Posted by bleauberry on March 12, 2010, at 20:22:30
In reply to Re: Medication Phobia (pharmacophobia) » bleauberry, posted by Phillipa on March 11, 2010, at 21:45:48
Phillipa, here's a similar story. So you aren't alone. The difference here is that the doctor is a major Dermatologist in a major city and is THE guy recommended by the largest hospital in the State and by GPs all over the place. This derm is the guy to go to.
So I walk in his office. My condition is Hidradenitis, but I don't know. I think it is boils or carbuncles or furuncles. Anyway, he is sitting in a chair, prescription pad and pen already in his hand, and asks me, "what can I do for you"? Excuse me. How about put the prescription pad down, put some gloves on, get a magnifying glass, and take a look? How about ask my history? How about ask what my symptoms are?
In the waiting room I had been watching patients go in and out, about every 10 minutes. He's making $300 on each, every 10 minutes. They all came out with a prescription paper in their hand. Ten friggin minutes? Come on. Skin problems are complicated. You can't do justice in 10 minutes.
I actually had to ask him if he would take a look. He reluctantly agreed, closed the window blinds (as if he is not accustomed to actually looking under anyone's clothes), never put gloves on, never touched and probed, never used a magnifying glass to get a good look. Heck, he didn't even have an examination table in the room. The whole visual examination took maybe not even 1/3 of one minute. He gave me a prescription for and said to check back in 6 weeks.
My insurance paid him, but I didn't pay him my part of it, and I refused. He did not put up a fight about it.
So months later I see another dermatologist. This guy was the real stuff. Heck, his nurse gave me about a 15 minute verbal history exam, got me undressed and clothed in a gown, laid out on the table for doctor. It was obvious these people were going to actually do some diagnostic work. The doc came in. Very nice guy. And immediately I could tell he knew what the heck he was doing. Gloves, yes. Magnifying glass, yes. He not only looked deeply at the problem area, but actually looked all over my whole body. I mean, he was on the hunt and wasn't going to miss anything. He said it looks like Hidradenitis. And then he I really appreciated his humbleness and honesty when he told me Hidradenitis has no known cause or cure, and that it is frustrating for him to treat it, because he is accustomed to being successful with other skin diseases but Hidradenitis is basically trial and error, manage as best you can. The guy was awesome.
So there you have it. A quack, who happened to be viewed as the top dog. And another guy, not so well known, who was absolutely thorough, expert, and professional in every way. He left no stone unturned. He sent me home with two prescriptions and 2 OTC recommendations, said to try each one at a time. The entire exam was probably 45 minutes, and $100 cheaper than the quack.
For anyone out on google getting a hit on this, the quack's name is Dr Rosner in Portland Maine.
I'm really sorry you ran into a quack. Unfortunately, even top dogs in the profession can be quacks, as I discovered. And to think, that idiot is the guy the hospital and GPs refer hundreds of patients to. Geez.
poster:bleauberry
thread:938689
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20091202/msgs/939318.html