Doctor Communication: The Biggest Challenge

Getting them to actually listen and hear my concerns. I can book a 30min session and be rushed in and out within 5. I understand I have a history with drug addiction but I'm honestly just trying to get some kind of mental health plan/counselling to try and be a at the last normal version of me.....

i remember absolutely nothing when i’m there talking to them. i have to bring my mom so she can talk for me

I tend to blank on what's happened over time & the things I knew I needed to talk about. But I just end up not remembering until I'm home after the appointment 🙃 😅 It's not that he doesn't listen/believe me/take me seriously. It's just I've been going to psychiatrists & therapists since I was 5-6. My diagnoses have been documented over time with research & testing. But after going into mental hospitals as a kid (1 in 3rd grade & the 2nd in 8th grade) I just always had this fear that if I said the wrong thing I'd be sent to another one. They weren't bad facilities it was just overwhelming. Especially the 2nd one cuz it was mainly done cuz the Dr that we were seeing would only put me in his care after he met me in the mental hospital (which looking back now was an iffy sign. Plus he ended up taking me off meds that worked & then put me on 3 antisychotics at the same time. (Which gave me the liver of an alcoholic which was 2nd warning)) But he was the only one my medicaid would pay for, but my dad retired early to use his bonus to get me to a better psychiatrist who got me all sorted out thankfully. But yeah I deal with my subconscious going "say the wrong thing & they'll lock you up!" Which I know they can't do unless with permission from my caretakers & it mostly happens when suicide/suicide attempts/extreme self harm is happening. It's just hard not to be scared you know?

I do my best to push how serious my symptoms are but I’m often dismissed.

Him thinking I just want more opiates. I don't! But if it's gonna get me to work, cooking dinner, out exercising, playing with my kids, actually taking care of myself and doing everything as normally as possible then why won't you give me them???? We've tried all the others, we've gone down every road we could and we always end up back at dihydrocodeine and morphine. It's what works for me. So please listen to me when I say I'd rather cross the 'addict' bridge if we get there than be bedridden at 30 years old with young kids.

Every dr i see about my knees assumes I mean my kneecaps. I had an orthopedic dr tell me my "kneecaps are supposed to move" when I was in for knee pain and subluxations

Getting them to listen to me! I've been going to orthopedics for years and they only just figured out I have a torn mcl. This comes after a doc reduced to give me an mri, and told me my knees were supposed to hurt

Getting an appointment

Ugh, not just one doctor but SEVERAL... 1) Just because my BMI has been high for most of my life and I've always been a bigger kid/teen/young woman, I've been told numerous times that losing weight would be healthy. I agree, I could afford to lose weight. The issue comes when the doctors don't seem to listen to the other conditions at hand before saying "oh, just lose weight" or "oh, eat better." As someone who just recently got their diagnosis of PCOS, it's far easier to tell me to lose weight than to actually do it. I can eat as healthy as I can and exercise, but the last thing I want you to tell me after all of this hard work is that it's not enough. 💔 2) My dentist needs to stop saying I have such large tonsils. 🤣 Seriously, you've been saying this since I was 5, I think I know they're large. 3) Overall, the biggest challenge is when you feel rushed during a visit or like the doctor is just checking boxes and not really listening to what you have to say. I'd rather have a doctor send me home with no diagnosis but a full hour of support/hard work to find a diagnosis rather than one that sends me home with a diagnosis just to get me out of their hair.

I'm too heavy for any of them to take much into consideration despite the fact that I am DIAGNOSED, and also around here my PCP is so filled to the brim with medicaid patients I haven't even MET her, just her nurse practitioner who will literally say all is fine and then another nurse will call me two days later saying I immediately need a supplement or possible physical therapy

The doctor won’t even look at the pages of notes you’ve written about just one health condition and dismisses my “issues”. Next few months rushed surgery (everything worked out great because of God)

He doesn't listen

Explaining to them what I am feeling inside my body

I'll mention stuff for years and one day she's like, "that's actually very serious, you've never mentioned that before????" And I'll be like, "I've been complaining about it this entire time but ok" 💀

When they blame my weight for a few of my health problems and I know in myself it's something more

the anxiety of, “do I look like im drug seeking or being dramatic?” When I know in reality, I’m not.

My diabetes and her not getting back into can ntact with me even after I've told her about the extreme lows I have when I take the medication she prescribed to me, thinking she can regulate it. I'm a type 2 diabetic, and I work in a factory now and have for the last few months and so now my numbers stay in normal ranges for the most part.

To me, I feel like I would have more if I didn’t flex my role as soon as I meet them. I introduce myself as the senior health professional I am - and they tend to always listen. However as a women, i feel if I didn’t do that, if I didn’t enter these conversations with “hi, nice to meet you, I’m CatsTatsNaps and I’m also a senior professional in …” then I’d be at a high risk of medical gaslighting

To me, it seems like they don't hear me out. Especially if I'm going through this pain just because they're not in me. But they truly don't understand how this condition affects my life to live normally and peacefully

They don't realize how close to the edge I really am. I tell them but no one believes me. I'm stuck in a Hamlet soliloquy 24/7

Everything. Getting appointments, getting help with the pain, just everything. All I got is self management for the pain when they haven't even managed the pain yet.

