Dealing with Chronic Pain

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I know you feel you want to make her hurt, like she made you hurt. You want her to tell you that she was wrong...but that ain't going to happen, unfortunately. Like Cyndy and Dan said, there's not much you can do...yes, you are angry; and I don't blame you....you should be! But she can do more damage to YOU than you can do to HER, unfortunately. She could 'blackball' you...and that could be a real problem for you in the future.

I know I had a doctor that really got me angry, would not believe that I was having as much pain as I was...after shoulder surgery. I found out (in error) that he wrote in my chart that I had a 'very low threshhold of pain...and only wanted more pain meds'. Well, it turned out that I had a herniated disc in my neck and needed a 3 level fusion; THAT was what was causing my pain. But he would not send me for a cervical MRI or any other test. I did write him a letter, because it made ME feel better....lol. I told him what he did was wrong, that he was inconsiderate and not at all professional, plus a few other things. Needless to say I never got a response from him...but didn't expect to either. But I also told him I would never go back to him, that I had lost all respect for him as a surgeon; and would never recommend him as a doctor/surgeon to anyone....ever. He probably could care less about my letter though. But I did hear that he has gotten a very big 'ego' and has lost many employees because of it. But he's still a good doctor...so that keeps people going to him...so he hasn't lost anything. My letter probably didn't mean a thing to him! He could care less that he lost me as a patient!

But, you could be taking a chance by writing a letter to the doctor or to the AMA. Sure, you're angry.....and you want her to know what she did wrong. But she probably won't care one little bit. And it could come back to bite you. YOU know you were right....you know she lied....and you have learned now that when you go to a doctor what to tell them, to make sure they "understand" exactly what the problem is, what's been done, etc. You actually learned something...which is a good thing. Chalk it up to an 'education'....hard as it may be. Like Cyndy said, you can tell people, if they ask, that you would not recommend her as a physician....most doctors get their patients by referral from other patients, so you're hitting her in the pocketbook.

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