I barely had any voice by Sunday night's OEA show.I’ve had sinus infections every year for as long as I can remember & my voice sometimes turns into that sexy raspy voice we all enjoy for a few days, but I had never lost my voice entirely. I am certain this was more than okay with a few folks.
I went to the doctor on Monday, Valentine’s Day, and I got my usual antibiotic prescription of Zithromax. Same shit, different year. He advised me to rest my vocal chords & quit trying to talk or I was going to make it worse.
While I was there though, I decided I needed to approach the subject of my left foot, or leg; I still wasn’t sure. I described the weakness in my left leg & how I felt like my toe was dragging during walks. After that, these were my exact words to my doctor whom I had been seeing for years and really liked & trusted:
“Just between you & me, I had an MS scare about 15 years ago. I had Optic Neuritis & was told that could be the first symptom of MS. My doctor at that time said he wasn’t going to mention MS in my medical records because I would never get insured if he did.”
Well I don’t know if he doesn’t know what “just between you & me” actually means or if maybe he couldn’t hear me due to the laryngitis, but I’m thinking he’s just an asshole. I’ll explain.
He did a neurological exam, which was nothing more than a reflex test, a grip test & a resistant test. He concluded that I had normal deep tendon reflexes in the upper & lower extremities, a strong grip & good strength in my legs. He then referred me to a neurologist & had the nurse schedule the appointment for me a few days later.
I went home and now, 13 years later, searching the internet was a built in reflex so I started researching MS. The very first site I went to said “Do not let anyone diagnose you with MS until you get all the insurance you can”. I have health insurance, but I don’t have Long Term Care insurance in case I need assisted living when I get older. So I immediately called the doctor’s office back & told the nurse that I was thinking of delaying the appointment w/ the neurologist until I got things set up, just in case I got a diagnosis of MS. She checked w/ the doctor & he agreed that I should wait until benefits are in place.
There was no mention that he already mentioned MS in my file, therefore ruining my chances of getting any coverage.
After I researched more, I started getting curious about what the doctor actually wrote in my file. I called the doctor’s office & asked the nurse if she could tell me what it actually said. He mentioned I was having leg weakness AND that I had Optic Neuritis AND that I had an MS scare about 15 years ago. It was all there. What part of “just between you & me” did he NOT understand??
I called back to ask the nurse if he could remove his comment. She said he could not. After stressing out about it for a week, I called again and asked that the doctor please call me. He did & I tried to speak to him rationally about what he put in my file & I asked him to remove it. He didn’t say “I can’t remove it”. He said “I won’t remove it”. So that says to me that he really could have, but that he just wasn't willing to. I was upset & started crying. He asked what the problem was. REALLY?? I said he just ruined my chances of EVER getting Long Term Care insurance. Because I was upset & crying he actually said, “Vicki, there seems to be more going on here(in such a condescending way) & you just need to come in & see me”. WHAT?? He was implying that I was depressed & emotionally unstable. Who wouldn’t be upset when facing a debilitating disease & not being able to get coverage??
I said I would explain why I thought he was an asshole. I think I have done that, have I not? I wish that doctor would've kept HIS lips zipped!
Wow! I really dislike most doctors. I have had nothing but issues with them in my life and I don't have any major medical problems at least not yet! knock on wood! Having to go through this is bad enough let alone having an inconsiderate non-compassionate doctor!
ReplyDelete