Wellness

[Moonchilde]

OP, you make it abundantly clear what you think of every poster, anywhere you post on the forums, in no uncertain terms. You might not "care less", but each time you "don't", and verbalize it, the forum as a whole gets a clearer and clearer picture of you. So - rock on. You're only outing yourself further with each post, which IMO is great 😎

[Trinity11]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@LilacTree wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

Yes, you might be expecting too much. 

Unfortunately, doctors are no longer willing to pay commensurate salaries for experience. It costs doctors more and more every year to maintain their offices - rent, salaries, insurance, etc. They are paid less and less by insurance companies and the govt.  They have to cut expenses somewhere. Often these days, it's staff. They are more ready and willing to hire minimum wage, inexperienced clerical staff then ever before. 

The staff learns on the job, by experience. They have to get that experience somehow. You just gave her the opportunity for some experience - but she can only go by information *she* is given or has access to.

I worked in medical offices for 47 years. I never saw separate listings for hepatologists; I suspect they would most commonly be listed as internists with a subspecialty in liver diseases, but it wouldn't be all that simple to look them up; you would almost have to know because you know, as the university office knew.

I worked for many years in pathology departments, as one example. While the doctors did specialize to some degree, they did not consider themselves, or "list" themselves, as melanoma specialists or leukemia specialists, though the uninitiated sometimes considered them as such. Other physicians knew who specialized in what but we often had calls from office personnel asking us who specialized in what. It's not a given that it's well known or obvious. 

Could/should the office person you spoke to have called around? Possibly, but it's a judgment call by the doctor and how he chooses to handle it, and how the more experienced staff normally deals with such information hunts.

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This admin has worked for this doctor for 20 years.  I know her well.

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Why do you feel the need to rebut/invalidate every single post? You could have known her for 30 years and the way her office runs (per the doctor) or per the information available to her, she still might not be able to operate as YOU think she "should."

You have continual issues with doctors, hospitals, staff, billing, etc. over multiple threads, all based on what you believe should be the way things are, and your perceptions.

Over multiple threads you have had multiple people explaining things to you, and you invalidate everything that doesn't "support" your opinion in ways that you appreciate.

IMO you don't want other peoples' opinions, informed or valid though they may be. You simply want to rant that no one in the medical field who doesn't produce your desired results right when you want them knows what they're doing.  For some reason, this appears to make you feel empowered.

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Moonchilde, I think she has constant unremitting pain and because of that pain, she became disillusioned with the "system." Physicians have prescribed for her drugs that have terrible side effects and she fears that they will kill her before the RA. Her daughter had Lyme's Disease and once again, there doesn't seem to be an answer to her post Lyme Disease pain. Modern medicine. in what I have read of Lilac's posts, has failed both her and her daughter as it has for so many of us. Try and relieve the pain only to be faced with cancer as a side effect of a drug...or bone fractures.

I have no illusions about happy endings with some chronic illnesses. We struggle and try to keep our head above water but sometimes we strike out at our medical team because we seem to be sinking further and further between the cracks.

Personally, I have tried to remedy this by seeing physicians that have patient portals, so that I can have access to my medical team 24/7. All my labs etc are in one place with charts and answers to my questions with a simple email. This has really helped because so often the office staff forget to pass on messages or the doctor may just be too busy to make a phone call. Questions are usually answered in 24 hours.

I also think coordinated care is vital when someone has various medical issues. One doctor needs to know what the other one is doing. And most of all communication is vital. Physicians have difficult jobs and trying to give them the benefit of the doubt helps in the relationship. I think of it as a two way street by availing myself of a doctor that I can put my trust in but I am fully aware that they don't have all the answers.

[LilacTree]

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@LilacTree wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

Yes, you might be expecting too much. 