Getting him to realise I need more support and that sometimes I am not calling in the day because I am basically too ill

just communication in general. asd / adhd maybe, but it requires me to get the doctor to repeat a lot and to oversimplify almost everything they tell me.

I dont like going to the Dr's for one, and for two, seeing new Dr's makes things worse.

Don't worry you'll get diagnosed soon I wasn't diagnosed till I was 17. You just need to find the right doctor

I'm having to get my 3rd ASD diagnosis, as they refuse to believe I could have succeeded in anything if I was "Actually autistic", so I'm fighting a false Histrionic Personality Disorder diagnosis. I've received no medical help for a year due to this.

There's just never enough time!! This is not a "my doctor" problem, it's a systematic problem. I simply do not understand it. How can anyone receive the care they need after a 15 min conversation? I wish doctors and therapists were the same. Like you couldn't be one without being the other. In order to receive care, you must have hour-long sessions and address mental and physical health together. My doctor honestly does a fantastic job of that with the limited time we do have. I just wish there was more.

I get anxious and don't know where to start and I worry about taking up too much time, I worry about not being believed, I worry about sounding stupid, I worry a lot

With my psychiatrist specifically, her very real concern of me ever having a manic episode. I'm not manic often, and when I am I'm on top of the world and I clean and organize my house. I get brief angry manias, basically I'll blow up on my husband then immediately apologize and he knows it's not about him so he doesn't get upset. I'm normally depressed with zero motivation.

I understand where you are coming from

When they make assumptions instead of asking questions about what's happening with me. For example, if I say I'm in pain, they assume it is muscular and not my digestive issues or that I'm just looking for pain meds even with no history of addiction and not being on any pain medication.

Knowing what the problem is but they won’t listen to me and fix it , they think I don’t know my body.

I don’t have any problems with my primary care Dr, she’s been great and really shows that she cares about my health but my psychiatrist forget it. I’m 48 years old and have had insomnia since I was a teenager and she refuses to treat it. Instead she offers me medications that I can’t take and I tell her this at every monthly appointment but still nothing. I know there’s thousands of other sleep meds out there but she won’t let me try any of them. I honestly don’t know why I’m still seeing her. I should ask if I can see someone else in the practice because I’m sick of not being heard 😑

Well, everything is caused by anxiety, I'm in my 20's so a page and half of diagnoses can't be true and I can't be taking a gallon baggy of medications either, you are strong and don't need help whether you can or can't hold a pencil or walk without mobility aids, I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE! (Yep a doc has said that due to my list of conditions.) Oh and my personal favorite is, "are you still in that boy phase?" Glad for the great doctors I have had and have now but sometimes they need a bit of work with peopling. But a lot of us do.

I will not accept “that’s just being a woman” as a response to every issue

They blame most things on my weight even though I gained 5 stone when I became wheelchair bound for 3 years, even now when I've lost 2n half stone so far everything is still down to my weight 😥

They keep avoiding the hints or direct requests I drop that I want to talk about my past relationships because they're screwing with me. I think they just think it's normal "young love" emotions or that I'm just horny. I'm 29. I have ED. I can't feel anything anymore.

them gaslighting the sh1t out of me

My psychiatrist is online, but she's been the favorite of the 3 I've had over my 27 years of life. She's very humble and I think that's really important in that field. I came to her with severe adhd problems coupled with a false bipolar diagnosis and she had me go get differential testing bc my therapist said she didn't think I was bipolar. Plottwist, I'm not bipolar and my old psychiatrist just threw me in the bipolar bucket bc I'm an adhd woman with social anxiety and rejection disphoria. My new psychiatrist is the only one who has ever taken me seriously. All my previous ones diagnosed me with all kinds of disorders that are not even applicable. My new psychiatrist really listened to me and my problems with my medication from the previous one and has been really supportive while being cautious about prescribing unnecessary medications.

Doctors believe that every new/different symptom I have is to do with my condition so "nothing can be done". I think they go with that cause its easier than thinking well actually I am prone to getting other illnesses as well

I feel like whenever I go to the doctor's to talk about something they see the word 'Anxiety' on my paperwork and automatically believe that my problems stem from that. They don't actually listen to what I say. They just blame things on my anxiety

I get told the referrals and medication requests that I need will get done and I will be treated but nothing ever gets chased or checked on so I am left to do it all myself.

Recently I've decided to go off DEPO because none of the doctors would listen to my concerns :(

🙌

My biggest communication challenge with drs is when 1) they don't have enough time to listen to your problem, 2) they sometimes don't bother to show up to the appointment or call to cancel it, 3) they prescribe drugs for a symptom not the cause, 4) they wind up prescribing more drugs to deal with the side effects of the medication previously prescribed, 5) they don't keep accurate records of what you are currently taking, 6) they don't think to check prescription interactions before prescribing something new, 7) it takes a call to 911 to get to the root of the problem in the first place, but by then it's too late damage has been done. This list does not apply to every Dr or every patient, but these are all things I've experienced. Best of luck to the rest of you!

Just please be quiet for 1 minute and listen to me without interrupting. Once i finish describing my problem you are more than welcome to talk and ask questions but i just need that first 1 minute to talk without being bombarded with questions

I've noticed that doctors aren't very well versed on herpes which made it hard for me to figure out what to do at first. But after more personal research, I learned how to cope and treat myself outside of the antivirals my doctor gave me. So it would be better if they would maybe research a bit more when they get a Patient they don't know much about. Not just give them pills and that's it.

