how to get a doctor to take you seriously?
#304951 - 04/14/07 01:38 PM
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Hi everyone,
I'm sure you've all answered this question a bunch of times, but I searched the boards and couldn't find it exactly. So, sorry to be repetitive!
I have been to two doctors about my bowel trouble, and both of them have immediately diagnosed me with IBS, the first performing no tests at all, and giving no dietary recommendations except "lots of fiber." The second doc requested a number of blood and stool samples and ran a bunch of tests, which were all fine, so he also said IBS (again, no recommendations on how to deal with it). However, on discovering this site and board, I've slowly begun to realize that there are a whole bunch of things I haven't been tested for, so I've finally made an appointment with my university health service to get a firmer diagnosis.
My problem is, I'm afraid they won't take me seriously and won't run the tests I need---and I myself am not really sure which ones I need!
This is Heather's list of things to rule out:
Colon and carcinoid cancer
Inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis)
Bowel obstructions
Diverticulosis / Diverticulitis
Gallstones
Food allergies
Celiac (a genetic, autoimmune disorder resulting in gluten intolerance)
Bacterial infections
Intestinal parasites
Endometriosis
Ovarian cancer
As a 21-year-old woman, do I need all of those? I feel like they'll laugh at me if I hand them this list. Colon cancer? Ovarian cancer?
I know most of you have been through this--did you all get all the recommended tests? How did your doctor react? Please advise--my appointment is on Thursday.
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Hi Hazelnut,
My first 2 GI Drs. did not run any test before announcing IBS and telling me to eat more fiber. The company I work for switched to a new health insurance company. When I went for my first visit with the "new" PCP, I told him my "symptoms" and the experience I had with the first 2 GI Drs. I then turned to him and said "I can't live like this any longer. Do you get my drift?" His eyes got big and he ordered xrays of my abdomen. When we looked at the Xrays together, the only think he said is, "Oh my God, you are full of [censored]." We both started laughing, but he then took me seriously. With in the week I had an appointment with a GI Dr. that ran all the test that Heather suggests before she said "You have IBS with constipation" She also said that she really didn't know how to treat me, and that I would probably find more help researching it myself. I found this site and all the helpful advice from those who have been there.
You don't say what exactly you are going through, but it is very important to have all the test run before a diagnoses of IBS is reached.
Hope that helps.
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Snookie, IBS-C
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Quote:
the only think he said is, "Oh my God, you are full of [censored]."
A doc with both a sense of humor and a the intent to actually help you seems to be a rare find. I got a good laugh out of this. I'm glad you found someone who was willing to try to help you.
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Every single thing on that list needs to be ruled out. IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion which means there is no one test for it, rather you have to test for everything else and when nothing can be found, they slap you with the IBS label.
The only way to find a doc that will take you seriously is to keep going to new docs until one does. Be very straight forward when you talk to them, I mean extremely blunt. The more you candy coat, the less seriously they'll take it. If you suffer from D, cramps, and gas, look that doc in the eye and say "I am constantly suffering from diarrhea, cramping, and gas. I need to have all of these things ruled out (hand him/her the list). I can't live with this any longer. I need YOUR help. Don't ask what s/he thinks it may be. Tell them what you need. If they won't listen, leave, even if it's still in the middle of the appt., and go try a new doc.
Sounds harsh, but no one else is going to get these things done for you, and in the unlikely event that it is something more serious, there isn't any time to putz around.
And more note, don't feel like they'll laugh at you. You DESERVE good health. You deserve, just like everyone else, to be pain free. And the medical community exists to realize that. Never feel bad or embarrassed, no matter what.
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Hi Hazel,
I am 23 and had a hard time convincing my dr. that I needed all of the tests that I wanted done. When I first got my symptoms I would go every two months and my dr. would tell me it was stress, or the left over results of a stomach virus. I went in with the information found on here and was able to intelligently and firmly explain what I WANTED DONE, regardless of her objections. It was then that she started to take me seriously.
Just stand your ground and be firm,
Good Luck
shannon
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thank you all so much. I really appreciate the support. 
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In Holland you have places (like where i live and where im gonna live) you get stuck with a doctor and cant change unless you move. My doctor i have now doesnt take me really seriously (my hospital doctor only slightly more and did atleast do bloodworks and a colonscopy). We are moving in two weeks so im getting a new doc and im doing your approach this time. Hopefully it will work better.
