are all doctors idiots??

[thump]

as the quetion asks,,are they?
my soon to be wife had a kidney transplant in 1997.because of the large amount of steroids she had to be put on to help fight off kidney rejection her hip joints were wrecked.she has had to have two hip replacements and still has to go back for another cause they messed up on the first hip replacement they did.i have no problem with that,,it happens.anyways since 1997 she has been doing good,no problems with her kidney at all.about 6 months ago they added a new medication for her to start taking,since she had been taking this new med she has been in the hospital 3 different times in the 6 month.the frist time she was there for 5 days,last time she was there for 25 days,and she has ended up in the hospital again today for god only knows how long.ihave asked the doctors about it,they she that it cant be the new meds she is on ,,when i ask whey they just say its never happened to anybody else who is taking it.am i the only one that can see a problem with this? just because it hasent happened to anyone else does not meen it cant happen to her,everybody reacts differently to different meds.so not only that but when we went to the hospital today they said everything was ok and we went home,(its about an hour and twenty min drive back home),about 10 min from home the hospital calls on the cell phone and says there is a problem and we have to come back and she will have to be admitted into the hospital.i am just geting so pissed at the doctors that im ready to grab one of them and throw the &**^()*^ out the window (and anybody who knows me knows i can and will do it if i get mad enough).it makes me so mad that we cant get a straight answer out of any of them , that they leave her scared about what happening cause they wont talk to her and when they do they cant make up their minds whats wrong.i know they are probably trying their best to help her but they need to tank into consideration what she has been throught in her short life(shes 23).
sorry about this rant people ,just needed to blow off some steam.

[Toranaga]

I'm really sorry to hear that. If I were you, I would defenatley look into another doctor. Where do you live, there may be some place near by that has more qualified doctors.

Trust me, getting 2nd and 3rd opinions on anything your not sure of can really help. My dad has recently finished recovering from an operation to stop cancer (14 days in the hospital and about 8 months recovery). If he hadn't gotten a second opninion he wouldn't have known about the cancer for a few more years, and would have had to have 1/4 of his face cut off. As it is now, he only has the right jaw bone (mandable?) replaced.

Again, I really hope your soon to be wife gets better soon,

Andrew

[ASDadam]

I'm sorry to hear the predicament she is in. I can only imagine the crap you've gone through.
I work and have worked in a pharmacy for years. What new drug did they put her on? Maybe i can shed some light on some of the side effects and some of the responses that have occured with this new drug. You also have to understand that doctors know NOTHING when it comes to prescription drugs. Hell, i usually get doctors prescribing strengths of medicines that don't exist. All they do is get taken to dinner and showered with money and gifts from drug reps to prescribe their drug. If they meet their quota they get throwbacks from the drug companys. So when it comes to asking a doctor about a type of medicine, its not a good idea. Consult your local trusted pharmacist for answers with medicine.

[thump]

i live in Canada(ontario), i think one of the problems it that at the hospital she never ses the same kidney doctor(dont know how to spell their proper name).the new med she is taking is called septra. i know she has some of the side effects that the drug can give--fever,chills,easy brusing.but her creatinine levels keep jumping up,only to be brought down with high doses of steroids.( creatinine levels determin how well the kidney is working,they hight the level the less it is working and thats not good).but the doctors say septra cant affect the creatinine levels at all.

[Nick O time]

sorry to hear about your wife.
and no not all doctors are idiots but most are
my grandpa after just getting a new kidney so he wouldn't have to go to dialysis anymore. after the operation and after he got out of the hospital the doctor subscribed him to too much of certain types of meds and now he has diabetes. :rolleyes: doctors don't know basically anything.
hope your wife turns out fine and find another doctor.

[TheTramp]

Originally posted by Nick O time

...and no not all doctors are idiots but most are...
doctors don't know basically anything.


Make sure to keep that in mind next time you or someone you love is injured. I'm sure you'll be able to fix them right up. :rolleyes:

[Sir_Brass]

and this, folks, is the real look inside socialist health care. I'm not trying to start anything political (though that was a VERY political statement), it's just that that leads to my suggestion.

