Yeah, but that information was on that piece of paper they made me fill out in the waiting room where you have to try and write on the corner of the side desk or bend your foot to your knees and try and write on the side of your shoe

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FruitOfTheVineFruit@reddit

Yes. I've had a few times where I had recurring infections, several months apart, but similar symptoms, and I knew which antibiotic had worked the previous time. I've also had bad reactions to a couple of antibiotics in the past, so I prefer to avoid antibiotics in that class.

Also the constant ads.

"Ask your doctor about..."

Cognitively, it soon becomes "Tell your doctor about..."

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Ok_whatever_130@reddit

🎯🎯🎯

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calpianwishes@reddit

Yes this!!

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Monkeynutz_Johnson@reddit

My experience is that they want you to name a drug you saw on TV. That's whole other problem.

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NerdyComfort-78@reddit

YES! I mean, I did google a few things but I DIDN’T GO TO MED SCHOOL (and I won’t verbally abuse you for an antibiotic).

Fireside0222@reddit

Yes! Now all doctors have a specialty area. So the family doctor figures out whether it’s your heart, your back, your foot, or your sinuses that need help, and sends you to the specialist. If you have 4 problem areas, you’ll have 5 doctors (counting the family doc). And none of them see patients after 3pm, so you’ll have to miss work to visit all of them!

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Johnny-Virgil@reddit

All of my. body parts have their own doctor now

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LankyChickadee@reddit

And somehow teeth and eyes are not part of my body and are cared for/insured/ not insured separately? 😩

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Dede0821@reddit

Seriously! What’s up with that? I had to take out a loan to get an upper denture after fighting with my teeth for my entire adult life. Fillings, root canals, crowns, extractions, then eventually the upper denture. Over the last 35 years I could have easily bought at least one new car, and we’re still working on the lower teeth, lol

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dylans-alias@reddit

Sucks for sure but take your pick; higher insurance premiums/out of pocket costs or higher taxes to cover nationalized insurance.

We seem to want everything. Fast, high quality and cheap. That isn’t the real world. We have made low cost the top priority. That means quality and availability must suffer.

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renijreddit@reddit

But if you take some time to actually do the math instead of just repeating the scare tactics of the employer class, you’d see that each of our overall cost for medical care would go down if we bought a “Family” policy that included all citizens.

The US spends more on substandard care than the rest of the industrialized world and has worse outcomes.

No, we made high cost the top priority. We pay more per capita for healthcare and cover fewer people. How is that "low cost?" "Low value" maybe.

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dylans-alias@reddit

Downvote me to oblivion, whatever.

Repulsive-Friend-619@reddit

I have lupus, so now I have doctors for parts of my parts. Eye doctor, other eye doctor, eye surgeon, retinologist and a forensic eye doctor.

And my eyes aren’t even that big a deal.

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Intelligent-Plan2905@reddit

Oh gosh, yep...I know that one. Have SLE...but, my doctors could care less...they are cold and kind of smug.

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Repulsive-Friend-619@reddit

It’s a full-time job getting a great doctor team in place. I hope you find better care - it makes a huge difference.

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etjasinski@reddit

I feel that in my bones literally

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Zealousideal_Ask3633@reddit

My left arm hurts

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SallySparrow5@reddit

If I hear about trying yoga one more time for ANY health-related thing, I will scream. (And don't say, "You seem stressed, have you tried yoga?" LOL)

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United_Pie_5484@reddit

Even when I actually was doing yoga and replied that yes, about 5 hours a week of it one doc told me “well you just need to do more of it.” That visit was for a rash and fever he insisted was “all in my head” because he noticed I was prescribed antidepressants from a different doctor. The rash was a nasty staph infection, btw, which had nothing to do with yoga or antidepressants 😒

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SanJoseThrowAway2023@reddit

I used to run between 4 and 8 miles a day. 5'10", weighed 180lbs. Started having knee issues "You need to lose weight" despite having a 6 pack abs and a 15% body fat percentage (measured with a float tank) and muscly calves the size of bread loaves.

Eventually it got so bad they had to refer me to ortho, but by then I started packing on the pounds. Finally, after a decade, and being debilitated to the point where I was walking with a cane they did surgery. Turned out I had a tumor on my quadricep tendon that was pushing the knee out of alignment.

Getting back to where I was 13 years ago seems like an impossibility now, but at least I can walk 2 miles a day. Prior to the surgery I couldn't even walk 40 feet without pain.

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suzsid@reddit

As a woman - we get this stuff alllllll the time. I asked once about a breast reduction due to all sorts of issues. I was told to lose weight. I did. They’re still there and insurance still won’t cover, even though I can go down 4 to 5 cup sizes and still be fine.

As a family doc, I actually find this point of view pretty insulting. I diagnose and manage all kinds of things and am always irritated when my patients treat me like I’m a referral monkey and don’t even want to bother with getting my expertise before being referred to every expensive specialist that they’ll have to wait 6 to 9 months to get in with. The other day I had a pregnant patient call wanting a dermatology referral for a skin lesion. Not only was I able to get her in the same day, but was able to schedule a time a few days later to remove the lesion in question.

And some of us do still see patients after hours. Unfortunately, my schedule recently was changed by our administration team, but up until two weeks ago, I saw patients up until 8 PM one night a week. When I joined my group 12 years ago, every single physician and NP was required to have a late night. Once they made that optional, many people cut back on their schedules, no longer provide prioritizing patient care and as that dwindled, it made no sense for us to keep an entire building open with all the support staff just for a couple of docs. I now see patients only until six, but unfortunately, some of my supports have already been taken away with the lab in our building no longer being available after 5:30.

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NerdyComfort-78@reddit

Out of curiosity, are there any “ma and pa” private practice GP’s anymore or have the hospital systems gobbled them all up?

I’ve also noticed the rise in Concierge physicians as of late.

A few months ago I saw an article about how fewer people are picking GP as their job rather going to specialties for the pay bump. Have you seen that too?

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bounceswoosh@reddit

I've been going to a small concierge practice for almost 20 years now. I followed my doctor when she moved there because, at her old practice, she didn't get enough time with each patient. I can get same day appointments, email her and get same-day answers, and having that much history with your doctor is priceless for someone with notable health conditions. I pay a membership fee that is not covered by insurance and can't be paid via FSA or HSA; after that it works like a normal doctor.

I live in fear that something will change about the practice.

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rubyslippers70@reddit

I love my direct care physician and the model. My doctor even makes hours calls on top of the other things you mentioned. I know that it’s a barrier financially for some still, but I think it’s the future of healthcare because what we have now is hot garbage.

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bounceswoosh@reddit

It's unfair and inequitable - but then, so is all of healthcare.

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rubyslippers70@reddit

I have a direct care physician and he is worth his weight in gold. If you have the ability to get one in your area, I highly recommend it.

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l1vefrom215@reddit

Physician here.

Hospital systems and private equity groups gobble up all sorts of medical specialties all the time. They set up administrative systems for benefits, referrals, supplies, and personnel. As the newer generation of docs value life work balance more (it’s not like they’re all playing golf and traveling, they just want to see their family a reasonable amount of time) they’ve enthusiastically offloaded these administrative responsibilities and traded them for less money (in the long term), less headaches, and the hospital/PE group directing their practice a little. Where I live they can’t interfere with your medical decision making but they definitely change the practice by forcing you to see patients more often and referring to certain people. They also take over the billing which is much much easier for a large group to do. In the US the systems are perverted so that the more patients you see from a given insurance, the better rate you can negotiate (as opposed to giving a volume discount). Health systems and PE groups are great at exerting their leverage to get a better rate (so they get more for the care that the doc provided than a solo practitioner would). Many physicians hate this billing stuff, it’s something that you have to learn AFTER medical school, and it’s just not a good use of our time. It’s also just exhaustingly irritating. Truly a drain on our health care market (it’s not a system!).