Not wanting to give an official diagnosis and thinking I’m over exaggerating my pain

My doctor only listens to half of what i say and puts whatever she wants in my chart. Then i need to go back and correct things.

Having a doctor who will screen you with tests to get to the root cause rather than go in you off with false diagnosis or pills.

Getting him to understand that I'm suffering despite medication and okish bloods... Bloods are not everything with autoimmune diseases or chronic conditions and that it's not fibro! I need help!

That not everything is my fibromyalgia

Getting to see a Dr to talk to them

Being hearing impaired, relying on lipreading, doctors wearing masks, not being able to hear clearly but typically not being seen as needing sign language interpreters because "I'm not 'THAT' Deaf"😒🤔

My previous doctors didn't do anything about my ear infections, no antibiotics, no medication at all. They didn't believe how bad it hurt. When I finally went to an ENT, they said that I definitely had a bunch of fluid in my ears. They also told me that my adenoids were swollen and I had a deviated septum. None of my other doctors cared to check...

Trying to convince someone that I am actually in pain, and that it is often quite high. I am used to hiding it that it's second nature, so if I don't look like I'm in pain then they don't believe me and won't help

Getting listened to at all as an afab fat person. Instead of taking me seriously when I tell them about the things I have researched and learned I probably have, I. e. Autism, they assure me I can't because I don't fit some inaccurate outdated idea of physical markers for those things. Like yeah, I know you're "the Dr" and went to school for this. You're also a GENERAL practitioner, I'm asking for RESOURCES to SPECIALISTS who ACTUALLY went to school for THIS IN PARTICULAR, I've researched this for years, I fit almost every symptom, you don't take into account SOCIO-ECONOMIC factors that I as someone who wasn't born a cis amab individual underwent, thus changing outward appearance of symptom displays in public areas, and I want a freakin second opinion from someone who directly studies what I know I have, NOT FOR SOME GP UNDERSTUDY TO TELL ME MY FACE DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT SHAPE AND I MAKE EYE CONTACT SO I COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE AUTISTIC because the world acts like autistic is SUCH a BAD WORD!

I feel like sometimes my doctors can't understand what I'm going through. A lot seem to treat me as a number rather than a patient.

Most are convinced its all psychosomatic, and I'll be magically cured when I leave my abusive home

With my past doctor it was because everything wrong with me was because I'm older and fatter. He would say "yep hang nail, it's because your heavier. These things happen as we age." "Yep migraines, you could try to lose weight but these things are a sign of age" "You're pre diabetic, it happens the long or heavier you get." "Your blood work is better then I expect for weight and age. [Not mentioning I have high cholesterol or blood pressure] "

Everyone is too obsessed with numbers on tests instead of what I am actually feeling in my body. They trust the numbers over my word and feelings.

When they talk to the other person in the room rather than me...and when they try to tell me that when I'm saying is wrong itsnt actually wrong or how my condition works. like sir please don't confuse your 2 hour lecture on my 20 years of living with the condition!!!

my therapist is convinced i’m not actually bipolar and keeps referring me to different psychiatrists. so far they have all diagnosed me as bipolar based on what i tell them and prescribed me the same medications because the medications i take are helping. now she thinks i have a hormonal imbalance or something and wants me to get blood work done. i really don’t want to keep seeing more doctors to try and prove i don’t have the disorder i was diagnosed with 5 years ago. i’ve been on meds for it for 4 years and they help significantly but i still need therapy for trauma and such. I don’t know why she’s rooting so hard for me to go off my meds when they are helping, and multiple psychiatrists have said the same thing. she’s a great therapist otherwise. I don’t know why she is so adamant about this.

I am so scared to bring up sexual issues and trama around that subject. I need to talk to a doc because I'm not sure if its physical or 100% emotional or both, but how tf do I even bring that up 🥲

My psychiatrist keeps trying to take me off my meds even tho my meds help me

"Maybe if I could trust doctors to make the effort to figure out why my body is doing all these abnormal things I wouldn't have to list all of my unexplained symptoms on google in search of a correlation and a proper diagnosis or ask a medical reddit thread all my unanswered questions and hope something reliable comes up. So much talk these days about people self diagnosing yet no awareness or consideration of the lack of professional and trust worthy doctors. If I felt like I could go into a doctors office and explain all my symptoms and be taken seriously and work pro actively to find treatments and solutions I'd never search shit on google ever again."

They refuse to treat me with what works, like they think they know me better than I know myself.

Having to prove to them i need more help but them not believing me because i "look normal" ..my pediatrician used to belittle me so much and scream at me if i tried to tell him i need to be properly diagnosed and he told be to be a good girl and take the wrong meds x.x... years later and i got diagnosed with Ehlers and many other things i had no idea of

Got a new doctor and she rushes me through the appointment and makes me feel like I'm being ignored and like she doesn't believe me.

my psychiatrist barely tells me anything or what i’m diagnosed but writes the diagnosis in a letter to my gp along with saying i’m not experiencing certain things anymore even though i am but couldn’t tell her because she didn’t ask or give me the chance to tell her anything that she hadn’t asked about

Ask for letters for accommodations and doctors notes and not answering me for weeks to months 😥

Their views and knowledge on my conditions. I have no idea what they truly believe and many doctors will happily pretend to be an expert on everything. Finding out you've wasted months going back and forth with a doctor convinced you're lying/ stupid is infuriating

Judging whether or not your telling the truth or not, and who to trust.

