I'm annoyed. :(

[SandyRN]

I went to the doctor...the rheumatologist I have waited and waited to see. My appt was at 1 oclock and they took two patients in before me. I was supposed to be the first patient after lunch. I finally got back to the room at 1:45...had to strip and put on that stupid gown. The doctor was very thourough, looked at my joints, did a lot of pressing and pinching around on my muscles and joints, saw my legs and hands were blue, said I have Raynauds. Said I probably have Lupus, but he'd run some more definitive tests. I was ok with all of that. He also said Sjoren's because of my dry eyes and mouth, plus the nose sores..talked about my kidneys.

The part that REALLY upset me was when he asked me if I'd heard of TMS. No, what IS TMS? Well, it turns out its MORE psycobabble about fibromyalgia and "hidden" stress causing lack of oxygen to get to the muscles and joints. It's MENTAL. He said even though I probably DO have Lupus, he says I have this TMS stuff. Its called Tension Myositis Syndrome....fibro of the mind.

I was so angry I was about in tears, and now that I'm FINALLY home I AM in tears. It took me YEARS to find a group of doctors who believed me and told me I had PHYSICAL problems that caused this pain. Now this man comes in, looks at me for 30 minutes and decides that I have this TMS, which is fibro with a twist. I told him I'm stressed over my daughter but in general I don't have much stress because I'm not working. I stay at home, I take care of my kids and house and with the exception of the last few months things have been stable. He told me it could have been something that happened when I was 4 or 5 or even 15 that has built up unconsciously to cause me pain. I'm MAD. I'm NOT crazy, I AM NOT. I do not have a psychological problem, those were all ruled out when this hell started for me.

So, I went to go have my labs drawn and there were about 15 people waiting for ONE lab tech. I left. I'll go have them drawn but I was just OVER it. I WANT my labs done, I do. I want some definitive answers. TO TOP IT OFF, HE SAID I COULD BUY A BOOK AT THE FRONT DESK ON THIS TMS!!!!!!! HE SELLS THE BOOOOOOOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well........***** his book....

How many times do we have to be told things are all in our heads? I know he didnt totally discount me, he really thinks I have lupus and sjorens, but also I have a mental disorder that causes me pain.

Does that mental disorder cause the rashes and the itching and the kidney problems and the rest of it?

I want to scream. I can't stop crying. The entire time I thought he was totally believing me because of the noises he was making...like "huh", "ahhhh", "oh my, it really hurts there doesn't it?", "your legs are so blue", "your joints are swollen in your hands", etc....then he tells me this psychobabble and wants to SELL ME A BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:bonk:

I am SO not happy!

[petrie86]

If you ask me....that doctor doesn't know diddly squat!!! You're not crazy! Please dont let this stupid man make you cry. I suggest you go to another dr or wait till you get the results. Please dont cry, lots of hugs!!!


Rachel

[tigger_gal]

omg how awful Sandy... I would of asked him if he had a degree in physology.. howun fair to you.

[Bessie]

Sandy,
I am so sorry your doctor visit turned out that way. I just don't understand why he acted like that. I would seriously look into seeing another doctor. i know it is frustrating but you do not deserve to be treated that way. You are employing him and he does not have the right to tell you it is mental when you have "real diseases". That angers me!!!! Please find another doctor.

[SandyRN]

I think the man is trying to make money off this book. Has ANYONE been offered to buy a book at the doctor's office???????? It seems quite strange to me. I'm wondering if he wrote the stupid book.

I'm trying to get over it and chalk it up to yet another goofy doctor's appt...Lord knows there have been MANY in the past and I lived. This one was so important to me. He wouldnt rx a small dose of prednisone for me because he wanted my labs back, but said they take 3 weeks. I know in 3 weeks my symptoms are going to return. I seem to do ok on 10mg a day of prednisone. I guess I'll have to ask my GP to fill it for me again.

I don't want to live like this anymore...NOT saying I want to die, I mean I dont want to have these crazy symptoms and this man was some hope for me. I dont have a choice right now but to go back and get the labs drawn and see what they say.

Thanks everyone....I'm sorry for the rant, but the whole thing is just nuts.:rant:

[SandyRN]

Oh yeah, and I can be cured by "knowlege therapy" meaning if I know what it is, I can make it go away, simple as that.........Bull.....