Unfortunately, doctors are no longer willing to pay commensurate salaries for experience. It costs doctors more and more every year to maintain their offices - rent, salaries, insurance, etc. They are paid less and less by insurance companies and the govt.  They have to cut expenses somewhere. Often these days, it's staff. They are more ready and willing to hire minimum wage, inexperienced clerical staff then ever before. 

The staff learns on the job, by experience. They have to get that experience somehow. You just gave her the opportunity for some experience - but she can only go by information *she* is given or has access to.

I worked in medical offices for 47 years. I never saw separate listings for hepatologists; I suspect they would most commonly be listed as internists with a subspecialty in liver diseases, but it wouldn't be all that simple to look them up; you would almost have to know because you know, as the university office knew.

I worked for many years in pathology departments, as one example. While the doctors did specialize to some degree, they did not consider themselves, or "list" themselves, as melanoma specialists or leukemia specialists, though the uninitiated sometimes considered them as such. Other physicians knew who specialized in what but we often had calls from office personnel asking us who specialized in what. It's not a given that it's well known or obvious. 

Could/should the office person you spoke to have called around? Possibly, but it's a judgment call by the doctor and how he chooses to handle it, and how the more experienced staff normally deals with such information hunts.

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This admin has worked for this doctor for 20 years.  I know her well.

---

Why do you feel the need to rebut/invalidate every single post? You could have known her for 30 years and the way her office runs (per the doctor) or per the information available to her, she still might not be able to operate as YOU think she "should."

You have continual issues with doctors, hospitals, staff, billing, etc. over multiple threads, all based on what you believe should be the way things are, and your perceptions.

Over multiple threads you have had multiple people explaining things to you, and you invalidate everything that doesn't "support" your opinion in ways that you appreciate.

IMO you don't want other peoples' opinions, informed or valid though they may be. You simply want to rant that no one in the medical field who doesn't produce your desired results right when you want them knows what they're doing.  For some reason, this appears to make you feel empowered.

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Moonchilde, I think she has constant unremitting pain and because of that pain, she became disillusioned with the "system." Physicians have prescribed for her drugs that have terrible side effects and she fears that they will kill her before the RA. Her daughter had Lyme's Disease and once again, there doesn't seem to be an answer to her post Lyme Disease pain. Modern medicine. in what I have read of Lilac's posts, has failed both her and her daughter as it has for so many of us. Try and relieve the pain only to be faced with cancer as a side effect of a drug...or bone fractures.

I have no illusions about happy endings with some chronic illnesses. We struggle and try to keep our head above water but sometimes we strike out at our medical team because we seem to be sinking further and further between the cracks.

Personally, I have tried to remedy this by seeing physicians that have patient portals, so that I can have access to my medical team 24/7. All my labs etc are in one place with charts and answers to my questions with a simple email. This has really helped because so often the office staff forget to pass on messages or the doctor may just be too busy to make a phone call. Questions are usually answered in 24 hours.

I also think coordinated care is vital when someone has various medical issues. One doctor needs to know what the other one is doing. And most of all communication is vital. Physicians have difficult jobs and trying to give them the benefit of the doubt helps in the relationship. I think of it as a two way street by availing myself of a doctor that I can put my trust in but I am fully aware that they don't have all the answers.

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What a relief!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you . . . Trinity for understanding what chronic pain is like.  I have about five minutes in the morning when I feel normal.  Then it starts and is unremitting unless I lie down. 

I am not going to repeat everything I said, and am not going to be defensive about how I feel toward the medical profession.  I get short shrift (because of my age and autoimmune issues that are hardly treatable, let alone curable); my daughter gets it because no one believes her disease exists.

I am not a hypochondriac and neither is she.  Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.  I am hopeful that my gastro doc will work together with the hematologist once I start working with him.  That is what is recommended, as you said.

I am hopeful that they will find a cure for Lyme so she can spend the second half of her life in peace.  She has been on antibiotics for three years now and is still so sick.

Your words are so wise and so meaningful.  I hope the coordinated care is going to work for you.  You are an angel.

