Where is Dr. House when you need him?
Jun. 8th, 2010 11:46 amToday I called the Neurology Center and was given a hard time about making an appointment without a referral. The lady said the doctor I wanted to see was by referral only. I suppose I could trudge back to Columbus to see my G.P. yet again and get one but I didn't really want to spend the time or money since he doesn't seem to have any idea what is wrong with me besides hypothyroidism. She offered the first available appointment which was for near the end of the month with a random doctor from their inventory. I took it but then I looked the dude up on the internets.
And guess what??? It was the jackass of a doctor who treated my sleeping disorder about 15 years ago. At the time, I slept what I would call fine except I always woke up with a searing headache and thought I might have sleep apnea like my biological father. The sleep test revealed that my brain woke up every 2-3 minutes. I would open my eyes briefly and look around then go back to sleep for another 2-3 minutes over and over for most of the night (which explains why I always looked at the time on the alarm clock hundreds of times per night, which was normal for me and I had never thought anything of it). So there was no official diagnosis but the doctor seemed flabbergasted that I said I slept fine and that was normal for me. So he tried putting me on a couple medicines, all of which made me feel extremely weird or bad or nauseated. After the third one, I called him to complain and he said, in a really condescending tone, "I put little old ladies on this stuff and they are fine!" as if I were crazy, which just reaffirmed for me that he had no clue how to treat my issue and would in all likelihood never get one. So I hung up on him and never went back. After some research I found the book 5-HTP: The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia by Michal Murray, N.D. (talk about a title jumping out at you :P) which explained symptoms exactly like mine were due to low serotonin levels in the brain. As the book suggested, I treated my sleeping problem myself with 5-HTP and never had a recurrence of looking around hundreds of times a night or waking up with a terrible headache every morning. I was on 5-HTP for a year.
Anyway I called back and canceled the appointment!!!! The lady asked why and I told her that I had seen that doctor previously and was unsatisfied with the treatment, without going into detail. This time I asked if there was a doctor who was familiar with myasthenia gravis which is what I think I need to be checked for (well, ONE of the things I need to be checked for). This time she was much nicer and gave me an appointment with one of the docs who is a D.O. which I feel better about seeing compared with an M.D. They can't get me in until July, however :/ Unless someone cancels their appointment.
And guess what??? It was the jackass of a doctor who treated my sleeping disorder about 15 years ago. At the time, I slept what I would call fine except I always woke up with a searing headache and thought I might have sleep apnea like my biological father. The sleep test revealed that my brain woke up every 2-3 minutes. I would open my eyes briefly and look around then go back to sleep for another 2-3 minutes over and over for most of the night (which explains why I always looked at the time on the alarm clock hundreds of times per night, which was normal for me and I had never thought anything of it). So there was no official diagnosis but the doctor seemed flabbergasted that I said I slept fine and that was normal for me. So he tried putting me on a couple medicines, all of which made me feel extremely weird or bad or nauseated. After the third one, I called him to complain and he said, in a really condescending tone, "I put little old ladies on this stuff and they are fine!" as if I were crazy, which just reaffirmed for me that he had no clue how to treat my issue and would in all likelihood never get one. So I hung up on him and never went back. After some research I found the book 5-HTP: The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia by Michal Murray, N.D. (talk about a title jumping out at you :P) which explained symptoms exactly like mine were due to low serotonin levels in the brain. As the book suggested, I treated my sleeping problem myself with 5-HTP and never had a recurrence of looking around hundreds of times a night or waking up with a terrible headache every morning. I was on 5-HTP for a year.
Anyway I called back and canceled the appointment!!!! The lady asked why and I told her that I had seen that doctor previously and was unsatisfied with the treatment, without going into detail. This time I asked if there was a doctor who was familiar with myasthenia gravis which is what I think I need to be checked for (well, ONE of the things I need to be checked for). This time she was much nicer and gave me an appointment with one of the docs who is a D.O. which I feel better about seeing compared with an M.D. They can't get me in until July, however :/ Unless someone cancels their appointment.