In some ways it’s nice because you get rid of the responsibility of being a business owner but the group that owns your practice can really screw you when your contract is up (what’s the doc gonna do, uproot their whole life and family to move somewhere else?). They often employ younger physicians who don’t know any better and are just happy to have a job where they feel “supported” rather than starting a practice in their own out of residency.

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speed_of_chill@reddit

Honest question; did you find that the ACA (“Obama care”) help, exacerbate or make no difference with everything you just mentioned?

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l1vefrom215@reddit

I liked Obamacare. It got healthcare to those in need. I’m all for it. . .

My PCP wants to do a biopsy on a lesion on my face. I've had mohs surgery before. It's very stressful because they remove the lesion in layers then you have to wait while they biopsy until they're satisfied they've gotten everything.

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2skip@reddit

Yep, I just reviewed my last bill, and a 20 minute meeting where almost no questions were asked of the doctor (because it was an annual physical/wellness check and that part was billed separately) cost $190 for 20 minutes.

So just being the doctor's presence costs $9.50 per minute. This of course does not cover the facilities fee for the room that you're meeting in.

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Nakatomiplaza27@reddit

Same! My annual checkup is "free". I got a bill for around $200 so I called and asked what I was charged for. They said I asked a question. I didn't ask any questions; I know better. My kids doc is awesome and told me during the yearly check to not bring anything up. Make a separate apt it will be cheaper.

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2skip@reddit

And my previous doctor said that he couldn't answer the multiple questions I had during one visit unless it was asked during my annual physical/witness wellness check because of my insurance.

So not only do you not know the limitations of your insurance in cases like this, but you really can't ask any questions either. Even though the most common advice given is "ask your doctor / wellness team about this situation".

sure, I know the feeling. people don't really warn you how the medical chores are going to proliferate, sigh.

for a couple of years now I've had a specialist (I haven't bothered to remember what even in) who has been managing my wonky thyroid just fine and has never met me. and I'm fine with it because medical stuff is boring. I come to understand why old folks just give up 😋

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abj169@reddit

Interestingly enough, my current and previous GPs knew more than most of my specialists throughout the years have. I have to go to a Neurologist and from time to time, an Optometrist. However, both of my last two GPs (over approximately a ten year span) knew equally or more than my Neurologist. I honestly think that once someone gets into an advanced field, they let power go to their heads' a lot of the time and become complacent. I have had to change Neurologists at least five times due to either plain incompetence or purely poor bedside manner. - Seriously, you get paid easily a triple digit salary, and can't read a simple magazine to keep up with your current field? My wife and I have known more than a few doctors about my condition. - Or, treating a patient like a human being? You see me for thirty minutes, once or twice a year, tops. Put on your happy face.

And, the kicker is that my GP writes the order for my lab work. So, yeah - GP all the way.

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blob2021A@reddit

I discovered the same within the uk. GP just send you to a specialist clinic.

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NoFlounder1566@reddit

Had enough when my "dermatologist" googled my unrelated skin issue to diagnose me (hives) and proceeded to treat me as a science experiment instead of checking the moles I was there for.

It seems like GP’s are just people in lab coats with stethoscopes who are skilled at googling medical conditions. Saw my GP a few years ago and asked some basic questions and all he did pretty much was enter search terms on his laptop in order to give me some vague answers.

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Naive_Weather_162@reddit

This is true. I’d rather see specialist, especially when I was diagnosed with cancer. I hit the jackpot with my docs.

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Megaspore6200@reddit

My primary is a nurse who runs a clinic. He saved my life once, and I would trust him to do it again. Some other doctors barely look at me in the eyes. You just need someone to help you navigate the system, an advocate, as a primary.

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Billsolson@reddit

Not in Canada, but same experience

My PCP basically connects you to the OBD-II , runs a bunch of tests, and if anything looks wonky, sends you to a “guy”

I only needed drs for a note to give my boss because fuck corporate America, until I was in my mid-30’s and a couple aunts who hadn’t seen me in a while told me at Thanksgiving dinner that I looked pale (they were right, I didn’t notice because the change had occurred over time, whereas it was immediate for them) so I made an appointment and then my life changed forever. I spent the following weekend. In the hospital with a hemoglobin count of 4.3 (normal for a male my age should’ve been about 14-17. I’d then go in to see a hematologist, who then referred me to a specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. This would eventually lead me drs at the VA after moving my family 2k miles across the country because the diagnosis was terminal (myelofibrosis) who in turn would send me to the Puget Sound VA where is meet yet more specialists who would guide me through a nine marrow transplant. That was 14 years ago this past May, and I’ve seen, and still see, a host of yet more specialist drs for complications post transplant. I’m essentially a professional patient now.

At my lowest I was getting 2-units of blood a week, and have endured 8 bone marrow biopsies, and they hurt like hell, unless you get a Dr who’s also a teacher at Stanford University teaching new hematologists and who has had more of said biopsies than I have not because she’s needed them, but to make her a better teacher. 😱🤯. I’ve had my gall bladder removed, my spleen taken out pre-transplant because it has swelled to 12” long and 15lbs (a healthy spleen should be about the size of your fist, for reference) and the donor’s immune system is attacking my skin on my shins, and has attacked the skin on my face, neck, shoulders, hands and feet, led to a squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer) on my cheek which was surgically removed, and it makes my mouth and eyes dry. I’ve been hospitalized with infections numerous times, and now get phlebotomies every couple months to deal with increased hematocrit levels in my blood.

I’ve met a lot of drs, nurse practitioners, nurses, and other assorted staff at numerous hospitals and clinics over the past 20~ years, all have been professionals (save for the one who operated on my skin cancer, a young woman who bragged through the surgery to the attending nurse how she was “playing the field” dating several men concurrently, while I was lying right there only under local anesthetic) and a couple of nurses who badly botched starting IVs. Yes, some of the GPs don’t seem super helpful and end up farming you out to specialists, and those I’ve met outside the VA are hindered by insurance companies, but I learned very early in during that first weekend in the hospital that ultimately I’m the one on charge, and if something makes me uncomfortable or I find cause to question the medical professional I’m dealing with, I can ask for someone else. I’ve had a couple,go-rounds with my current dermatologist who’s admitted to me she knows nothing about GVHD (Graft Vs Host Disease, where the donor’s immune system attacked me) yet insists she see me before I get a referral to the specialist at Stanford. Otherwise they’ve all been very cordial to work with in managing my healthcare.

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Waffuru@reddit

I've been noticing something like this, actually, with dentists. I remember when dentists could do everything. Pull a tooth, root canal, braces, cleaning, crowns, fillings... doesn't seem to be the case anymore. My current dentist, his assistant does the cleanings and the xrays. He'll come in, talk to me about any issues, and that's about it. I had to go to a different dentist to get a bad tooth pulled, and now I have to find another dentist to do my implant because my dentist doesn't do that either. I have to hope he does filings at least, but so far, he's referred me for anything more complex than my routine cleaning.

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xBerryhill@reddit

I had to get two root canals about half a year ago. Went in for an emergency to get temporary pain relief. Was told I couldn't get the root canals for a few weeks because that's when the dentist would be in. Stupid, but ok. Go in those few weeks later, meet the dentist, then SOMEONE ELSE does the root canal!

So weird. Probably cost so much because they had to pay the guy just to talk to me for 5 minutes about what I already knew.

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I would just like all the work under one roof. Having to go to different dentists for each step of a thing I need done is aggravating and expensive. My cleaning and check up was free because of work, but for people without insurance, that's a charge for the visit. Then I had to pay for the visit to the surgeon who was further away for the removal, and again for the implant, and I'll have to pay for the visit when I find a dentist who can do the crown. I just kinda miss going in, getting my cleaning, getting filings if I need them, and being able to get a tooth pulled or root canal scheduled in the same spot. There was a time when dentists did all of that as part of their job.