[Sarojini]

I bet he DID write that book ... I am almost certain he also created this TMS syndrome to explain away pains he could not diagnose. I'm going to do a PubMed search on this thing to see if there is any real, proven research that this exists, because it sounds a bit hokey to me.

That is just terrible that you waited all this time and then had to hear this. I'm so sorry :grouphug:

[DaniBelle]

...find another doctor. I know you waited a long time to see the rheum., but he sounds like a quacko! I'm always wary of a doctor who says, "I wrote a book about it,...buy it and read about your new DX....I'm soooo smart". This is NOT in your mind...it is in your BODY....what a witch doctor! He definitely sounds like he doesn't know how to treat you, so he's found a way to make some money on the side by making up this 'new condition'. I would call him and tell him you have his diagnosis in a nutshell...it's called "Delusions of Grandeur"!!!! What a crock he is trying to sell. Unbelievable. Hang in there, find a real doctor and keep believing in yourself....you know what's going on and are simply asking for a doctor to treat you with dignity. I would have been sooooo p&^^&%!!!


For all to read and beware: After my 3rd gyn surgery and I was still suffering with pain, my gyn told me "You're just having ghost nerve pain and are dealing with menopause". He then picked up HIS NEW BOOK and told me the same...."You can purchase it...it will really help you during this transitional time". Six months later, my new gyn opened me up and found halves of my two ovaries, one which had 2 huge cysts on it, endo, and my bladder was adhered to my abdominal wall. WHAT A JERK AND A CASE FOR MALPRACTICE! I tried to find a lawyer to help me 'take action' against this 'doctor', but in my state, the laws for malpractice highly favor the doctor and it's almost impossible to sue. That's what I get for believing that 'the best doctor in his field of practice" and his partner were treating me professionally....when they screwed up my life!
Dani

[Sarojini]

Sandy -- you'll be interested to know that with a preliminary search of all the hundreds of thousands of medical journals in the National Library of Medicine (http://www.pubmed.gov), the last mentions of tension myositis were in the late 1970s, when doctors loved to call women crazy. There are NO molecular or cellular studies proving this condition exists, either -- just a few "editorial" type articles in the Journal of Family Practice, of all things... one of them states that they had a group of patients that went to psychotherapy for chronic back and neck pain and got better, but it's a crock IMHO.

And -- here's the Wikipedia article on it -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tension_Myositis_Syndrome

Note that the article points out that "Most physicians know little or nothing about (this) work, as it has received relatively little attention in recognized, peer-reviewed medical journals," just as I found when I searched. Even Wikipedia writes about it like it's a crock and a half and states the theory is NOT widely accepted.

So, I don't believe this guy -- he's trying to sell books about what seems to be an outdated theory. :cussing:

[SandyRN]

Do a google search on Tension Myositis Syndrome...it's out there, and from what I read it was created by a major quack. I think I'll do a search for this on quackwatch. I'm so angry. Thanks Jen. If anyone can find out if it's BS I know you can!!!

[Sarojini]

Yep... I Googled in addition to searched the medical databases, and posted the link to the Wikipedia article on TMS up in my last post when I edited it...

As you'll see up there, I believe it is BS. :mad:

[SharonA]

Sandy...This guy is full of "hooy". I would stay clear of any so called "doctor" who tells you to stop by the desk and buy a book about what he just said. I think that is malpractice. He should have his licence yanked away from him. Talk about a quack. It reminds me of the old medicine shows. "Come on, come all and buy my snake oil. It will cure you of all your diseases." Okay everyone...all together now...Quack, Quack, Quack!!!!!!

[ICNDonna]

I just did a quackwatch search and --- yup! it's there! I suggest you read it before you go for those tests. Is there another doc you can see for a second opinion?

Donna

[SandyRN]

Thank you Jen. I feel better, in a way. At least I know he's a quack now...so yes Sharon, quack, quack, QUACK! Tom said he'd charge me 60 bucks just to tell me to go to my quiet happy place and I'd be healed. LOL...said he just did as much good as that doctor's appt did. I'm so greatful I dont have a copay or I'd REALLY be mad. Too bad my insurance has to pay for it.

Knowlege therapy.......if I know what it is, I'm cured. phooey!!!!!!! There's a lot of talk on those web pages about back pain caused by emotional causes....when he pushed on my KIDNEYS I had pain. It's obviously kidney pain, but he chalked it up to this psycho back pain stuff. When I DO have back pain that's not kidney related it's in my lower back, not flank pain. I only have an RN degree and I know the difference. I feel violated in a way, and totally 'taken' by this doctor.

