That sounds awful. I know it does. But I really do. My encounters with doctors over the years have been just, well, rotten. I've become less and less inclined to go to them because I simply don't trust them any more. Ridiculous but true.
[The rest of this rant has been moved to the extended entry screen. Boring myself.]
The last "primary care physician" I had diagnosed every ailment I brought to her as an allergy (except the one that actually turned out to be an allergy, but that's another story). When I came in with a sore throat, it was an allergy. When I came in with dizzy spells, it was an allergy. When I came in with piercing pain in my left ear, it was an allergy. She finally changed her diagnosis on that last one a few weeks later after the inhaler didn't help at all and the eardrum burst. By that time, my pre-paid non-refundable trip to New Orleans was landfill and I had several weeks of massive doses of antibiotics and anti-fungal medication to enjoy instead. You really don't want to hear any more. And that's only one story of many. Many. I hate doctors.
The current problem is probably bicipital tendonitis. I've had it before. Even Allergy Queen managed to diagnose that correctly but my new PCP (actually, one of her partners because she's on vacation) doesn't even seem to know where to poke to determine what the problem is. His solution: drugs (very powerful NSAIDs, to be specific). If that doesn't work: orthopod referral. I'm not big on drugs, so I'm not happy. And I'm even less happy now that I see that this drug is already the subject of a lawsuit (allegedly "connected" to some rare skin disease -- just what I need -- but let's not get off on the subject of lawyers -- after all, I am one of those). Did I mention that I hate doctors?
Well, except for some. There's really nothing like a doctor who knows her stuff, actually listens to you and succeeds in fixing you up right. I found the world's greatest periodontist, I kid you not. And back when I actually lived in Philadelphia, I had a very good orthopod (but now that I'm out in the 'burbs they want to refer you to their buds). I had a fabulous opthalmologist in Rochester (figures) and a pretty good optometrist when I first moved to Philly (but that's since become another tale of woe). And of course there is no doctor on earth today who's worth the dirt on the soles of the shoes of my beloved pediatrician (z"l), who knew me by name as well as candy preference, made housecalls whenever requested (yes, I am that old) and was a genuine mensch of the first order.
In other words, I hate doctors that don't listen, don't heal and don't comfort. I don't think doctors of that description should even be doctors. Do you? (Yeah, some of my best friends are doctors. Some of my close relatives are doctors. So?)
