Thursday, February 3, 2011

Another Healthcare Disappointment

This is the state of healthcare in Canada today:

Pain Clinic doctor gave me the release forms, claiming there was nothing left he could do.  Now I don't even have anyone to prescribe my medications.  You would say a family doctor, but my family doctor still doesn't believe in Fibromyalgia as anything more than an ache.

I was angry for awhile but now I'm just sad.

Changes have to be made.  BIG changes.  Where the system is actually in place to help people get by, instead of just leaving them to feel left for dead.  The mental health system is even worse for this kind of behavior.

It makes me sick to my stomach.

xoxo,
Annie

11 comments:

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

me too, Annie. Makes me cray to watch this system crumbling around the lesser fortunate. Where are you located? can we email?

grace said...

oh, annie, am so sorry. i don't know much about Canadian health care. I do have a psychiatrist who prescribes my meds though in addition having family doc. We also have pain management centers. but it really seems like healthcare on both side of the border are going backwards lately. sad state of affairs.

did you see article posted on FB about massage recommended for fibromyalgia? if you are already doing that, please forgive my oversight. caring about you.

Baffled said...

That stinks! I was just complaining to my husband that down here in the US the DEA (drug enforcement agency) in its "war against drugs" has started arresting doctors for prescribing pain meds. It is making it difficult to get the proper meds for people with chronic pain.

Jamee said...

I am so sorry Annie! (((hugs))) Here to get meds at a pain dr you are treated like a drug addict (I had to have a drug test this week!) and it takes an act of God to actually get in (hence why I am staying with my douchebag of a dr). Hopefully they can find you a new doc asap who can actually find some answers! Maybe its a sign you need to move south :)

Anonymous said...

Annie, big hugs to you.

Our illnesses throw up enough brick walls for us, we don't need the medical profession adding any more.

I'm on the tail end of the baby boomers and it scares me to think of what lies ahead for me, and for all of us, over the next 20 or 30 years with so many people living longer with chronic illnesses and job burnout amongst the medical professionals.

Never mind family doctors like yours. Or mine, who sent my lawyer a letter during my ODSP process that he thought my problem with my ears and balance were "emotional". Never mind that the ENT doctor he sent me to said I have balance problems. Thankfully, I got on disability but it's still a blow to realize that there's still so much old-fashioned thinking going on in the medical community.

Again, big hugs to you.


Maureen

andrea said...

Absolutely unacceptable to write somebody off like the pain clinic did to you! So sorry for that and this quack family doctor who doesn't think fibromyalgia is real. What planet is he from? Go on the internet and see if there's someone who specializes in fibro. Keep searching! Don't give up till you find someone who understands and wants to help you. *HUGS*

Bluebirdy said...

That happened to me too, and at that point I just wanted to die, because I not only had the disablibg fibro pain, but lupus and others as well. I did find a family doc who will deal with pain patients, but I only get pain meds because of another condition (trigeminal neuralgia-TN). Without pain meds, I'd barely be able to sit up or roll over in bed. I figure getting TN was a blessing so I could get help with all the other pain. I hope you can find help. Canada's health care seems criminally negligent to me, especially to those like me who are on disability. ((gentle hugs))
We can't even immigrate to the states unless we can hold a full time job or marry a US citizen, and even then it takes 4 years to get approved to get there. I loved the instant care I got while living in the states, but the medical bills alone bankrupted me.

Felicia Fibro said...

Wait, even though the doctor doesn't have any other ideas he won't prescribe you the meds you both know kind of work?!? I did not realize that was also part of him "giving up!" *hugs*

Assiya said...

I am sorry Annie. There is nothing I can say to make it better, but I wish I could fix it.
Why do our governments keep trying to screw us over. It makes me feel angry and sad, and kinda just empty.
I hope something changes for the better

Toni said...

This is terrible Annie. In California, the person who takes you into the examining room to take your pulse and B/P is required by law to ask if you're in pain and if you are, have you rate it 1-10. Either that or they have to give you a sheet of paper in which you say if you're in pain and then rate it 1-10. I don't know if they're required to do anything about it, but it's a start.

As for your doctor not believing in Fibromyalgia, can you go to one of the national websites and copy an article for the doctor? There has to be a way to convince these people that it's for real.

I'm sick to my stomach to.

Love you,
Toni

Shelli said...

Ugh! I'm so sorry to hear that. My sister has fibro, and she says that Cymbalta has helped her tremendously. I tried it for one day, and although it helped my pain immediately, it caused disruptive sleep for me. It's an anti-depressant, and I react weird to anti-depressants. Anyway, if you haven't tried it already, maybe you can tell your doctor you're depressed and try to get it? Also, I've heard Rolfing (massage) is pretty good for fibro, too.

I know you've tried almost everything, and this is merely a shot in the dark. I just hate the idea of you suffering without any hope. Hugs, Annie.