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Oh...weird. The dentist I currently go to will do all those in the office actually. My wife needed a crown and the dentist did it with no problem. My fillings were done there. They'll do root canals, fit for the Invisalign, and so on (don't think they do braces, I've only ever known those to be at a separate orthodontist). This is all at the same dentist's office we get our cleanings done at. No "specialist" needed.

I've never needed any of these procedures when I saw previous dentists, so I can't speak to their specialties.

Maybe it's a regional thing?

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Waffuru@reddit

Could be where I am I guess. This has been typical of the dentists I've had since I moved here. I lived in California when I had a dentist who did everything. I'm in the south now. x.x I wasn't even really mad until he told me he couldn't do an implant crown >_< in my head, I was just like, "The heck do you actually do?" XD

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balthisar@reddit

But I've never had an actual dentist perform a general cleaning.

I have! But always in other countries. In the United States, it's always been a hygienist, and that's not a new thing: I've been going to the dentist since I was a kid in the 1970's.

(For the curious, in Mexico the dentist does all the work. When I lived in Mexico most of my social circle was comprised of dentists, and a wide variety of dentists types, including at one point the leader of the Mexican equivalent of the ADA).

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SolomonGrumpy@reddit

Dentist, dental hygienist, periodontist or if you ate too much candy, an oral surgeon.

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LeatherAppearance616@reddit

I don’t even know what my dentist looks like, I always see the hygienist and she does the cleaning and assessing and then the dentist comes in behind me and gets a quick report on me from the hygienist and says “okay great! Keep up the good work” and disappears.

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mortsdeer@reddit

Without actually looking in your mouth? Yeah, that's a big no, from me. My dentist had the hygienist do the cleaning, who did charts things they see. Then, he goes over these notes while looking at my teeth himself. Also explains to the hygienist guys decisions.

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MTheadedRaccoon@reddit

That's why they say "practicing" medicine.

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middleagethreat@reddit

55, BMX, Skateboarding and Punk shows have ruined me.

I have been trying to get fixed for years.

They take x-rays, say “you really need surgery, but insurance will only pay for Tylenol.

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Fudge-Purple@reddit

This is true. I have 6 specialists that I see, sometimes more on occasion plus my primary care doctor who I haven’t actually seen since November of 2023 lol. The hardest part is keeping everyone in the loop so I settled on one university hospital network and all but one will be in that network hopefully by the end of the year. They do look at everything in my chart and they do talk back and forth so I’m kind of blessed for the most part. Now I think it’s time to switch primary care to better coordinate and between them.

And this was not easy, it’s an enormous investment in my time and resources to do this, but it’s my responsibility to look after me. So far so good.

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Persistent_Earworm@reddit

My primary care doctor at Baystate family medicine, Northampton, Massachusetts, has left me literally in hypertensive crisis for four years, and he doesn't give a fuck, because multiple specialists have recommended raising my fucking pain meds, and he is a fucking weasel.

I had low blood pressure until my pain meds were cut.

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AlmeMore@reddit

Sounds like you need more antihypertensive medicine. Also, have you tried medical MJ to help manage your pain?

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Persistent_Earworm@reddit

Medical MJ helps with the rage (I hadn't had any the night I made the comment), but doesn't help much with the pain. I don't really like being "high" every day (though I like it once in a while).

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Adventurous-Pea8354@reddit

“insurance pukes” Love it!!!!!

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Atticus-XI@reddit

There is a huge difference between newly trained docs and docs who completed their training, say, 10-12 years ago (ish). My wife is of roughly the last class to go through the *real* residency/fellowship track, i.e. it's fucking brutal, they don't put up with excuses or bullshit, and you would not ever dream of "phoning it in", etc. She's a trauma surgeon and let me tell you - this woman is fucking tough and she knows her shit cold. About ten years ago they decided to relax the standards and treat the new docs like children. They're all soft, they were allowed to graduate from training without the proper fund of knowledge, and they take fucking sick days (extremely frowned upon amongst hospitalists), they dump scut work on their partners, etc. without batting an eye. No work ethic, no professional respect, "snowflake" bullshit all day. They cannot hold a candle to docs from earlier generations. My wife and her colleagues have tried to bounce shitty residents/fellows and the program simply keeps them, fully aware they are dangerous, and then graduates them. Some of these unqualified, bad surgeons could someday operate on one of you. How scary is that? Scarier than hurting the shit surgeons' feelings, right?

So, if your doctor has, say, less than 15 years experience, I would not trust that they actually know what the hell they're doing. Half-ass at best.

"We could fix that, but to do it properly it will cost..."

It's like being gouged by a plumber or a locksmith.

What's worse, the number of times I've had bad work only for them not to take responsibility for it.

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fakeaccount572@reddit

all part of r/LateStageCapitalism

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VishyVB@reddit

Doctors in Australia practically google your symptoms right in front of you.

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ShadowsPrincess53@reddit

Here is something I found ridiculous!!!!

My Primary Care Doc, is around $350 per session to deal with a sick call. I have mentioned in forums that he is a literal 4 hour appt to see him for 15-20 mins tops. The rest of that time I am waiting. Getting to, or from. His office staff suck, they ignore scripts, you know, little BS ones like my heart meds.

So I have decided to take my business to a telahealth company. I tell you, I love this doctor, she is deeply concerned about my health, and looks up drug interactions BEFORE giving me meds!! She spends time with me, listens to me, is understanding, for me, this is the FIRST female doc I have ever liked.

The best part? $129. Per visit. That’s all. No long wait time, no bs, scripts are on their way as we close the session. She explains why I can or cannot have certain ones.

She has helped me more than my PC ever has, and doesn’t make me feel stupid like he does.

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tossitintheroundfile@reddit

My aunt is now 80, and a mostly retired physician. Her dream job would have been to be a real life Dr.Quinn, and she is happiest in small villages in 3rd world countries as the 21st equivalent.

She told me many times that she would never have gone to med school if the system operated back then the way it does today. More paperwork and fighting with insurance than actually treating people.

Worth_Event3431@reddit

This one. It’s infuriating

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warm_orange147@reddit

Online PHD

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brumac44@reddit

My dad 82 at the time, fell hard and had a bone pushing out of his upper chest. I figured it was a rib, or maybe collarbone. Took him to emergency and had three young doctors looking at it. One asked if he could take a fucking picture. Sent him home with pain meds and no relocation attempt or even x-ray. Couple days later he rolled over and it went back in place. Somewhat painful he said. In other words, fucking excruciating to us mere mortals. There's still a lump at the site.

/Noctor

Here's how it works with my doctor, and I prefer doctors as well.

MA- checks you in and does vitals

PA or NP- takes history, sometimes shadows the doctor

MD- does the examination, asks further questions, determines treatment plan

NP- tells you what prescriptions, tests, and referrals you're getting

And there's also scribe present through all of this who types everything into My Chart

NerdyComfort-78@reddit

Mine have all been 100%. I am very comfortable asking for more info, and they actually listen.

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Fire_Horse_T@reddit

I agree. Last I had a doctor for my GP they would not listen and would not check me for a condition that runs on my family until I sat there repeating my sister has X, it is genetic, I have the same symptoms on a loop until she referred me to the specialist so she could get to her spiel about losing weight.

The current GP said in my first appointment 'I see you have X, I don't have experience with that.' I said don't worry, I have a specialist.

Dramatic-Incident298@reddit

NP's

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LiliAtReddit@reddit

You go to the doctor with a shitty ankle. They X-ray it, move it around a bit, and then say, “Your ankle… it’s shitty.”

“Ok, what do I do?”

“Stretch it at least twice a day, like this.”

“Ok, for how long?”

This is a short version of what has changed.This is a short and humourous version of the change. Even old doctors have a hard time adapting to the change in their industry.

Things in medicine are changing so fast that insurance, civil servants and even hospital admins have a hard time keeping up understanding the changes. BTW, my explanation is assuming that people are moral and not profit seeking or change resisting.

