How To Fire A Doctor

[Soundy]

I will start by saying I fell Friday and hit hard on tail bone ... no problem there other than a black and blue
behind ...

but ramming spine up into bottom of my skull produced a headache within seconds that has never really
gone away ... Monday after spending the day in bed eating hydrocodone after Tylenol did nothing , I ended
back at the doctors and rescanned...

swelling around base of skull and upper spine ...it was putting pressure against spine and bottom of brain ...
ended up shot with Demerol and more tablets of Demerol and phenagren (sp) to combat the nausea
and vomiting ...also steroids to help with inflammation ... I slept from about 5 pm Monday til 6:15 am Tuesday
and got up still hurting and after calling the doctor was told to take another femoral and keep them posted..

I got a call this morning ...My regular doctor contacted my surgeon yesterday and let him know what was
going on and was told I would have to learn to live with the head ache pain because it was just
par for the course ... my doctor was not happy with this answer and I am taking in my new BC BS list of
approved doctors to him and between us we are looking for a new doctor to address what is going on...
If I was a doctor and had done skull base surgery on a patient and they injured that area in an accident
I would be more interested than he seems ...

I have always liked him and gotten on well with him... up until post op where he has had the attitude that
I made it through surgery and should be glad to be here (which I am ) and that I need to learn to cope and
accept what my life now is like ... I know my life will never be the same ... and that's OK... I am just mad
at his lack of concern with the situation... he told my regular doctor for me to just keep my December
appointment and he would see me then... if something was damaged in the fall I could be dead or
impaired by then...

So I guess I am in the market for a new doctor... why do I feel guilty about looking for another? It feels like 
I am doing something wrong by looking and that I should have more  loyalty to him... I am grateful that my out
come is as well as it is ...but not happy with treatment I am now getting ...

I guess I am just venting ... any insight on the subject would be appreciated...

[Jim Scott]

Soundy:

What a distressing situation!  I would do exactly what you've decided to do and find another doctor, one that gives a rap about your well-being.  I hope you're successful in that effort...please keep us posted.

I've noticed that most surgeons are very narrow-focused and basically aren't too concerned about you beyond what involves and relates to their area of expertise (neurosurgery, in this case).  My neurosurgeon is the exception.  He made it clear that simply cutting out my AN was not his only concern and that he wanted me to have a good quality of life, post-op.  He said he had done hundreds of AN surgeries in the past 30 years and because of then-limited knowledge in the field, many of those patients ended up with complications, very often permanent facial paralysis.  He found that unacceptable and now does the debulking + FSR method (working with a radiation oncologist) on large AN's and refers patients with under-3 cm tumors to the radiation oncologist, as radiation is less invasive and he believes has a better chance of offering the AN patient a better quality of life, post-treatment.

This is a neurosurgeon with compassion for his patients.  Your doctor is not.  Fire him and don't spend a nanosecond feeling guilty.  He did his job and collected his fee.  He obviously has little interest in your well-being at this point so find a doctor who does. 

Jim 

[Kaybo]

Soundy~
Of course, I couldn't say it any better than Jim!!  Sorry this is happening to you!

K

[Sue]

Oh I couldn't agree more with Jim!  Honey, that man done you wrong, and you need to kick him to the curb and move on.  Too bad all doctors aren't more like Jim's.


Power to the Patient!!

Sue in Vancouver USA

[ppearl214]

Power to the Patient!!

Aye-men!!!!!!!! Another time that we note that we truly are our own best patient-advocate!

Soundy... oy..... good for you for taking control of this and telling your doc adios.  You do what you feel is best for you and in finding one that is going to actually "listen" to their patients.  It's about time they listen to us... heck, we pay for their homes and cars and vacations... they better listen to us!

Hope your um... derrierre feels better soon! I've done the same... a real pain to sit and such. Hang in there!
Phyl

[leapyrtwins]

Soundy -

I'm very fortunate to have wonderful doctors - like Jim.

But if my doctors weren't wonderful - like yours - I'd fire them without ever looking back.

Do NOT feel guilty!!!

Jan

[Soundy]

Thanks for support... I feel better about finding someone new ...

It is a funny feeling I have since I have dealt with him for 4 years and the first 3 and a half years
were great and I had no complaints....the past six months or so he just assumes I am fine and
should move on...

feeling better today and only had to take tylonal for head ache ... less  feeling of pressure so I guess
swelling is going down ... go back to see my regular doctor tomorrow and will go from there...

[wendysig]

Soundy -

Your doctor's attitude is outrageous!  If he had at least seen you and had to put off treatment for a short time it might be one thing, but in my opinion, he is just plain wrong.  I understand you are grateful for his surgical skills since you apparently had a good surgical ourcome, but you should feel absolutely no guilt about firing him!  If he feels he did his job and is no longer very interested it really is time for someone new!  I hope you find a more caring compassionate doc.

