![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonlady7via https://ift.tt/2JLhxHU
thebibliosphere:
What’s really grinding my gears is that my PCP was very willing to diagnose Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia (I do, unfortunately, fit the criteria to a t.) but was unwilling to do a thing about it other than to call me weird and tell me to take care. Oh, and prescribe meds with really not good side effects, without doing any sort of clinical test to confirm whether I have Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia or possibly just a temporary trapped nerve.
“So how do we confirm it?”
“Well there’s stuff you can check but it pretty much sounds like that’s what you have.”
“pretty much sounds like” are you fucking kidding me? I’ve been presenting to you for over four years with chronic pain and fatigue, but you think me asking to have my thyroid checked is unnecessary, but you’re totally willing to diagnose an acute chronic condition off the cuff based on what it sounds like???
“So…it’s a nerve thing…so do I need to see a neurologist?”
“I mean, if you want to. Otherwise we can try the anti-seizure meds and see what happens.”
“…yea I’m not comfortable with that.”
“Or you can try taking half a Tylenol with 400mg of ibuprofen. That should help.”
First of all, everyone and their dang dog knows NSAIDs don’t combat nerve pain, but she prescribed 400mg of Ibupforen and a whole half a Tylenol for what is possibly a condition that from looking at google, most people wind up having a tiny hole drilled in their skull to relieve the pressure on the nerve or commit suicide from the pain. But yea, sure. 400mg of ibuprofen and half a Tylenol sure sounds like it’s going to cut the mustard on that one. Thanks. Fantastic. Super.
Also, 400mg? Ha ha ha. I take 400mg to get out of bed some days, don’t come at me with that shit.
Anyway. Back in the realms of actually giving a shit, I’m going to look for a neurologist. And possibly call my chiropractor and my dentist. I dunno what he can do, but maybe there’s something he’ll have heard of. Maybe my TMJ is making this worse and there’s something he can do. God I don’t know. I just want this new pain to stop.
THIS is the kind of shit that GETS TO ME about doctors. Like, I GET that they’re not going to miraculously know what is wrong with you and how to fix it but the number of times I’ve gone to doctors because something bothers me, and they’ve looked for the easiest things to eliminate, eliminated them, and then said “Okay, well, that’s not what’s wrong. Well did you have any other questions?” “YES THE ORIGINAL COMPLAINT THAT BROUGHT ME HERE???”
Like when I presented with debilitating knee pain in my late 20s and the doctor ($20 copay) sent me for x-rays ($20 copay), got the x-rays back and went over them with me ($20 copay) and said “Well it’s not a bone issue!” all cheerful. Like, oh goody? I still cry going down stairs? I’m twenty-seven and have no other health issues.
She was like, “Well, OK, that’s sorted. Any other questions?” I am not making this up.
“Yes,” I said. “If it’s not a bone issue, then what is wrong with my knees?”
She huffed, like this was a rude thing of me to persist in asking. “Well,” she said. “You’re five feet seven and 175 pounds. According to this chart you should be closer to 120.”
I stared at her. “I’m a full-time waitress,” I said, “I work on my feet all day, and I’m an athlete, I work out intensely more than ten hours a week. I’ve lost twenty pounds in the last year– 120? Really?”
She literally made a sniffing noise with her nose i am not making this up, and said, “You could cut carbs,” and that was the end of the appointment. Literally, that was it. No more talking. Bye.
One of my waitressing coworkers said ‘Oh knee pain is usually a sign that you need better sneakers,’ and one of my teammates got me an appointment with a friend of a friend who was a sports medicine therapist who from across the room was like ‘oh you need arch inserts, I bet it’s patellar tendonitis, your foot posture is terrible and you’re clearly wrecking those tendons.’
Cured me in literally a week after months of debilitating pain, missed shifts, lost income, missed sports practices. Pain’s never recurred, even when SSRIs made me gain 30 pounds in a year, so long as I wear shoes with decent arch support.