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newwriter365@reddit

I tend to read up on things before I see the doctor. Googling symptoms or test results has been really helpful for me.

What annoys the crap out of me is a doctor (my current PCP) looking at my blood work and rambling about something that’s in the normal range, while dismissing the one outlier on my bloodwork.

And ends with, “you need to exercise more.” Doc, I told you I work full time and still manage to walk four miles every day while commuting three hours per day. When do you see that being slotted in?

Yes, I’m looking for a new PCP.

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BobbyAbuDabi@reddit

I was having some pain so I did a 10 minute half assed google search and thought it’s probably A or B. I went to my PCP, he asked me a couple of questions and typed on his computer for a couple of minutes. I looked over his shoulder and he was looking at the same exact google page that I had found earlier. He proscribed some medication for Condition A which didn’t work so I had a very strong feeling it was Condition B. It was B. It helped me realize that doctors are well trained, but just making educated diagnoses based on your symptoms and test results.

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If you go to a doctor in Europe, they give you "what's best"? If you are using publicly funded medical care, the doctors will give you what the government says they are allowed to give you. The government rations care just like any other third party that is responsible for paying. To escape this, just like anywhere else, you go to a private doctor for which you are the payer and thus in charge. There you may get treatments that were denied (or severely delayed) by the public service.

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tunaman808@reddit

Does anyone else notice the same?

No. At worst, GPs are very much general practitioners whose main job appears to be referring me to specialists.

yeah my dood. thats an INSURANCE PROBLEM, not a doctor problem.

I hope that's helpful, and I encourage you to reach out to Dr. ..., Dr. ..., and/or your therapist to discuss further. I am of course happy to see you to discuss vaginal concerns anytime!

Take care,

Dr. ...

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justlkin@reddit

Wow, my anxiety skyrocketed reading those suggestions. It's good, I'm sure, but personally, I'm so overwhelmed and stressed in my life already that this would be too much for me. I wonder if there's a good app that would do that better rather than having to figure out how to organize it all on your own.

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FtonKaren@reddit

I also wonder if there's someone who simply can offer this sort of service ... maybe I'll have too look

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Intelligent-Sun-7973@reddit

yes. Thats the way it is now. Drs are employees of hospitals or private equity. They have metrics to meet and lawsuits to worry about.

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Goooombs@reddit

Thats the part that gets me. Its not that there are specialists, but that it takes so long, sometimes months, to be able to see them and there is a pressure to get it right the first time, less the whole thing gets dragged out even longer.

Yep. I had a strange pain in my lower left front stomach / colon area last year. It only hurts when standing up after sitting for hours, such as after driving. It was painful but nothing to cry over and went away in 30 seconds each time. I had at least 3 ultrasounds. I had my first colonoscopy in case that showed anything. Nope. I worked hard to lose 35 lbs, weight I had put on thanks to covid times depressing me, and I don't know if that fixed it, but I haven't felt the pain since losing the weight! And bonus, my wardrobe fits me again! That was my main motivation. 😎 And, ya know, being in way better health. The lesson here is save your money and fix it yourself.

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Initial_Ad8780@reddit

Yes and now many have a time limit so they can jam as many patients as possible through the doctors office to make money for the fucking stock holders. Hospitals used to be nonprofit but hey you can't have that because it's socialism!

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itzjuztm3@reddit

My "favorite" is: "On a scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being the worst pain imaginable, how much does it hurt?"

I work in healthcare and I have always said that yes we can perform miracles with modern medicine once we know what is wrong... Getting there though... We are about three steps away from waving dead chickens over people and reading tea leaves before applying leaches.

I had a doctor once sit in front of me and ask 20 questions while checking boxes on a palm pilot. To diagnose me with strep throat when I came in saying I had Strep Throat. Then proceed to prescribe me CODEINE when there is a big red "Allergic to Codeine" at the top of my chart. To THEN prescribe a different Opiate derivative under a different name. Only to be caught by a pharmacist who noticed the crossed out CODEINE prescription and thought, maybe this person is allergic to opiates...

Yep...

Oh and when the pharmacist called the doctor to get authorization for a double dosage of an equivalent non-opiate pain killer the doctor told her over a speaker phone, and I quote, "Fuck him, give him the normal dosage!"

Yea, GPs are witch doctors...

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TurdFerguson2OOO@reddit

I'll take a vet over an MD any day. They gotta be able to cure a lizard, a chicken, a pig, a frog - all on the same day.

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REALtumbisturdler@reddit

I have a GP and: Neurologist - headaches Optical Neurologist - vision issues ENT- tennitus and hearing loss from long covid Dermatologist - skin cancer Neuro surgeon - upper cervical surgery Optician - prescription bifocals Dentist - checkups and implants

Urologist - I cum blood, and that's not a joke. 5th urologist can't diagnose it either.

Gastroenterologist - polyps, hemorrhoids(internal) , pre cancer

Colon & Rectal surgeon - hemorrhoids (external)

Hepatoligst/Hemotologist for blood clots

That's the game now. Insurance tells doctors how they can treat.

My father died of a stroke.....hours after being handed medicine for vertigo.

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Strange-Scarcity@reddit

Yeah, this is why we need a single payer system that is less beholden to saying no in order to curb costs to hit specific profit goals and is instead beholden to ensuring the best results for the citizenry.

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Intelligent_Part101@reddit

LOL. You do know that government healthcare systems operate within a budget too, right? Or do you think everybody just works for free and all equipment and pills magically appear thanks to the replicator in the corner?

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Strange-Scarcity@reddit

Studies, even one famously commissioned by the Koch Brothers, show better outcomes across the board and lower costs for all citizens, in a single payer healthcare system.

It is also freeing to the public, to those who may lack enough capital, but an idea and the drive to start a business, but simply due to healthcare costs, are unable to do so, because the risk of being without coverage with a spouse and children, is just to much of a risk.

Also, I said less beholden to say no. I didn't stake any wild strawman claims you made up, to get all mad about.

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Intelligent_Part101@reddit

I would love to see how those "good outcomes" were defined. It all hinges on that definition. Wait time for procedures, type of procedures covered, does quality of life count for anything or is it simply number of deaths that are counted? Plenty of people in socialized medical systems (UK NIH, Canada) have been known to get procedures done outside of the system because they don't want to wait 6 months up to a year for an MRI or surgical procedure, as an example.

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Strange-Scarcity@reddit

We already have extensive wait times for procedures in the US.

We have American citizens leaving the country to have surgeries and procedures done, because they can't or don't want to continue to wait for access in the US.

You really wouldn't "love to see" how those studies were defined, you aren't here to learn anything. If you were? You would already be looking into the Koch Brother's funded study on a Single Payer System.

A Single Payer System isn't "socialized medicine", all Medical Professionals would still be free to go where they want to go and work where they want to work, hospitals and medical centers would still be free to be private concerns. Single Payer just means eliminating the for profit Death Panels that exist at every single Insurance Agency and the use of AI to deny claims, over and over and over, which is happening more and more often.

There was a guy in my state, who had an EASILY treatable with a brand new technique form of cancer. The studies proved it was exceptionally effective, it was just costly to produce.

So they denied it, based upon the fact that it is still a new technique. He died. He was in his mid-40's.

He had insurance, a good job, a family, was VERY productive in his industry. Had a really great, long life ahead of him. Well, until the Insurance Company Death Panel, used a loophole provision in the law to deny his claim.

I think about that a lot. What if that happened to me? or my wife or children or my best friend, his spouse, even what if something happened like to you. The effective in all studied cases treatment is right there, it's just not very widespread yet and because it is a new kind of therapy, the Insurer used a loophole to deny coverage.

The sickest part in all of that? Even if they did approve it, he still would have been close to financial ruin in paying out of pocket costs, before insurance kicked in, on that cancer treatment.

It's directly because of all the abuse you have done. When you're younger you haven't done nearly as much abuse.

