I moved have to find a new doctor, in the 3 months in the new state I have been in the hospital 4 times. Once I stayed 4 days!!! The doctor says even after talking to my past doctor! She says you don't look like you have lupus! Really? And wants to take me off my meds!!! What do I do now? I am so stressed. Over this please help me.......
I am so sorry you are going through this! I know all to well the feeling. I had to stop care at Mayo because of the expenses and get doctors closer to home. Mayo said I had Lupus and when I transferred care they were all telling me I dont have it. Although my primary agrees and my kidney doctor is starting to change his mind on it as well. So I hope you can find a doctor that you can start and knows what they are doing! Wish you the best of luck! :)
Keep looking, Luppy, for a doctor that fits. It may have to be an internist rather then a rheumy. I have been going thru the same thing after a move and I refuse to go back to the rheumy. 3 other doctors that I see have all told me there isn't a good rheumy is this city! Soooo, for now my PCP is ordering the tests every 3 months and if anything changes then I will have to find someone. If necessary I will go back to Chicago area as needed. Good luck!
I have no suggestions (but I'm not implying that your situation is hopeless!), but I definitely understand. It can be so insulting and frustrating to have a doctor not believe you. There will be a better day..can't tell you when, but there will be!
The manner in which this Doctor is treating you is actually a breach of the American Medical Board Code of Conduct and Ethics. You can look it up and go through the Code and you will be surprised how unprofessional these Doctors are.
It happened to me so many times and I kept reading about the same thing happening to other Auto Immune Disease patients. We all need to advocate for ourselves. If possible always take someone with you, even if it's someone not really interested. Just the fact that there is a witness to the consultation will make Doctors sit up and treat you with more respect. Let them see you taking down notes as if keeping a diary. Don't hesitate to record ANYTHING they say to you.
We are paying these people for a service and too many times we come out of the consultation upset and discouraged. No other industry would keep paying for such sloppy work. We go there to get answers not to be judged on our appearance. A lot of people don't realise that we have the right to be believed. They accuse us of wanting pain relief to get high yet we are not criminals and there is no evidence that we have been injecting. Challenge any Doctor that does that to prove that you are abusing if they accuse you of it. Our pain is a big part of our symptoms and there are consequences for not getting respite from chronic pain.
We need to recognise that Doctors who treat their patients with disrespect are doing us harm. (stress) They pledge 'DO NO HARM' I was told many Doctors see so much death in Uni that they lose all empathy for patients in pain before they even start to practice. Not good enough. I'll stop now. Lol
Best wishes
Kittyhorse