[Trinity11]

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@LilacTree wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@LilacTree wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

Yes, you might be expecting too much. 

Unfortunately, doctors are no longer willing to pay commensurate salaries for experience. It costs doctors more and more every year to maintain their offices - rent, salaries, insurance, etc. They are paid less and less by insurance companies and the govt.  They have to cut expenses somewhere. Often these days, it's staff. They are more ready and willing to hire minimum wage, inexperienced clerical staff then ever before. 

The staff learns on the job, by experience. They have to get that experience somehow. You just gave her the opportunity for some experience - but she can only go by information *she* is given or has access to.

I worked in medical offices for 47 years. I never saw separate listings for hepatologists; I suspect they would most commonly be listed as internists with a subspecialty in liver diseases, but it wouldn't be all that simple to look them up; you would almost have to know because you know, as the university office knew.

I worked for many years in pathology departments, as one example. While the doctors did specialize to some degree, they did not consider themselves, or "list" themselves, as melanoma specialists or leukemia specialists, though the uninitiated sometimes considered them as such. Other physicians knew who specialized in what but we often had calls from office personnel asking us who specialized in what. It's not a given that it's well known or obvious. 

Could/should the office person you spoke to have called around? Possibly, but it's a judgment call by the doctor and how he chooses to handle it, and how the more experienced staff normally deals with such information hunts.

---

This admin has worked for this doctor for 20 years.  I know her well.

---

Why do you feel the need to rebut/invalidate every single post? You could have known her for 30 years and the way her office runs (per the doctor) or per the information available to her, she still might not be able to operate as YOU think she "should."

You have continual issues with doctors, hospitals, staff, billing, etc. over multiple threads, all based on what you believe should be the way things are, and your perceptions.

Over multiple threads you have had multiple people explaining things to you, and you invalidate everything that doesn't "support" your opinion in ways that you appreciate.

IMO you don't want other peoples' opinions, informed or valid though they may be. You simply want to rant that no one in the medical field who doesn't produce your desired results right when you want them knows what they're doing.  For some reason, this appears to make you feel empowered.

---

Moonchilde, I think she has constant unremitting pain and because of that pain, she became disillusioned with the "system." Physicians have prescribed for her drugs that have terrible side effects and she fears that they will kill her before the RA. Her daughter had Lyme's Disease and once again, there doesn't seem to be an answer to her post Lyme Disease pain. Modern medicine. in what I have read of Lilac's posts, has failed both her and her daughter as it has for so many of us. Try and relieve the pain only to be faced with cancer as a side effect of a drug...or bone fractures.

I have no illusions about happy endings with some chronic illnesses. We struggle and try to keep our head above water but sometimes we strike out at our medical team because we seem to be sinking further and further between the cracks.

Personally, I have tried to remedy this by seeing physicians that have patient portals, so that I can have access to my medical team 24/7. All my labs etc are in one place with charts and answers to my questions with a simple email. This has really helped because so often the office staff forget to pass on messages or the doctor may just be too busy to make a phone call. Questions are usually answered in 24 hours.

I also think coordinated care is vital when someone has various medical issues. One doctor needs to know what the other one is doing. And most of all communication is vital. Physicians have difficult jobs and trying to give them the benefit of the doubt helps in the relationship. I think of it as a two way street by availing myself of a doctor that I can put my trust in but I am fully aware that they don't have all the answers.

---

What a relief!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you . . . Trinity for understanding what chronic pain is like.  I have about five minutes in the morning when I feel normal.  Then it starts and is unremitting unless I lie down. 

I am not going to repeat everything I said, and am not going to be defensive about how I feel toward the medical profession.  I get short shrift (because of my age and autoimmune issues that are hardly treatable, let alone curable); my daughter gets it because no one believes her disease exists.

I am not a hypochondriac and neither is she.  Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.  I am hopeful that my gastro doc will work together with the hematologist once I start working with him.  That is what is recommended, as you said.

