What sort of questions would you recommend someone like me ask? to make sure he or she is a good fit? As you know I have Gerd, IBS, fibromyalgia, manifesting as joint pain (uh.. no, shows she doesnt listen to me), sleep apnea, chronic migraines,(my current PCP also tacked on "depression", fatigue hypersomnia.) I went in for a second opinion yesterday and they think I have chronic fatigue syndrome AND fibromyalgia, ( apparently they mirror each other and i should have kicked sleeping so much and tiredness after the cpap) they arent sure about the depression they think i might be more of a undiagnosed yearly cycle bipolar, and that neurontin messed up my cycle and brought them closer together and that fibro fog is causing me to have a definite impairment with regards to mobility (i fell off the scale with them standing right there ) and while I think they both have an idea of the 'truth' I dont like that the current doctor wont tell me my diagnoses instead im finding out from my insurance provider.. So I think i need to come out and have some sort of criteria of quesstions or do's and do nots to weed out miscommunication that they need to meet because it seems like they dont understand the difference between my muscle feels so tight i feel like bones gonna pop out of socket and i have joint pain which is no where near where im at, otherwise id be looking for an arthritis person..
I learned the hard way not to tell them to much. I normally don't tell them the smallest of my problems. Like - trouble sleeping, the IBS that I have., things like that. I try to keep it focused only on what I want him/her to help me with. This cuts down on my dr jumping to other conclusions that I have already been tested for in the past or that I see a different dr for. Like many of us, my medical record is pretty long and I have not yet met a dr who took the time to read the whole thing. For me to keep it focused in only one or two areas, cuts down on my arguments with them too... lol
I also come right out and ask them: " Do you know much about fibromyalgia?" and/or "Do you have other patients that have fibro.?" This helps me weed out the not so good ones for me. Yea. I get pretty forward when it comes to drs. Remember - they are working for you. .. You are paying for their time. So don't hesitate to ask them a few questions as well (wink).
THANK YOU!!! I think you need to be a bit more specific im trying to organize myself but i have journals with every change in my everything because I refer to my body as a whole so every doctor every conversation with them is in there because i hate fogging and then going uh i dont recall of sitting there trying to rememebr what we were talking about with all the doctors im seeing ATM maybe i should start a new one? separate by doctor? this whole overlapping stuff sucks i need 1 doctor that deals with it all
I asked for my medical records and they wouldnt give them to me but they gave me a summary Im gonna use that instead and just jot down my symptoms and my disagreements and agreements on another what do u think???
Good advice I was thinking about bringing my whole history up then i read this and it just hit ime im seeing a specialist for IBS maybe I should just ask for help with mobility from and falling from the therapists, for pain management/fibro from the Rheumy and leave everything else to the PCP .. the only reason i dont do that is because i want all my meds with 1 doctor i hate having to chase doctors down for refills
Im trying I really am however I noticed at the second opinion I had a doctor and a cnp both referring back and forth to my chart granted they took forever and ever 4 hours but they seemed to disagree a lot with the basic care i was getting often they talked like i wasnt there until i butted in and it seems like they feel my current PCP has been very lax at treating me and coming out labeling things what they are for example I have apnea, hypersomnia fatigue myalgia fibromialgia and even with their machine the amount of fatigue and sleep i get hasnt been reduced they feel I need further evaluation for CFS. they also seemed shocked i have only neurontin as pain blockers and some vicodins and ibuprofens which i refrain from taking they said to just take them until they could get me in to a rheumy they were gonna call in favors and low and behold i have an appt for 2 weeks from now.. I hate the wait time I respect their schedules and would like to be able to plan around the appointments my appt was at i ddint get taken to the back til 24 i dint make it home til 6 but i like that they we like no your not leaving without all your referals in your hands they called right there in front of me for me
They the second opinion gave my PCP a call (the supervising dr) a review of her assessment, and apparently they told him of my humiliating mobility fail moments ( the almost and actual fall) while in her care since then i have been rescheduled to see only him im not to see her unless its for sick visits. i have been referred to physical therapy to help me with coping while Im flaring, but idk how i feel about letting someone manipulate my limbs while i flare when most of the time i just wanna lay naked in the dark with a cool cloth over my face while it passes but again my point is the majority of my problems didnt have to be this bad i was able to walk ok with a bare limp i dont see why wait til another doctor calls and says she fell off the scale and off the bed she needs an assistive device, a rheumy, folow ups with the gastro for them to realize i wasnt kidding when i said i was frustrated a few months instead of labeling me depressed and pushed anti depression pills they might have prevented this by just listening to me before i got to oh dont move it because it will snap off
but thats just me im grumpy because i said i was hurting and no one heard me i suppose hurt means many things in english and its not my native language soo...
