Guest guest Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 To say the least. What a sorry world of Medical practice! Tina M. It's not just Drs. In Novemeber and January, I had to have two colonoscopies ! All is wellbut during those two pre-ops and phone interviews and follow ups etc. Ihad several NURSES look like dunces.....I had to list my medications andwhen they asked me what the Neuronitn was for.....I replied ,"Vulvodynia" ....and I got a couple of "What did you say ? " and a "VulvoWHAT? from nurses.....female nurses. It is discouraging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I hope you told those nurses to look it up. The other day at my allergist's office the snotty receptionist yelled at me for not signing in. I said, " There was no sign-in sheet when I checked in. " She laughed and said, " Gee, sorry. Next time yell at me and I'll put the sign-in sheet out. " I said, " I get paid to do my job, not yours. If you can't keep track of it I won't do it for you. " She almost died. This was the same woman who kept a patient waiting last week while she chatted to her friend on the phone about how it was almost time for " all those snot nosed kids to come in for their after school allergy shots. " These same nurses also probably go to lunch in their scrubs. After working as a vet tech for years...let me tell you what gets on those scrubs...snot, poop, pee, blood, etc. With all of the outbreaks of drug-resistant staph infections (ie-MRSA) I encourage anybody who is in line out in public next to somebody in scrubs to steer clear. Those scrubs were comfy and pajama like for a reason...so we could change OUT of them after our work day or before going to lunch to prevent the spread of germs and disease. Now people just wear them out in public like a badge of honor and I'm telling you...the first time somebody gets some horrible gross disease that could've been stopped by simple measures such as changing scrubs I hope they hold that person responsible. My husband is a firefighter/EMT and he doesn't even wear his work shoes into the house for fear of transmitting diseases into our home. He doesn't wash his work clothes in our home laundry in order to reduce the spread of things like MRSA or the norovirus. Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. Lindsey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 yeah, I can't even remember the amount of times I've gotten blank stares from doctors and nurses when telling them I have vulvodynia.To: VulvarDisorders From: boiler_bay@...Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:47:35 -0400Subject: Re: It's not just Drs. To say the least. What a sorry world of Medical practice! Tina M. It's not just Drs. In Novemeber and January, I had to have two colonoscopies ! All is wellbut during those two pre-ops and phone interviews and follow ups etc. Ihad several NURSES look like dunces.....I had to list my medications andwhen they asked me what the Neuronitn was for.....I replied ,"Vulvodynia" ....and I got a couple of "What did you say ? " and a "VulvoWHAT? from nurses.....female nurses. It is discouraging. Windows Live Hotmail is giving away Zunes. Enter for your chance to win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Tina said: " What a sorry world of Medical practice! " I don't completely agree with this statement listed above in response to the questions from the Nurses of any doctors' office that might ask " what's that " . I think this is a good opportunity to promote awareness. That's why Medicine is " practice " d because there are always new things coming up. And if we can promote awareness by educating the nurses and doctors in other professions about these conditions then who knows it might just help someone else who goes to them with these symptoms but thinking it's a bowel issue (or whatever other issue) and they can say " Well, have you been checked for such and such " . It's normal that in some specialties like GI they are not going to know what vulvodynia is because their specialty is not the female reproductive system although also learning about vulvodynia will help such as in a GI practice to help their patients if a GI problem is causing pain to radiate to the vulvar area such as in IBS for example. So when we deal with specialties like this where they may not be familiar with this problem let's use this as an opportunity to educate them because by doing this we may help other women that come to them for help. And even though yes it is true that there are doctors (and other medical professionals) that may not take us seriously about our problems there are doctors and others out there that can help. And because of these ones that can help let's cut the Medical profession as a whole some slack because they are still learning just like you and I. Kristy ________________________________________________________________________________\ ____ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Janet said " Isn't it supposed to be their job to educate us, not the other way around " Because patients are becoming more educated about their bodies and their problems the above statement is not always true. A book came out on the subject of what doctors think and showing the differences between doctors as to what they think about patients and was very interesting. It's called " How Doctors Think " by Jerome Groopman, M.D. It's very enlightening and a book I highly recommend to everyone on the list. Also, there are doctors that are out there willing to learn from their patients, especially if the case is a unique one in the hopes that it might help someone else. I don't know how many of you ever watched 7th Heaven (one of my favorite shows of all times) but one of the episodes in the series was when the character Matt was going to go for his psychiatric evaluation as part of the process to enter Medical School. This episode was so funny but there was a lesson in there. When he found out who the one guy he was talking to was he laughed but he learned a lot from that gentleman (yep a hospital patient) and when he actually met with the psychiatrist the doctor told him that the patient that Matt met with was his teacher. What that meant was that the doctor learned something new from that patient in order to better help others that he treated. I think it's wonderful when we can have the chance to educate doctors new to our health care team if we can do it. We shouldn't be afraid to do this. Kristy ________________________________________________________________________________\ ____ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I'd have to agree with . I've gone to a few doctors now where they had no idea what I was talking about. one said they've only heard of vastibulitis in the ear, andother woman asked me if it had something to do withmy blindness, and still others have said it's in my head. Yet I've been taking psych classes for a while. One was my psych of