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Posted 8/12/2017 2:04 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all,
I'm curious as to how you rate your pcp. My wife and I have been with the same pcp for 10 years. As long as there was something easy like a sinus infection or a broken wrist, he was OK.

Lately I wonder *** is wrong with the guy. When I first got sick with Lyme, he threw up his hands and said he's stumped why I have this extreme fatigue, >20lbs unexplained weight loss, anxiety, tachycardia , etc etc. He offered no tests or referrals unless I pressed him. I felt like he left me to twist in the wind.

2 weeks ago I went for my annual physical at the office's reminder. All he does at my physical is listen to me for a few minutes, order a hip x-ray to r/o arthritis. I asked for a cbc, metabolic panel, and pt referrall and he said he'd think about it. I've called the office 3 times asking for my lab slip and the receptionist takes a message and I get no reply.
He didn't do a digital rectal exam, or even listen to my heart. I'm 62 y/o.

My wife went for her physical in May. She hadn't had one for 3 years. She's 69 y/o. He only ordered a metabolic panel and mammogram. That's it. Her last colonoscopy was at age 50. In July she had to be hospitalized for 8 days due to a diverticular access. She may require bowel resection surgery, don't know yet.

If this jackass had done his job and ordered a cbc and colonoscopy, this could have been prevented. He would have seen elevated wbc and diverticulitis then. Could have treated with diet and abx. She was having low grade smoldering symptoms since April but just lived with it til it got emergency room bad.

So, my question is are all pcp's so lazy? I know one needs to self advocate but this is ridiculous. I've tried to switch but very few docs are taking new patients around here.
Is this the sad state of health care everywhere?

Thx for reading my rant.
Posted 8/12/2017 2:27 AM (GMT 0)
I switched my GP in Jan, 2013 because the one I had acted like every test, etc was coming out of her pocket.

I had one appt with my new GP and then in April - my Lyme symptoms started.
She didn't know much about me but boy am I glad I switched to her.
I have a file of lab reports, imaging reports, specialists reports that is an inch thick.
No, she didn't sleuth out that I had LD, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

Anything abnormal in my blood work - she'd send me for ab ultrasound, xray or MRI.

15 months later I tested via Igenex and was positive on the IgM.

To my surprise she accepted the diagnosis and gave me two months of doxycycline to last until I Could see a LLND.

She now supports my treatment with CBC, liver and kidney function tests because I am on long term abx.

No, she didn't think of LD...but it's hard to be angry when she is really on my side.
When I was at the year mark of abx treatment, we had a discussion..and she mentioned that she has treated patients for TB and sometimes it's over a year of treatment.
At two years she told me how much better I was compared to when I first got ill.

Now When a patient comes in to see her with a bug bite and they think it may be a tick bite..she offers them 3 weeks of abx. She said the risks are greater not treating it
I told her I'd be happier if she gave them 4 weeks.

I am in Canada - west coast - and most of the Dr.'s here don't have a clue about LD..so I count my lucky stars that I found her.
Posted 8/12/2017 3:03 AM (GMT 0)
BJD, time to find an internal medicine doctor. I love mine. I switched to him years ago because I wanted a doc dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. I want a specialist for adults. Mine is awesome. He did my Elisa test for lyme and then he did send me to a neurologist. He had never heard of anyone getting lyme in his area.

I travel an hour out of the mountains down to the city to see him... so I bet he has no lyme yet in the city.

He has become very educated with lyme because of me and he has supported me the entire time. He even was curious as to what herbs I was taking. He knows I am into alternative medicine.

Oh and how I found him..... I went and asked the nurses at the hospital what doctor was the nicest to them and patients and was the smartest but not arrogant. Nurses see doctors very up close and notice everything the doctor does.
Posted 8/12/2017 3:48 AM (GMT 0)
BJD55,
It's definitely time for you to find a new doctor! What if you had pancreatic cancer or something worse?! When doctors stop listening to their patients they are no longer of use. I am sorry you and your poor wife have been neglected but sadly, these type of doctors are everywhere.

My doctor kept throwing me into the fibromyalgia basket before even doing labs or seen by specialists, then later I'd have to research my own tests to give her, it was frustrating. Even then, she acted like she would be in trouble or dropped by insurance if she did too many tests but isn't that why we are there??!! Not to do the same two or three tests (or none like in your case). "Think outside the box, doctors!" We pay them to figure out the missing piece of the puzzle, after TESTS are done and clinical symptoms are taken.

It was painfully obvious, that my doctor cared more about getting to her next appt, than my health. I hung in there for as long as I could but finally gave up after she promised to do certain tests for me and then when I got to the lab she suddenly had no idea what we had JUST talked about and agreed upon, it was bizarre and mentally disturbing because I was too sick to go find a new doctor at the time, she could do whatever she wanted. It crushed me. She broke my trust and I will never go back. I made sure to leave a bad review so other patients won't have to struggle through that. Go find a doctor that respects and listens to you, they are hard to find but well worth it.

Peteza, that is a great way to find the best doctor!
Posted 8/12/2017 10:10 AM (GMT 0)
Dont get me started... I live in Massachusetts. worked outdoors in a watershed for public drinking water. Bitten two times by ticks(that I know of, could have been more) over a two year period.

Darn GP said I test negative for elisa for two years , would not give me antibiotics actually they never did.
Kept saying all the numbness and symptoms were from a pinch nerve in neck had to live with it and then sent me to specialists for MS etc after I keep complaining something else was wrong.

Unbelievable they should not be allowed to practice. All this suffering and expense possibly could have been avoided.

The only bright side is I found this forum and the wonderful, helpful ,caring members on it.

Be careful out there and always listen to your own intuition when it comes to your health, don't ever give up trying to find the truth.

You all take care, Jo
Posted 8/12/2017 2:19 PM (GMT 0)
The doc has to 'think about it' to something as routine as a CBC??? Don't walk - RUN!! Ridiculous
Posted 8/12/2017 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
I'm looking for a better doc in the area. An in-law of ours is a retired med school dean/professor and knows most of the local docs. He recommended several but they aren't accepting new patients. Those that are accepting new pts, (as is our doc) are "laissez-faire " as he states.

I fear that docs like ours are the rule, rather than the exception. If I could "run" to a sure bet, I would but unfortunately it's a bureaucratic hassle with the insurance companies to switch pcp's and the docs book out new pt appointments months.

Does anyone know for certain just how much insurance companies tie the hands of docs? I've asked the doc directly but he denied it. Reminds me of a line from an old western movie "them that know, don't say. Them that say, don't know".
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