When I had to fill out the psychosocial pain sheet about my stress levels, if I'd ever been raped, or abused, etc, I got a pang of worry....little did I know.

I decided to take this lab sheet to my GP, get HIM to run these blood tests for me, and then get him to RX my 10 mg of prednisone. This way I never have to talk to Dr. Quack again as long as I live. Anyone in Charlotte looking for a rheumatologist, email me off the site so I can warn you about this guy. I don't want to do it through this website for obvious reasons. But, I want to warn every single person I can about him. You can email me through the link in my profile.

I found some stuff on this on quackwatch. org too....I wonder how you submit something to that site............Not that I want revenge......but yeah, I want revenge!!!!!!!!

I feel better now. Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!

[SandyRN]

Donna, thanks! I saw that too. I looked up the tests and they're all Sojornes, Lupus specific tests. So at least he didn't try to charge my insurance for a bunch of hooey tests.

[humpieumpumkin]

Hello Sandy:

In terms of doctors trying to sell me something, my old uro was trying to see me CRANBERRY bladder supplements after he dx me with IC.:lmao: He is a quack tooo. JERKS!:rant:

Erika:hi:

[Trishann]

Sandy, I am so deeply so sorry about all of this. I am getting so angry about all of this head stuff. Believe me, if it was all about this head stuff, I would be grabbing and running with it, just so I don't have to go to these idiott doctors. I wonder if it is because we are womens. Do they treat men like this too? This is just getting so out of hand. First some can't get pain pills and now any kind of pain you are call crazy.

If he won't take care of your physcial needs without pressing on about this stuff, I would ask him. Is this appointment about my physcial need or about your book. HMMMMMMMMM.

Sending hugs, Trishann

[humpieumpumkin]

Ditto to what Trishann said...BTW I don't think any mental/ emotional would turn your limbs BLUE!!! Or make you sinuses breakout in sores. what a jerk!

Erika:hi:

[SandyRN]

Trishann, I do think it has something to do with women. I've been mistreated since this whole thing started years ago. I've come home crying more than once because a doctor told me that he would never give me pain meds, that all of it was in my head, that I was a hysterical woman, that my period caused all my pain, that my hormones were out of balance, on and on and on. I'm sick of it. I just rated that doctor on ratemds.com and put my experience and how he tried to sell me a book! That right there made me feel better!

[DaniBelle]

If you searched his ancestry, you'd most likely find where generation after generation in his family 'pond' {that's where ducks like to be..quack, quack :)**sold 'Doctor Jerko's Miracle Cure", guaranteed to cure the patient"....that is until the patient awoke with an alcoholic hangover. I think Dr. Quacko needs to be shown that his 'research' was done decades ago and is just a load of s(*&!. I would be soooo tempted to sit in his waiting room, place pre-printed stickers on the ad for his book stating that it is just regurgitated horse crap (of course citing the info re:the research of years ago). Gosh, it makes me so mad for you and others that were and will continue to be treated this way. He should be held accountable for your time and trust. AAAAARRRGGGGGH!!!

[Trishann]

Good for you Sandy, enough is enough. Maybe it will help stop these doctors.

Sending hugs, Trishann

[ihurttoo]

Sandy,

I am so sorry that you wasted your time with this jerk! I know how long you have looked forward to this appt to try to get to the root of the problem. I definately think he is a quack too. I hope you will call your GP tomorrow, get your labs done there, and have him give you a referral to a different rhematologist. I wish so badly that you lived near me and could go to mine. She is wonderful. I saw her last a month and a half ago, and her nurse has called me 4 times since then! Once to tell me I had the severe Vitamin D definciency, (I didnt even know she was testing me for that!), once see if I was feeling better after I took the Rx she ordered, and yesterday b/c she had also tested me for Lidocaine toxicity b/c I am on the max amount of Licocaine patches, plus I take it vaginally and in my instills, so she was worried about that. Then the last call was today to tell me what to decrease my patch number to. I was shocked that she was STILL thinking about me after a month and a half!!! I am usually doing good to get a Dr. to think about me while I am in front of them!!!!