Knowing who to tell

I just have a hard time explaining just in general, how I feel. I think it has something to do to the aphasia I have. Therapist, have told me before I say things but mean something else.

My new drs don't understand why I've been prescribed max cocodamol and naproxen for 4 years with the risks and are trying to get me to change and try different ones

My psychiatrist prescribes me medication that isn’t for my conditions. It’s frustrating. She says “it can be used to treat this.” But it’s not made for it. And here I am, still very sick. It’s like I’m her Guinea pig pawn for her to get more money.

It seems like none of my HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS wants to deal with my EDS. Idk what to do. It's just frustrating!

My mental health.

Not being taken seriously

also being constantly told to go back on antidepressants. it’s based on an assumption that my mental health issues are a chemical imbalance, which lots of peoples are not.

Teardrop try this migraine or chronic pain tour when you have are allergic to pain meds. Makes your day a whole lot more fun. Essential oils used properly can possibly help in the right combination and applied correctly.

That I've tried all different kinds of diets, cutting out carbs/sugars/starches, eating 3 meals a day, eating smaller snack like meals throughout the day, exercising in the morning/noon/night, I've tried combining different advice from people and guess what none of it works and I don't have the money for like Noom/GOLO/etc.

The mofo literally DENIED HELPING ME with my depression yesterday!!!!! Like he said “well you’re on meds for that so you should be okay.” Despite my telling him I’m sleeping 16+ hours a day out of depression, losing interest in all hobbies, no sex drive, etc. Yet he completely just denied me any help…idk what to do because other psychiatrists want to mess with ALL of my meds or they think I’m a drug seeker because I’m on several meds. I just hate how being mentally Ill makes me feel like I’m a criminal in most psychiatrists offices. The ONLY reason I stay with my psychiatrist is because he got me stable for the first time in a decade. I’ll be forever grateful for that, I just wish he could help with my breakthrough depressive episode. 😔

Getting them to look past my weight to the real problems. Yes I'm big but that doesn't mean I should be in pain 24/7

If you’re a young female with diagnosed anxiety, you’ll be written off and not taken as seriously (especially with male physicians)

Whenever I bring up an issue to my doctor, they tell me everything is interrelated (I am well aware that a lot of my issues are interrelated), and that I have to treat the other things first. They won't even take time to look into the issue that I'm bringing up, and they won't treat the other issues either.

They won't believe me, or they'll think I'm just drug-seeking. They've told me I was causing my own pain, I should just have a glass of wine, I was pursuing the wrong career path. They think I'm not willing to show up and put in effort, they won't believe I can't afford the appointments. Meds are fully covered by my insurance, it's the best option for me taking my whole life into account.

My doctor tries to diagnose me with anything and everything and just wants to put me on medication without taking my actual needs or wants into consideration

They don’t listen to me when I was asking them for a reduction( as have massive boobs) , they also stopped my inhaler, cos I hadn’t seen a asthma doctor in 2 years (covid, lockdowns so I couldn’t) so I have to use the powder inhaler which doesn’t agree with me if I need to use my inhaler , luckily I don’t need it that often but still, have to ring before 8 am to even stand a chance of getting an appointment, you have to book a general appointment like 6 weeks in advance to even stand a chance of having one, it’s ridiculous

Probably my biggest challenge with communicating about how I feel is I don't want to sound like I am a hypochondriac because my parents would always call me that when I was throwing up and so I am nervous that people would think that I am just wanting attention.

My psychiatrist doesn't seem to listen to me until I actually present him with the symptoms that I've been persistently telling him for almost 2-3 years now? I was assigned with a psychiatrist through the NHS and he was insistent in sticking me with fluoxetine. See, that wouldn't be a bad thing but he completely neglected the manic episodes I've been experiencing for years. So you can imagine how hell it was.

That the pain is real. That I am not an addict.

They just don't "get" it...

They think my disorder isn't real or just in my head and offers nothing but this simple advice "just cope with it"

It's very hit and miss at my doctors. The last appointment I was told to "find an online forum for ideas". I have fibromyalgia and it seems like they just dont know what to do.

I changed doctors this year. My👍new woman doctor is very supportive. My old male doctor was too set in his ways to be curious or even empathetic.

Them actually listening to what I have to say and down playing or completely disregarding what I have to say on too many occasions at a hospital appointment I have been treated like I'm making everything up or it's nothing the point is it's something to me! That should be enough for them to actually acknowledge what I'm saying 😭

My anxiety makes it hard to speak up when I have questions or want to discuss something new. And my memory issues make it hard to remember everything I want to discuss when I do actually get the nerve to talk.

My doctors all think I'm lying about my symptoms because they're not exactly visible and don't show up on my bloods. Plus it's the usual oh you're too young to have pain in your joints. Boils my piss.

they always think i am drug seeking , or lying about symptoms

Getting them to believe me or not tell me my chronic pain is just period crmaps

Hoping that they take my symptoms seriously

Me being the patient

I had to hop from therapist to therapist and worried I might have to do it again ...

