Before they’ve even heard my full case history and list of symptoms they’ve already decided they can’t help me. Each one I’ve met with clings on to one symptom relationship they identify with, the one they believe will hold the answers and ignores all the other ones. They are doctors, they are qualified, they have devoted theirs lives to diagnosing, treating, and helping those in need. But most seem to forget that the body is made up of many systems that function together, therefore, how could one symptom relationship definitively explain the cause of the problem when the system is so complex. Yes, my experiences have left me jaded and idealizing a utopian medical society in which doctors actually listen to patients and collaborate with their peers until they find answers like detectives who stop at nothing to solve the case that keeps them up at night. But being that I have not encountered the society of my dreams all I can judge is based on my experiences. And most recently they are disheartening. I have had an undiagnosed issue for months now, have been in pain for months, have been disappointed for months, haven’t felt like myself for months, and have had no hope for months. Every doctor I have met with has all arrived at the same conclusion I am a NO. Let me elaborate…
-There was the doctor who only heard MS and after that was a no, I was a NO.
-There were the 3 doctors who didn’t even bother to connect the pieces because they all heard not my specialty, so I was a NO.
-There was the doctor who only heard 2 of my symptoms before cutting me off and deciding that reviewing my test results was more important than listening to my story and since reading my results all told her no to the answers she wanted, I was also a NO.
-There was the doctor who only wanted the results from all the other doctors and when each new result came in as a no, I was a NO.
-There were the two doctors who ran 1 or two tests got a no and decided the only alternative was medication for symptoms they could not connect to a problem, so yet again I was a NO. Although I was a NO for them they did teach me the true meaning of DR-dealing rights. The right to deal any drug known to man without knowledge of its ability to solve a problem because they do not even know what the problem is.
-There was the doctor who said I didn’t present with the symptoms that fit her specialty. That NO threw me for a loop because I didn’t know we put a face to symptoms. I have yet to see a poster for what cancer, lupus, lyme, heart disease, arthritis, dementia, Parkinson’s or any other disease looks like so I’m dumb founded as to how I don’t ‘present’ with what a disease or illness should look like.
Based on my experiences I have a lot of questions:
-When did taking a comprehensive case history stop being a top priority?
-When did 1 symptom relationship become more important than the connection that could be found in a complete list of symptoms?
-When did it become best practice to ask questions more than you listen?
-When did prescribing drugs become more ideal than using tools to diagnose?
-When did the patient become responsible for forcing collaboration amongst specialty areas in an effort to solve the problem?
-When did you stop realizing that you have the power to change lives if you just LISTEN?