Also, when you're younger, your body is far more resilient, so it's like, just splint it and you'll be back in a week. Now your bones are older and they aren't nearly as bendy. Your body at a young age is basically put some duct tape on it and it will fix itself. Same for muscles, tendons, skin, even brain. Now you're older and things have settled in and stopped adjusting and that doesn't work anymore.

they have their hands tied by the insurance pukes keeping the Doctors from doing what they went to school for

I'm not sure that's an accurate diagnosis. In theory your doctor doesn't know jack shit about what your insurance covers. That's supposed to be up to you. I'm not defending insurance, but that's not specifically a thing I believe is a thing.

Does anyone notice the same?

Unfortunately for me, this happened at the beginning of quarantine. This means I only had access to the single specialist and couldn't travel across state lines to seek someone else.

But, yes, if the doctor doesn't listen to you, you should find another.

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MyriVerse2@reddit

Nope. Pretty much everyone in my family owes their life to a doctor. At least the living ones...

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Classic_Barnacle_844@reddit

That's why they call it a medical practice. Because they are just practicing.

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tcogenx@reddit

I had a confirmed reaction to a vaccine which required referrals to many specialists. Years later, lots of money spent but basically in the same situation as when I started. My feeling is that each specialist only focuses on their one thing so they don’t get a big picture. So if they feel like their body part is ok (for example my heart structure is fine, but I have developed rate regulation issues), they are done with you.

Intelligent_Part101@reddit

Did you think a doctor had the whole of medicine memorized? I don't fault him for researching things. It is assumed he had plenty of background knowledge and therefore hunches of what to look up and maybe he was just being thorough so as to not miss something.

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notevenapro@reddit

Nope. I have a great set of doctors I use. Two urologists, colorectal surgeon, cardiologist and a great family healthcare doctor. I also live in the DC metro area where healthcare is great.

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Weird_Tea2539@reddit

Same here in Southern California - I've had the same M.D. for 41 YEARS. Same neurosurgeon for 17 years. I go to the OB/GYN that my Mom has been going to since just after I was born. Yes, I am cruising for a bruisin' when all these wonderful people decide to retire.

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aphotic@reddit

Yeah, I'm sorry these people have had issues with doctors. I had some crappy ones when I was younger. Finally, in my 40s, I found a great one. I ended up moving and found the best primary care doctor I have ever had. He is knowledgeable (he has a teaching practice), listens, prescribes tests for issues as needed, and is very friendly. My gastro doc is great as well.

I'm in a rural area so I was somewhat surprised (I was in a major city before). Now, there are so many ways to find reviews on docs that it's best to research them and ask for local word of mouth.

If you don't like your doctor, shop around. There are good ones out there.

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AlmeMore@reddit

Similar! In Boston. I’ve got a PCP, endocrinologist, ENT (2: one for oral cancer & one for hearing), ophthalmologist, nephrologist, oncologist, cardiologist! All are great!

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SolomonGrumpy@reddit

Boston has the second best healthcare in the country. (NYC being the best).

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Sea_Brush4156@reddit

I just went today and saw an NP, who gave me a referral to a specialist, which is what I expected. I don't have a problem with having an NP as a primary care provider. The last time I went to a real doctor, she sat at the computer, asking me questions and typing away the whole time. I had to beg her just to check my throat, she was so useless. The doctor literally never even laid a hand on me. At least the NP gave me an examination.

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blatkinsman@reddit

It's just like the mechanics profession. Hardly anyone is a mechanic anymore. They are all technicians.

You take your car to a shop. Tell them what the issue is. They whip out a flowchart that tells them every step that must me done without skipping a step. What diagnostics to run first. Where to look second. What parts to change third. They don't repair anything, just swap parts.

Why? Because they don't know how. Can't think critically or intuitively. Being a mechanic is a lost art.

Being a doctor is becoming the same thing. Much of what a docor does, a nurse can and does do.

And further, as far as health goes, it is never fix the underlying problem. It's always how fast can we make the symptoms go away with either drugs or a knife. But don't cure the patients because them to keep coming back and spending money.

I don't know if it's greed, incompetence, lawyers, or insurance but lot's of unnecessary steps are taken and keep getting taken and no one really seems the better for it.

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MNSoaring@reddit

I’m in the medical field and on behalf of all doctors: sorry.

I’ve seen the same things y’all are describing.

I do musculoskeletal medicine and I see people come in weekly where everything hurts and their blood labs show obvious, uncorrected, abnormalities like low vitamin D or low thyroid. I’m not an expert on nutrition or hormones, but it’s amazing how quickly their symptoms improve when they correct obvious nutritional deficits like this.

The field has moved toward more and more subspecialization as doctors try to raise enough revenue to cover the 24% decrease in pay since about 2000. More specific specialization allows for more specific (and lucrative) billing.

anonuemus@reddit

This, I wrote it in a comment too. It boils down to, communication is key.

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sungodly@reddit

Seconded. I have a great relationship with my GP - he knows I'm sharp and will have done at least some research before seeing him, but also that I see him rarely so he knows when I do that my issue is real. Then we talk about golf.

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REDDITSHITLORD@reddit

Doctors are useful, if you're fat or dying.

That's it. That's what they're trained for. I blame the customer-service model of healthcare we've adopted, which will naturally become tailored to obesity related problems. Or cancer. Man, they have their shit together when it comes to cancer. OR heart disease, but you see, that falls under the "Dying" category.

But, if you complain about joint pain during your daily run, they'll tell you to just stop running. I've had 3 doctors just blow me off with that, including one noticeably overweight specialist tell me that if I can still walk enough to work, then he doesn't see a problem. Like, bitch, is that it? As long as I'm still able to create value for stockholders, then I'm fine?

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Intelligent_Part101@reddit

Your hatred of fat people will give you the energy to power through tough times.

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anonuemus@reddit

You need to put it some research too and ask the right question, tell the right symptoms, things like that. I had some hospital experience, with lots of different doctors. If you don't do that, I call it challenge them/tickle their brain, then they just run you over without any explanation. It's even worse in the hospital, because every doctor would go through the same shit and come to the same conclusions, I figured out that my patient history isn't enough and for every new doctor I have to tell the whole story in detail again to at least get a chance that they try something new or have a new idea. But if you know that, and you find a good doctor, it's ok.

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Max_Powers-@reddit

I consider myself lucky to have the PCP that I do. I have had less than stellar Dr's in the past and when you finally find a good one, you really appreciate it.

I have also found it not just the doctor that's important but the support staff as well. The office staff are the ones that process referrals.

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JeffFerguson@reddit

I just got back this morning from taking my wife to Urgent Care becaue she was having some pain in her side. They drew some blood and performed a CT scan. They told her that everything looked good and that they didn't know what was going on. They sent her home with a perscription for some antibiotics.

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PDXTRN@reddit

Blame profits over people. I work in healthcare.

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Spongebob_Tightpants@reddit

Idk where you are, but in the US, healthcare has been collapsing for decades, and that decay has been accelerating since COVID. Source: me. My own personal experience. I do primary care in the PNW.

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Longracks@reddit

Maybe you should've thought of that earlier and take a better care of yourself.

Depending on "modern medicine " given the state of current events is probably a bad plan . At least the USA anyway.

And rather than judging, maybe a bit of curiosity and empathy. Ask your doctor what it's like to be a doctor these days. It sounds like a shit job.

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No_Mathematician7956@reddit

Doctors can be a joke these days.

Mom always took me to the same doctor growing up. He was fantastic. About 5 years ago, I decided to change my PCP to the same network that we went to growing up. The doctor didn't want to listen about family history or the actual pain I was in. Instead, she wanted to probe about things that, in my mind, were unrelated to why I was there.

I left and went to a pain management clinic, who took the time to listen and do something about it.

Unfortunately, my wife set up an appointment for me with the aforementioned doctor that I saw 5 years ago... time to cancel that appointment.

