Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: I had another horrible experience today with a new GI

I'm so sorry your doctor was so awful. And after waiting 2 months to see him, the letdown at not being helped must have been devastating.

More specifically, his refusal to do an endoscopy and colonoscopy just doesn't sound right. I mean, forget being humane or decent or caring; it just doesn't sound right medically. I thought a colonoscopy, in particular, would be standard operating procedure for anyone with bowel problems. Gosh, what a doofus!

I've got a list of suggestions, but if you're not in the market for advice, just stop reading right here. Have some herbal tea, take a nap, read a trashy novel, have a good cry, do whatever will make you feel a little better.

Suggestions:

You can try checking this thread to see if anyone has listed a good doctor near you. There's also a suggestion in there about finding a doctor by asking an IBS hypnotherapist. Surely there must be a million hypnotherapists in a place like California.

You can also considering letting this crummy doctor know how you felt about the way he treated you. I'm not very good at doing that face-to-face myself, but I find that writing a letter - it doesn't have to be rude or ugly, just straightforward - helps a lot when I'm feeling beat up and powerless. (I wish I could be more like my friend who tried to incite a riot in his orthopedist's office after being kept waiting for over an hour. I think he deserves a medal.)

The next time you make an appointment with any doctor to discuss your symptoms, you can emphasize to the person making the appointment that you have a lot of questions and want to schedule an extended appointment. You can also ask to see the doctor in his/her office rather than in an examining room. I've tried both of these a few times and it occasionally works.

If you have - or can find - a good primary care physician, she might be a great resource, too. Even if she's not as technically knowledgeable about the latest and greatest treatments as a GI guy, she might be more willing to take time and explain things. My Family Practitioner has been a big help through all kinds of stuff; even when I was seeing what felt like every specialist in the book, I liked seeing her because she would always listen.

Last, but not least, talk to someone about how much despair you're feeling. Maybe your husband, maybe your clergy, maybe a close friend or family member, maybe your primary care physician. A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved. You shouldn't try to carry this all by yourself if someone else can shoulder a little of the burden.

Good luck.

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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]

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