I recently got a new OBGYN who told me the reason I lost 20lbs super quickly last year was bc 2 of my medications can also be used for weight loss. My primary doc obviously knew this beforehand when I had explained I was concerned about the lost weight, but she wanted to run a bunch of tests instead- wracking up my bill. So it's safe to say I'll be looking for a new primary soon cause I just don't trust her anymore. She should've told me what the OBGYN told me. There's no way she didn't know that those medicines could be used for weight loss as well...

My biggest communication problem with my Dr is that they almost always say every single medical thing I have is related to my weight or my anxiety. They don't test me for anything until I bring it up and demand it, which is how I found out I had PCOS by the way, surprise surprise those massive painful periods and feeling like bursting inside me was on fact not just me being fat! It was a whole other thing. Everything boils down to I'm fat or I'm anxious and while both of those things are true they are not the reason why other medical issues are arising. Merely a symptom of it.

Medical gaslighting is when a health care professional dismisses a patient's concerns or symptoms and wrongly blames their illness or symptoms on psychological factors. “You can have doctors convincing you it's all in your head or to defer to them because they're the professionals”

My doctor really wants me to gain weight. I, on the other hand, am just happy that I managed to get to a steady 117 pounds after spending so long being at 105 as an adult. It's difficult to communicate that I'm not concerned about my weight anymore, and I'm sure it's difficult for her to tell me why I really should gain a few more pounds.

My former doctor didn't take me seriously. I asked for a referral and she went on for like 5 minutes about how it's not her specialty but she really didn't think I'm autistic and she doesn't see how it could be that and she really thinks it's just anxiety blablabla. She was very dogmatic and if something she had me do or take didn't work then my only other option was a more extreme version (iron pills made me sick so she said my only other option was to go to the hospital for infusions, just eating more iron or taking a natural supplement by a high quality brand wouldn't possibly work as far as she was concerned.)

When they ask if your happy about your weight. Talking about my weight. Or when they ask about having an eating disorder

Discussing side effects of medications or drug interactions. I don't get any answers

I just don't know how to get words out .

Nobody thinks my pain is coming from my hip dysplasia or my femoral anteversion and I can’t find the right doctor

They expect to be paid.

I just don't know how to tell the Dr how I feel.

Many think I'm an addict to opioids. I would love to take opioids every day, sure, but I know the cons outweigh the benefits, especially long term. I use them strictly as needed, but many doctors don't believe me.

the fact that they constantly medically gaslight me. and then I finally get diagnosed by going to three other doctors...

Um the fact that she never answers my calls and doesn’t help anymore.

honestly?? getting my symptoms out in a coherent way-

My brain lol. All kidding aside, just takes a while to understand things.

This is a long one... The biggest miscommunication or barrier with my doctors would be my mother. Blunt, I know, but she'd always speak for me, even though I've told her since I was a kid I knew how to take care of myself. I was put on anxiety medication when I was 14, she started giving me HER medicine (severe adult dosage) before even asking a doctor. When she did drag me into an office, she begged the doctor, demanding that I was unstable in the public. Her medicine made me physically sick, and I grew dependant on the medicine for a while. The doctor gave in and prescribed a new medicine to me. I was having a panic attack in his office, but because of her, not the doctor. All because I was having a sensory overload due to my (at the time) undiagnosed autism. Later on in my life, at 16 years old, she tried to turn my own psychiatrist against me because I caused all her problems, as she says. Thankfully, the doctor knew me well enough and heard my side of the story after she left. Overall, she acts like I don't have a voice. She's been doing this since I was a kid, acting like I was helpless.

I feel i express so much but sometimes still dont pinpoint the most important detaiks leaving me with misguided advice or diagnosis'

My current PCP leans towards hardly ever taking my pain and other symptoms seriously. I don’t know that it’s possible to communicate beyond that.

My heart doctor seems to always rush me. I found a myocardial infarction on my EKG print out. I had Noooo idea that I’d had a heart attack before. Then I thought back and I remembered. I had a textbook heart attack after I looked up the symptoms. I brought it up to him and he brushed it off as nothing to worry about. I have tachycardia. Have had it since my month long hospitalization in 2012. They couldn’t and still don’t know where it comes from. I was on Atenolol for the longest with no good results. My heart rate was still 100+ resting. It has been as high as as 150’s resting. I was placed on another medication that is totally working by another cardiologist smh. On my last appointment, I asked him to retest me for cpap. He brushed it off again stated, “you’ve been tested and you Need cpap!” I said NO! I’ve LOST OVER 100 POUNDS AND NEED TO BE TESTED! He heard me then after I was firm. He ordered the test. He hardly sees me so I don’t understand the struggle.

They tend not to listen to me because I look younger than I am

Sometimes they jump to conclusions, like a doctor told me I had an std and I didn't know how that was possible because I'm not sexually active. Then I went to another doctor and they said I was perfectly fine..

I couldn’t control my anger today

I feel like I may be trans, but I'm not sure if I am. And telling the doctor that is hard for me. And also things that happen to me daily that are very dangerous that I want to tell her but I feel like I can't

Anyone have any advice for going in to request a colonoscopy? I feel like I've been going insane for the last ~10yrs or so because I've had chronic pain in my right side and left side of my chest, and i can't get a doc to figure out what the deal is. ): I try to check with an urgent care, and they turn me away to an ER as soon as they figure out it's on the right side of my lower abdomen or the left side of my chest.

Probably the fact that I schedule appointments and even if its something really serious I sleep it off the night before the appointment and then nothing shows up on the tests. Then the issues usually resume about a week later.

