Some of the stupidist things your doctor has said?

[Katie]

My last visit with a neurologist ended with him saying that just because I simply have pain is no reason for surgery...........

The only NS I was able to get in to see told me I was not a car and couldn't just go around getting spare parts put in when I asked about ADR. He stumbled around for a few minutes when I reminded him about hip and knee replacements, and said finally that he 'supposed that there has been slight success in that area lately'

Next???

[mmglobal]

It's easier to grasp why our friends, coworkers and family can't understand what we face. Why the doctors who work with chronic pain patients all the time don't understand better is beyond me.

Mark

[Cindylou]

Unbelievable. How do I spell "retire" for this doctor??? Some doctors, many doctors, if they have never experienced any pain, whether chronic or acute, just don't get it. A crying shame. On a sidebar, my husband, who has done everything mostly wrong to his body over the course of 54 years, (never worked out, overweight (big surprise), smoked (finally quit), drank, had high blood pressure, borderline diabetic, never had any pain issues with his body. Until now. Just recently his life choices and age, of course, are beginning to catch up with him. All of a sudden he is experiencing significant hip/leg pain, and some acute neck pain. He still has not made a doctor appointment. But he complains all the time about it, like a 5 year old. He even had the audacity to ask me if I had prayed that he would experience some pain to know what I was going through! He knows God and I are tight. But I had to laugh. He was of course, half kidding, but.....I told him as gently as I could that a chronic pain sufferer would never wish their pain on anyone. Period. I did tell him, in no uncertain terms, that I didn't want to hear him complain anymore about his pain, until, and if, he made a doctor appointment to get an assessment. Your body is talking to you. Love it and listen. I have noticed he is more empathetic during my recovery phase, than he ever was before, because he is finally beginning to "get it." That's it. Just some random thoughts.

[treefrog]

I guess I've been pretty lucky, that the doctors I've seen haven't really said anything too outlandish. But when talking to my boyfriend about my pain, and wanting surgery, he said that he constantly has pain in his shoulder, but he just deals with it. That made me very angry, and I really felt like he didn't understand my pain, and I'm sure he doesn't. I don't know if his pain is anything like mine, or if he just has a higher threshold for pain. But it didn't help to think that he thought I should just deal with my pain, and move past it, as if that was even possible. Of course he thinks exercise is the answer to everything.

[mmglobal]

Yes Cathy, I remember when I was dealing with horrible discogenic pain, all day, every day.... I'd run into people who would say,

"I have back pain too, but I do the stretches every morning and it keeps it at bay." Yeah, thanks!

[dshobbies]

Every profession has good and bad. There's a difference between learned knowledge and stupid. You can have both!

Remember the wise words of Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does."

[johnb]

The stupid thing my doctor said was "The dynesys will help your discs heal!!!!" What a lying slime just to get me on the OR table and make my life miserable for 1 year and a half so he could pocket extra fees above the decompression procedure by adding hardware with no class I data to support it's efficacy or safety for that matter. The dynesys has been proven that it doesn't help disc heal and there was no proof that it did so he was just making stuff up or reiterating what the rep told him. My surgeon had a fiduciary duty to check out the claims the rep made. Put the dynesys in the junk pile. I know, you know someone and their pain was relieved. That is anectdotal evidence and not a substitute for appropriate scientific study. It's indications are added stability during wide laminectomies and that is about it. People who received it with moderate decompression procedures during the same surgery and wake up and say "My nerve pain is gone!!!" and attribute it to the dynesys just got played. The dynesys implanted by itself scored poorly in non industry biased studies. My friend who had it done in the UK told me her surgeon gave a presentation at a small UK industry conference detailing 100% revision rate after 2 years for 14 patients. A zimmer rep was there and he snatched the presentation material and took off with it. It was stolen by an embarrassed rep!!!

[Maria]

OSS said in agitated manner "YES YOU CAN LIFT 20lbs" when I was applying for SSD and in really bad shape having trouble lifting the gallon milk container out of the fridge.

Of course far earlier there was "your subjective report of pain and the objective findings do not correlate." I then was referred to a Neurosurgeon who deemed me a surgical candidate for my first discectomy at L5S1.

[Kathy]

Originally Posted by treefrog

I guess I've been pretty lucky, that the doctors I've seen haven't really said anything too outlandish. But when talking to my boyfriend about my pain, and wanting surgery, he said that he constantly has pain in his shoulder, but he just deals with it. That made me very angry, and I really felt like he didn't understand my pain, and I'm sure he doesn't. I don't know if his pain is anything like mine, or if he just has a higher threshold for pain. But it didn't help to think that he thought I should just deal with my pain, and move past it, as if that was even possible. Of course he thinks exercise is the answer to everything.

Oh, I have heard this one too many times! My husband used to give me the exercise crap. He finally got it after seeing me go through surgery. My mom still acts like I was crazy for having surgery. I just uh-huh and change the subject when I start getting un-solicited back advice (child rearing advice too ) Fortunately, for others, not us, there is a only a small percentage of people who will ever experience pain like we do and for the legnth of time we have.

Anything new on the surgery front?
Kathy

[Jakea222]

My Exec CHef that I work with (I am the Sous - whipping boy) anyways - I ma having tons of trouble and she tell we to do this excersise and that one and get on the ball and do this....SO I took ok my brace and tried to wlk without it and it looked like a limping jello mold = so no more quacks...but she has had trouble not to my Anterlothesis of L5 on S1 so she can only relate to the pain part