Thump, have you considered taking her to an American hospital, where doctors are better? I know it'd be a big trip, but if this condition is serious, then a specialty center might be a better health option for you and your fiancee (sp?). It's just a suggestion. It may be expensive, but it's something worth looking into. That, or getting ONE doctor that your fiancee can see. I know it's hard, but from what you've said, you're ready to do alot to make sure that your fiancee's health is well taken care of instead of being juggled around like it is right now.

[thump]

i am looking into trying to take her to the US to see a doctor over there,the problem in i dont have the money.i know everyone is going to say if you lover her you wil find the money.right now i am on unemployment( thats about to run out).tonight i go to swear my loyalties to the Canadian army,i am joining the reserves till there is an opening in the reguler full time forces after i gt my training done.so i am hoping that before long i will be able to afford to go to the US to have her see a doctor.i guess the good thing is that i live right on the border Canada/US.i can actually be in the US in like 10 min.:)

p.s Sir_Brass,,you live in Prescott Arizona,i live in Prescott Ontario.neet:D

[Thordic]

Canadian socialized health care is terrible. My uncle died, when if he had lived in America, he probably would have been fine. The system doesn't reward good doctors, so the good doctors move to the US to practice here, where you actually get paid well if you are skilled.

The Canadian health care system is a joke, its ridiculous how bad it can be. You can argue US health care is expensive, but at least it works.

[rjvemt1]

you need to remember that medicine is not an exact science! This sounds very harsh but think of it this way; 30 years ago this condition would have killed your fiance! Be glad that you still have her!

a person can live with only one kidney so i am asuming that she lost both of hers to some kind of renal(kidney) failure and a close family member gave her one of theirs. am i right? this is a kind and loving act, however, its not like changing the oil filter(kidneys are filters, among other things) on a car. you cant just shut the engine off and pull the faulty filter out and put in a new one. you have to change the filter while the engine is still running, then figure out how to stop the engine from killing the new filter because it doesnt recognize it. and all this must be done while keeping the engine running at an optimum pace.

as for the pharmacology, most drugs need time to build to whats called a'theraputic level' in the body. this means that desired effects are not usually see right away and may take weeks to become evident and stopping them immediatly just because the desired effects present themselves quickly may cause more harm then good(seizures are a very common side effect of suddenly stoppong certain medications in patient). alot of very strong drugs also have a very narrow theraputic margin, this means that the difference between not enough and too much is a very small amout. this margin is different in everyone and may take a little time for the medical staff to find.

as for not getting a straight answer from the dr. this may be due to the fact that he doesnt have all the answers and that is not uncommon. you know you have a good dr. if he has the confidence to tell you; "we dont know the answer to that just yet" if your dr. is avoiding these issues it may very well be time to find a new one, and if you decide that that is what you whant to do then i have three words for you: U S A

[Thordic]

Septra Info (http://my.webmd.com/content/drugs/1/4046_1486.htm?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348})

Apparently its just an anti-biotic.

As for the thing that says "tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney disease", thats common with just about any drug, because your kidneys and liver process drugs and such, and if they aren't working right, you can get a buildup and such. As long as the doctor is aware of the problem, then he should have regulated the dosage.

My question is, why is your wife on antibiotics? Its not like a "take every day for the rest of your life" kinda medicine, its one that clears up an infection and then you are done. Taking anti-biotics for long periods of time is bad for your health, as it just makes any bacteria living in your body get stronger after a while and immune to drugs.

Edit: WebMD.com is your best friend when you have questions about medical conditions and what the doctor is telling you isn't all that clear. Its a great resource.

