Primal Feet First: In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past page 75

[cori93437]

*waves* thinking of you, my dear.

Excellent timing BTW.

I'm supposed to gt my car back on Friday, but in the meantime... and for the foreseeable future I'll be dealing with this:

I had a VA evaluation yesterday.
It's just something that they do about every 5 years to assess the condition of my permanent medical condition... don't ask me why, except that if you are under a certain age they don't call a condition "permanent" unless you are actually a quadriplegic. It's a bureaucracy thing. I have a disease for which there is no cure, only maintenance... they must evaluate the maintenance I suppose. That was normal.


The part that is troublesome is that prior to my diagnosis for my current brain problem (at the Mayo), and prior to me coming here to MDA, I had an appointment with a neurologist at the VA that, to put it very mildly, did not go well. So while I was at the VA building yesterday I decided to speak to someone about the appointment and see what I needed to do about getting my correct diagnosis inserted into the file.
I was sent to see"patient advocate" director... and told her the whole messed up story.

The doctor first argued with me about why I was NOT on pain medication for my other chronic condition that I see the VA for. The doctor asked me some questions repeatedly as if I was lying to her, specifically some drug questions. And she would move on to other question then go back and ask the drug question again later. She asked me if I was seeing things and when I responded to describe the migraine aura I get she then turned and asked my husband if I was talking to people who weren't there. The doctor was dismissive of the symptoms I was trying to explain to her and asked me personal questions... specifically personal questions about my childhood re: my father/abuse. She was also dismissive of my symptoms during the physical examination, such as when I could not blow out mu cheeks evenly; only one side would blow out at a time, I had to struggle to make both sides puff and then it was halfway. I became upset during the consult because of her lack of focus on medical issues and her picking at personal issues and in anger and frustration I cried for a minute... remember at the time I had not been able to speak properly for several months and was having to use a wheelchair frequently, and those headphones all the time... She also ridiculed the headphones.

The end result of that visit was that the doctor told me that I had a "psychological problem"... she tried to prescribe me antidepressants for the headaches, send me for a psych consult, and send me to speech therapy. I became a BIT angry, told her that I did not want my headaches treated if the cause was not treated, that I didn't nee to see a speech therapist because I could speak just fine if the cause of the speech problem would be addressed, and I didn't need to see psych because in spite of being sick I had a pretty healthy attitude about life. Then I challenged her a bit by asking her if there was really no other explanation in any medical text book anywhere that could explain my condition... and she responded "No."
And I told her something not very nice/polite... and that I wouldn't be back.
Like I said, bad experience.

Anyway, as part of the process for me to get the diagnosis changed in my files to the correct diagnosis from the Mayo clinic I had to request a copy of her notes from "release of information". And I am appalled at what I found. It hindsight it's pretty obvious, but I was sick and dealing with my head issues at the time...
What this doctor did was open some of my old case files... really old ones.

For instance one from a 10 minute consult with an asshat doctor in LA in 1999... my first ever consult with a VA doctor. He talked to me and touched me with his hands for about 10 minutes then said "I don't think you have this condition because I've never heard of it spreading like that". And my husband and I said, "OK, then what?" and he said "I don't know, go to a specialist..."
Turns out he wrote in his notes that he THOUGHT it was "psychosomatic" (after a team of USAF docs all agreed it was not but whatever)... the result however was that I was sent to another team of specialists who I told what he said, and they laughed. Then they performed actual tests. Full body bone scans, thermography, and nerve conduction... and they through testing confirmed that I do have the original condition suspected... it's just that diseases don't always behave like the average cases written in textbooks.
Also, that one doctor in 1999 is the only doctor I've ever seen who has had a problem with my diagnosis.
I've been treated by the VA for all of these years, including many surgeries and a lot of drugs and even seen, and even seen by one of the most respected published research doctors on my condition in the country who happened to work at the VA in Tampa, based on the premises that I do have the condition, it's a service connected disability BTW, and that that asshat in 1999 and his 10 min interview were wrong.

The other thing she did... she saw that I had been treated by psych services at the VA.
I was treated there for depression/anxiety/ptsd for several years due to my childhood and my ex who stalked and raped me.
That treatment included both medication in the form of antidepressants and talk therapy.
This doctor read the notes... the questions she asked in her appointment with me were VERY specific.
She did not ask about my general family.

IMO she used her access to my files to try and bully me into accepting medical care that was certainly not in my best interest.

The patient advocate director gave me some forms.
One is to change the note made in my file so that it it red lined or removed and the Mayo diagnosis is removed.
One is a formal complaint against the doctor detailing her inappropriate conduct.
And the other for she gave me, which she also advised me to use, is for tort.

Let me tell you... After discovering how much she was digging in my files during that appointment I'm HOT.
I also feel that I should have that 1999 doctors comment removed... but WTF, if she had just asked me I would have explained! I've had other doctors ask me about him since... and I explained it. That is was a very fast, and not thorough, exam, and that I was then sent to a team of specialists who did testing and confirmed the issue.


My other issue is that WHY do all the doctors in the hospital have access to the mental health records???
I know they probably don't have access to the full notes, but ANYTHING I discussed up there is supposed to be private.
I honestly don't feel that I can ever trust the VA medical services again...
I'm a little freaked out.

And looking for a lawyer to discuss tort with .
Because I have a service connected disability that I'm not sure I want to see the VA for anymore.

*edited... this is why: FUCK government health care.

[jenn26point2]

I'm sorry your appointments didn't go very well. I hope you're able to find a resolution for the way she treated you and rummaged through your files.

I am also a period patient of the VA. I'm seen for psych evals. Since switching to primal, my symptoms are better controlled (not gone, but less intense). I hope that doesn't change my rating b/c I feel that if I were to change my diet again, I'd be right back to where I was prior to primal. I see the diet as part of my treatment plan.

[namelesswonder]

F'ing wow. I'm sorry, Cori. I don't think I can articulate how messed up that is.

[naiadknight]

Yikes, Cori. That sucks giant sweaty orc sack. Hope you can get it resolved.

[badgergirl]

bloody hell. Doctors (and remember I work with/for them): the bad ones sure do get a God complex. Fuckers.

[Pebbles67]

Hopefully, when you send in those forms, some action will be taken. Sorry you were so badly treated.

[canio6]

Damn Cori, just damn. That is awful.

[jenn26point2]

Any resolution to the VA sucky doctor thing?

[cori93437]

No resolution yet... just paperwork mess.

Today my other grandfather passed away.
Flying to TN tomorrow.

I had a long over due post gurgling away in my head...
It's on hold again.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

huge hugs from across the ditch
G x