I mean, if you’ve got a choice in what doctor you go to, that’s great. I guess I’ve consistently had shit doctors because it wasn’t until… oh, 2010 or so that I had one that would listen to a goddamn word out of my mouth. And then that one retired.
You know why people have an antagonistic reaction to doctors? Because many of them have twenty or thirty years of their questions, concerns, and sometimes even symptoms being outright ignored.
Me at 14: So my periods are leaving me in so much pain I’m throwing up all day.
Doctor: They’ll get better when you have kids.
Me at 16: So I’m getting these crippling headaches.
Doctor: Maybe you should try taking some Tylenol. *writes down the symptoms I gave him COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN I SAID THEY WERE* (found that out years later)
Same year, different doctor: So take these I guess. *gives me pain meds that were so strong they affected my pulse, no follow-up*
*insert long gap of just not going to the doctor*
Me at 32: So along with these other symptoms that add up to GERD, if I go too long without eating it makes me sick.
Gastro Doc: Yeah it’s GERD. I want to check for Barret’s esophagus. (this bit I agreed with) Now here’s the advice I give every single GERD patient no matter what, including the bit about not eating for several hours before bed.
Me: Uhhh, if I go too long without eating it makes me really sick.
Gastro doc: Don’t eat before bed.
And then I look for a camera to stare into like the Office.
If someone is antagonistic towards doctors, if someone is aggressive with their own care, if someone outright tells the doctor to their face that they’re wrong… it’s because of a long history of THIS SHIT. It isn’t a rare doctor that ignores you, it’s a rare doctor that doesn’t. They may not go into the medical field to be bad doctors, but they might not have gone into it to do more than get their years in so they can retire, or so Mom and Dad can brag about the doctor in the family, or for the power trip.
So don’t try to tell me that my doctor has my best interests in mind, because historically that’s been rare. That doctor is going to have to prove it, and I am going to be suspicious at first. And this is just me! I’ve got a few weird body things, but overall I’m pretty functional. The periods got better when I was no longer underweight (which I had to figure out for myself), I worked out a routine for my headaches (which my one Really Good doc gave me an idea for the source of the problem, the rest I figured out on my own), my stomach is largely under control (which I had to figure out for myself), and the only thing that’s really acting up right now are my feet (which I am figuring out for myself). The only thing I really go to the doctor for are antibiotics (when I can’t argue any longer that I don’t need them) and my psych meds (which I ALSO FIGURED OUT FOR MYSELF).
So no, I don’t have a lot of patience with doctors pulling the “Well I went to medical school” card. If that makes you so much better than me, why did I have to figure shit out without you?
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