Anyone here studying to be a GI doc?

We don't know whether our docs have UC/CD or someone in their families have...so assuming they don't know is a bit extreme.

Even some of us here cannot fully comprehend what each of us goes through even though we experience the same disease.

I'm grateful the doc I have was the one who gave me the 5ASA oral/rectal rather than the other dork..I mean doc..who would have only prescribed me prednisone. I know because he told me himself when I had to see him once.

I think the treatments out there for UC are pretty darn good...as long as my doc prescribes what I need...I'll take it. But we have choices of what we don't want to take. It's a good doctor who works with a patient to create a plan and change when needed.

Remember that there are lousy patients who never listen to the suggestions or treatment of a doctor. They're not miracle workers.

Haven't you heard.....even med students graduated from the bottom of the class are still called "doctor". Even if they did have UC or whatever illness, it doesn't guarantee a passionate or knowledgable doctor.

Maybe your attitude needs a bit of tweaking?

q

I beg to differ from the posts above. My GI is great. During my first visit, she was upfront and "I do not prescribe meds unless you really need them so if you ask me for meds, I won't prescribe you just because you want it". I was happy. Yesterday, I went to her for my (controlled) flare and she refused to put me on oral Pred. She is like, try hydrocortisone and mesalamine combination for another 2 weeks and we will see what happens and then we go from there.

Its easy to point fingers, but from doctor's point of view, all of us are different , genetically, lifestyle-wise and diet-wire and tons of other things. Nobody can make a standard yardstick. Many a times, we do not follow recommendations. All of my docs told me to go to them gym but I am a lazy*** and spend most of the time in front of the laptop. Who is to blame? Me or the doc?

If you don't trust your doc, go find another one and rate him/her on ratemd.com so that the next guy knows. Still that route is fishy because me, the new reader, does not know if you are just like me, the lazy***.

Finding a doc who suffers from same disorder like yours will be ideal but may not help you all the way for sure. A LOT of stuff depends on you as a patient, you need to take control of your issues, educate yourslf (this place is utopia for UCers). No doctor in the US will tell you that because of the business model set up but my Swedish docs were very happy with me as a patient (who just treats himself, as they used to call me as), really, no bragging.

I'm really lucky....I have a great GI. I love his nurse. I'm working w/ a new research nurse right now. I know he truly wants me to feel better and gets frustrated for me when I am not improving.

My primary's mom has UC and a bag. That makes things sooo much easier. She doesn't look at me like I have two heads when I tell her my meds and what is going on. On the other hand, I went to the urgent care last week (for a sore throat) and I must have been asked 5 times if I had RA. Then after saying no 80000 times they put I had chrohns on my chart. Was little frustrating.

I joke to him that I have my GI Badge b/c I'm pretty sure I know as much as about UC as anyone in his office.

Sorry, but I just had to laugh. I'm trying to think which of us would like to take our cranky colons to the land of 48 hour on-call, holding lives in our hands, being blamed and berated by attendings for their own failings and the other attendant stressors of medical training.

We did have a member here years ago who was diagnosed in her senior year of medical school. She was getting ready to begin a surgical residency and she opted for immediate surgery because she knew she'd never make it with UC. You just can't step out in the middle of an 8-hour surgery to go to the bathroom.

I've had 3 GI doctors during the past 10 years. IMO, they are all good technicians but fall short on the "humanity" scale.

The first one who diagnosed me with UC INSISTED I take prednisone so I found another.

The second has treated me on and off for about 8 years and is a good tech (will probably not puncture my colon during a procedure) but has little or no "chair side" manner and scoffs at any natural treatment options (including diet mod.) other than probiotics.

Several years ago, I lived in Florida for 1 1/2 years and consulted a third GI who was downright arrogant and implied that it was my fault that cortisone enemas didn't work immediately. Also accused me of not taking my oral meds (not true).

It bothers me that I had to find an online forum to get information about options other than using drugs with potentially devastating side effects or surgery.
IMO, most members of the medical establishment in the US are in it for the money and are not very interested in finding a cure. It's rare to find a GI who will suggest and/or accept that natural approaches have value.
Just my opinion.

I studied Communication in college, and I became so interested in my Health Com course, which focused on the doctor-patient relationship model. This was a year before UC diagnosis. And knowing that model, I wasn't willing to accept the standard between me and my doctor.

I guess I have to ask, is it normal for your doc to come in like he's Kuku for Cocoa puffs and then try to rush you in a 10min time frame? I could never get a word in edgewise.

my current GI doctor has crohn's disease. he's been doing well on humira for 7 years so i think that's why he's always pushing humira on me. it's the only drug ever mentioned in appointments. he doesn't have great bedside manner though and offends me with his jokes. i think since he's tried so many drugs himself, he won't prescribe them if they didn't work for him- like with LDN. he said he didn't have success with it so now he doesn't give prescriptions anymore.

lol...tell me a few of the jokes he says, please. There's probably no joke that would offend me.

And wow, a GI with an IBD, how ironic.

bananagirl said...
somedude, the one i remember most was when he picked up my hand and said

"so i see how you get your calories."

it's because i pick my nails. i just thought he was a jerk for saying that.

lol, you should zing him back with one. Hey at least this one understands your issue on the same level.

stereo, he is like a normal GI doc. mostly drugs but he always writes me prescriptions for supplements- b12 shots, iron infusions, l carnitine, co q 10, fish oil. the nurse at the office also has crohn's but she is a total airhead.