My first bitch on the blog concerns doctors. I'm not sure why I continually pick callous medical professionals, but from what I hear, others have the same problem, especially in Texas. Example one: A friend once had a doctor once give her a routine pap smear and, with face buried in her vagina, ask her if she was having safe sex. When she told her, "Yes," the doctor proceeded to ask her if she even knew what safe sex meant. (The woman is 28). Friend replies that she did know, and the doctor tells her that she's going to test for every type of venereal disease since "young women of today can't seem to keep their legs shut." I had a similar experience with a urologist in Texas, who refused to look at my kidney stone on the CT scan, dismissing it as "just another UTI for girls who can't stay virgins until they are married." After that, he forcefully shoved a catheter up me to get a "clean sample," and when I complained about the pain, he said, "Good, that will teach you." All of this happened while the female nurse watched to make sure nothing went awry. Finally, he looks at the CT scan and says, "oh, you really did have a kidney stone."
Of course, I can't completely blame the South...I did have a doctor in Chicago hand me his card and tell me that he was opening a new plastic surgery clinic and could "fix my disaster of a face." This was during a check up for strep throat.
Yesterday, I come in for a physical and ask for bloodwork because my mom was recently diagnosed (by the same doctor) with hypothyroidism, and I wanted to check out my levels since it can be passed on from mother to daughter. Of course, preventative healthcare is virtually unheard of in this country, so the doctor begins to barrage me with questions: "Why do you think that you have a thyroid problem? Were you ever hospitalized for thyroid problems, etc.? " I told her that I didn't know if I had one, but I wanted to check where my levels were and do a basic metabolic panel because I'm exhausted all the time and have started retaining water weight. (Big mistake. Docs hate it when you use "them big medical type words"). The doctor, an approximate size 12 or 14, proceeds to get up and in my face and says, "As far as your weight goes, 60% of all Americans are obese, and Houston is the fattest city, so that should explain exactly why you have a weight problem. Do you even exercise?" Now, I never said I had a weight problem, and I explained to her that I had been dancing in a company up until I broke my foot and that since I can't find a good studio here, I have started training to walk a marathon. She laughs and exclaims that "walking a marathon is worthless. No wonder you can't lose weight. THIN people RUN marathons." She then leaves, and I'm left with a $180 bill for absolutely nothing, and when I quietly but assertively complain, they usher me out as if I was a madwoman. What the hell?
Labels: doctors
