Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

So sorry you're feeling like this again!

No one here is sick of you. We just all wish you could get the relief you deserve.

Haven't read through all the responses, but everyone has some great ideas. I do have to say that this new guy is a JERK! Just as much as the other one! And I refuse to believe that your old GI DIDN'T say anything about you to him. I used to work in hospitals and for most doctors, patient confidentiality was a joke. Doctors would talk in loud voices not caring who would overhear, or talk to each other about patients. I worked in IT and it was like I was invisible to them. One time I was working on an internist's computer (who spent a lot of time on a website with "lonely Russian women") and saw the nurse usher the patient into the exam room across the hall. The internist sat there and read the paper (since I was working on the PC) until he finally got up and ambled into the exam room like he'd been busily studying the patient's chart. Ugh! For every good doctor, there's about 137 bad ones!

You can't give up, you have to keep trying doctors until you find someone who can help you. Is there anyone not in the practice that's covered by your insurance? What about going to a doctor in another city?

Going to a university hospital or some place like the Mayo Clinic doesn't necessarily mean your condition is "that awful" -- it just means your doctors have been "that awful". A friend of mine ended up going to the Mayo Clinic after years of problems. They found her problem and fixed it. I hated the GI I was initially referred to, so I went back to my GP and was referred to the University of Iowa's Health Clinic. They are supposed to be really good and one of the GIs is supposedly an expert on Crohn's. It took me months to get in. I really wasn't crazy about the GI I ended up seeing. I tried to make myself feel good about it for a couple weeks by telling myself that at least he listened to me, but even then, the listening was punctuated with questions that made me feel like I was making it all up. So even if you DO end up going to a university hospital or whatever, you may end up with another cruddy doc -- so don't feel too bad if it's just not feasible to go somewhere like that.

Like others said, I think it is imperative that you get a good PCP. A PCP who cares about you is worth twenty rotten GIs. A PCP can also order a lot of the same tests, too. The best doctors I've ever had are women who work in "family-friendly" clinics. I actually see a PA and love her.

I also second (third/fourth/fifth/whatever) the thoughts of getting therapy. Even if it's not as much as you want.

Wish I could do more to help!

I did mail you the hypno CDs today, so hopefully you'll get them Friday. Take care!

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jen

"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC

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