I am hopeful that they will find a cure for Lyme so she can spend the second half of her life in peace.  She has been on antibiotics for three years now and is still so sick.

Your words are so wise and so meaningful.  I hope the coordinated care is going to work for you.  You are an angel.

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Ah, thanks so much Lilac. I don't want to share my personal history here regarding my health because I know we leave ourselves open to criticism from people unfamiliar with what it is to live with constant, unremitting pain.

Just know that I do understand. May I make one more suggestion.... there are some wonderful websites for people who suffer from RA and other autoimmune diseases. I find the people there very kind and understanding. Often times they share some great tips how to get heard in the physician's office. It's also such a relief to know that we are not the only ones out there who seem to have similar problems.

Once again, I wish you my best in getting everything straightened out.

[LilacTree]

@Trinity11  I have tried and been a part of several RA and autoimmune websites and still do occasionally post on them.  However, I find everyone posts are few and far between (probably because they are not feeling so well).  There are thousands of us out there, that is for sure.  Have a good day, my friend.

[YorkieonmyPillow]

I've been aware for quite some time now that NO ONE DOES THEIR JOB ANYMORE.

Either:

1. They flatly refuse because they know they can get away w/it

2. They don't want to be bothered

3. They don't care

4. Flat-out ignorance and stupidity.

That is my experience ~ I've learned to double-check everything within my power to see that it gets done.

Hope you get the doctor you need, @sissy2 Tree

[ChynnaBlue]

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@LilacTree wrote:

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@millieshops wrote:

I wouldn't be upset at her not knowing the name of the specialty -  those who answer the phones are not necessarily medically trained and if that person just happened to have been working there for less than 6 months -- I'd guess they know very little outside of their own cubicle.

I do wonder why the more local doctors weren't given to you although I will admit I rarely ask in my own doctors' offices until after I've gone online to my insurance company list of doctors.  Then I ask my doctor if he actually knows any of those I can use without leaving my network. 

Hoping one of the names you finally found will help you.

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I don't need referrals to specialists because I am on Medicare.  However, I assumed a gastroenterologist would know what a hepatologist was.  And I have had this doc for over 30 years and this admin has been working for him for at least 20 years.  What . . . no one out of the hundreds of patients he sees per week has ever needed the services of a hepatologist?

Thank you for your kind post, BTW. 

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I don't need referrals, either. But I DO need a doctor who accepts my insurance and is taking new patients. Like @millieshops, I always check my insurance company's site for names nearby and to see who is accepting new patients, and then I ask my doctor if there's a list I need help narrowing down. I also check online reviews, which helped me find a great dentist.

[Moonchilde]

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@Trinity11 wrote:

---

@Moonchilde wrote:

---

@LilacTree wrote:

---

@Moonchilde wrote:

Yes, you might be expecting too much. 

Unfortunately, doctors are no longer willing to pay commensurate salaries for experience. It costs doctors more and more every year to maintain their offices - rent, salaries, insurance, etc. They are paid less and less by insurance companies and the govt.  They have to cut expenses somewhere. Often these days, it's staff. They are more ready and willing to hire minimum wage, inexperienced clerical staff then ever before. 

The staff learns on the job, by experience. They have to get that experience somehow. You just gave her the opportunity for some experience - but she can only go by information *she* is given or has access to.

I worked in medical offices for 47 years. I never saw separate listings for hepatologists; I suspect they would most commonly be listed as internists with a subspecialty in liver diseases, but it wouldn't be all that simple to look them up; you would almost have to know because you know, as the university office knew.

I worked for many years in pathology departments, as one example. While the doctors did specialize to some degree, they did not consider themselves, or "list" themselves, as melanoma specialists or leukemia specialists, though the uninitiated sometimes considered them as such. Other physicians knew who specialized in what but we often had calls from office personnel asking us who specialized in what. It's not a given that it's well known or obvious. 

