Sierra Vista Health Care Professionals=Oxymoron

Yesterday I went to my doctor to follow up on the Upper GI I had done on the 1st.  Turns out I have a 7mm duodenal ulcer.  While I’m certainly glad to have a reason for the pain and discomfort I’ve been experiencing for quite some time, I was looking forward to gaining more perspective on what this actually means.  Apparently my expectations were beyond realistic when I went in to see my doctor.  

The office seemed a little amiss when I got there.  The staff was flustered and the time it took for me to be taken back was longer than usual.  I’ve been in this office 3 times in the past four weeks.  The receptionist didn’t even ask me my name, I’m assuming she recognized me.  Clearly the doctor didn’t have a similar memory.

He asked me questions about what’s going on with me as if this were the first time I’d stepped foot in his office.  He asked me what medications I was taking, specifically odd was that he asked me if I was taking a prescription he had written for me only last week.  I was more than annoyed at his attitude and demeanor.  He made me feel as though I was a hinderance rather than a patient.

At the end of the ‘follow-up’ he referred me to a GI specialist.  He gave me nothing to go on as to the results of my Upper GI.  Call me nuts, but I think ulcers are fairly common.  Before I’d even been told I had one, I had done some homework about what the potential causes were of my symptoms.  An ulcer was one of the first things that popped up.  When I initially went in to see him about this issue, I was extremely detailed in what I’ve been dealing with.  I tried to be as thorough as possible so I didn’t hinder the solving of my internal organ’s mystery.

I’ve done a full blood panel.  I’ve been tested for Hepatitis.  I’ve had a sonogram.  Finally, I’ve had an Upper GI.  I would think those tests would shed some light.  As soon as he got the results of my liver being fatty from the sonogram, he started to treat me differently.  He passively recommended I go to see a specialist, but to go ahead and have the Upper GI done.  I now have two tests conducted and two follow-up appointments and the same conclusion.  Go see a specialist.

I respect the fact that doctors reach the limits of their expertise.  I do not respect charging me and my insurance for two visits that were clearly unnecessary and ultimately delaying my treatment.  Today I made an appointment with Tucson Gastroenterology.  I’m going to have an initial consultation and then possibly face another procedure being done.

Here’s the kicker.  After talking to my nurse best friend and our combined researching skills, we found that the leading cause of ulcers is an infection called H. Pylori.  Now that I know where my ulcer is located, I was given more affirmation that I have a 90% chance of H. Pylori being the cause.  What’s funny is finding out as to whether that is the cause for me is a simple blood test.  Curing it is as easy as an antibiotic for a few weeks, a follow-up blood test, and depending on whether the medication cured me or not another series of medication.

I’m not a doctor.  But what I found out took mere minutes.  Plugging the words ulcer and duodenal into a Google search told me all of that.  So why, pray tell, didn’t my primary care doctor not include that in my initial blood panel?  He was sure to make sure I wasn’t pregnant, but this didn’t cross his mind.

The list of complications in regards to ulcers is a short one.  Fortunately I do not have any symptoms indicating a huge problem.  However, I have no idea how bad this ulcer is.  I have no clue if I’m close to having a major problem.  Perhaps I need an endoscopy in order to properly assess that, but what if this regimen of medication takes out the need to even have one done?  If I end up having to pay the 20% for the GI consultation and then another 20% of an endoscopy, I’m going to be one pissed off person.

I hope the end to this process is near and I’m looking towards feeling better very soon.  My ultimate goal is to be well.  I’m tired of feeling like crap.  I’m tired of being tired.  I’m nervous to be anxious about everything because I now know I have an ulcer!  Sort of counter productive.  I’ve taken drastic measures already in my diet and it seems to be helping.  I’ve had more good days in a row than I have in a while and that’s nice.  There are still some underlying issues, but they’re not putting me in the fetal position.  At least not as frequently as they have been.

I wish Sierra Vista had a more competent list of physicians.  I realize this is a small town, but good grief.  Shame on me for expecting a doctor to be proactive in their patient’s wellness.  It’s not all as it seems on television.  But right now I think I’d give an actor portraying a doctor a shot at my problems.  Seeing as how I’ve probably diagnoses myself, it doesn’t seem like it would have been detrimental.