What your doctor doesn't know could kill you

Boston Globe Magazine ^ | July 14, 2002 | Chris Gaither

[Cincinatus' Wife]

D r. Harold D. Cross, an occupational health and emergency physician in Beaufort, South Carolina, recalls few cases during his five decades of practicing medicine as bizarre as that of the flailing plumber. The 47-year-old man had begun to act strangely at work, waving his arms involuntarily for a minute at a time and acting dazed. A few times each night for three years, the plumber would begin thrashing about in bed, then get up and pace for a few moments before climbing back under the covers. The man had been seen by a neurologist, who diagnosed him with a sleep disorder and prescribed a drug. It didn't help, so he stopped taking it and turned to Cross.

[browardchad]

I had two doctors that almost managed to kill me and you can be guaranteed that if they had access to PKS they never would have bothered to use it.

Being sick oneself is bad enough, but having been through the nightmare of a critically ill child, I learned the hard way that you damn well better arm yourself with knowledge when dealing with the medical profession -- for your child's sake.

The idea of patients filling out the questionnaire on line is appealing, as long as the patient also has access to the results, since I doubt many of the doctors I've met would bother to read it.

As far as hypocondriacs go, there's plenty of online info for them to drive themselves nuts already.

[SarahW]

My Dad ran one of the first companies in the nation marketing computer analysis of EKG's. Though this is the way things are done now, at the time there was tremendous resistance from physicians.

[CyberAnt]

"prepared to pay for it"

Well ... my doctors' wrong diagnosis cost my insurance company over $4300. I had an HMO at the time, and the ER visit only cost me $50. The $4300 could have been saved if I could have had a proper diagnosis.

I did finally get a competent doctor, but only because I ended up in the ER. A great doctor there would not stop until he found out what was making me so sick. I was then referred to a specialist who had the other pieces of the puzzle.

Again, I am dealing with the same bozos - this time it's some sort of sinus, ear fluid, stuff. They've tried all kinds of medication which I too finally stopped taking because it either isn't making any improvement, or because the side effects are intolerable. I have ask and ask for a referral to an ear, nose & throat specialist - to no avail. I've about reached my limit with these people. In fact, I got so bold to even tell the doctor - I wondered if he was going to wait until I lost my hearing before he was willing to refer me.

Any suggestions??

[Mamzelle]

Have you tried calling an ENT and making the appt yourself? You might be out the office visit fee. Have they drained your ear?

Or give the ER a call and ask to talk to the doc who helped you--. If you are patient and can wait to talk with him between car wrecks, this might work. Find out if your ER has a "urgent care" or "fast track" option, and it's likely you could get in to see him almost like an FP. Some ER docs even have a small practice on the side. Once again, you may be out a fee.

If your ear is painful, that can be an "emergency"--you just need to time it to when that doc is on his shift.

I personally think we should all self-insure except for catastrophic illness, or have "medical savings accounts." That would encourage people to take charge of their expenses, and also provide freedom of choice. This would be the way to keep our private care. Soon, I believe, socialized care will arrive.

[lucky7]

Its a shame that you have doctors like this.

[CyberAnt]

Thanks for your suggestions.

I plan to call my insurer and ask for permission to change my "basic" doctor. Hopefully, after I do that, I will be able to find a doctor who will refer me to a specialist.

This may take a little while - if I think it's going to take too long, I will use your suggestion to try to get into the ER to see the doctor I saw before. It's been a couple of years, but I'm hoping the hospital records will be able to steer me to him.

Thanks again.

[Wonder Warthog]

"And for my part, I instantly distrust anyone who brings up Karl Marx in regards to anything unless it is to disparage him."

And perhaps he did. The article gives no clue as to what the KM comment might have been referring to. Anyone who assumes otherwise is guilty of the same "rush to judgment" that Weed is accusing physicians of.

That said, in my life, I've had ONE really superb physician who actually used the scientific method in her diagnoses (turns out she was originally trained as and worked for a time as a clinical chemist before returning to med school). The rest were "highly trained technicians" capable of "following the routine script" and little else.