Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group trusting DOCTORS

hey guys and girls,
do you trust your doctors ???????????????

John:

Interesting you brought this subject up because I have been thinking about this lately.

I have a hard time trusting a doctor who hasn't treated anyone with AS, which is common since our disease is so rare. I have a couple of docs now who have never had an AS patient so I don't really trust them.

However, I do trust my Rheumatologist as he has more experience treating patients with AS.

Shari

I've trusted some of them, fired others. I trust my current doctor who is not a rheumy, she's an internist who has RA and who has expertise in treating autoimmune disorders, and we have a wonderful working relationship. I think the key issue is can we work with our doctors, do they listen to us, make us part of the treatment plan, respect our opinions, give weight to our concerns, and do they take the time to be able to do all this. But a lot of that is up to us as consumers, after all we are the consumers of medical care, if we're not happy with a doctor we are free to go to someone else. Not all docs are created equal, I have had some very caring and qualified ones - - and I've also had stinkers, such as the one who filled in for my doctor (who was out of town) and treated me - - and I use that term loosely - - for a ruptured disc by telling me (after an ER visit and two shots of Demerol which did nothing to control the pain) to go home and take Tylenol for the pain. That's like putting a major fire out with a cup of water. Needless to say that ended our doctor-patient relationship.

Cheryl

thank you for the reply.
you are lucky that you can trust your rummi, that is the one that i can not trust right now. this is a new rummi for me since the hospital fired mu other one.

since the last four years/five years are the only contact i have had with doctors i feel like i am a novice in trying to identify a good rummi or just a good doctor.
my new doctor has changed my diagnosis on all levels and i am really worried and scarred.
i no longer have AS according to him, i also do not have autoimmune disease according to him. also my uvitits and iritis and vasculitis of the eyes is just one of those things, they or he cannot explain????,i just have it. this doctor is in the same hospital system that my first rummi was in. i am having a hard time understanding how one diagnosis can change even after being confirmed by another doctor in another health system after four years and four years of treatments.

No, I don't trust them-they've given me no reason to up to this point.
But here's my question: what kind of doctors are medical schools producing nowadays? My hope is that the new generation of doctors look at health in a different, more holistic light than some of the dinosaurs I've had the misfortune of dealing with.

Good question.....
Just like accountants, lawyers, caterers and interior decorators there have been doctors that after a couple of visits I had to terminate the services of.......they either had their own agenda without listening to my input or were completely off base. Fortunately at the present time I am under the care of a specialist in AS and other arthritic diseases who makes suggestions and allows me to research and decide on what I would prefer to do especially with medications. My primary care doctor is basically the same way. The doctor that started the ball rolling with the diagnosis of my AS was a chiropractor.
The bottom line is yes I do trust my doctors as long as I have some input into the decisions on the medications and course of actions.

john

i three-quarters trust my consulting physician, an otherwise very spacey acquaintance for years; he runs his
medical practice 1000% different than he runs his life...in a bar you can't shut him up; in my first visit to him,
i talked for an hour, he only asked eight questions, and he never interrupted me.

my rheumy i trust a good, fair bit...he's surprised me on several counts...he wasn't in the least phased
at being presented with an agenda at the first meeting and a demand for complete old medical records
from his files for free was graciously fullfilled...i've only had three real meetings with him; he answers emails;
i've thrown him curves to test him twice and he did well...his office is a hundred miles from home, so it's a long
drive...i don't intend to replace him.

the key, in my mind, is time...i don't want a doctor in a big group practice with ten patients an hour in his book.
my consulting doctor has given me an hour and forty minutes, two+hours to do the ssdi form, so much time...
he LISTENS, asks for information and gives good advice/information...he recommends but i decide...and new
rheumy gave me and hour and a half for first appointment and forty-five minutes another time...

AND when i make an appointment I want to see the same doctor, not someone in the same business.

this is a complicated and involved medical situation...someone who shows me the door after eight minutes,
'get this blood work done and come back in two weeks' ...is toast in my book.
best
aB

Having a good doctor to me means having a doctor I can talk to, who will take the time to explain things to me, develop a relationship between us. Based on what you have just said, I would not think this is the doctor for you. I too have had docs who blew me off, minimized my symptoms, made me feel like I was whining about nothing, and it's not a good feeling. Most so-called normal people never get uveitis, it's not that common. AS is DXed by a package of symptoms, that being one of the puzzle pieces.

It's hard to define "good doctor," because it's a personal thing. I guess the best way to say it is I can't really define what it means but I know it when it happens, when I hook up with someone who I can trust, who is competent and caring.

BTW, it took me five long years to get a DX of RA (not IAIYH, shorthand for "it's all in your head.") And another 15 to get a DX of AS.

Cheryl

I have 2 that take care of my eye problems that I trust completely. My new rheumy, well I am not quite there yet. My new PCP, pretty much. We just moved recently and it takes a long time to develop that trust. My eye specialists have been taking care of me a long time and are at one of the best eye facilities in the U.S. and they PRAY for me and that they do the right thing. They are husband and wife. One is my Optho Neuro who takes care of my BEB and his wife is my Uveitis specialist. I trust them with anything they say because they pray before they do it. My rheumy is pretty aggressive. I am not sure about this one.

You have to be your own health advocate and stay on top of your own health care. I am a firm believer in this.

Blessings,
Possi