Thursday, November 02, 2006

General whining ...

I've written a well thought out continuum of thoughts on SawIII and subsequent discussions I've had with people I know, but I haven't had the time or gumption to type it into here - so you are spared for now. I know you're disappointed, but it'll be okay. I'll probably get to it eventually.

Meanwhile, I've still been sick. Naive kept telling me I have walking pneumonia, at which I scoffed - but I couldn't seem to get better and in time 3 other people independantly suggested it as well. So I got worried and went to the doctor. He asked me questions (that I'm not sure he really listened to my responses) and thumped around on my back and listened with his stethoscope. He told me that there are lots of weird lung ailments going around right now and it sounded like I had many symptoms of pneumonia and/or bronchitis, but that my lungs sounded clear, which doesn't fit the MO. Then he told me he thinks I have bronchitis (huh?). He wrote me a scrip for Zithromax and 3 doses later brings me to today. I still feel like crap, but not as crappy as before.

I've always liked my doc. But this visit, I felt kind of ... I don't know ... skimmed over. Then again, maybe it was just me. After all, if I haven't mentioned, I feel like crap. My lungs feel like I've been breathing fiberglas and I'm so tired I can't even believe I'm up right now. MEH!

Doesn't it suck, trying to find a doctor? The doctor I had from the time I was born retired when I was in college. I didn't find another "PCP" until about 5 years ago, because I just can't find anyone I feel any kind of real concern from. Not that your doctor needs to bring flowers into the room with him, but I don't want to be herded in and out and not have them even look at me in the eye the whole time. I want to feel like they give a damn about me, even if they don't.

I felt really happy with my doc when I stumbled across him by accident. I went to him with concerns about chest pains and he went above and beyond in treating me. He also took interest in the emotional causes which brought me to the physical manifestations. He even followed up with me to see how I was doing. To add to all this, he's young - a doctor I could visit for possibly the rest of my life. Awesome.

You can understand my disappointment with his distracted aloofness the other day.

I'd almost wave it off, except that the Hub went to him last time he was sick (having been fed up with his own doc) and said the same thing. I was so enamoured with my doc's service that I thought for sure it was an isolated incident. But maybe not.

The thing is - I'm so rarely sick, I really am not in need of a doctor's care often. So does it really matter? Sometimes I think not. But on the other hand, yes it does. A doctor is your employee - You pay him/her to give you a service. If you're not happy with the service they provide, you shouldn't have qualms about firing them. But then it'll take me 15 more years to find a doctor I can be happy with.

Pffff. I haven't even been able to decide on a new stinking groinacologist after my coolest-OBG-ever retired a year and a half ago. I better stick with one upheaval at a time.

At least I like my dentist. :/

7 comments:

Martie said...

I find that amazing.....nobody likes the dentist! I hear you on the other side though...it's hard to keep going to someone you don't feel is even really listening to you. :/

Anonymous said...

(((Clew))) I'm sorry that you have been under the weather. Here's positive thoughts that you'll get back up on your feet asap. ~~~~~~

Last year, I changed docs. I go to a practice that has two doctors. I had been seeing a younger doctor. He was quick with his assessments of me most of the time. I wasn't crazy about that but put up with it until last winter when I became sick with sinus problems. He prescribed me this new medicine that was a one time thing. You drank it all at once. The medicine was expensive and guess what- I became worse instead of better. I was pissed. So, I called the practice for a new appointment and requested to change to the older doctor. He examined me and sat for a while to talk. He listened. He took his time. He gave me sample antibotics - a two week's worth. My sinus problem was over. I've been happy since with my choice in changing. I should have changed much sooner. I guess it took hitting in the pocketbook for me to get it.

You are right. I don't want to be herded in. I want to be treated like a person.

chesneygirl said...

I have yet to find a general practice doctor that I really like and feel a "connection" with.

But I LOVE my OB/GYN! LOVE.

I like me dentist too.

Rebecca said...

Yikes. I feel your pain. As a sufferer of viral bronchitis - every year when I get it, I'm always at the hospital with them checking for pneumonia because it seems to react the same way - but my lungs are clear. Funny thing is, the two times I actually had pneumonia, they were out of the blue and in the summertime. Weird huh?

Sam said...

Well, from my experience in working at a hospital and seeing doctors go in and out, my advice would be to go back and insist on an x-ray of your chest, if your insurance will cover it or you can afford it. :-) You have the right as a patient to get the help ou believe you need.

Anonymous said...

I know a doctor, and he says that all the Docs he knows really hate people. By the time they get through med school, and all the other crap they CHOSE to do, most of them just can't stand People.
They work with whining sick people all day long. People call in for one illness, then the Nurse schedules so much time depending on what was told, then they see the Doc and bring up alot of other ailments which puts the Doc behind on the next sickey.
Doctors are only human and do have mood swings and personal issues and they whole nine yards just like everyone else.
That all being said, in my last 3 Visits to 2 different Docs I was treated like I was a number. Not a person but a damn number. The assembly line of people in the waiting room, and then the back exam waiting rooms was difficult for me to handle. The Docs never made eye contact, never really listened to what I said, and gave perscriptions of Antibiotics for everything.

Some day we will really need antibiotics for some bug our enemies come up with, or for a plague or whatever, and we will all die becuase our PCP's have exhausted the gambit of them on our colds and flu's which can't be helped anyway. Do I hate the damn Doctors or the government and insurance companies that made them that way. Not sure

Ame said...

going on a doctor hunt sucks. my obgyn is about ten years older than i, so i'll have to replace him someday, but he's been my doctor for some sixteen years and my file is two inches thick and his nurses have become friends.

i finally found a nurse practitioner i like for routine stuff.

and i like our pediatrician. he knows that i don't mind skipping him to head to a specialist, and he's okay with that, so we get along just fine.

but it took a long time to find the nurse practitioner ... and a good two + years to find the pediatrician.

btw - i like my dentist, too :)