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That’s why i just consult reddit.

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-Economist-@reddit

I just had an mri on my lower back. It came back clear despite my back hurting so bad. They stayed pulled muscle, take some rest. I’m an athlete. I know the difference between muscle strain and something more.

So I uploaded my MRI to AI and it found a nerve compression. Almost like a herniated disc. It recommended a bunch of PT exercises and surprise surprise it’s working.

Here is the deal about doctors - remember (or your parents will remember) in high school how the top kid, the class valedictorian would almost always go into pre med because there was great money and status in being a doctor? Well 2 things happened - in the 80s and 90s, the rise of HMOs, and other "doctor controlling" insurance dictators started controlling what doctors could and could not do and what they would and would not pay for. Plus there was a rise in malpractice suits, in part brought on by the "evil greedy doctor" tropes on just about every TV drama (Law and Order was a big offender here.)

So what's that smart HS graduate supposed to do? Well, along comes the internet, programming, coding game design, social media sites, IT and a whole bunch of career options that pay really good and don't take 10 years of education to do it, don't put someone in six figures of educational debt. So the smart science and math kid goes into those careers now, and depending on where you live, there's a real shortage of doctors which means you used to be able to get in to see your doctor in 2 weeks, and now it's like 2 months and then the doctor has to say "may I?" to the insurance companies for approvals to give you the treatments his best medical judgment says you should have. Plus hospitals and practices rely so much on e-records now when your internet goes down, everything goes down. So the doctors who are coming up and probably not that class valedictorian but the kid who wouldn't have gotten accepted to med school 30 years ago, or the foreign trained doctors who are being pulled into residency programs in the US because there are so many openings now that they can't fill.

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Stunning-Adagio2187@reddit

Find an internist and then explain to them that you expect them to fix your various problems

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NorraVavare@reddit

Doesn't feel that way to me. I have EDS so I gotta collect them all, but they actually do something. 35 years ago I got told I was crazy. 7 years ago I had a diagnosis. 3 years ago I had neurosurgery to fix the issue that started the you are crazy bullshit.

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Total_Employment_146@reddit

Medicine is very siloed into disciplinary specialties now. They all stay in their lanes and kowtow to their corporate overlords. We peasants are of little importance.

As a doctor, I'd say it is patients expectations and attitudes to doctors that has changed the most, and I don't work in the US. The cause of that change is in no small part the fault of doctors themselves, but it is what it is .

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JellyfishFit3871@reddit

Interesting. What expectations did you formerly see that has changed?

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Few-Coat1297@reddit

I'm not in Primary Care (I work in anaesthesia) but....

The biggest difference is a lack of trust on treatment offered and doctor shopping. A large part of that is some patients use the Internet to access a lot of unfiltered medical information online and select out what they would prefer. In so mucn as many patients just want the doctor to make all the decisions, many also arrive to their doctors office to get them to sign off on a treatment they have already researched.

Older patients are mucn more likely to like paternalism in medicine than younger. This is something I do see day to day. If I'm describing a procedure I'm about to do for reasons around informed consent, boomers are most likely to say I dont want to know, just do it , Gen X less so, and Millennials are more likely to ask questions.

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Intelligent_Part101@reddit

I've got to say, based on experience with my parents, blindly accepting what a doctor tells you could lead to your death. The patient absolutely must take an active role in his or her own health management.

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As a healthcare worker for nearly 30 years, this is spot on. Doctors don’t doctor anymore. They use AI to tell them what to order and they just CT or US or X-Ray EVERYTHING. They don’t wait for bloodwork to come back before they start ordering exams. This is my experience at least with ER physicians in my area.

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KaitB2020@reddit

I’m getting old enough now that I’m older than some of my doctors.

I’ve actually been a type 1 diabetic longer than my endocrinologist has been an endocrinologist.

It just seems weird to be older than my medical professionals. It’s also weird to know more about my chronic illness than my doctor. I’m at the point where I just need them to write the Rx & request the lab work. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.

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Glimmerofinsight@reddit

Yes! I've even caught them googling my symptoms. I usually do my own research online, and then try some experiments before I go to the doctor (if possible). Then I can see if its a vitamin deficiency or water retention, vs something more serious. I also request certain bloodwork if they don't, because I know in 2 weeks when my symptoms recur, they will want me to drive across town for that exact bloodwork - and I don't want to waste my time taking off work because they aren't thinking ahead.

I get along well with my current doctor, but I've fired several, for basically being ineffective, lazy, or just plain lacking empathy or an effective office staff.

At my age, I don't care if they like me. My health isn't going to be put the in hands of some arrogant 19 year old pimply faced moron. Yes, I said it. I will kindly walk right out of that office if condescend to me to cover up their lack of studying in med school.

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9mmway@reddit

OP: As another guy who lived fast but didn't die young, my body is now paying the price

Damn, being an adrenaline junky sure has its drawbacks

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infallables@reddit

The change over to a diverse medical team that takes care of you is made physicians into gatekeepers with amazing book knowledge, enhanced by amazing board knowledge, but very little hands on application of any of that.

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Ironman650@reddit

Can confirm, doctors have been dumbed down. Last visit to ER, nurses, doctors, triage, ambulance drivers, all tattooed and looked unprofessional. Blue hair and nose rings everywhere too.

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BrilliantDeep950@reddit

Lol I've literally had them Google stuff in front of me.

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I've noticed the same thing. It's almost like they're afraid/prohibited from giving their assessment, instead it's "Could be a lot of things. Let's run some tests." Or, "Hmmmm. Do you have ibuprofen at home? Take every day and if it's not better in 2 weeks, then make another appointment." We have to be our own healthcare advocate is what I've learned.

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MessageAny171@reddit

Doctor are no longer practice medicine they are just a parts of modern medicine which mean : order more tests , bill your insurance if you lucky to have one and finally order more tests.

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pawprints4@reddit

Went to a wound care center because my family doctor couldn't do anything for me. While the wound care doctor was looking at my foot, I mentioned a sore on my upper thigh. He said, "I don't treat wounds above the knee"! Most ridiculous/aggravating thing I've ever heard.

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PorkChop974@reddit

Typical gen x. Take no responsibility for what you did, but expect a stranger to fix it. You fucked up. You didn't take care of yourself. A lot of shit done to the human body, if not taken care of properly at the time, becomes permanent. But go ahead, keep blaming someone else... pathetic.

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Classic_Engine7285@reddit

💯

My wife is constantly wanting to go to Urgent Care or the ED when she’s sick, and I just keep telling her that she’s wasting time and money. Their job is to keep you alive if you’re dying and offer no extended care or guidance. Your general practitioner’s job is to give you a fuck load of tests all the time, try to ram meds down your throat, and if something is actually wrong, send you to a specialist. The specialists’ jobs are to be the wrong specialist for what you need and send you to someone else. The someone else’s job is to tell you that the specialist was wrong and send you back to your general practitioner. The general practitioner’s job then becomes to refer you to a surgeon, and the surgeon’s job is to operate on you no matter what is wrong with you. It is no one’s job to listen to you. Your friend’s job, preferably one in the medical field, is to tell you what you need and if possible refer you to an old timer who will just give it to you.

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bakingdiy@reddit

Yes, and it's even worse for women. Sounds like your doctor at least tried. Women are told it's anxiety or that they just need to lose weight (even when they don't need to).

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gotchafaint@reddit

The whole ask your doctor thing is a good way to die early. I need an expert for knee surgery but outside of that kind of thing we are on our own if actual health is the goal.

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AbjectBeat837@reddit

I was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease by a hematologist in 2022. A test showed kidney damage but he couldn’t figure out how it happened, shrugged his shoulders and called it an autoimmunity. Fine. Go back a year later. Same tests. Same result. Still a mystery. What’s the point of this? I just get the test through my general practitioner now. I’ll see him when I need a transplant I guess.