Trying to get her to set me up with an endocrinologist about my low testosterone, because it has been very low most of my life and i think it may be the root of most of my problems

My age and lack of understanding that I played sports for 17 years. Because of my age they don’t want to diagnose or really do much (at first until I bothered them enough to care) and they won’t take into account the years of multiple different sports I played starting at age 6 until I was forced to stop at 22 die to back and knee pain. After that I gained weight and then ALL my issues were because of that. So frustrating. I’m 31 now and am still having to overly communicate that I feel the sports plays an enormous part in my pain. AND I just had a diagnosis that I was given 2 years ago taken back why? “They said it’s definitely not that because you’re still young and they see this in ya know 40-50 year olds” yup… that’s verbatim from my doctor yesterday. I hate to break it to all them but the tears in my shoulder are also supposed to mostly be found on older people in their 50-80s but yet here I am BECAUSE ITS A SPORTS INJURY. 😒

Judging by the length of this discussion, there is no doubt about the frustrations of NOT BEING HEARD!!! That's why I try to stick with female Drs. They listen better than their male counterparts. I always give them the opportunity to tell me their opinion before I try to tell them what I think. (Basic diplomacy) But I always do it in a way that shows them I am open to their opinion as the expert. That's why you are there. I am also very tenacious. I refuse to give up. I am my best advocate and I need their help.

We have to remember, these medical schools are hooked up to Big PHARMA ergo they’re spouting that agenda. This is why general nurse practitioners are becoming popular because they are being trained in the natural treatment of illness and it’s one reason why we need to encourage them and doctors to expand their medical knowledge base.

It's hard for me to communicate how medication makes me feel because I always feel like it's not effective. Doctors will just keep increasing my doses and I don't know how to tell them I want to try something new without sounding like I'm drug seeking. I've had a serious issue with all my doctors treating me like I'm drug seeking and then never giving me to chance to just try something different. It was a long battle just to get on ADHD meds and now I'm in a tug of war with my doctors trying to take me off of sleeping pills even though I show absolutely no signs of drug abuse. If anything, I'm paranoid of abusing my meds so I don't actually take them when I need them and I'll wait until I get delirious from sleep deprivation...

my doctor consistently telling me I am too young to be sick in any way shape or form, not looking into my joint pain or the constantly swollen glands in my neck, not letting me see a cardiologist until 5 years after my pots symptoms first started.

I have thankfully been blessed with a good doctor. He explains things and gives you the options. Goes by his first name with everyone, just a great guy. The only issue I've had is trying to figure out what a pain in my upper left side is. Randomly reoccurring, so catching it has been problematic. We're trying though

Before my current doctor I would get looked at strangely because I’m so young. Luckily my primary care team (primary care doctor and oral and maxillofacial surgeons/specialists) do understand that I need a lot of help, and they will happily give me referrals, medication, etc whenever I ask. My biggest communication problem seems to be that they don’t understand that I can’t get the treatments I need because I can’t afford them. I was 19 when I was greatly injured and had no money at the time. My parents and grandma have spent tens of thousands of dollars on my surgeries and procedures, but I need several more, and am unable to get them because we’ve run out of funds. My husband (24) and I (25) declared bankruptcy and had to move back in with my parents and everyone is trying to make enough but I literally can’t be seen to have things fixed when there’s no money to afford the fixes. My doctors try to get insurance to cover things, but the amount is just too high. I feel so stuck because my pain is too bad that I can’t work, and my disability claim was rejected. I tried to find a lawyer or someone to help me with my case, but no one would and I was actually turned away for being “too young”. I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m not even living anymore.

She always thinks I'm overreacting because we can't get to the bottom of certain problems

They never want to treat me as whole, they just want to know what is the worst symptom and we'll treat that, usually with drugs. No one talks about nutrition or how my mind works with situations and how it can relate. But I know so many things are related to each other but no one will look at all of it together. I feel rushed.

To be more sympathetic less logical all the time. More use the common knowledge than what fits the book. Granted I know that’s ther job and it get its done. But no everyone fits into boxes. I’m a human being that wants your CARE not another problem to be solved. And if I can’t be so tell me I don’t deal with __ just bc it’s dosent show to you.

I live in an area where it's known as a "boys club". Due to my own PTSD around men, speaking to the Drs & trying to explain to them that they could be wrong and here's the proof, is so friggin hard. I start crying and look hysterical. Which just feeds into thier mental stereotype. So in general, any communication with the male Drs where I live is challenging

I think when a person knows their body and tries to explain it to the Dr and they get offended . That's annoying

I have had doctors look me in the face, after hearing and SEEING what is wrong with me, tell me that I need psychiatric help. I was a critical care nurse, I know what is needed and what isn’t. No mental illness causes a spine to collapse.

They have bad accents

accurately describing how I feel or what exactly is going on in terms that a NP or PA will understand. my therapist gets it and will ask questions but doctors or ones more on the medical side don't really understand it as much?

I forget to mention symptoms, or I forget how much I'm actually affected by symptoms.

Me telling them what’s I’ve been feeling and them brushing me off like there is nothing wrong with me or just saying here take this drug instead of trying to find what’s actually wrong with me.

