I swear. Now-a-days you can't be a young person going to the doctor to compain about chronic back pain without being a labeled a drug addict.
Yesterday I went to a neurologicial back doctor to have my back checked out. I was referred by a co-worker of my mom's to a doctor that ended up being a neurologicial surgeon so I was then sent to another doctor in that same office. Problem is I'm not looking to get surgery and this was an office full of surgeons. The co-worker of my mom's clearly misunderstood her when she asked for the name of a great back doctor.
I got in early and filled out all the forms they gave me including a chart of your back where you were to mark areas of pain such as stabbing, burning and aching. The picture of my back was covered in A's and S's all over my neck and up and down my spine. When I got in to see the doctor he asked me questions about my back pain, types of medications I take (and when I told him I take 6-12 ibuprofen a day to reduce my back pain he proceeded to tell me that I should really be getting regular liver and kidney screenings, yeah like everyone does that), what I believe to be the cause of my back problems, questions about my personal life and daughter (which I thought were innapropriate and had nothing to do with my back problems), etc. He then did an "exam" where he checked my reflexes and my range of motion. He did not however feel my spine or my neck, which are my issues and the reason I was there.
Once the exam was over we talked about his evaluation of my problem. First he told me that he didn't think an MRI was necessary. I told him I would like one. He told me that they were very expensive. Thanks, I do have insurance and AFLAC that will pay out $150 when I get an MRI. Then he suggested I go to Physical Therapy which I would be happy to go too, but he referred me to a place that doesn't even exist anymore so now my referral means nothing. Finally he prescribed me a pill called Nortiptyline. This medicine is most commonly used as an anti-depressant, but sometimes used for chronic pain. The side effects he said I may get include increased appetite, drowsiness and make you more sensitive to sunlight. Upon researching the drug I also discovered that when you drink alcohol (which I told him I do about 3-4 times a week, a glass of wine or so) and take this medication, it increases your chance of having suicidal thoughts. That might've been a good thing to mention and I'm sorry, but none of those side effects work for me. The more serious side effects that I have not listed are even more unappealing.
I walked out of there in tears. Not one thing had been accomplished in the hour I spent in that doctors office. And now I have to spend even more of my time calling my insurance company to get suggestions on how to get out of paying for this appointment. I then need to call the billing department at the doctor's office to get out of paying. Not paying comes from my mom. This man treated me as if my pain was fake and just to poo-poo me away, which I don't think I should have to pay for.
I don't even know how to end this. I'm just frustrated with the situation and frustrated with the reality of being a young person who has conditions of an older person. I got my gall bladder out at 19. That is not a common thing to have removed before your 40. I got ignored and treated like a opiate addict every time I went in to the E.R. even though I was doubling over in pain that felt like someone was shoving a large knife into my stomach and twisting it. I visited the E.R. four times before getting taken seriously. At the end of it all they told me that if I had not had my gall bladder removed when I did, it would have exploded within a week because I was only releasing 3% bile versus the normal 97%.
Doctors and their ignorance astound me.
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