Have you had problems with your doctors due to your age?
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
United States
April 6, 2009 11:40pm CST
i have a ton of health problems and i keep running into the same problem.. my doctor i see (and i have changed doctors so many times its not even funny) will look at me.. hear what i having problems with then blow me off saying that "im too young" to have whatever i want to get tested for and then refuse to do the test (unless i flat our argue with them till they give in)
whats bad is i usually already have figured out what my health problem is so im asking for test or info on that health problem then they tell me im nuts or too young but when i get them to go ahead with testing it comes back that i DO have it!! then they have an attitude with me like im trying to be difficult!!
i dont get it.. i mean yeah there used to be a time and age where young people generally werent sickly but with the environment i have seen a lot of people my age with a lot of health problems so i know im not THAT much of a freak of nature haha.. i went till i was 20 with a digestion problem that kept me 90lbs and had over a dozen docs say that i was healthy and being skinny was better than being fat so why am i complaining?!? meanwhile i was fainting and having all kinds of issues..
anyways have you ran into this problem? how do you get around it? do you just switch doctors or argue till they test you or what?? ive changed doctors so much i think i will eventually run out of ones to change to 
8 responses
@mikeysmom (2088)
• United States
7 Apr 09
i do not think it has anything to do with age. i think there is a huge arrogance involved with doctors and they do not like when people sel diagnose. if a doctor does not listen to me i go elsewhere. i also rely heavily on instinct and it has worked well for me throughout the years both with myself and my son. i have run into this very problem and i just keep changing doctors. it happenend recently with and ENT and she was literally ignoring me so i just kept asking and she fluffed it off. not going back to her anytime soon.
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
8 Apr 09
i change as much as possible but with some insurances it seems like you dont have many choices in doctors that they will cover and then you have to find one that is taking patients.. so sometimes it seems your stuck a little while till you can find some one else
@GhostCat (313)
• United States
8 Apr 09
I'm not sure it has a lot to do with age. Doctor"s like nice and simple things, things like they were presented in their text books (I had a Doctor tell me that a month ago). I your illness does not present with textbook symptoms, it cen be very difficult for them to make a diagnosis. And they are not looking for the odd illnesses, that many of us seem to have. Thus, it takes a lot of patients and persistance on our part to get a diagnosis and treatment. And after that they seem to want to forget you and concentrate on patients with more typical sysmptoms. At least this has been my experience.
Good luck. I hope your are able to find a Doctor who can resolve your issues. Me, I drive for 2 and 1/2 hours to see my primary care doctor because, one I gound a decent doctor I refuse to let go of her.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
8 Apr 09
that is true.. i have noticed that with my fibro docs if they cant seem to make me feel better easily they just dont want to help me at all because i guess i make them think too hard lol
@GhostCat (313)
• United States
10 Apr 09
With the fibro Docs, once they have tried the main medicines (the current one is Lyrica) the is not much else the can do. I have been through physical therapy, a dozen different pills (which worked for about 24 hours for each of the aforementioned pills) and water therapy. Next step is pain management. For now I am not having to do that. Unfortunately, many of us who suffer with fibromyalgia, seem to have to deal with pain. I used to belong to a fibro support group (on line) and most of the women there seemed to have to deal with the pain as there did not seem to be a solution no matter which doctor they saw, nor no matter how much they liked their Doc and thought that he/she understood or a least really listened to them.
Good luck in dealing with the fibro. I know this can be real tough.
Cheers,
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
8 Apr 09
i would but having asthma and bipolar i need to be on something constantly.. now i have been staying away from fibro docs just because they did seem to do more harm that good but i do have to get a new one and risk it again ugh
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
7 Apr 09
I'm like you and often self diagnose myself, and end up right after the test is done. I told my doctor I was diabetic and the test confirmed it. LOL Luckily I go to doctors who are open minded. They know I research and they actually appreciate it. We talk and share information we have found on the latest tests and treatments for my various illnesses. I know you've changed doctors alot, but it sounds like you need one more open minded and willing to listen to you. Have you tried researching doctors online? Some illnesses have websites that may recommend doctors in different areas. I know for Fibromyalgia (which I have) there is a woman who has compiled a list of "good" Fibro doctors, who have been recommended by patients. I even recommended my last doctor for the list. I'd still be with her if I lived in that state.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
8 Apr 09
yeah i had tried a website once and my doc was already on it but he was a fibro doc that LOADED you up on like 6 rx's and half of them being painkillers and the others antidepressants and none of them suppose to have been mixed!! i am going to go to my primary (the only one my new insurance will cover out of my old ones) and ask her to help me find some one.. shes actually one of the better doctors i have had so i figure between her and what i can do as far as looking myself i might luck out. i think the huge problem i had before was my primary was an idiot and referred me to even more stupid people lol..
@theweerouss (982)
• United States
8 Apr 09
Indeed! I agree, it's tough to get a doctor to believe you're not a hypochondriac if you're young and feeling under the weather. I've had this issue with a couple doctors, and persistence was definitely key. I have a degenerative disease that is directly correlated with arthritis and am only 22. It was very difficult to find a doctor throughout my teen years who would listen to my symptoms and do more than just say "oh, you just have a low pain tolerance." Now that I've found a doctor who will listen, I've had great support from him and his colleagues and am doing much better with managing the pain and managing daily physical activities that most people my age wouldn't worry about.
Good for you for sticking up for yourself, you're right, only you can truly know what your body is telling you! Finding a doctor who will listen is the only way to get the right treatment. Thanks and Blessings!
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
8 Apr 09
yeah did you get that whole "its growing pains" excuse?
@valpopa (154)
• Italy
7 Apr 09
The truth is..anyone can get sick no matter the age. The other truth is that doctors should send their patients for exams if the patients request it. I have heard of people who despite their age, had serious difficulties with their heart conditions and all this because the doctor won't send a young person to a cardiologist even if the boy/girl presents singns of cardiopathies. This is crazy and should definitely be corrected!
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
8 Apr 09
i know.. i sometimes hear in the news where its the insurance not wanting to pay for stuff and i some times wonder if insurance is why people get crappy service.. like their docs already know that things wont be paid for so they dont offer it etc
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
8 Apr 09
seems like there are more bogus than good ones now a days
@pheonixstar1982 (2307)
• United States
7 Apr 09
I have to warn you that when you change docs alot it looks like your doctor shopping and it could be one reason they are difficult with you. I have issues with them not believing i hurt like i do sometimes because there doesnt seem to be a reason for it. I have always had problems with my knees. I think i was in middle school the first time i saw a doc about it. Since i had not had a really bad fall or anything they didnt see the reason for the pain and just brushed me off. And i continued to be brushed off about it even when i go in with my knee the size of a soccer ball. I give up trying to figure out whats wrong and just want something for the pain and when i asked for something its always ibuprofen because its the only thing that helps and the last guy i seen was like okay ill go get you a prescription then comes back a few minutes later and tells me no he cant write anything for me and he can no longer see me because there is nothing he can do. I want to know what happened when he left the room that i could no longer have the script...and it was ibuprofen for gods sack...if i was asking for vicodin i could understand, but not ibuprofen. I just give up.
1 person likes this
