U.S. Gen Xer here about to give up on doctors again. In my 20’s it was pill pushers, 20 years later I had physical and mental health issues that are complicated and that I had ignored because I didn’t want to just have another pill shoved on me and decided to put trust in doctors.
At first, it was pretty good because I was seeing a NP who took time to listen to me and it felt like I was in on the decision of MY health. A couple of years later the hospital system decided in their interest of not making enough money to stop using NP’s in that location.
I tried…I really did. I’ve given it a couple of years and we’re not to the point of pill pushing (although with all the docs I have I’m on 8 different meds now 🤦🏻) but I’ve lost the ability to advocate for myself because either he’s too quick and I don’t think that fast or I do think that fast and he dismisses me. Testing that might be helpful in figuring out what none of the other doctors or him can figure out is denied by him, most likely because he doesn’t have the time to fight with insurance (in my case Medicaid/Medicare) rather than doesn’t see any value in a test. But instead of being honest with me he just says it’s not helpful, at least that’s what my cynical ass sees.
I’m getting my physical soon, they made a mistake with the bloodwork dates and I had to send them a message to get that corrected. I decided to advocate for a test that I thought could be useful that was just drawing more blood and he flat out denied it as helpful. Once I get my physical I’m going to try changing doctors, with the expectation that either none of them are taking new patients or have a year or longer waiting list. Oh and the message back was also just short of blaming me for their mistake.
Doctors (at least in the U.S.) are overworked, understaffed, and if you don’t fit neatly in a box they can check they throw their hands up and say who knows rather than working with you to figure out what’s going on. Better yet, they blame symptoms on mental health to deflect – only to have therapists (unless they are trained in addiction and trauma-informed) disagree and refer you back to the doctor. And the cycle repeats over and over again until you are worn down enough to stop caring.
U.S. Gen Xer here about to give up on doctors again. In my 20’s it was pill pushers, 20 years later I had physical and mental health issues that are complicated and that I had ignored because I didn’t want to just have another pill shoved on me and decided to put trust in doctors.
At first, it was pretty good because I was seeing a NP who took time to listen to me and it felt like I was in on the decision of MY health. A couple of years later the hospital system decided in their interest of not making enough money to stop using NP’s in that location.
I tried…I really did. I’ve given it a couple of years and we’re not to the point of pill pushing (although with all the docs I have I’m on 8 different meds now 🤦🏻) but I’ve lost the ability to advocate for myself because either he’s too quick and I don’t think that fast or I do think that fast and he dismisses me. Testing that might be helpful in figuring out what none of the other doctors or him can figure out is denied by him, most likely because he doesn’t have the time to fight with insurance (in my case Medicaid/Medicare) rather than doesn’t see any value in a test. But instead of being honest with me he just says it’s not helpful, at least that’s what my cynical ass sees.
I’m getting my physical soon, they made a mistake with the bloodwork dates and I had to send them a message to get that corrected. I decided to advocate for a test that I thought could be useful that was just drawing more blood and he flat out denied it as helpful. Once I get my physical I’m going to try changing doctors, with the expectation that either none of them are taking new patients or have a year or longer waiting list. Oh and the message back was also just short of blaming me for their mistake.
Doctors (at least in the U.S.) are overworked, understaffed, and if you don’t fit neatly in a box they can check they throw their hands up and say who knows rather than working with you to figure out what’s going on. Better yet, they blame symptoms on mental health to deflect – only to have therapists (unless they are trained in addiction and trauma-informed) disagree and refer you back to the doctor. And the cycle repeats over and over again until you are worn down enough to stop caring.
My experience hasnt been quite this bad, but I’ve had similar. Definitely disheartening and frustrating. Hope you get the help you need soon man.