(Your picture was not posted)
thebibliosphere:
What’s really grinding my gears is that my PCP was very willing to diagnose Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia (I do, unfortunately, fit the criteria to a t.) but was unwilling to do a thing about it other than to call me weird and tell me to take care. Oh, and prescribe meds with really not good side effects, without doing any sort of clinical test to confirm whether I have Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia or possibly just a temporary trapped nerve.
“So how do we confirm it?”
“Well there’s stuff you can check but it pretty much sounds like that’s what you have.”
“pretty much sounds like” are you fucking kidding me? I’ve been presenting to you for over four years with chronic pain and fatigue, but you think me asking to have my thyroid checked is unnecessary, but you’re totally willing to diagnose an acute chronic condition off the cuff based on what it sounds like???
“So…it’s a nerve thing…so do I need to see a neurologist?”
“I mean, if you want to. Otherwise we can try the anti-seizure meds and see what happens.”
“…yea I’m not comfortable with that.”
“Or you can try taking half a Tylenol with 400mg of ibuprofen. That should help.”
First of all, everyone and their dang dog knows NSAIDs don’t combat nerve pain, but she prescribed 400mg of Ibupforen and a whole half a Tylenol for what is possibly a condition that from looking at google, most people wind up having a tiny hole drilled in their skull to relieve the pressure on the nerve or commit suicide from the pain. But yea, sure. 400mg of ibuprofen and half a Tylenol sure sounds like it’s going to cut the mustard on that one. Thanks. Fantastic. Super.
Also, 400mg? Ha ha ha. I take 400mg to get out of bed some days, don’t come at me with that shit.
Anyway. Back in the realms of actually giving a shit, I’m going to look for a neurologist. And possibly call my chiropractor and my dentist. I dunno what he can do, but maybe there’s something he’ll have heard of. Maybe my TMJ is making this worse and there’s something he can do. God I don’t know. I just want this new pain to stop.
THIS is the kind of shit that GETS TO ME about doctors. Like, I GET that they’re not going to miraculously know what is wrong with you and how to fix it but the number of times I’ve gone to doctors because something bothers me, and they’ve looked for the easiest things to eliminate, eliminated them, and then said “Okay, well, that’s not what’s wrong. Well did you have any other questions?” “YES THE ORIGINAL COMPLAINT THAT BROUGHT ME HERE???”
Like when I presented with debilitating knee pain in my late 20s and the doctor ($20 copay) sent me for x-rays ($20 copay), got the x-rays back and went over them with me ($20 copay) and said “Well it’s not a bone issue!” all cheerful. Like, oh goody? I still cry going down stairs? I’m twenty-seven and have no other health issues.
She was like, “Well, OK, that’s sorted. Any other questions?” I am not making this up.
“Yes,” I said. “If it’s not a bone issue, then what is wrong with my knees?”
She huffed, like this was a rude thing of me to persist in asking. “Well,” she said. “You’re five feet seven and 175 pounds. According to this chart you should be closer to 120.”
I stared at her. “I’m a full-time waitress,” I said, “I work on my feet all day, and I’m an athlete, I work out intensely more than ten hours a week. I’ve lost twenty pounds in the last year– 120? Really?”
She literally made a sniffing noise with her nose i am not making this up, and said, “You could cut carbs,” and that was the end of the appointment. Literally, that was it. No more talking. Bye.
One of my waitressing coworkers said ‘Oh knee pain is usually a sign that you need better sneakers,’ and one of my teammates got me an appointment with a friend of a friend who was a sports medicine therapist who from across the room was like ‘oh you need arch inserts, I bet it’s patellar tendonitis, your foot posture is terrible and you’re clearly wrecking those tendons.’
Cured me in literally a week after months of debilitating pain, missed shifts, lost income, missed sports practices. Pain’s never recurred, even when SSRIs made me gain 30 pounds in a year, so long as I wear shoes with decent arch support.
(Your picture was not posted)
