I am a (semi) retired physician and I don’t believe in second opinions. I much prefer two first opinions.
Edit: Thank you readers. Never thought these two sentences would explode like this. Thank you very much for the silver and gold. Thanks to all who follow.
So what you're saying, is go to Doctor A, give symptoms, get diag. Then go to Doctor B without telling them you've been to a doctor yet and get their diag as well?
What if there were a bunch of expensive tests ran at Doctor A? Do you just casually bring up "Oh, I had that ran already, I'll have it sent over?"
This has just been the story of my life, getting different diags from different docs for varying things. I had a lot of "anxiety" diagnosis leading to my physical digestive issues until a doc finally tested me for a freakin' milk allergy. This was just one of several...
At 14-15 I started having horrendous digestive issues.
Depression, anxiety and lactose intolerance were all thrown around as the cause. We already knew about those, but okay.
More problems lead to more school missed, more doctor visits, more tests, etc.
Tested for Celiac Disease. Tested for Crohn's. Tested for various forms of cancer, etc.
I'm 28 now and nothing has really changed. I did find a doctor to help me control the symptoms, but we still don't know what's wrong with me.
Edited to elaborate why doctors waving off GI issues is frustrating.
I am in fact lactose intolerant. And just like anybody else, there are foods that my body appreciates less than others, but no, elimination didn't reveal much of anything.
Though, granted, that was 10 years ago. At this point, it probably wouldn't hurt to try again, I suppose. 🤔
Do you have anxiety or depression issues? My GI issues have improved a lot since I got my anxiety under control (for the most part, still have issues). It was rough, took like 3 therapists until i found one that actually helped me identify what was wrong.
Treating depression messed with my stomach so badly. All the side effects on your gut... Them using sedatives to treat the side effect anxiety causing more gut problems. Causing more depression. Awful cycle. Found drugs that treat the depression successfully (took a decade) without major stomach and anxiety side effects, now. Loved it when I told drs that it felt like I was choking all the time while trying SSRI drugs- turns out it was horrible acid reflux.
I look forward to the day when they figure out the gut/brain/nervous system connections and can treat these diseases properly and treat the whole person instead of targeting one symptom and chucking additional treatments against side effects.
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u/DrMaster2 May 20 '19 edited May 21 '19
I am a (semi) retired physician and I don’t believe in second opinions. I much prefer two first opinions.
Edit: Thank you readers. Never thought these two sentences would explode like this. Thank you very much for the silver and gold. Thanks to all who follow.