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I went to two internest who both said I have IBS. I finally went to a GI and he too says I have IBS. I asked him about doing tests but he doesn't feel they are necessary. He did bloodwork and that was all fine. After talking about my symptoms he said I am textbook IBS and too young to go through more invasive tests. He was actually pushing on my abdomen last week while examining me and said he could feel the stool in my intestines and actually move it. I don't know if I should be more insistent on tests or keep following the diet which seems to help. I figured if it was something else then the diet might not help
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yeah, that sounds exactly like my situation (minus the pushing on abdomen part. they did palpate my abdomen and said it felt very healthy). the first doctor also said that since I have had some IBS symptoms for most of my life (I was a chronically constipated child), it's clearly IBS--even though the symptoms have gotten much worse in the last few years, and a lot of new ones have popped up. So I'm still confused as to whether I should press for all the tests.
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A change in symptoms, especially any dramatic ones, warrants a trip to the doc in my opinion. Just because you have IBS doesn't mean that you couldn't also develop something else in time.
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Quote:
too young to go through more invasive tests
On more than one occasion, I have been diagnosed with something, and had the doc that diagnosed me tell me "You're too young for this...". Well, obviously not if I have it. While it may be highly unlikely that the problem is something other than IBS, it certainly isn't impossible. This diet can help things other than just IBS. You just never know until you have the tests done. I've heard of people finding out that they never even had IBS, just a food allergy that was being avoided because it wasn't included in the EFI diet. Or having IBS in conjunction with something else that IBS mimics.
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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I hope it works for you, too.
We have to remember to be very direct without being rude. There was a nurse at one of the group meetings here that told us that even she, as a nurse, has trouble getting in to doctors in the hospital she works in! Unbelievable. 
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Update
#307058 - 05/11/07 02:21 PM
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Thanks so much to everyone who responded to this thread with encouragement and advice. I went to my college health services, who agreed that I should have more tests run to confirm IBS diagnosis. I tested negative for liver and kidney problems, anemia, and celiac, and they referred me to the gastroenterology clinic at the hospital, where I went today. The doctor was pretty dismissive--said it sounded exactly like IBS and with all the lab work I've had done, anything else would have shown up...but he did agree to schedule me for an x-ray next week. He also prescribed me an anti-spasmodic and Miralax, which I'm kind of skeptical about--the Miralax is because the anti-spasmodic is constipating, but since I alternate between C and D, I'm leery of a stool softener. We'll see...
Oh, he also said there was no reason I should give up dairy, even though I told him my stomach always hurts as soon as I drink milk or eat ice cream (cheese, weirdly, not at all, though I'm trying to cut it out per Heather's guidelines). Sometimes I wonder if doctors even hear what you say...
Anyway, thanks again for the support!!
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Quote:
Oh, he also said there was no reason I should give up dairy, even though I told him my stomach always hurts as soon as I drink milk or eat ice cream (cheese, weirdly, not at all, though I'm trying to cut it out per Heather's guidelines). Sometimes I wonder if doctors even hear what you say...
I'd give up the dairy, especially if you hurt when you eat it. Sadly, the vast majority of docs I've been to haven't listened to a word I've said. 
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Oh, I'm definitely sticking with no dairy. It just irritated me that he would argue with me about giving it up--it seems like even if there's no medical reason for it, if a patient says "milk gives me bad stomach cramps," then you shouldn't try to convince them to drink it anyway.
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--------------------
***********************
If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Re: Update
#307339 - 05/15/07 12:49 PM
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catnut
Reged: 04/08/07
Posts: 106
Loc: Kentucky, USA
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Glad to hear you were able to get some tests done. There are just too many illnesses out there that mimic one another to take a chance guess on your diagnosis. I use miralax because I'm C but I don't use the whole dosage as it makes me loose as a goose. I only use about 1 Tblsp a day which I now put on my cereal with the acacia fiber or it works well in the peppermint tea. Try peppermint capsules and tea and you won't have to use the anti-spasmodics except for your severe times.
You know your body better than anyone. If something doesn't taste good of feel good when you eat it then your body is telling you something and you should listen. I've found that if something doesn't taste right to me I better stay away from it(and some days that even means chocolate). If I do eat it I wind up with issues and tell myself I told you so. dum, dum, dum. My husband can handle some cheeses, low fat ice cream but not much else that is dairy. If it has been "processed/cooked" in some way he can digest it. I don't use any milk based cheese now except for grated parmesean cheese. Do what makes you feel the best.
A colonoscopy was my final test to determine IBS. It was clean, pink and wonderful except for all the bits of mucus hanging around. Once the scope reached the bend in the colon it went crazy. Keep on asking questions and trying to find answers. Talk to a different doctor if you need to as each one is human and they all know different aspects of medicine. IBS is unfortunatly not one they know a lot about or why it's happening. There's no real meds to give you to solve the issue. Heather's book was my breakthrough for me and finding even more answers to what my gut was complaining about. Keep searching.
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Catnut IBS-C for many years, finally diagnosed in 2005. Wheat and dairy sensative.
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