Insensitive Doctors

[miggymoggy]

Do any of you have problems with insensitive doctors?
I went to see a really sarcastic one yesterday.
This is how it went
"I have a really bad crushing headache which I've had for 3 days"
He said "oh dear, I guess we'll have to cut off your head"
I say "but I'm worried about it and my HRT leaflet says a headache could be a sign of something more serious"
He says "I doubt it"
He looks in my eyes and does my blood pressure and they are normal, then he says "it is said that a doctor will only see one brain tumour in a lifetime, so it probably isn't that"
FOR GODS SAKE, WHY DID HE SAY THAT????
so I say "what, do you think it could be a brain tumour"
He says "unlikely, but I couldn't say for sure without sending you to a neurologist"
So I say, "OK, well should I be referred then"
He says "no, not at this stage, we just treat it"
I say "and if it doesn't go away?"
He says "don't be so negative, it will go away"
How unhelpful is that???????!?!?!?!?

[jada]

Grrrrrrrrrrrr :mad: silly, silly man!
Is there another gp in the practice that you could have next time?

[LiquidSky]

That's awful, some GPs don't really think when they speak, they try to be lighthearted or reassuring or make a joke about it, but when dealing with an HA patient, they should be careful how flippantly they coin phrases sometimes.

I was told by my GP that I'm a stresshead and there's nothing he can do for me, so to just get over it. So I have a new GP now and she's lovely and really understanding.

[KK77]

Some doctors are seriously bad for HA sufferers, I agree. They're just very matter-of-fact and deal with cold logic and stats - so if you look at it positively it's kind of reassuring that he dismisses it as being anything serious. Not the best of approaches though...

Ask to see another one if you can as Jada suggested - there seems to be a lot of highly-paid doctors floating about these days ;)

[debs71]

The way doctors speak to depressed/anxious patients may seem trivial but it really is a serious matter.

I will never forget when I was very, very ill 6 years ago and I had been backwards and forwards to my GP with an unresolved health problem (dermatitis/cheilitis) and I was severely depressed and hanging on by a thread mentally. As I sat crying in her consulting room she seemed exasperated and impatient, proceeded to ask me about my religious beliefs, handed me a card with a picture of Mary on from a bible on her table and told me to pray as it might help me. Now don't get me wrong, I respect anyones religious beliefs (she was 'born again' apparently) but I felt outraged that my GP who was meant to be professional and offer me nothing further than practical medical advice and TLC was basically saying to me, well I can't help you so you better pray. As a depressed person, this could have pushed me over the edge and left me thinking there was no worldly help for me and it was in the lap of the Gods, or God.

I know this isn't specific to the topic, but it just demonstrates how GP's- and many other doctors - can be completely insensitive to a patients needs and thought processes.

Doctors communication skills suck in the most part, especially the older ones who have been practising since Flo Nightingale was around! I have seen it countless times in the hospital, where they leave dumbstruck, confused patients in their wake.

Needless to say about my GP, as soon as I collected by senses and started to feel better I left her care and found another GP.

[ditzygirl]

mmm GP's should be reprimanded for such lack of care or tact. Definitely find another GP, having a fab, understanding GP can make all the difference to your well being and after all that is what a GP is paid to do.

If it makes you feel better and you are strong enough - you are perfectly within your rights to report this to the practice manager.

It's quite scary how many rubbish GP's there are around!

[lonely]

some doctors need to think before they speak, it doesn't help serverly depressed/anxious patients when they are horrible and most often makes us feel a whole lot worse, and then want to avoid any treatement

earlier last year i was called attention seeking, i saw it in my notes, it broke my heart i lost faith in the doctors, i even went in and said i am not attention seeking, i bet its still written in my notes now, if i wanted to attention seek id shout in the middle of the street, instead i keep myself to myself, even when go to the doctors i sit in the smaller reception area, where no one knows about, so not to disturb the receptionists

[MrBlue]

I've had an experience like this with a doctor just short snappy sometimes one word answers as if to say 'get over it you're fine' find another more sympathetic GP and warn them you have anxiety when you first go in, they SHOULD gently diagnose you :)