection and then for the pleurisy. You are only supposed to have one course of it. It is powerful stuff! Also, a person with my medical condition of Bipolar is not supposed to have it! Hence the 8 day stay in the mental ward with a super manic episode afterward. I was so manic and confused I could not even figure out how to take my medicines nor even pack a bag to go the hospital, once it was determined that I needed to go.

However, if I had not had the Prednisone, I could have died! Pleurisy is very serious. So, I don't regret what happened, but I sure wish the Dr.s had known better what they were doing. If they had just upped my Bipolar medicine for a month or so, along with the Prednisone, I might not have ended up in the mental ward.

 

[prayingforpeace]

Mary1979,

Oh how I can relate to your experiences. First I'd like to say I'm not a medical professional, but your symptoms do not sound like anxiety to me! There is something going on. I can relate to not being taken seriously though. I recently went to my local e.r. because I was having trouble walking. Very painful just to stand up. I've had 2 back surgeries before but my issues have been getting worse. I told the MD that it is difficult to walk and he responded, "But why are you HERE?". Really? I just told you Dr..... "But why are you HERE?" I cannot walk properly... and on and on. They took a xray and sent me on my way. For me, I can never have a legitimate problem because I take pain meds regularly for my chronic pain and antidepressents/anxiety meds for ptsd. I'm called a "drug seeker" just for going to the er. It doesn't matter that I never asked for anything for my pain!
I'm starting to believe that every person in America should go on pain meds because you just can't be sick or hurt! I've been told by my pcp that I must just be lazy because I don't want to work... not that I can't work.
I'd give anything to have my health back and have no ptsd so I could work! I always worked before my back surgeries, since I'm 14 yrs old.
Anyway, enough about me. Please keep searching for an answer for yourself, even when it's difficult because the MD's don't seem to listen. It seems that many of them do not understand the difference between anxiety, ptsd and real medical problems. You're worth more than their ignorance! You know the truth and many of us have experienced discrimination as well. Keep going forward even though you face obstacles... you matter.

 

[foreveralone2099]

holy f*ck OP what a mess.

as a woman you're going to have to deal with all sorts of shit in the doc's office. if it means anything at all, **I** believe you, and you definitely need to find a way to believe very strongly in yourself, so you can be your own best advocate, as clearly no one else is bothered.

pls find a female doctor who doesn't have her head up her butt and will actually listen. fire people until you find the right one. you may have to go thru a dozen docs til you find one that's worth their salt.

and just tell the guy you have a f*ckin headache so they can clear it up with the insurance company. you told them abt the tension in your neck, right?