Could/should the office person you spoke to have called around? Possibly, but it's a judgment call by the doctor and how he chooses to handle it, and how the more experienced staff normally deals with such information hunts.

---

This admin has worked for this doctor for 20 years.  I know her well.

---

Why do you feel the need to rebut/invalidate every single post? You could have known her for 30 years and the way her office runs (per the doctor) or per the information available to her, she still might not be able to operate as YOU think she "should."

You have continual issues with doctors, hospitals, staff, billing, etc. over multiple threads, all based on what you believe should be the way things are, and your perceptions.

Over multiple threads you have had multiple people explaining things to you, and you invalidate everything that doesn't "support" your opinion in ways that you appreciate.

IMO you don't want other peoples' opinions, informed or valid though they may be. You simply want to rant that no one in the medical field who doesn't produce your desired results right when you want them knows what they're doing.  For some reason, this appears to make you feel empowered.

---

Moonchilde, I think she has constant unremitting pain and because of that pain, she became disillusioned with the "system." Physicians have prescribed for her drugs that have terrible side effects and she fears that they will kill her before the RA. Her daughter had Lyme's Disease and once again, there doesn't seem to be an answer to her post Lyme Disease pain. Modern medicine. in what I have read of Lilac's posts, has failed both her and her daughter as it has for so many of us. Try and relieve the pain only to be faced with cancer as a side effect of a drug...or bone fractures.

I have no illusions about happy endings with some chronic illnesses. We struggle and try to keep our head above water but sometimes we strike out at our medical team because we seem to be sinking further and further between the cracks.

Personally, I have tried to remedy this by seeing physicians that have patient portals, so that I can have access to my medical team 24/7. All my labs etc are in one place with charts and answers to my questions with a simple email. This has really helped because so often the office staff forget to pass on messages or the doctor may just be too busy to make a phone call. Questions are usually answered in 24 hours.

I also think coordinated care is vital when someone has various medical issues. One doctor needs to know what the other one is doing. And most of all communication is vital. Physicians have difficult jobs and trying to give them the benefit of the doubt helps in the relationship. I think of it as a two way street by availing myself of a doctor that I can put my trust in but I am fully aware that they don't have all the answers.

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@Trinity11, I'm familiar with the OP's history as she has given it on the forums. I sympathize with anyone who has a chronic disease and/or chronic pain.

However, there are quite a few people on these forums who have chronic diseases and/or chronic pain, and they still manage to read and learn, accept different opinions and POV, and are rarely routinely antagonistic.

While I understand having a bad day and *occasionally* lashing out or overreacting, I don't give anyone a pass for routine, consistent rudeness because they are in chronic pain. It's just not a given that the two go hand in hand and must be accepted.

[Trinity11]

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@Trinity11, I'm familiar with the OP's history as she has given it on the forums. I sympathize with anyone who has a chronic disease and/or chronic pain.

However, there are quite a few people on these forums who have chronic diseases and/or chronic pain, and they still manage to read and learn, accept different opinions and POV, and are rarely routinely antagonistic.

While I understand having a bad day and *occasionally* lashing out or overreacting, I don't give anyone a pass for routine, consistent rudeness because they are in chronic pain. It's just not a given that the two go hand in hand and must be accepted.

Moonchilde, of course you are entitled to your opinion of Lilac but quite honestly if I thought of someone as being antagonistic (your words) I would try and avoid them at all costs and never reply to their posts. What possible gain is there in admonishing someone sick and in pain?

[Lipstickdiva]

We are all responsible for our own medical treatment.  If we feel that something just isn't right, it is our responsibility to see another doctor or specialist and find out what is going on.  Medical care for the most part is a mess and you have to be your own advocate because no one is going to do it for you. 

I have a friend who found a lump on her breast at the age of 26. Had she not scheduled to see a breast specialist after she was told she was fine, she wouldn't be here today because she did have breast cancer.

Apparently it's okay for some to moan and complain about their healthcare providers and office staff, but not others.