Wendy

[Captain Deb]

After a year and a half of headaches and phone calls about headaches, I quit dealing with the neurosurgeons in California who operated on me.  I'm on the east coast anyway.  It never occurred to me that I would need continuous looking after by them once my tumor was gone!  They aren't pain managers anyway.  I found myself a good headache neurologist and a good pain management specialist.  As I found out at the ANA symposium from the docs there, no one can pinpoint the "why" of these headaches most of the time anyway (except in Janets case!) The best we can do is manage our pain case by case. Go ahead and fire the bloke and find a good pain manager.  The neurosurgeon's done all he can do for you at this point.  Just my opinion.

Capt Deb

[Soundy]

Have three possibilities ... one doctor  associated with an anesthesiologist group that works in post op pain control
and two neurosurgeons that work with chronic pain patients... my doctor is talking to all three and see who
seems best for me and I will talk to the one that he picked after he has talked  to him in "doctor speak " and
make final decision ...

two are in Nashville about 1 hour 45 minutes on a good day away and the other in Memphis ...maybe 4 hours
away ...I hate to use distance in choosing but between gas and the insurance changes we have had , where they
are not paying til we pay out $2400 it has to factor in... I am reasonably sure that the scans I have had since falling
have ate up that amount and then some but since we haven't paid it yet I have to pay for visits up front or look
sad and talk the doctors into billing me and paying as I can ...

Opinions on what type doctor I should go with would be appreciated???

[Jim Scott]

Soundy:

The pain control doctor sounds good but of course, this is strictly your decision and the distance is a reasonable factor to consider.

Although this falls into the insurance category, I found that once I had met my deductible or out-of-pocket in charges (doctor or hospital) whether they had been paid in full by me or not, the insurance company (Blue Cross) considered that the same as if I had already paid the bills and would cover charges from that point on in full (or 90% depending on the charge). 

I would ask your insurance rep about this and see if it applies as you are responsible for those 'out-of-pocket' charges, whether you've paid them or not and your insurance company should be picking up any new charges, unless your contract says otherwise.  I suggest you try to find out.  It could be well worth the effort.

Jim 

[Soundy]

My husbands work went to a high deductible plan because it was cheaper... they have left it to us
to negotiate with doctors and hospitals as far as paying off balances but will not begin paying anything
until we pay  the first $2400...

our part of of monthly premiums are about $100 less than we had to pay for CIGNA coverage ...we
have diverted that to an HSA checking account that can only be used for medical expenses and the
company advanced everyone $2400 for this year and it is being paid back to the company $200 each month ...
they were going to give everyone with family coverage $2400 and individuals $1200 but realized how much
it was going to be so instead  deposited it as an interest free loan... once met it will pay 80% of most charges
and after $4800 is paid out of pocket will pay 100% of most charges...

all medicines have to be paid in full and turned in at the end of the year and if deductibles have been met
they will reimburse us a portion... we do get a discount which brings most drugs  down about 40% and
some even more ...

I have it worked out with my regular doctor to let them run things thru and insurance will apply any discounts
and then pay the balance ... but before insurance picks up we have to spend the $2400... it has been totally
confusing and has been a headache ... the man that came down to explain things to everyone pretty much
said they were making it hard so people would not go to the doctor as often...

which in ways is good because one man at work with an Aaflac supplement that pays to him not the doctor or
hospital would take his child to the ER for dumb things ... she had a splinter under her finger nail and he was
talking about taking her to the doctor  but said he would wait til after the office was closed and go to ER
because Aflac would pay him a $125 ER amount...the ER bill was paid in full as an accident ...
(the policy paid 80% of illness) it was a little over $600 ... an office visit would have been $79 I know
since we use the same doctor ... he would have had a $20 co-pay and Aflac would have paid him a $50
office visit payout...thsi was under CIGNA which paid better ... so CIGNA was out almost $600 and he
made $125 ... where if he had taken the child to the office he would have only pocketed $30 after
taking in to account the $20 co-pay and CIGNA would have only been out $59 to the doctor office

so by abuse by some we all suffer... and I don't mean just those of us at this work place ,  but everyone who
has to pay for insurance ... the hospitals and doctors and insurance companies charge more to make up for
money they lose or pay out due to abuse like this

and on top of it all he let the child (6 years old) sit there with a splinter of wood running under her fingernail
up into her finger (it was about and inch long) and suffer just so he could make a buck  ... some
people are so stupid ...

We have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee /network S ... other network designations pay differently

enough ranting ...insurance dealings just make my blood boil

I did hear back and he thinks that the doctor associated with the anethesiologist group would be the right
one and luckily he is in Nashville ... I have to call him tomorrow and will talk to either him or his nurse
technition to see if he is the right choice ... things are moving fast and I am glad of it ... may take a couple
weeks to get in but what's a couple weeks after about 6 months of trying to get co-operation from the other
doctor ... wish me luck

[Soundy]

Consultation first week of September ... crossing fingers

[ppearl214]

got the eyes and toes crossed as well... (its a bear to walk around like that, but... if it helps, then its worth it!    )

Phyl

[leapyrtwins]

Good luck, Soundy.

Keep us posted,

Jan