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Own_Accountant_2618@reddit

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redditcat78@reddit

Regarding the USA:

Today, and for the past 20 years, most doctors work as employees for a business that owns, or runs, a health facility because it had the cheapest cost to borrow money. Notice that healthcare knowledge, skill or ability was not listed.

This means doctors don’t work for themselves, meaning they have far less agency in decision making.

I am basing this upon +30 years of medical field observation (my dad had his own medical practice), not snarky political or economic beliefs.

The entire medical industry has been barraged by lawsuits, insurance controls, for-profit corporate ownership, and (let's be honest) years of overwhelming fatigue on almost everyone actually doing the work.

Doctors themselves are rarely the actual problem, but you do need to actually have a conversation with them, explain everything, ask questions, get involved in your own treatment. If the doctor you get doesn't like that or doesn't respond well - time for a new doctor.

But yeah... the whole industry is fucked, and it's going to get a LOT worse over the next couple years.

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LemonSlicesOnSushi@reddit

Dude, it’s called practicing medicine. We are far more complicated than cars and sometimes when we take our car in, the mechanic doesn’t know either. You just gotta keep going back until they figure it out or keep trying different providers.

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NothingbutNetiPot@reddit

It sounds like you’re going to the doctor for musculoskeletal pain.

The doctor can do imaging for a surgeon to decide if there’s something severe enough to justify surgery.

If something doesn’t rise to that level, you’re left with unsatisfactory solutions. Pain killers like ibuprofen and Tylenol are not great long term solutions, steroid injections can help, but also aren’t long term. Long term narcotics are now frowned upon for good reason. There are pain management doctors who can try nerve blocks and things I’m not familiar with.

But the real solution is to rest and not further injure yourself, which is tough for people who use their bodies for work.

I think this is where a lot of the frustration about “doctors only want me to lose weight” comes from, because decreasing the burden on your joints is an actual long term solution.

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Rook_James_Bitch@reddit

Here's what I know.

huh, I never think they look foreign. all of my docs are locally born Asians or Native Hawaiians. the most recent haole doc I had been seeing retired about ten years ago, and he is a really lovely person. found out later he was the physician who treated the first Hawaii patient found to have what later became known as HIV/AIDS.

but yes, I am quite lucky with my clinicians. indid ask my friends and family for recs, and that helped a lot.

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rhk_ch@reddit

Western healthcare is great at treating trauma and emergencies, heart disease, any problem involving a man’s reproductive system, most communicable diseases, dermatological conditions, organ failure, diabetes treatment, and it is making huge strides in cancer treatment every day.

Western healthcare is terrible at pain management and treating any diseases that cause chronic pain, any mental health disorder, chronic disease treatment and diagnosis, autoimmune diseases, neurological disease, any issue or disease involving the female productive system, any disease that is more common in women than men, endocrine diseases, most pediatric diseases, pregnancy related complications, and addiction treatment.

It is the luck of the draw as to whether your health issue falls into the category of stuff we are good at. Being male helps a lot, both in terms of the availability of effective treatment, and in terms of palliative care and pain management. Most drugs and diseases have been exclusively studied in white male patients.

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SomethingHasGotToGiv@reddit

At this point, all I ever hear is, “I don’t know. That’ll be $150.” They are lazy and don’t care. All they want is that money.

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realityGrtrThanUs@reddit

Maybe I'm nuts. Feel free to pile on! But i see some really scary parallels between medical practice and police practice.

It's always been like this, in my experience. Not once, in my life, did I go to a doctor for something that wasn't blindingly obvious, like a deep cut or a visibly broken bone, and was properly diagnosed and treated right away.

A few decades ago, I developed something that could easily be detected with routine blood test. I don't mean a test for anything specific, but with that shotgun blood test that in broad strokes covers a bunch of potential issues, that one would have detected it. Took almost half a year and three different doctors just to talk them into doing it. And that's in Canada, where insurance companies are usually not involved and it's covered by provincial plan everyone has. So there was no reason for any of it. The first guy, without any tests, just said "It's your nerves, here's a beta blocker." (it wasn't my nerves) Second one shrugged and sent me to a third. Third finally gave me the blood test, but by that point I self-diagnosed and spoon-fed him the correct symptoms in correct order. So I don't consider it to be his accomplishment. And then the blood test lit up like a Christmas tree, with levels being something like 6-8x of normal. And I finally got sent to the specialist, who finally prescribed actual medication to fix the actual problem.

I lived on three different continents, and half a dozen countries, and never in my life have I seen a doctor, anywhere, like in the movies. Where they spot something I didn't know I had, and know how to fix it. Usually it's me showing up, already knowing what it is and how to fix it, and having to talk them into it.

And some of these guys are just completely infuriating. Went to the eye doc, and he wanted me to take a pretty intrusive test, and to go to a different city (half a day's travel away) to do it, in a specific clinic. I asked him, if the test is positive, what do we do after that? And he said nothing much, just gotta sit and wait. And if the test in negative? Also nothing, because he was out of ideas. So whether I take the test or not, nothing will be done. So why in Zeus' butthole would I sacrifice a whole day and considerable discomfort for a test that goes nowhere? I'm still convinced the dude was getting kickpacks from that testing facility or something, because he insisted on THAT one. I wanted to know if there's a closer one. There had to be. I'm in a city of 4 million people, and I have to get on a train to go to adjacent one for a test? That's crazy. But he was like nope, there, nowhere else. Oh, and the best part about this guy, my appointment was at 09:30, I wasn't even led into the exam room until like 11:45. That's the level of service this dude had. The waiting room was so full I spent the last hour or so standing, because we ran out of seats and there were people in worse shape than I was.

They're not. And as a scientist their methodologies for diagnosis are all fucked.

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Iceblink-@reddit

What do you want them to do?

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stargarnet79@reddit

Yeah. You have to advocate for yourself now. If you need antibiotics, don’t fucking leave until they prescribe them to you.

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phillyphilly19@reddit

Nope, I don't agree. To be honest, most patients are very bad historians and very bad at describing what's wrong with them. They also want an instant and perfect diagnosis and a cure. That's not how it ever worked.And that's not how it's going to work. It's often a process of elimination tests, and sometimes, there aren't exact reasons why something occurs. Medicine is fifty percent art and fifty percent science. People watch too many youtube videos where fake doctors tell them exactly what's wrong with them, even though they don't know them. Beware of the doctor who's always too sure of himself.

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purplishfluffyclouds@reddit

I would just like to know why it take >24 hours to transfer Xrays from one office to another.

It's not like they have to send a courier to deliver a CD anymore or (cough) film anymore.

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YellowBeaverFever@reddit

I keep jumping GPs. Something will happen and they make a completely wrong call. Over and over again. “You hyperventilated at the gym while on the bike? Sounds like a degenerative neuro thing and I need to send you to three specialists.”, which I went to, and they all laughed. “You have two young kids, only get 5 hours of sleep, and sometimes fall asleep during the day? Sounds like a sleep apnea. Go do a sleep study.” When I did, the neurologist said I had a very mild case and not even close to needing a CPAP machine. GP, on the other hand, didn’t know I actually talked with the neurologist and told me I had a major case and needed CPAP immediately. I mention a spasm in my upper abdomen that happens when I first lay down. “Sounds like major cardiac issues.. go see these 3…”, which was ultimately lack of vitamins, poor hydration, and poor core muscles.

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idlefritz@reddit

I just showed symptoms in the last 24 hours that scream Deep Vein Thrombosis so I made a rare trip to the clinic. The doctor asks me generic questions, never even looks at the swelling in my leg and just shrugs and says she’ll put in for a Doppler and sends me on my way with a $80 bill for the pleasure. I went home and immediately fed all the information to ChatGPT and I received a list of things to do/not do, a price estimate for Doppler exams (which the clinic played dumb about) and got a whole series of exercises and nutritional recommendations. For me the PCP side of medicine in the US is dead, I’ll just start with ChatGPT and contact specialists directly rather than waste time with beleaguered and burnt out middle men.