Meds aren't tested on Native Americans, so I'm often pressured to take things that Natives tend to have trouble with

I would say for me it’s the fact that I’m nervous of what they will say to me about the issue I’m trying to tell them

Weight! I know I'm overweight I am on meds to help, I'm dieting, exercising and paying more attention to food intact. For some reason even if it has nothing to do with my weight any new specialist I see had to say something about it. I start every introduction now with, "I am aware of my weight and already have a plan in place to work on it, I am not seeking or open too consolation or suggestions on weight lose, and I would like to skip any decision about weight unless it is medically necessary."

At least with western medicine I always get shoved off like there's nothing they can do that's why I went to a natural doc

Not being able to afford the tests that insurance doesn't find "medically necessary".

Being told it’s anxiety

I think its called “gaslighting” when your concerns are dismissed or brushed off. Im told, Well, you are getting older(Im 71), or You need to watch your diet and exercise.

I really struggle to get across how severe symptoms or issues are. It’s like the harder I try to convince a doctor that something is a problem, the quicker they dismiss me.

The biggest challenge is straight up fatphobia. I have several conditions that cause weight gain. But they’ll refuse to treat anything until I somehow magically lose weight because they want to “see if that helps first”

Not communication but general incompetence. I had gall bladder pain for the longest time that led to spells of me not being able to move and getting very ill. I normally ignore pain but this was so bad it led to disruptions in my ability for every day functioning. I had a blood test done and my white blood cells were elevated. They never found what was wrong and for some reason it stopped. I am afraid it will come back or lead to something worse since it never got resolved.

Getting people to believe me about what does and doesn't cause headaches and migraines. I have had them most of my life. I know pretty damn well what I'm talking about. Also, I had migraines for 20 years before I got an official diagnosis. I had spent years chasing things like sinus issues because no doctor took my claims of headaches seriously enough to check for migraine. It took my own motivation and research to demand sinus help and then neurology help. Had to push every step of the way and deal with a lot of "Have you tried Nasacort? And vitamins?"

I've been dealing with Doctors not listening for over a year. Run tests nothing shows up now its my mental health. I'm a paramedic with a good understanding of medical issues and overall body physiology and know something isn't right. Health care today is gone

They refuse to listen or treat me and refer me back to the same underfunded and overbooked queer general health clinic because I'm trans and the doctors elsewhere "don't feel comfortable" treating me because they don't have experience with trans patients, but like wtf does me being trans have to do with rhuematology or my digestive issues?

Period pains! I would rather have my uterus removed without anesthesia then go through the pain from my periods. But it gets shrugged off like it's no big deal while I'm crying just thinking about it.

Trying to explain to them that I have an eating disorder and how that may effect what we are discussing/my other symptoms are. It’s rare that it doesn’t end with me in tears.

They don’t know how to treat fibromyalgia and it hurts all the time. The appointments are always so rushed

Talking, voicing my concerns, it's so stressful I just go non-verbal completely.

Always carry labs and meds with you to prove

Making myself be totally honest with them

Which doctor? It feels more like most of mine see me as what's on paper. They see what they want to see so that they get paid by not effectively treating everything that's connected. "We'll discuss it more next appointment." Well then what was the point of this appointment?

They think that every medical problem/symptom I have is because I'm fat, not that there is anything really happening (which there is).

Them not fully listening to my concerns and comments. especially as a plus size woman 😞

They don't like to listen about how bad my pain levels are... my psychiatrist is good about changing/adjusting meds as needed but my rheumatologist and pcp won't listen about how high my pain level is.

I don't know how to properly explain my problems

they tend to be very arrogant and lack empathy/sympathy. which is something I find ridiculous when it your whole profession comes down to trying to diagnose something someone else that isn’t them is feeling. they think because they spent years in medical school decades ago they have all knowledge about health, and commonly refuse to subscribe to new ideologies/discoveries within the medical world simply because they don’t agree, not because it isn’t true. they allow people to die, get terribly sick, and also just live miserably because of their lack of understanding and listening. can’t wait till millennials dominate the medical industry, because all these 50 and up doctors are very low quality.

They do not listen. They do not believe. They think they know more than the person LIVING with the darned disease. They need education!!!!!!!

I think my biggest problem is getting across how much my symptoms are bothering me. It feels like my words alone are not enough, and they expect me to be acting a certain way before they believe it’s bad. It’s the classic double-empathy problem between neurotypical and autistic people; they have expectations of what pain looks like, but the way I act does not line up with that. When I’m in pain, I work so hard to get my words just right, but I can’t use the mental energy to regulate my body language in the “right” way to be taken seriously. And I know if I was to let my emotions out in that way, I would not be able to get my message across effectively. I just want to be believed and be tested for the things that are highly likely to be comorbid with my current diagnoses. I feel like I’m the expert, but I just want a professional to be able to back me up and offer solutions that I can’t possibly get on my own. I want them to listen when I say what’s going on, and be willing to try different things. I don’t want to keep being told to wait things out when it’s the worst it’s ever been for me. I feel like I do exactly what I’m supposed to by telling them when new symptoms pop up, but they often brush me off. How would I know when something is actually serious when people are telling me my experiences aren’t that bad? I just get tired of putting in the effort to be misunderstood and it makes me stop telling doctors about what’s going on. Which isn’t helpful for either of us!

