Stupid Pdoc

So, I had an appointment with pdoc this past Tuesday and saw him write dx and something after it (have another post about that last week). Well I got worried about what he wrote, so I emailed him and asked if someone from his office could call me and tell me what he wrote and explaining my worriedness about it.

Just checked my email and had a response.

He basically said he treats sympotoms and not diagnosis and we would discuss my diagnosis at my next visit.

That's 5 weeks away...I don't want to wait that long. I want to know now. So I can research it and see if I agree with it. I don't want to be labeled as something that I am not.

Stupid pdoc for not allowing someone from his office call and tell me.

That sounds pretty rude to me since 5 weeks is a long ways away. :/

To be fair, we are taught in med school to avoid giving patients results over the phone. We are taught to give patients results' face-to-face, so that we can clarify and answer questions. We don't want the patient to mis-interpret what we say, google, and freak out for five weeks. We've actually been taught in med school that's it's ethically irresponsible in most cases to give results over the phone if you can't meet with patient soon after to clarify questions.

So, he's just doing what he's been taught is the right thing to do. I understand you're frustrated (I would be too), but try to think of it this way -- it really is irresponsible of him to give you a diagnosis over the phone without explaining his reasoning behind the diagnosis. You should at least recognize that he is trying to do the responsible thing with you. Now, ideally, he would try to fit you in earlier for a quick appointment, but perhaps his schedule is too booked and that's not possible.

Just try to relax and wait the five weeks out. Then once he explains his diagnosis, you can google to your hearts content. But at least you will have his explanation to guide you in your research, so you don't veer off course and needlessly freak yourself out.

On the other hand, if you really feel like you can't wait the five weeks, you always have the option of requesting your medical records from his office. In that case, just call his secretary and tell her that you would like a copy of your medical records. I don't really recommend this route (reading medical records without your doctor there to explain things to you can be a scary experience), but it is your right to do this, if you wish.

Squirrel, how about asking for a sooner appointment?

For liability reasons most doctors will no longer give test results over the phone.

As for having someone on his staff call you to discuss you diagnosis. Under rules of confidentiality they can't.

I'm not going to lie, I think it's a good rule.

I was never told I was diagnosed as borderline; I snooped in my parent's paperwork and found out. When I was 15 I Googled it alone (because I wasn't supposed to know it anyway) and learned that there were many negative opinions about people with the diagnosis.

It really hurt as a already hurting 15 year old to find that out. It made me feel like I was really really worthless. It would have made me feel better if someone would have explained it and the first thing I heard about it was from a counselor who did have a positive opinion of me.

I hope that made sense. It's annoying yes, I understand your frustration. But think of it this way, if you get upset about what you read, you have to wait 5 weeks anyway.

You can't have a borderline DX until you're 18. You can have borderline anyway though.

Honestly I don't think five weeks is much. I mean if you were in acute pain for a broken bone, yea then five weeks is.

Around here, 20 years ago. unfortunately patients were not told their DX. It was said to have negative influence on the patient. I'm glad they even tell now.

If your doc is reluctant to give you a DX, and you have borderline traits, the DX might be BPD (I'm just totally speculating so don't take this too seriously), and there is a myth in the mental care world that if you tell a BPD what they have, they will explode and disturb the order of the universe.

My pdoc told me that she suspected I had borderline personality disorder when I was under 16. But maybe that's because I originally told her that I thought I had it, and she agreed with me.

I tried doing this and the receptionist said they will only release them to another doctor without meeting with me first. I can't get a copy for myself unless he meets with me about them first. Does this seem right? Maybe my state is weird and allows this.

What I don't get is why would he change the dx my old pdoc gave me if he claims he treats symptoms and not a diagnosis? Why would my dx matter to him (why would he give me one) if he sees himself as treating symptoms? I don't understand this. I emailed my T about my frustration and she doesn't see why he changed the dx if he says he treats symptoms either. Any input on this?

It doesn't seem right not to release your medical records unless you meet with him. They should release your medical records except in the event that they can show that you might harm yourself if you see them. But I don't know -- perhaps the laws in your state are different.

I think what he told you about your diagnosis not mattering and how he treats the symptoms was a stalling tactic. He clearly wants to wait until he sees you in person to discuss the diagnosis. Which I actually think is the responsible thing for him to do. You are being insistent though, and he is trying to politely stall you, rather than tell you outright that he won't tell you the diagnosis until he meets with you in person.

I think you need to take a deep breath and take a step back here. He really is doing the responsible thing by waiting to explain this diagnosis to you at your next appointment. You already have some idea what the diagnosis is going to be -- either schizophrenia or schizoaffective most likely. I doubt it will come as much of a shock to you. And you can research these two disorders now while you wait for your next appointment with him.

I guess I just don't understand why you feel so anxious to know exactly what he wrote immediately? What do think will change if you know right now, as opposed to a few weeks from now?

I guess I am just impatient. I guess nothing will change if I know now or later. I'm just worried about getting "labeled" as something that I am not. I work with kids and don't want something that could backfire there on my record. Guess I'm a little paranoid that what he diagnosed me with could harm me.

Your medical records are private. It shouldn't affect your employment in any way! I think it's a good idea to discuss this fear with your pdoc the next time you see him, though.