[thump]

i know things have come a long way form 30 years ago,and i have a lot of respect for doctors,i believe most doctors are not in it for the money but to help people(for the most part).yes she has lost both her kidneys and her mother donated one to her.i am not mad at the doctors for trying new meds,its how you find things out.what im mad at is that they will not give a straight answer(such as "i dont know why").as for her being on septra it is cause it helps with her immune system,she get infections really easy because she has no immune system of her own anymore.i have asked about septra and why she is on it but the doctors talk above my understanding,,they use all their fancy words that a redneck like me cant understand:(
the bottom line why she is on septa is to help prevent infections i guess but since being put on it her kidney has acted up.this has been going on for 6 months now.before she was but on spetra she would get infections but then take another med and it would clear up with no problems.to me i would take her off the septra and see how her kidney reacts,i meen almost 6 years with no problems at all and then put a an new med and she has had nothing but problems.i just dont see why the doctors can see that.

[Sir_Brass]

thump, I'm putting this thread up in a prayer list thread on another forum. We're praying for you, bro :).

[thump]

thanks man,its nice to know that no matter how bad things are that my AO brothers are here for me.:)
thank you everyone

[mcveighr]

This has got to be the dumbest thread ever, I feel for your wife, but how can all doctors be idiots, are you insane? Not everybody can survive school for more than 20 years, and I deff. dont think that the ones that do are idiots.

About the Canadian health care, have any of you acually been to Canada, because from what you say it really doesnt sound like you understand our health care system at all.

My advice to Thump, go to a different hospital, or talk to your family doctor about getting a permanant doctor or suggesting a good doctor.

[Hamster Huey]

Thump - sorry to hear about the health of your fiancee. Hope everything works out.

Yes, Septra is an antibiotic. It's also called Bactrim over here stateside. It's used to treat any number of infections; you may have heard of it used to treat urinary tract infections. I'm no renal transplant specialist, but from the little pieces I can gather from this thread, I imagine she's taking the Septra prophylactically to guard against any potential infection.

That being said, I tend to doubt that Septra is the cause of your fiancee's problems. When the doctors say "it hasn't happened to anyone else taking the drug," they not just referring to the people they've been taking care of. They're talking about the accumulated experience of thousands upon thousands of kidney transplant recipients all over the world and through time. Yes, every individual person is different. But the biochemistry that works in each of us (and processes drugs) is almost identical. Is there a chance that someone can have some biochemical oddity that causes them to react differently? Sure - but it's really remote. Donated kidneys are really precious; I'm sure your doctors aren't f-ing around willy-nilly with medicines.

It sounds to me that your fiancee has had a number of run-ins with acute rejection - episodes where your fiancee's immune systems says, "Oi! What's this odd lump o' flesh doing in here?" and tries to attack it. It's hard to predict when they'll come; I hate to say that you've had a bit of bad luck, but it would be the truth. I think the fact that she's been on Septra during this rough patch is a coincidence. It's a rather lousy coincidence, and I'm sorry for that. Certainly her doctors will be reviewing and possibly tweaking her immunosuppressant regimen. Certainly you'll want to make sure that she never ever ever forgets a dose of her medicines. Certainly the both of you are tired, frustrated, and looking for something to blame. All I can recommend is to learn as much as you can, ask as many questions as you can, and if you feel like your doc isn't listening to you, by all means get another. Best of luck.

Thordic - totally agree with you on WebMD. It can indeed be a wonderful resource. An informed consumer of health care (or anything else for that matter) will always get better results. As for antibiotics, most of the time what you said is correct, namely that antibiotics are "take until you get better" sorts of medicines that aren't used indefinitely. In some cases, however, they are used indefinitely. And this is one of them. Since thump's fiancee is on a load of immunosuppressants to protect her new kidney from rejection, she's a lot more vulnerable to infection. That's why she needs additional protection from her antibiotics. And since she's going to be on immunosuppressants for as long as she has that donor kidney, she'll most likely be on antibiotics indefinitely, too. Canadian vs. US health care is a whole other can of worms... ;)

ASDadam - what you said about doctors is ridiculously unfair. I hope your statement doesn't reflect the true state of health care wherever you come from; I shudder to think of what that would mean.