Should You Fire Your Doctor?

Fibromyalgia is often a complex and difficult condition to diagnose.  It requires an open minded doctor who is prepared to examine and investigate on numerous occasions and it absolutely involves a doctor who will listen and hear what the patient is saying.

Doctors, by their very nature and their place in our society, are often looked up to and can often appear intimidating and patronizing, whether they mean to or not.  Balance that with someone who may feel depressed, frustrated and fragile, not to mention the constant pain, and you have a recipe where a patient could feel as if they are simply being ignored and patronized.

Quite frankly someone struggling through life with pain and fatigue doesn’t need the added burden of having to convince their doctor that what they are feeling is real and not an imagined and duplicitous way to gain sympathy, take time off work or score drugs. 

However, that said, the onus cannot be on the doctor alone.  If you are struggling with Fibromyalgia and have not even got to the point of a diagnosis, then you need to approach your doctor with a plan.  You need to explain and give graphic details of how you are feeling and what the pain entails.  There is very little point in going to your doctor and telling them that you are “in pain!”  You need to explain how that pain restricts and affects your daily life!  Are you struggling to chop vegetables because holding a knife is painful?  Say so!  Are you struggling to walk because the base of your spine feels like a great weight has been placed on it whenever you stand for too long?  Say so!  In essence, be precise and be graphic in your details.

If you do that and your doctor is still not treating you with respect and sincerity, you should seriously consider changing your doctor or at least, getting a second opinion.