So, believe me, there ARE good ones out there! If you still have no luck with finding one near you, I would love for you to come up and see mine. Bring the kiddos and make it a mini vacation. We have room enough for all of you.

It makes me so angry that you were treated this way by that quack! Thank God you didnt believe him and you are smart enough to know better. What about all his poor patients that DO believe him??!!!

I hope you get in somewhere soon. It is obvious to all of us that these are REAL, PHYSICAL symptoms of something, not some hokey psycho-babble crap.

I hope your GP helps you until you can find a reliable Rhematologist.

Hugs,
Amy

[GriffsMommy]

Oh God Sandy, how horrible! I know how much you were looking forward to this appointment to get some answers and this is what happens!?!?!:rant: I hope that you can find another doc, do you have to get referrals with your insurance or can you go where you want? That's one of the only things I like about my insurance, I don't need referrals so I can go to any specialist, I just go. I'm glad that you figured out that it was all a bunch of crap and aren't buying into it.

[jen74]

Oh Sandy, I am sorry.
I have learned a few things about doctors, there are ALOT of bad ones out there!!!! You have to be careful with rheumy's. I have alot of weird symptoms also,(elevated ANA, sed rate, c-reactive protein etc). I saw one rheumy who told me he was sure I had scleroderma( this was only after looking at me for 5 minutes). Not sure if you ever heard of scleroderma, but it is one of the worst diseases you can get. Anyhow, thank Goodness I went and got a different opinion. I went to see a different rheumy who specialized in sclero and he said he did not think I had it. He did say he was sure I had something autoimmune going on though.
I honestly have never heard of this condition your rheumy was talking about. If he has his own book, look out, he is probably trying to push this diagnosis off on all his patients. I have never heard of that. I am sorry and if I were you, I would get another opinion.
Jen

[Bianchi]

I think any Dr., who tries to sell you something during your appointment, is behaving totally unethical, you could report him him to the AMA.
Anyway my husband thinks so who was in the medical field.
Bianchi

[waterflow]

Sandy that is so wrong! :mad: I was hoping you would make out ok and get some answers and help. I hate it when someone says it's all in your head and how can something way back when you were 5 cause all of this. Everyone in the world would have it. I'm sorry he didn't turn out to be nicer/better doctor for you. That really stinks. You were looking forward to a good day and he let you down. I knew someone who went to a foot doctor and he was into those natural pills and stuff. Like beet roots. I think he got commision each time he sold a bottle. I told the person it was stupid to pay big money for beet roots but they believed him. :rolleyes: You have to be so carefull now. You never know what doc to believe anymore. :kissing:

[Kara29]

Sandy,

I am speechless. This doctor can be racked up with the "best of em"!
I am so sorry your visit was so rotten. Maybe after a few days you can start searching for a new one. Good Doctors are impossible to find these days!

I saw a book tonight called "How Doctors Think"

It was on the bestseller's list and I was half tempted to buy it.

I thought of you when I pulled up my screen and saw what happened to you today.

Wishing you a much brighter Tomorrow Sandy!

Kara

[SandyRN]

Thank you so much everyone!! I really appreciate the support! I did call my GP and had to leave a message that I want an appt with him. They were at lunch and should be calling me back soon.

Amy, I would love to come visit. It's about to be summer, and I've been wondering what I could do with my kids. I'm sick of staying home all summer because I feel so crappy. I just might take you up on that...it would be fun! I wonder how far the drive is from here to KY?

I wrote another post about whether or not I should write a complaint letter to this doctor. I'm still livid about the whole thing, and you guys are right, there are VULNERABLE people out there grasping at any straw handed to them by the doctors and they might actually believe this doofus.

Why in the world does everything have to be such a challenge for me????? Even the eye doctor screwed up the RX and I've got to go back again for him to fix it so I can READ with my contacts in!

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[Moonheart]

When I was doing home health care I had a client who was extremely gullible. (you aren't of course, you were there in good faith). She always was going to homeopathic doctors (and I'm NOT knocking homeopathy) and they'd tell her it was this, then that, if you just take these herbs, if you just take those plants, your ulcer you've had for ten years will heal up. She WAS desperate for help and willing to try anything. I know there are more than her out there. It's sickening that there are doctors, who are sworn to do no harm, yet there they are..... :(

I'm really terribly sorry about this Sandy. I honestly don't know what to say. I'm so discouraged for you.