Monday, February 28, 2011

Day 59/365 Frustrated

Went to the new doctor.  High hopes shot down again.  Don't these stupid men understand?  Why can't they LISTEN?  How the hell did they get their medical degrees?  Are they so de-sensitized to the complaints of patients that they no longer listen at all?

I had my stupid appointment with the neurologist today.  I explained what was going on.  I explained that I've had pain that has gotten continually worse over 13 years and that now I'm dizzy also.  I told him that I'm taking so much ibuprofen that I constantly wonder when my stomach is going to just go ahead and split open.  I tried and failed again.

This guy was a particularly insensitive ASS.  He told me after listening to my complaints that I had MIGRAINES.  "Oh, gee, really???  It took your high-falooting medical diploma on the wall to tell you that?????  Yeah, jerk, I knew that one already.  Yes, I have migraines.  Sometimes.  I know what a migraine feels like.  I know when I'm going to get one because I know what my body feels like when one is coming on.  I know about occular migraines, visual auras, etc. because I've experienced all of that and I'm telling you, you freak, that this is different!!!!"  I told him all of that. I stood up for myself, I told him that this pain was different and starts in my neck and I know the difference, I've been dealing with this for a long time.
He said that my body is probably having rebound headaches from all the medicine I've been taking.  Headache after headache is just running together and I can't distinguish them. He said that the dizziness is just because I'm in pain. He said that my neck could hurt because of the migraines. He said that all I had to do was stop taking the medicine and my headaches would stop.  HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh, that's funny you little idiot!  If I could stop taking the medicine, I wouldn't be here talking to you.  I'm here to see if you can ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING so that I'm not in pain all the time, so that I don't have to take the medicine, so that my stomach doesn't ache all the time, so that I don't have to wake up every night in pain.  But just stop taking the pain pills.  That'll do the trick.

Then.  Then he proceeds to tell me that he will stick me in the hospital for a week on a morphine drip so that I can "get off" the ibuprofen and try to stop the rebounding headaches.  WTF???  So, morphine would be better to be hooked on than ibuprofen???
At that point I burst into tears in his office and told him that this wasn't migraines and that I would stop taking the ibuprofen as soon as someone helped me.  
He suggested that we try preventative migraine medicine.
I shook my head and said that I had tried like 4 preventative migraine medicines and they didn't do anything.
He said that I probably didn't take them right and which ones did I take?
I could only remember 3 of the names and told him that yes, I had given them fair trials of many many months each but they didn't help.  And the pain has gotten worse since then.  And the pain has spread since then, and that this isn't a freaking migraine you imbecile!  My head feels like it is sitting on my spine wrong , and pain shoots from one certain spot in the back of my head/neck area to other parts.  
I hate doctors.  I hate stupid, idiotic people who suggest stupid things to me when they have no idea what the hell I'm going through here.  Oh gee, just stop taking the pain medicine.  Well, I haven't tried that approach yet.  Oh, wait, yeah, I've tried to "tough it out" over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over....it usually lands me in the ER.  
I can't take much more of this.

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16 comments:

  1. GGA, You should just buy a dress that will make everything better! - Suprised the jerk didn't tell you that too. Sounds like we need to have a big ol' shanking party.

    I'm so proud of you for standing up for yourself and being your own advocate. Sorry this is so damned frustrating and the doctors aren't listening. maybe its time to add some alternative medicines. At least there they listen and try to read your body.
    Sorry you're in so much pain all the time.

    PS How did you do this picture? the bckground looks like black leather or something. Is that the flash reflection or did you dodge it?

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  2. Oh no....what a stupid prick! I can't believe he suggested MORPHINE as a way to get off otc medicine. That is really illogical to me. WTF? Did he even suggest any kind of MRI or other kind of test? Didn't take them right??? Like did you put them in your ear instead of your mouth. OMG! This guy is a jerk and I'm so angry. And I had such high hopes for him too. Why don't they listen?

    What is next?

    Paige

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  3. m-picture is water on my stovetop and the white is the light under the microwave. i just took some drops and made the frown.
    p-i agree it's illogical. i don't know what's next. i'm done. i cried all day and just got out of bed.

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  4. As copied off of the mayo clinic website:

    Simple pain relievers. Common medications such as aspirin and acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) may contribute to rebound headaches — especially if you exceed the recommended daily dosages. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) and naproxen (Aleve, others) are considered low risk for development of medication-overuse headache.

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  5. IBUPROFEN=LOW RISK FOR DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICATION OVERUSE HEADACHE.... i don't have a fu***ng medical degree and I can see what it says right there...

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  6. I'm surprised he didn't tell you to just lose weight. I'd like to shank him...I'm still growling over here.
    Maybe you should go to the Mayo clinic...they sound like they have sense.
    Paige

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  7. I'd like to shank him too. I'm still crying over here. Tired.

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  8. Maybe you should take him up on the morphine. You'd atleast get some relief and some rest.

    sheesh!
    Paige

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  9. GRR- I'm with Paige. Still growling.
    Did he not read your chart to see that you had already taken/tried the other meds. I realize that doctor's are overworked and stuff but geez, if you've been refered to a specialist there's probably a bigger issue than "too much tylenol". Sounds like he was being lazy and going for the "low hanging fruit" of diagnosis.

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  10. No, he didn't have that chart, he only had the information from the guy at the pain center and he's not the one that has tried all of the migraine stuff, that's my regular GP

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  11. maybe that's part of it. the Left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing so nothing is getting done.

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  12. Here, honey made this for you.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/48983630@N02/5487861752/

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  13. So, so, so frustrated and sad and mad for you, Melissa. I am praying for you and wanting you to get better. I wish with all of my heart that there was something I could do. :/

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  14. Wow. I cannot believe how insensitive this guy was. Is he SERIOUS??? I can't STAND it when doctors don't listen to you. They never give patients enough credit that YOU know your OWN body the best!!! Melissa, please don't stop fighting until someone listens to you. Even if you have to stage a sit-in at someone's office until they agree to run more tests or something!!!!! I am LIVID! I'm so sorry Melissa. I have had similar, although not as serious experiences, and I changed doctors because I thought, I'm not going to be arguing with this chachi for the rest of my life. I would call your pain guy again and tell him this jerk wouldn't listen at all. A morphine drip?!?!?!?! Yeah, like who has the time to go for a week in the hospital and take addictive narcotics. Ay, Dios Santo.

    JK

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  15. Thanks guys for all of the comments, prayers and thoughts. I'm actually DOWN IN THE DUMPS and guess what? I need some ibuprofen. I really need to go away to an island and just sit in the sand for a while and not have any noise or any responsibilities so I don't have to THINK for a while!
    Frustrated. ugh.

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