Entry tags:
Bah, Doctors, Bah....
I saw my orthopaedic consultant about my shoulder/neck problems today, follow-up to the appointment I had at the end of August where he had me in and out in 5 minutes, told me there was no indication of anything wrong with my neck, referred me to physio and casually mentioned on the way out that the bone scan might not have shown anything on my neck, but it had shown problems with left wrist, right hip and both knees....
So this time I walked into his office, sat down in front of him and he started reading the year-old referral letter from my GP aloud.
I couldn't figure out what he was up to, but let him finish.
Me: "Well the last time I saw you..."
Him: "What, you aren't a new patient?"
So we then have several minutes where he hands my file back to his nurse to find the up-to-date notes (what, he can't do it himself?), and run through the same old 'why have you got crutches when you're seeing me about your neck' (answer, because disabled people get neck problems, too).
So back to the right place in my files he runs through it again, only this time it isn't 'nothing wrong' with my neck, it's bulging disks at C5 and C6 and narrowing of the foramina, which is what is causing the problems with my arms. Exactly the same set of scans as last time, completely different report. I'm less than impressed, I've had two months of wondering what the hell's going on if I don't have a C-spine problem to explain the neuro stuff, only for it to turn out to be exactly what I expected, but was told it wasn't.
He then got distracted by the fact the irritated nerves have now given me a frozen shoulder and told me he wasn't a fan of physio for it (despite the fact he'd already referred me and physio are now treating me for a frozen shoulder, not for anything else). I declined the offer of a cortisone injection or manipulation under general anaesthetic, for now at least, and we then had a mini-comedy routine:
Him: So if you have a neck problem why did you have a referral for a shoulder problem
Me: Because I keep getting problems in my arms.
Him: But that's not your shoulders, its your neck
Me: Yes, but we didn't know that!
(I actually thought it was at least partly c-spine from the start, my GP thought it was carpal tunnel syndrome, so I let her refer me to rheumatology on the assumption that a rheumatologist would have the initiative to deal with whichever joint the problem turned out to be with, but apparently they need more hand-holding than I'd assumed).
After several tries, and at the third visit, I finally got him to understand that my concern is not the problem that I have right this moment, but the fact I keep getting the problems and want to know how that's going to develop, because shoulder problems (even shoulder problems that are really neck problems) for someone who walks with crutches are a pretty fundamental issue.
So he decides maybe he should refer me to a surgeon to discuss possible developments and my options and turns to his nurse:
Him: "Does Mary do necks?"
Her: "Sometimes"
Really, really, calculated not to impress. I probably have actually got what I wanted at the third time of asking, but Dear God do they make you work for it!
Bah. doctors....
So this time I walked into his office, sat down in front of him and he started reading the year-old referral letter from my GP aloud.
I couldn't figure out what he was up to, but let him finish.
Me: "Well the last time I saw you..."
Him: "What, you aren't a new patient?"
So we then have several minutes where he hands my file back to his nurse to find the up-to-date notes (what, he can't do it himself?), and run through the same old 'why have you got crutches when you're seeing me about your neck' (answer, because disabled people get neck problems, too).
So back to the right place in my files he runs through it again, only this time it isn't 'nothing wrong' with my neck, it's bulging disks at C5 and C6 and narrowing of the foramina, which is what is causing the problems with my arms. Exactly the same set of scans as last time, completely different report. I'm less than impressed, I've had two months of wondering what the hell's going on if I don't have a C-spine problem to explain the neuro stuff, only for it to turn out to be exactly what I expected, but was told it wasn't.
He then got distracted by the fact the irritated nerves have now given me a frozen shoulder and told me he wasn't a fan of physio for it (despite the fact he'd already referred me and physio are now treating me for a frozen shoulder, not for anything else). I declined the offer of a cortisone injection or manipulation under general anaesthetic, for now at least, and we then had a mini-comedy routine:
Him: So if you have a neck problem why did you have a referral for a shoulder problem
Me: Because I keep getting problems in my arms.
Him: But that's not your shoulders, its your neck
Me: Yes, but we didn't know that!
(I actually thought it was at least partly c-spine from the start, my GP thought it was carpal tunnel syndrome, so I let her refer me to rheumatology on the assumption that a rheumatologist would have the initiative to deal with whichever joint the problem turned out to be with, but apparently they need more hand-holding than I'd assumed).
After several tries, and at the third visit, I finally got him to understand that my concern is not the problem that I have right this moment, but the fact I keep getting the problems and want to know how that's going to develop, because shoulder problems (even shoulder problems that are really neck problems) for someone who walks with crutches are a pretty fundamental issue.
So he decides maybe he should refer me to a surgeon to discuss possible developments and my options and turns to his nurse:
Him: "Does Mary do necks?"
Her: "Sometimes"
Really, really, calculated not to impress. I probably have actually got what I wanted at the third time of asking, but Dear God do they make you work for it!
Bah. doctors....