Doctors attitudes

Jumping back to doctors' attitudes for a moment, what do you do about a doctor with a horrid attitude that you need to continue seeing? My endo is a nasty spirited, vile woman, but she is the best in the area 'doctor wise' in her field. She has no human skills whatsoever and has that ' I am the DOCTOR and even though I have only spent two minutes with you I know your body better than you who has lived with it for 40 years' attitude. I struggle to have a conversation with her because she is so busy talking down to me and speaking in that slow, careful tone people use with toddlers who might be a bit slow for their age, to actually listen to my questions or concerns. I just want to Gibbs (NCIS) slap her 'round the back of the head and scream 'Listen to me!' but I know I can't because of the zero tolerance policy.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for doctors and nurses being protected from people being nasty to them. On the other hand, I just don't know how to get this woman to listen and stop treating me like she does. I've heard others mention she is nasty to them too so I don't think of it as her picking on me. I have one 'strike' against me at the GP because I was outside waiting for a taxi to get to my appointment and called to say I'd be late. As I was on the phone, two men walked by and one was swearing at the other. The receptionist hung up on me and when I called back I was given a stern lecture and warned about 'future incidents', despite explaining the swearing had nothing to do with me but apologizing anyway. That is enough to make me afraid to say anything to the endo to fix the situation for fear of it being taken as some sort of verbal assault no matter how carefully I word it.

On the other end of the scale, I just can't get used to the conversations that go:
Doc: 'So, what's wrong today?'
Me: (Describe the symptoms)
Doc: 'So, what do you think we should do?'

Um.... you're the doc, you tell me. I don't mind so much when it is a sinus infection and I can self diagnose and tell them what I need to get over it, but for some things we as mere humans need them to rely on their years of medical schooling to tell us what to do to fix what ails us.

I love telling the girls at Boots that I used to buy aspirin in bottles of 500. Their eyes are like saucers.

I too get a giggle seeing the reactions when mentioning the mass quantities we can get of Tylenol, ibuprofen and aspirin in the States. I also laugh to myself over the way some people use hushed tones and reverent movements when discussing ibuprofen here, and the importance of not taking too much, even though you can get higher doses of it in the States.

Oh this is my cup of tea. I would enjoy her immensely! I have had to deal with such because they were very good in their field and I am in need of that more than liking the personality. However, you must get control here. Be firm, direct, raise your voice a bit, more if she interrupts. Do not be intimidated.

The drug chat is still funny! However, drink lots of water with those ibuprofens!

However, you must get control here. Be firm, direct, raise your voice a bit, more if she interrupts. Do not be intimidated.

The drug chat is still funny! However, drink lots of water with those ibuprofens!

I don't go back until late January, but I will give that a try. It isn't that I want to be rude, I just want some input into what is going on with me. Blindly listening to what a doctor tells me to do and taking prescribed drugs without being allowed to ask questions about them just doesn't sit well with me. Being ignored, talked over and talked down to as if I am stupid really doesn't sit well with me. I suppose it is time to quit sitting there in stunned, annoyed silence and speak up for myself.

I generally drink lots of water, but when I am taking ibuprofen I try to drink at least 2 pints more within a couple hours of taking them. It may not be loads extra, but it helps.

This reminded me of this thread:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=61696.0

Not sure if rsmd9, posts or reads on here anymore, but anyways- rsmd9 is an American, but working as a Doctor here. 

There was some very helpful advice on the thread about getting the best outta of your health care and some good links   

Thanks for the link. I'll give that thread a read. I'm all for trying anything that will make the doctor visits easy as possible. I hate to go in feeling fine and coming out with a stress headache while feeling as though I wasted my time showing up.

Blindly listening to what a doctor tells me to do and taking prescribed drugs without being allowed to ask questions about them just doesn't sit well with me. Being ignored, talked over and talked down to as if I am stupid really doesn't sit well with me. I suppose it is time to quit sitting there in stunned, annoyed silence and speak up for myself.

Now you're talkin'! (You can PM me for specific techniques   . And drinking that extra water does help!

Awesome! Sending a message in a moment.

Thanks for the link. I'll give that thread a read. I'm all for trying anything that will make the doctor visits easy as possible. I hate to go in feeling fine and coming out with a stress headache while feeling as though I wasted my time showing up.

I had 2 Dietitians who were exactly like your Endo is to you.   I would go in a great mood proud of my weight loss granted it may have been small but it was still a loss. an one of the dietitians would say well you only lost such & such totally undermining all my good work. she would also tell me to do a different diet than my Dh I told her everytime my Dh & I couldn't afford to eat separate meals. an she would say if your not going to take my advice then don't complain to me when you don't lose weight. but the thing is I was losing weight though just not as much as she wanted me to lose. this was when I was just diagnosed with PCOS an I had not got the medication dosage right yet. The other Dietitian told me stuff I already knew an she said you probably already know but take this pamphlet anyways. Dh hated it when I saw both Dietitian's cause he said I always came out of there office's in a right mood he would call me a stroppy cow   an he had good right to call me that cause he wasn't overexaggerating it either. but thankfully the Dietitian I have now I cant sing her praises high enough.