health class, and now it is my abnormal psych class. Both are undergraduate level, but they both mention vulvadinia. Is someone telling me that it's so rair nobody's ever heard of it when It's in books for undergrads? Do they not have to read anymore once they get to graduate school? I think the situation with doctors is more the fact that they can't see it, and they can't make money off of it so they skip over it or don't care. I'm sorry if I seem a bit sinicle. Candi Re: It's not just Drs. I'm not paying my $ to go to a doctor's office to educate them. Nor am I going to a doctor's office to be treated like a second class citizen because the doctor doesn't know what my problem is so instead of looking it up (very easy to do in this day and age of Blackberrys) they insinuate it's in my head without doing a proper psychiatric exam. I would NEVER agree to see a client if I didn't know how to help them or at least feel like I could consult with other clinicians or research on helping them. Some doctors ARE educated by their clients or educate themselves based on the problems that come into their door along with their patients-but because of the male dominated western ways of medicine (very ego-centric and somewhat misogynistic) these doctors are few and far between. Health magazine had a recent article on the "Top 5 Surgeries to Avoid" because they were overdone and unnecessary and often caused more problems than they were worth. Number one was hysterectomy and number two was episiotomy. The other three surgeries affected men and women equally. I don't think it's any big mystery why the top two were gyn surgeries-gyn has long been a specialty of men "practicing" on women things that they would never have to experience. Any woman of childbearing age should watch "The Business of Being Born." It really shows the history of ob-gyns and it's not exactly woman-friendly. I love my gyn and my ob, but they are very woman centered and it took about ten to find the ones I see today. I am all about kindly explaining what vulvodynia is to a nurse or a doctor if I am in the office for something else (ie-GI specialist), but the second I have to do that in a PCP office or ob-gyns office, or if the nurse or doctor makes some smarmy remark ("is that in your head?" "I can't believe women pay me to look at their bottoms") you can bet that I'm out of that office and a complaint is being filed post haste to the licensing board. And I'm getting my co-pay back. I'm a human being, as we all are. Many of us on this board are in pain 24/7 and have not been helped by a misogynistic western medical system-we have been hurt more by them. Your doctors aren't gods, they are human beings and the second they start treating you like less than one I highly suggest you take your power back...leave the office, file a complaint, and most of all DO NOT PAY for a huge waste of your time. Lindsey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 It just STINKS to have a condition(s) where the medical community doesn't have definite answers! And one where they have a lack of interest in learning about your condition. I've lost a lot of faith in doctors over the years...and after having vulvodynia, I have learned just how 'human' doctors are! On the other hand, though, I've learned to be an advocate for myself. I've learned to speak up - and not sit there passively as a doctor tells me anything they like. I challenge their thoughts and ask them WHY they think this or that might work or not work. I throw out my ideas of what I think - and I ultimately decide what I will and won't try. I am not a guinea pig! Before you ever go to an appt. remind yourself that 'your' time is valuable - that it's your body, your money and your Insurance paying for the visits. I'm not a smart-aleck, but I do ask questions and throw out my thoughts and suggestions. There is so much experience and education on these groups...and especially here on the Vulvar Disorders. I have learned more ONLINE from other women going through this, then I ever have from ALL the docs I've seen and that has been MANY over the years. I don't think I expect 'every' medical person to automatically KNOW about vulvar pain. But I make sure I say it enough that before I leave an office, they KNOW I have suffered from VULVAR PAIN. *grin* I'll practically tell anyone that will listen. Family, friends, docs, nurses, etc. PLEASE don't give up! Don't listen to docs or anybody that tries to tell you that you will NEVER be well! Some might say, 'well I'd rather be realistic and just accept my pain without the hope of getting well', -- I just cannot do that, I choose to believe otherwise. I get tired, angry, frustrated, I allow myself to have a good cry here and there - but overall I stay filled with HOPE. Isn't that why we are on these groups? I mean, if we have no hope, we would not even bother trying to find info to help - even online! Listen to your body, pay close attention. We women are so intuitive - trust your God-given instincts! I did that and I am about 80-90% better from the Vulvar pain. I have a couple of hurdles left with v.pain - and I'm still trying! I have Pudendal Neuralgia pain and IC too- but I am DETERMINED to beat this crap! Hang in there Ladies, life is too short not to hold on to HOPE! Love, Chelle PS - I developed Vulvar Pain 16 yrs. ago (March '92) at the ripe old age of 20! I turned 36 yesterday - and it's been the past three years that I've seen the biggest difference in my vulvar pain. Don't give up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 said: " I couldn't of said it any better myself . I agree with you 200% and I'm so fed up with having to explain what VVS is and PFD to nurses.... " Several of you ladies say that you are tired of having to explain what vulvodynia and its different categories are such as vestibulodynia and PFD are to nurses and others, but yet you talk about wanting to get the word out about what these conditions are. And one of the ways to do that is to get the word out to these people. I have one question for you ladies. If you all are so tired of trying to tell these people in the Medical community what vulvodynia and its subcategories are as to what they can do then why the push to get this mentioned on Oprah's show and other shows so that more money can be put out to try and find the answer to what causes vulvodynia so that there become better treatments and diagnostic methods for future generations? And yes, sometimes we do pay these doctors to help them learn how to help other patients in our situations. Why is it that in the Medical Schools have clinical years for 3rd and 4th year students where they have to learn how to work with the patients and not go just based on text books? Kristy ________________________________________________________________________________\ ____ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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