They think I'm lying and just trying to get meds

Because I am in my mid 20s, I am not taken seriously. Also the fact that women's health is VERY different from men's health, I haven't received the proper care I'm entitled to

So many of them don't listen and completely neglect a more human, compassionate approach. They often feel like they're the be all, end all for treatment. Sure, they have the knowledge to treat, but the ego, burnout, and cookie-cutter approach is too common. There needs to be a balance of their expertise and listening to patients, who know their bodies. I don't see that in a lot of the doctors I've been to.

Okay this is off topic but my doctor always writes in her notes that I appeared anxious and had limited eye contact lol but that’s just how I am haha I was just stimming and not looking at her

Facts

Allopathic medicine definitely does not understand chronic conditions. They do not keep up on the literature at all, unfortunately.

My dr never reviews my lab or blood work. Every time my numbers are off or bad. I have learned my own medical terms and look up all the language. Thank God for Google. I should just pay Google to be my doctor bc that’s what has been happening since I’ve been diagnosed with lupus four years ago. It’s a lot worse since COVID. Drs don’t want to deal with “difficult patients”

They act like they don’t believe me or care. They don’t listen and are too focused on entering things in the computer rather than actually listening to me or examining me. I leave the dr feeling worse than when I arrived. Frustrated completely with the healthcare system and insurance companies.

My medical weight loss doctor is extremely judgmental and makes me so uncomfortable. She’s always staring at my chest and stomach too, like she’s got a staring problem. I dread seeing her every month, but unfortunately she’s the only doctor in the program at my facility.

I find it so hard to articulate my symptoms. Usually whatever I am able to say is maybe a third of my concern

Holistic/functional doctors are the next step you should take if you’re not making progress with traditional doctors! They are very in depth, ask a million questions, and look at things from a birds eye view. Not just treating the symptoms with pills

My biggest struggle are doctors who don’t consider specific illnesses symptoms in relation to racial differences or new case studies and will deny you when you ask for tests to be done, because you are “displaying all the symptoms” then I have to bring up how the symptoms aren’t apparent in my particular race, then they agree with me. Then they run the test and sure enough it was what I thought it was. Just frustrating when it’s so easy for them to just order a test to rule out something, but they just go by the textbook standard check list of symptoms. And it feels like I constantly have to do research ahead of time and gain a lot of knowledge to fight for my own health. And it’s stressful :(

Being dismissed by my neurologist for so long until I took my father with me to my appointments because I was so exhausted and in pain and desperate each appointment becomes a matter of my quality if life. Suddenly the medication and treatments were available to me. They looked at him and talked to him not me even though I am an adult woman. Seems like either my young age made them not take my suffering seriously or it was sex discrimination.

they don't listen to me

Being dismissed for my weight and not being believed...I've told my doctor I think my weight gain/diabetes is connected to PCOS and she basically tells me it's my diet...I eat extremely healthy and mostly vegetarian but she won't look beyond that narrative. I had an integrative doctor and she was awesome, but she left the practice, I think because her way of doing things didn't fit with their "get them in and out" mentality. I feel like my options are limited bc I live rurally. But hearing other people's experiences here I feel empowered to try again and be my own advocate. Thank you everybody and good luck on your path!

They blame everything on my weight but I gained weight because of my health issues I was thin when they first started

They don’t believe me and they won’t listen to me! My PCP gave me a referral for a pain specialist due to chronic pain and when I told him my symptoms he said I was being over dramatic and I’m lying because I’m too young to be in this much pain, I saw a rheumatologist and when I went back with what that dr said he said I was lying. I don’t know what to do and I feel like I’m being made out to be a hypochondriac

It appears that whoever ago to can't help. They need to send me somewhere else and they need to get approval from someone else and no one can actually do anything

They rather sit there and dehumanize me, make rash diagnosis without my awareness, and overall speak over me so I cant even explain my symptoms without being called shitty things. They only see my body not me the person and it has caused severe trauma. Doctors (in my case anyway) usually dont want to try because Im not an easy patient.

My doctor has known me since I was a baby, and is the doctor for both of my parents as well. You’d think this would mean they’d know me better, but instead they just assume I’m just like my parents and ignore my concerns about my health to ask me for the fifth time if I’m sure I haven’t done drugs. I could have gotten my POTs diagnosis 8 years ago if they had listened to me, and because I’m still technically a kid, when I bring up that something may be the issue, they always try to see if it’s everything BUT what i brought up first. The icing on the cake is that I have gotten none of my diagnosis’s from this doctor, because they don’t pay attention to me. I got a POTs and CFS diagnosis from a neurologist

It's funny because I have my neurologist, and my primary care doctor prescribed me something for the tingling sensation.

they somehow find ways to f up my blood tests so i never get ahold of the results.

literally hated this one psychologist who talked to me for 5 hours and ended up misdiagnosing me with MDD even though i literally told her i knew i didn't have that

Also, I'm often extremely embarrassed about medical issues and I've had a lot of doctors be extremely condescending and dismissive, which truly doesn't help me feel safe being honest with them, especially about things I already feel shame about.

I don't trust any of my doctors enough to really communicate effectively with them because of childhood medical trauma. My pediatricians did not handle my care correctly and I repeatedly watched ER doctors not handle my parent's care correctly. I fear that if I say "the wrong thing" I'll be labeled a hypochondriac or drug-seeking because it's happened to me before and I've watched it happen to my loved ones.

Not having my trans status be related to every tiny fucking thing.