Being a healthcare worker I know how the system works. I know the ins and outs. What works and what doesn’t work. It’s all about money and numbers. The average person is naive. They trust those who call themselves doctors. Unfortunately, overtime their once loved dream becomes a nightmare and somewhere along the way physicians stop caring. It’s all based on insurance and how many patients can be seen. The quality of care decreases and what’s left is unknown answers and defeat. Not every physician is this way. Some care. Some truly do want help but these individuals are few and far between. Healthcare is a broken system and I don’t see it changing anytime soon. So why am I writing about this when this is a parenting blog? Because this affects parents and your children. I have been experiencing it more and more and I can’t express my frustration. My hope is for you to learn from my experience and advocate for not only yourselves but your children.
This week it has happened with me. From my last blog you discovered the struggles I have been having with my health. I have been reaching out to my neurologist and expressed the side effects I have been having with the medication I have been on. The response was go to urgent care. Now let’s talk about urgent care. They are good for ear infections, x rays, strep, sinus infection and a list of other things but what they will not do is discontinue or change a neurological medication you are on. They will say go to the emergency room. Now if I go to the emergency room they will not do anything if I am not having a seizure. If I do. It the usual ativan, CT scan, Bye Bitch routine. They will not do anything to the medication I am currently on. They will refer me back to my neurologist that again won’t answer mychart message or my calls. It’s a great system.. and it has been very defeating. I have been miserable for over a month and no one has been there to help. I can’t take care of my children, I have no quality of life, and I can’t do anything I enjoy doing. How am I supposed to take care of my kids when I can’t get help to take care of myself.
Another great example involves my son. As parents we always want the best for our children, however, when they get sick we feel helpless. We rely on others to come up with a diagnosis to make the feel better. One scenario was when he was constantly running fevers of 102-104. We went to several pediatrician appointments and was brush off. We went to choc and they referred us to infectious disease. He go lots of different test and they ended up being fine with everything because it came back normal.
Then he had GI issues. This kid does not complain about anything and he went 3 weeks with say his tummy hurt and we took him in for an appointment. They said juice and a probiotic. 3 more weeks went by and we asked to get imaging and be referred to a GI specialist. We had to come back into the office pay 30 dollars just for them tell me the plan from last time but then said that she was doing everything a GI specialist would be doing so I don’t think you need one. The imaging showed moderate bowel obstruction and we were told to give miralax and hope it goes away. Months later he still complains, but not as much as he was and we were told it’s normal.
My daughter has a different story. When we started to be concerned about her listen, behavior and learning issues they started at 3 years old. I asked her pediatrician and I was told it’s just the age. Things continued to get worse and at her yearly appointment and I was told the same exact answer. It’s just the age. At this point I was so discouraged I knew something wasn’t right but no one was there to support the evidence I provided. At her 5 year appointment I had a full fledge metal break down in the doctor’s office. I was begging to get her tested and I finally got the outside referral. One month later she had her appointment, she was evaluated and 2 months later we got the results. I was correct after all those years. She has ADHD. I was not crazy. My feelings were finally validated.
Learn from these experiences. Not every physician knows everything. Advocate for your health and your child’s health. Find a different doctor and explore your options. This year my kids will be switching pediatricians because I’m not a fan of how my son was treated. I will be looking into a highly rated epileptic program at a different hospital. Eventually once my daughter is stable I will be looking into a new neurologist because I am not a fan of the professionalism. If I have a telehealth appointment at 2 pm it shouldn’t start at 3pm. I also do like all the extra appointments. Its just to get more money. These are all things that can be improved by searching for someone better. Don’t settle for anything.
Look at your physician. What do you like? What do you not like? Change to someone new. Do research. Find someone who is highly rated. If you don’t advocate for yourself no one will. Take care of you and take care of your children. We all deserve great care. Sometimes it takes time to find someone we like. That is okay, once you do everything will click.
Share your moments where you have been frustrated with our healthcare system and what are you going to change?
