I think i need to change my gastroenterologist

i think i need to change my gastroenterologist

so today i had an appointment at my GI doctor, scheduled for 10:30am, i was just put on pentasa on the 22nd of august, so i was going to check in and tell him how it was going with the pentasa

i woke up at 9:30 when my alarm went off and instantly i started to feel like i was going to vomit, and within minutes i did. i was so scared i had the stomach bug or something, and it felt like i was hungover, without the headache.

i called my mother and said that i was vomiting, she told me that i definitely need to go to the doctor. so i had my boyfriend drive me there, even though i had stopped vomiting by then.

when we got there my mother was waiting, and we went back into the exam room. i mentioned that i had vomited this morning, and he told me i was probably pregnant. i JUST got done with my menstrual cycle like two days ago. i know i'm not pregnant.

then he proceeded to basically ignore the questions i was asking him about green stool color and finding all the pentasa beads in my stool, etc.

i decided at that point i wasnt going to ask him any more of the questions i was planning on asking, even though i hadnt had any type of talk with him about crohns yet, (they just told me i had it, gave me a months worth of pentasa samples, and that was it)

I WAS PISSED. especially since my insurance company is investigating a blood test i had done a year ago with a different insurance company, and i think they are going to drop me (thats a long different story). so i was pissed that i potentially have to pay for that doctors visit, which was a waste of my time and effort.

he told me i need to do a blood pregnancy test and wrote me out the paperwork to take to the lab. i'm not doing it. i dont need an expensive test to tell me something i already know, i'm not pregnant.

he then told me to try a lactose free diet, and i'm pissed about that too, because my "safe-food" right now is cheese and crackers. i'm 95% sure i'm not lactose intolerant, dairy has always been pretty good to me.

my boyfriend also said he didnt like him. and how many times he just rolled his eyes and said that might be because i might be pregnant. and how he didnt seem to care what i was saying or asking.

I'M NOT PREGNANT! there is something wrong with my stomach, THAT is the problem.

anyway, i'm going to try to find another GI doctor.

i'm not overreacting, am i?

any opinions or advice would be great
or if you know of any great GI doctors that are easy to talk to in the sarasota/bradenton, florida area

i should probably mention that the vomiting stopped after the second round (around 10am), and the stomach nausea went away by noon, in case anyone has any ideas of what the vomiting could be from.

No you are not over reacting! You could have a stricture, or spastic colon, but you need a colonscopy not a pregnancy test. Trust me some bozo swore I had a tubal pregnancy when I had a bowel inflammation so bad that night they took my appendix out. But we all know that wasnt the problem either. I know I wasnt pregnant because i was in pain for 2 months and sex was NOT in my mind...idiot. Some doctors try to figure it out by down playing and Pentasa is very very mild.

I would seek a better experienced Gi, someone that will take you seriously and not all your money. Let us know how you make out. Hugs!

green

a bit off topic but - does anyone know what is up with the green bm thing?

You're not over reacting at all. If anything I think it was impressive you didn't just lose it on the guy, I eventually lost it on my last doc Lol. But yeah the way he's completely ignoring you and won't answer your questions means it is definitely time for a new doctor, one that will listen to what you're saying is happening and try to work with you for a plan that best fits you.

Ekaj - Green stool can either be because you ate something that turned it that color or that it went too fast through your colon and the bile didn't get properly removed. It's common in people with Crohn's disease.

i'm sorry your doctor is being so unprofessional. i may be overreacting, but i consider it malpractice to act like that in any way, shape, or form. you're a doctor. your job is to help people when their bodies aren't working properly. if they are ignoring you, they aren't doing their job.

i want to switch to a different doctor, too. but mainly because i can't understand him and he can't understand me. one time we spoke on the phone and he asked if i was having any diarrhea. i didn't quite understand him (like usual) so i replied with, i'm sorry? and he said, okay, okay. and went on to speak of other things that i barely understood.

If you went to a restaurant and the food was bad, you might go back again, thinking that perhaps they had a bad night or something. If you went back again, and it was still bad, you might even (though I wouldnt) give it one more go. But eventually you realize there are way too many restaurants to tolerate terrible food and service. This is true of anything, and especially doctors. There are too many docs available for you to tolerate terrible service and unlike a bad restaurant, a bad doctor can cost you a lot more, not just monetarily, but physically and mentally. Find a new one, and do it in a hurry!

i get green poop a lot. most green vegetables and also anything with purple dye in it can turn green. i get green from eating lucky charms. :ybiggrin:

Hello KJ,
You have my sympathies.My last GI check has left me wondering whether to change to
another GI., since a recent appointment.At this time
I was checked over by a medical student (I thought she was a resident at first) who took her time going through my complex notes, asked appropriate questions as a specialist might and generally continued in unhurried fashion, the way a good clinician might behave.She left the room and the GI returned with her made a grand entrance and said "You have taken a l-o-n-g time with the medical student.! I was so shocked at his arrogant announcement and did not respond to it.Time keeping was not up to me and is something he should be teaching.The med student was quite shocked at him also and kept her head down. I did not want to exacerbate the situation for her and so said nothing, after all it was not worthy of my comment.
He sat down and said your issues are due to the drug reaction which you must get over yourself.No questions--- that's it!. I mentioned my concern about ulcer symptoms and he wrote a prescription-- end of check up.The Medical student was really upset and kept her head down while he is talking. I really liked her, but I don't like his system which sends usually a resident to check me before making his grand entry.If I have an appointment with a specialist then he is the one who should be asking the questions and doing the evaluation of symptoms with meticulous care kindness and consideration for the patient and teaching that..He takes the summary from these people after they have interviewed me and does not directly question or evaluate me. He has never perfomed a physical since I ended up with him as GI.He has done the usual scopes but not for over a year now.
He handed me another appointment time to arrange with the office before I left his office, and maybe I won't be keeping that.Not sure I can tolerate his arrogance again.
Meantime he has left me feeling very upset over the whole situation,and with unresolved issues of pain and other symptoms which certainly do not relate to the azathioprine reaction I had within the first two weeks of taking it. It is several months since that time.His atittude and the endless pain (unaddressed) has caused many sleepless nights for me but hopefully I will be able to resolve some issues with my GP who I will shortly be seeing. In fact the GP was eager to take direction from the GI at this time and now he will be disappointed.
Wish I could get over being so upset---it just won't leave me.
Trysha

thank you guys for responding! i just wanted to make sure i wasnt acting crazy.

thanks again