The doctor saga....the promised story...
So a few days ago (CD 13) I wrote about my sadness...I was having a rough day. The kids at school were awful, and I had to stay an extra 2 hours at work just to get all caught up from the madness that ensued in my classroom that day. I came home, and spent quite a large amount of time Googling new medical PCOS research... looking for research cases in my area... grasping for straws.
From here on, CAUTION, serious TMI warning...
Around 8:30, I go to take a shower, use the restroom, and there's blood. Not the spotting I've been having since CD 11...blood...as in, bright red, period style. My first thought? WTF. So I hop in the shower to think things over, and decide to call my mom. She's an RN, and while originally didn't approve of my self-medicating techniques to treat PCOS, she's come quite a way, and is beginning to realize I'm not talking out of my ass. She says, call the on call doctor. She's thinking since my last cycle was sooooo long, that perhaps I really am pregnant, and since I'm not getting any positive pregnancy tests, perhaps it's something to call the doctor about since it's possible it could be an ectopic pregnancy.
Fast forward 5 minutes, and now I'm freaking out...So I call the answering service for the doctor, and after waiting on hold for 7 minutes (no joke - hope it's not a real emergency), the lady says the doctor will call back. She calls back after a short wait, and the madness ensues. Here is a rough transcription of the call:
Doctor: This is doctor _______
Me: Thank you for calling me back.
(silence)
Me: So I'm calling because I'm not sure if I need to be seen right away or not.
(silence) My mom, she's an RN, thought I should -
Doctor: How old are you?
Me: Me? I'm 30
Doctor: Okay, continue...
Me: Okay...Well, I've been treated for PCOS since I was 14 and went of birth control last June. I've had erratic cycle lengths since. My last cycle was 72 days, which ended on January 21. I'm now on day 13, and am experiencing bright red bleeding. The only thing that has changes is I've been taking a vitamin for blood sugar that ---
Doctor: Yes, Metformin
Me: Umm, no, it's a vitimin that helps level out the sugar levels.
Doctor: So let me get this straight. You've always had irregular cycles, your last cycle was 72 days, and you're bleeding today, which is day 13?
Me: That's correct. I just wondered if there was a reason to be concerned by this. It is highly---
Doctor: Are you hemmoraging? Bleeding down the leg? Dripping on the floor?
Me: Ummm, no.
Doctor: So you've always had irregular cycles and your paging me because you are having an irregular cycle and are concerned?
Me: Well, I know my body fairly well, I use a ferning test and an ovulation kit as well as charting to confirm ovulation, so I know up until last cycle everything was okay. This bleeding today is not okay.
Doctor: Mam, I am a conservative doctor. I believe you are going about getting pregnant all the wrong ways. Who is even giving you these ferning tests? How are they being administered?
Me: Um, by me?
Doctor: And how are you perfoming these ovulation kits?
Me: Look, you lick a slide and look for ferning under a microscope, and you pee on a stick. I don't understand what you are saying. These are both available at your local CVS.
Doctor: It is my opinion that you are going about this the wrong way. Unless you are bleeding down your leg and onto the floor, this does not constitute an emergency. You are having an irregular cycle. My suggestion is to start paying attention to the days you bleed and the days you spot, write it down, and in 4 months if you are still irregular, you may want to come in and have your thyroid checked and have some bloodwork done.
Me: I've had PCOS since I was 14.
Doctor: This does not change my suggestion.
Me: Okay, ummm, thank you? (And I hang up on her)
So after wanting to throw the phone at the wall, and then sobbing because I feel I now know more than the medical community, and in the off chance I actually DO have an emergency, I am basically screwed.
So I am upset both at the rudeness of the doctor and the insinuation that I was both crazy at my efforts and stupid that she needed to talk down to me. I was not taken seriously, and this upsets me. I want her fired.
Fast forward 24 hours...
I got the chance to talk to my REAL doctor who called me from the office, and after describing the situation, said this is WONDERFUL news. She actually said that... She said my body is gearing up to ovulate, and the real spike I experienced from estrogen is nothing like my body has ever experienced. She believes the bleeding (which stopped as suddenly as it started Wednesday morning) was estrogen withdraw bleeding as my spike ended and the LH took over. She thinks this means my body might be normalizing. I was a bit in disbelief until I went home and got a + ovulation predictor test. The only other time I've gotten a TRUE positive was when an ovulation actually happened last cycle (not gearing up to ovulate and then fail). I've had ovulation pains for the last 24 hours. The only thing that makes me wonder is I've only had partial ferning for the last few days. Who knows?
So.... what do you think about ALL THAT?????
I think that doctor you spoke to on the phone should be hunted down and shot. Well... at least she (SHE! the whole time i was reading that until the end i was assuming it was a man - the fact that it was a woman is somehow even more insulting) should be fired... and should apologize to every patients she's ever spoken to in that way.
ReplyDeleteAnd... I think the DCI is working for you! Congratulations on impending ovulation! On a "NORMAL" day!!!
WOW! I also thought the entire time you were talking about a male doctor...even more disappointing for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar conversation with the nurse at my doctor's office. Not NEARLY as bad but she treated me as a though I was a child and I was SO livid that it ruined my entire day. On my first round of Clomid, the nurse who relayed the info mentioned in passing that I could come and do a progesterone level check at CD20-22 and that test would be able to tell if the Clomid worked or not. She did NOT say I needed to come in for the test...it was posed as a suggestion. I didn't get to do the test b/c CD20 and CD21 were a Saturday and Sunday and I had a deadline at work on Monday so I just never went...and since it was merely a suggestion... When I called in for my second dose of Clomid after AF showed up, I got the third degree from the nurse about how I didn't come in for a progesterone level check. I told her repeatedly that no one told me it was mandatory. I was then told, "well i'm marking this down on your chart and if you do not come in this month, the Nurse Practicioner will NOT give you another prescription for Clomid!" That's an abbreviated version of the lecture but the most insulting thing was that she made it sound like I thought this was some sort of 'game' and if I couldn't follow instruction, than I wasn't mature enough for a child anyway. UNBELIEVABLE! (sigh)
The only thing I can think of is that they see a ton of people who don't have a clue and think they know things and that's frustrating for them? I know, its no excuse. But at the time I was trying to justify the rudeness b/c my brain could not compute the behavior.
I am SO ecstatic about the doctor's prognosis of the bleeding though. FANTASTIC!!!!! I almost just did a little dance for you when I read what she told you. You almost have me convinced to give myself a 'break' from Clomid if this cycle doesn't work and stick to the DCI.
Congrats on your normality. :-D
Annoying and rude to the first Dr!!!! Awesome to your conversation with your doctor!! :) Seriously, we must get together. Saturday late afternoon? This needs celebrating! :)
ReplyDelete