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FLClover's avatar
FLClover
Member
4 years ago

Bad doctor experience

So, I had an interesting appointment yesterday with a neurophysiologist. I got carpal tunnel syndrome last year after taking Letrozole, and have since changed to Arimidex. I still have tingly fingers, but I can feel things and my hands are stronger, so decided to get reassessed to see if I could avoid surgery (simple and short surgery but loooong recovery period). After the test, he was telling me the results, but was very confusing. He said I’m not an oncologist, all I can tell you is from what I know. But you’d need to get assessed based on your whole history. 
Me: ok, so should I book another appointment? 
Him: no! You’ve already done it!
Me: ...so then should I have the surgery? 
Him: I can’t tell you what to do without a full assessment without taking your history into account!
Me: so how would I get that? 
Him: you’d have to make an appointment with a neurologist, like me, and get it checked.
Me: so then I do need another appointment, where the doctor could check everything and then tell me what to do. 
Him: no! You don’t need another test! You’ve just done one! 
Me: 😶. 
Him: you’ve got this condition, it’s not going away, so based on what I know, I’m telling you fix it! 
Me: ok, I know it needs fixing and surgery is probably best. But are there any known long term effects of the surgery? 
Him: long term it will kill you! 
Me: 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳
Him: you had bca, did you have surgery straight away or wait?
Me: straight away, in my case. 
Him: so there you go. 
At this point I decided to leave. Very confused and very down. Am I wrong to think you can’t compare ca with carpal tunnel syndrome? They don’t work in the same way. And not all bca patients have surgery straight away. But most importantly, he didn’t answer my main question, about the long term effects of the surgery and recovery time. He just mentioned the word no one wants to hear in a doctor’s office: ‘kill’. I googled afterwards and there are different ways to control carpal tunnel syndrome, none of which he mentioned. Also, my results were not worse, if anything they were better. But it was just the attitude. And whenever I tried to explain smth quickly, he’d cut me off straight away and waffle on for ages, then still not allow me to speak. Is it my imagination, or was this experience really bad? 
hormone-therapy
side-effects
surgery
young-women
  • Sister's avatar
    Sister
    Member
    4 years ago
    A good practitioner would back a second opinion if you were unsure.  Personally, as you said, I'm not sure what correlation he's drawing between cancer and carpal tunnel and as far as I'm aware, carpal won't kill you so you've got time to question.  Absolutely go to someone else who is happy to explain the options and effects.
  • TonyaM's avatar
    TonyaM
    Member
    4 years ago
    Like you FLClover,I’m totally confused and I bet you paid a lot of money for that weird experience! I think I would look for someone else.Take care xx
  • MicheleR's avatar
    MicheleR
    Member
    4 years ago
    Wow. Sounds like he just thinks you should have surgery and not question him. Somewhat arrogant. Particularly upsetting some of his comments, poor you. Id find someone else who is more pleasant. 
  • Afraser's avatar
    Afraser
    Member
    4 years ago
    @FLClover
    If at first you don't understand, even when you have asked for clarification, I'd look elsewhere. He may be brilliant but he can't communicate. And it won't be his fault if you misunderstand, that's pretty certain. He's not an oncologist so making comparisons is both irrelevant and pushy! It's hard enough to make decisions about surgery with someone you understand and trust. Some practitioners have to learn the hard way that the days of a patient doing something completely unquestioningly are over. We're not the specialist, but we're not entirely stupid and it's our bodies. If he can't be bothered listening, what else can't he be bothered doing? Best wishes for a better encounter with someone else. 
  • Cath62's avatar
    Cath62
    Member
    4 years ago
    @FLClover that sounds very confusing even reading the story. So is surgery something that you need once you satisfy yourself about the risks? think I would be looking for another specialist if possible.