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No_Variety9420@reddit

I stopped going to my doctor after I went to him with excruciating pain and swelling in my ankle and he didn't even look at it and asked me: "what do you want me to do about it ?" I said "I don't know , am not the doctor" and he walked away without saying anything.

You said it yourself, you've abused your body. Your body never forgets the shit you put it through. This probably makes any kind of problem more difficult to deal with

Doctors don't have good answers for certain things, e.g. soft tissue problems like fasciitis, tennis elbow, etc. I had both and had to fix them myself.

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Dismal_Estate9829@reddit

I game up about 10 years ago when I took my wife to the doctor for a kidney stone (she used to get them often) and the doctor checked boxes on a screen and came up with the wrong diagnosis. I know how to use web md! I came here for a doctor.

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awitod@reddit

I want to see the entire system collapse and be replaced. A fitness band and the internet did more for me than any doctor ever has.

We need an army of old school folks who can deliver babies. set broken bones and provide the common care people need without being giant money sucks.

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RCA2CE@reddit

mostly I think doctors are booking way too many patients and not spending time with any of them

they're mostly pill dispensers nowadays

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Fart_Bargo@reddit

I like it when I go in for a problem, and ask, "do you think it could be Disease X?" and they say, "could be, let's try that." I should get my own prescription pad.

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Prestigious_Pop_7381@reddit

Today doctors “treat” conditions they’re not in the business of cures Temporarily fixes and repeat customers are the only thing they look for.

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Reachforthesky777@reddit

I'm not sure this aligns with what I've noticed exactly but, years ago I noticed how the newer GPs seem to be more of a triage point for a lot of things, dealing with minor things and referring to specialists for a lot of other things. This annoyed me at first because it involved me investing more time but, it makes sense given how much medical knowledge had grown in the past 50 years.

I adamantly believe we are better off this way, having experienced the absolute worst with doctors.

Up until my current GP, I had a series of doctors I didn't keep long because they frankly seemed incompetent. I had narcissist doctors, doctors with god complexes, doctors who were so disorganized that I caught them making notes about me in another patients chart - so incompetent that they showed me another patients chart without realizing I wasn't that person (pre-HIPAA).

The worst of it were the two doctors who misdiagnosed my fathers cancer until a 3rd doctor caught it at stage 4, and a doctor who failed to diagnose diabetes in my uncle.

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CaptFatz@reddit

They are there to treat you...not cure you. It's a business. Unless you need triage, which is a fantastic segment of healthcare, then most of it is fluff. My wife's cardiologist, for a nice fee, just told my wife everything I told her before she went. I didn't get paid or have a medical degree.

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BexKix@reddit

Big pharm, yes they want to treat not cure. They’ll buy the cure for cancer and bury it so it never sees light of day.

Insurance companies don’t even want to treat. They hire docs to say “no” in areas those docs shouldn’t be practicing in. (How they find docs with so little wish to actually help and cure I’ll never know.)

Some doctors are just incompetent, knowing enough to not create a lawsuit. My psychiatrist is like this. Don’t ask him how hormones react/interact with how the drugs work, but he’s happy to crank up your dose.

We are VERY good at prescribing things in the US and very bad at de-prescribing. Polypharma is an interesting wormhole if you want one to fall into.

And yes, spousal input falls on deaf ears here too. Might be time to find another doc. In my area it’s a crap shoot whether another option exists, good luck.

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I blame hospital administrators

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Z_Opinionator@reddit

You have to think of the human body as if it is a complex computer system that we didn’t design but we still need to try and fix when it doesn’t work. Everything we know in medicine is from reverse engineering this system. As we learn more and more, and what we learn becomes more complex, it moves beyond a single person being able to support the entire system. Your GP is the level 1 help desk. Cutting edge oncology? That’s getting all the way to product engineering.

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NFLTG_71@reddit

Does anybody remember a long time ago when you went to the doctor for I don’t know your knee hurts your ass hurt your balls hurt your head hurts you got the flu. You got a cold whatever it was. You went to one doctor now if I’ve got a problem with my foot and a problem with my knee, I gotta go to two separate doctors and they’re 40 miles away from each other. It’s complete bullshit.

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Curious_Field7953@reddit

I don't feel this way at all. That may be bc when I was 42 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and when we did genetic screening my BRCA markers weren't just 'no' or 'yes' they were both mutated. BRCA 1 was only seen 11 times before & BRCA 2 was only seen 2 times before. I was asked to share my medical information with a few studies, which I joined. While I don't regret it, I do wish I realized at the time that it would mean various testing, interviews, medical reviews, etc several times a year for probably the rest of my life. I have almost too much interest in my health now 🙃 as if that were a thing - with zero out-of-pocket costs for me.

That being said, sometimes when my migraines flare up it becomes a game of why instead of just refilling my sumatriptan. That can be aggravating on another level. But, I always feel bad for saying that bc how dare I turn down free medical care?

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Strangewhine88@reddit

Nope. I do understand that my PCP is pretty much a big picture case manager and I see specialists based on recommendations. There are instances where I’m a better fixer of my own problems because I’m living in my body day to day, but that’s specific to orthopaedic pains when expert opinion has been heard, PT assessment and training engaged, imaging was inconclusive and I still had problems to solve in order to move well and not feel pain. Doctors aren’t mind readers and they certainly aren’t omniscient. Many of them are no longer in their own private practice and as members of large corporate medical groups do have to work harder at reputational management in order to compete well in that environment. But in my case, I’m still being told here’s what’s going on and what’s indicated for treatment is X. We have these X options medically, but given your history option b is the best option, with the least likely negative effects(first do no harm if you will). No one’s asking me which med I want and which dosage, which procedure I want. They are asking in some cases for my buy in or validation.

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kinda_nutz@reddit

Doctors don’t know anything.. their “practice” of medicine is just modern day torture.. don’t ever become chronically ill.. stay away from doctors if you want to stay healthy

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My old gp retired and after paying $80 to become an established patient at the practice I’d been visiting for twenty years (taken over by a company) I found out they don’t do same day sick appointments! So if I’m sick I go to the doc in a box and if I need a specialist I go to my specialists so the gp is just on paper so when other offices ask me for my primary I have a name.

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Odd-Influence-5250@reddit

I’ve abused my body for years and take no accountability is what I read. What a wild take to blame the doctor.

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porkchopexpress-1373@reddit

I’ve noticed this as well. Sometimes going to the DR just feels like going through the McDonald’s drive thru. I just tell them what I want and hope it’s correct when I pick it up. Plus most of them as my Dad would say are practicing medicine. Wise words.

We've had nothing but exemplary healthcare... We had nearly a million dollar course of surgeries and treatments to keep my wife alive for another decade, hopefully. Our only out of pocket expense was covered by a grant.

I started listening to our doctor when I finally got healthcare ten years ago. I've never felt better mentally or physically.

Maybe try another provider.

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DesdemonaDestiny@reddit

It must be nice to have good insurance. Most of us don't, even those of us with good jobs.

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beermaker@reddit

This is the first health insurance I've had since I was 18, so I really have nothing to compare it to... My wife's brain cancer will make sure we hit our out of pocket max every year, and everything after that is completely covered.

I had no idea til I met my wife the scope of the difference between blue collar and executive level benefits. Her/our health insurance is amazing.

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Witty_Minimum@reddit

My dr refers me out to specialists for everything. I don’t think the man has treated me yet.

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Disastrous-Tourist61@reddit

I'm a structural welder, you wouldn't want me welding a pressure vessel. Sure, I could weld it but it may blow up because I have not been trained to specifically weld pressure vessels. Would you want your primary care physician to operate on your brain?

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Witty_Minimum@reddit

no, but you obviously did.

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Patient-Rain-4914@reddit

My pops would agree with you.