@chrystaltree wrote:
Sorry, I don't believe your doctor "poo poo's" you. If doctors ignored people over 70, they'd be throwing money out the window. 70 isn't even old today. Pain is nature's way of telling us that something is wrong with our bodies. No one here can diagnose or treat you and sympathy and personal experiences and doctor bashing can't help you. I get it, you don't like going to a doctor but with pain as severe as you have; you need to go. Why suffer if you don't have to? Why let something treatable get worse and turn into something more serious? So, make an appointment with your pcp. Be assertive and tell them that you are on considerable pain so you need an urgent visit. Sit down and write out all of your symptoms. Document when the pain happens, severity on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being unbearable. Included what over the counter med you took and whether or not they helped. Document when the pain first started. You should give this to the doctor because, if you are like most people, when you get to the doctor, you forget half of what you wanted to say. Four months is too long to let something like this go on.
@chrystaltree
@highmaintenancejan
Crystaltree,
I've been at odds with myself as to whether to get involved in this thread, until I read the remark above highlighted in red.
For most of my professional life, I worked 60% in Ortho, so have a pretty decent knowledge base. Last year I had a real need to address (1) post-surgical (Left knee replacement) ITB insertion pain caused by the surgeon's error during surgery; and, (2) severe low back pain/spasms/radiating pain/left leg weakness. After physical therapy was ineffective in both cases, I was told by both physician-surgeons that basically things with me were "so sad-too bad," as "you're 70 now, you know." I looked at my spine doc and asked him how turning 70 had magically turned me into a hands-off patient vice a 69 year old patient. He didn't answer my question - just stared at me. I asked him, since he refused to answer my question AND since 2 weeks previously he had talked about a fusion at L4-5, that it sounded as though he was giving me the boot, so should I just leave? Pretty much so, was his answer.
My sports/knee doc - HA! After therepy only served to increase pain, as had spine therapy, I asked him for one, yes one, ITB insertion injection. He refused! I have 2 fabulous insurance policies, so have yet to make sense of any of this.
Some of us who have just turned 70 or turned 70 several years ago may already have experience some type of healthcare discrimation. I know I have and it's not pretty.
Blogs & Forums
