MotorSeven
Elite Member
I do get it, Dr's are hardened like Cops because they see and endless line of people every day with problems. They want the facts and not the drivel("Let me do my job and go"). And, they deal with a bunch of folks that are slowly killing themselves by their lifestyle, then come in for help, not to mention the hypochondriac's, the not too bright, bad breath, etc etc. So after a while compassion takes a back seat and it's human nature to clump all your patients into one big category.
But(you knew there would be a "but" right?). We as patients are not all the same, and here is a recent experience that left me perturbed and a little pizzed off. I have been ignoring(when it let's me) my left elbow now going on 10+ years. It clicks, locks & pops, stops working when doing repetitive tasks(ummmm.. like building a house for two years by myself), numbness & tingling, range of motion loss @ 30%, then hurts like heck for a couple of days after using it before a rinse & repeat. Lately I am just losing my superhero power and about 50% is gone on that arm, so I decided to bite the bullet and go in and see if they can do something about all of the above.
I have a $5K deductible so I went right to an orthopedic surgeon which I knew would order a MRI...she did and it is a whole page of "loose material in the joint, Mr. Arthur Itis, several torn tendons, bone spurs, Carpal tunnel likely, a kitchen sink and a bag of rusty nuts & bolts." Off to another surgeon that specializes in elbows, who then tells me, I'm special and will need two surgeons...him for the arthroscopic, and another to repair tendons and possibly move things off the damaged nerves. Dr # 3 looks at everything, then sends me off for a Nerve Test to determine how bad and what nerves are shorting out so he can avoid or attempt repairs.
And, my friends we have now burrowed down into the issue, or let's say Dr #4...the Nerve Tester. First a tech comes in and hooks up some electrodes then proceeds to shock my finger & hand into doing a jumping bean dance while listening to some sounds similar to a needle dragged across a album(remember those?). Turns out, he is not measuring how big of a twitch my fingers/arm/wrist have, but it's more of a resistance test...kinda like an ohm meter. Then he leaves and #4 comes in to stick some very fine needles into my nerves while hooked up to the same machine. She was pretty good and only made it really unpleasant one time. Then she asks me about my neck...any problems there...yep, it's a long-er story, but back in the late 80's while attempting an arrest I lost the battle but won the war. Ended up with 26 stitches on the coconut, which messed my neck up for life...lot's of grinding and popping these days but I deal with it just fine. Bad guy ended up in the ER with two bullets in him...he lived.
Anywhoo, #4 then asks if I have any numbness or tingling on the bottoms of my feet or my toes. Well, by golly we are getting somewhere now, she is right on the money...slight numbness on the ball and pad of the big toe..both feet. She then get's up, says "You have Carpal Tunnel" (which I already knew and expected) and some nerve damage(angin no shocker there), then say's, "Oh, that numbness on your feet, it could be DIABETES, so you need to have your family Doctor run some tests"....then starts to walk OUT! WHOA whoa whoa.......hold on there Doc, whuddaya mean "diabetes", no family history, no weight issues, and I get plenty of exercise? She says, "well, your damaged nerves could be because of that, so have it checked"....poof, out the door she goes.
Need I point out that I am IN A HOSPITAL at that very moment, over an hour away from home. I am pretty sure there is someone there that could take the 3.5min to draw blood and send it off to the Lab that is on the next floor to rule in or rule out diabetes that very same day. Nope, I'm left to ponder my fate until I make an appointment closer to home to get a blood test done, and 6 days later it's confirmed...NO DIABETES. Anyway, I just wanted to rant a little and point out the overspecialization in the medical field fails to recognize common sense and the ensuing 6 day depression of a patient that might have to ponder giving up BEER....f...fffo....forever:laughing:. Thank you Doctor #4 for Mr Toads wild nondiabetic ride. I appreciate you ruling out all possibly related medical conditions to a particular ailment.....but it could have been done quicker and easier on the patient's part. :drink:
But(you knew there would be a "but" right?). We as patients are not all the same, and here is a recent experience that left me perturbed and a little pizzed off. I have been ignoring(when it let's me) my left elbow now going on 10+ years. It clicks, locks & pops, stops working when doing repetitive tasks(ummmm.. like building a house for two years by myself), numbness & tingling, range of motion loss @ 30%, then hurts like heck for a couple of days after using it before a rinse & repeat. Lately I am just losing my superhero power and about 50% is gone on that arm, so I decided to bite the bullet and go in and see if they can do something about all of the above.
I have a $5K deductible so I went right to an orthopedic surgeon which I knew would order a MRI...she did and it is a whole page of "loose material in the joint, Mr. Arthur Itis, several torn tendons, bone spurs, Carpal tunnel likely, a kitchen sink and a bag of rusty nuts & bolts." Off to another surgeon that specializes in elbows, who then tells me, I'm special and will need two surgeons...him for the arthroscopic, and another to repair tendons and possibly move things off the damaged nerves. Dr # 3 looks at everything, then sends me off for a Nerve Test to determine how bad and what nerves are shorting out so he can avoid or attempt repairs.
And, my friends we have now burrowed down into the issue, or let's say Dr #4...the Nerve Tester. First a tech comes in and hooks up some electrodes then proceeds to shock my finger & hand into doing a jumping bean dance while listening to some sounds similar to a needle dragged across a album(remember those?). Turns out, he is not measuring how big of a twitch my fingers/arm/wrist have, but it's more of a resistance test...kinda like an ohm meter. Then he leaves and #4 comes in to stick some very fine needles into my nerves while hooked up to the same machine. She was pretty good and only made it really unpleasant one time. Then she asks me about my neck...any problems there...yep, it's a long-er story, but back in the late 80's while attempting an arrest I lost the battle but won the war. Ended up with 26 stitches on the coconut, which messed my neck up for life...lot's of grinding and popping these days but I deal with it just fine. Bad guy ended up in the ER with two bullets in him...he lived.
Anywhoo, #4 then asks if I have any numbness or tingling on the bottoms of my feet or my toes. Well, by golly we are getting somewhere now, she is right on the money...slight numbness on the ball and pad of the big toe..both feet. She then get's up, says "You have Carpal Tunnel" (which I already knew and expected) and some nerve damage(angin no shocker there), then say's, "Oh, that numbness on your feet, it could be DIABETES, so you need to have your family Doctor run some tests"....then starts to walk OUT! WHOA whoa whoa.......hold on there Doc, whuddaya mean "diabetes", no family history, no weight issues, and I get plenty of exercise? She says, "well, your damaged nerves could be because of that, so have it checked"....poof, out the door she goes.
Need I point out that I am IN A HOSPITAL at that very moment, over an hour away from home. I am pretty sure there is someone there that could take the 3.5min to draw blood and send it off to the Lab that is on the next floor to rule in or rule out diabetes that very same day. Nope, I'm left to ponder my fate until I make an appointment closer to home to get a blood test done, and 6 days later it's confirmed...NO DIABETES. Anyway, I just wanted to rant a little and point out the overspecialization in the medical field fails to recognize common sense and the ensuing 6 day depression of a patient that might have to ponder giving up BEER....f...fffo....forever:laughing:. Thank you Doctor #4 for Mr Toads wild nondiabetic ride. I appreciate you ruling out all possibly related medical conditions to a particular ailment.....but it could have been done quicker and easier on the patient's part. :drink:
