How I Got Into a Fight with a Doctor
I accompanied Sam to his appointment. We were so excited to get there, and it was with great effort that we arrived on time and in a good head space, full of hope (after weeks of dreadful exhaustion).
His doctor was not concerned about the full-body problem which was disrupting both of our lives. He talked extremely slowly, as if he himself was impaired… and asked Sam some irrelevant questions about things, they talked about things that were not even troublesome. It felt like he was just trying to fill an hour’s worth of time, but as you can imagine, Sam had pressing and urgent symptoms that he wanted addressed. Neither one of us came in fight mode, we came in with hope, desperate for help.
It went on and on, Sam kept shifting in his seat, he was so uncomfortable, he tried a couple of times to get doc to redirect to the problems at hand.
We were still not in fight mode, but its about to go down!
About 45 minutes into the one-hour appointment, doc ‘called me out’ for interrupting him and made a “Shh” sign! It felt confrontational on his part, after all, we pay $350 per hour and I was just trying to redirect his focus to the disturbing symptoms, not some incidental finding on the a lab report. We only have an hour together. I wanted to beat his ass, and I bet I could!
Sam was experiencing a serious drug-induced reaction needing immediate intervention, yet the doctor outright refused to discontinue the antibiotic because that would “introduce a new variable.” And likewise, I resisted introducing the variable of my shoe to his forehead! Just how long should you watch your loved one suffer before you fight with the doctor?
Have You Ever Gotten into a Fight with a Doctor?
– Showed no compassion
-Made it clear the next appointment is soon
– Failed to take a detailed history
–Obviously, not listening and you can tell
– Did not fully grasp the severity of your condition
-Failed to recognize that self-harm might occur from the chronic
pain, lack of relief or feelings of isolation
– Charged you way too much for their time
– Picks a fight with you by rolling their eyes or shushing you
You’ve been there, haven’t you?
After an hour of dilly-dallying, I was a little mentally out of my mind! So I decided to speak, very softly though, and slowly because I didn’t want to intimidate him. I felt like I actually knew more than he did! So I presented 2 reasonable suggestions and solutions.
He didn’t want to hear of anything, because it was all coming out of my mouth, not his. He certainly didn’t want to hear that we should pause the antibiotic that was likely causing a depletion in his body of nutrients leading to the akathisias.
My suggestions were perfect, and reasonable based on sound clinical merit. But his ego was too big to hear me.
Sam Appealed Next
Sam meekly appealed to him, after hearing him shoot me down. Why? Because he agreed with me! He knew the timing of the side effects to the timing of his medicaiton. But he was worn out and sleep-deprived to fight harder and say more. His voice so weak I debated leaving to go to the E.R. I had to assist him to the car.
Besides, one important thing. I am a pharmacist, Sam is not. He is a retired chiropractor, so drug reactions are my expertise, not Sam’s.
The doctor INSISTED in that moment that Sam NOT discontinue the antibiotics, but raise the dosage, in spite of the horrific reaction he was having right there in front of doc!
He told me to stop interfering and just let Sam “get used to the drug” and that in time “it will all wear off.” He said that a discontinuation would “set him back for months.”
I appealed to him, saying, “He is having a BAD reaction, look at him, he’s shaking and there are visible tremors and fasciculations on his legs, and he hasn’t slept in weeks, do you really feel this is the best course of action?” He said “YES, I know what I’m doing.”
He rolled his eyes, shook his head as if to suggest “You’re an idiot” and then banged his palm on the desk as if to restrain himself from hitting ME. I stopped biting my lip, and infuriated with his obstinance, this slipped out:
You know, for what we pay, it would be great if you actually LISTENED
to your patient and had a NICER bedside manner!
Then I walked out in a huff! I looked up his physician reviews for fun that night, and most of his reviews were 1-star.
We discontinued the antibiotics that night and within a few days, Sam’s akathisias subsided. It was ALL drug-related. I was 100% CORRECT. The doctor was negligent for wanting to persist with those drugs in light of a severe and obvious drug-induced reaction.
Read Reviews on Physicians
NOTE TO SELF: Read those reviews before you just go to the doctor! They give you some idea of what you’ll be experiencing when you get there. And as you might guess, I posted my own 1-star review for him too! Not so much because of his arrogance, or obstinance… not because we got into a fight either. That happens.
I left him our bad review simply because other people deserve to know he is uncompassionate, and won’t take a complete history, and doesn’t listen either.
Tell me, what kind of practitioner lets a patient continue on drugs while they’re dealing with such severe side effects they should be treated at the emergency room?!
Furthermore, also can’t diagnose properly! He has one toolbox, and if anyone goes in, they will be given only things from this one toolbox! You have to fight for your health, no one else will fight for you!
I’ll fight for you actually! That’s why I gave up my career as a Licensed Pharmacist at CVS to sit home and research and write blogs about medicine and health. I’m on YOUR side, not the side of pharmacies, drug makers, or researchers.
You may enjoy this article I wrote, You Pay the Price if Your Doctor Misdiagnoses You.
More About Restless Legs
Just FYI, the “restless” limb problem may occur with any antibiotic protocol, and it’s sometimes part of a Herxheimer reaction, and sometimes just a plain old side effect. It’s associated with various neurotransmitter and nutrient deficiencies. Mepron, Tindamax and many other Lyme drugs can cause it.
Gabapentin seemed to help with this issue, but not completely. And that drug was what another doctor ultimately prescribed to help. You may be interested in a new article I just wrote, Curious and Unexpected Off-label Drug Uses.
If you take gabapentin, read my article: How To Properly Take Gabapentin And Restore 5 Lost Nutrients.
When you kill germs (bugs) with antibiotics, you have to clean up an hour afterwards. It’s like wringing out a sponge, kill the bugs, wring out the dead bug parts and “excitotoxins.” To accomplish this, doctors sometimes prescribe cholestyramine powder, or natural binders like clay which are taken one or two hours after your antibiotic. If you know this, and you want this, then fight for it!
Related article, just in case you are interested: Natural Alternatives to Antibiotics
Some binders and supplements reduce your toxic load of glutamate, ammonia and quinolinic acid, which are three excitotoxic compounds that are unleashed with antibiotic use. You want to reduce those. They can make your brain buzz, or limbs vibrate, or induce restless legs, seizures, clusters, migraines, fasciculations and severe insomnia. Now, it’s time for you to stop suffering.
Speak up for yourself and don’t accept the “wait and see” attitude. If you happen to have akathisias or restless legs syndrome, CLICK HERE to read that article.
If you’re interested in more about Sam and me, you can read about our LIKE AFFAIR!
Fight for yourself, and your loved ones! And if you want, bring along a little pit bull me!💪
Suzy Cohen, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years and believes the best approach to chronic illness is a combination of natural medicine and conventional. She founded her own dietary supplement company specializing in custom-formulas, some of which have patents. With a special focus on functional medicine, thyroid health and drug nutrient depletion, Suzy is the author of several related books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, Diabetes Without Drugs, and a nationally syndicated column.
