I Fired My Doctor

By Madeline Sharples

Woman doctorI fired one of my doctors this week. It was not a spur of the moment decision and something I didn’t take lightly. I churned about it and when I finally did it, it was painful.

I had been seeing this doctor – my gynecologist – for many, many years. She had come highly recommended and seemed very smart and always up on new studies pertaining to keeping me healthy. However, in the last few years I realized she was not in tune with technology – she still kept handwritten records. Plus she didn’t take my insurance. Her reason for opting out of Medicare was that she would have had to follow its rules – one being to digitize her office. However, even knowing that I couldn’t get reimbursed for her services I kept going to her – still thinking she was the right doctor for me.

That is until a few weeks ago.

She ordered a pelvic ultrasound even though I had no symptoms that showed I needed it. No pain, no bleeding, no nothing. However, I took the test and it showed a slight increase in the thickness of my uterine lining. With that she suggested I try increasing my progesterone dosage from 100 to 200 mg (I am still on low dosages of hormone replacement therapy). I did that and then repeated the ultrasound three months later. The lining thickness increased although it wasn’t clear whether the cause was polyps or cysts or both. She said I needed more tests – first a biopsy in her office, then a sonohysterogram  at the office of the radiologist who performed the previous ultrasounds. She prescribe a progesterone cream called Estrace that I needed to insert in my vagina every night for two to three weeks prior to the biopsy so she could more easily place her biopsy instrument – a long thin plastic tube-like affair – up through my cervix. Needless to say these procedures sounded painful – lots of cramping – especially with the sonohysterogram. The biopsy instrument was scary.

Once I started the cream regimen I also experienced very uncomfortable side affects: bloating and belching, diarrhea, and sore and painful nipples and breasts. At that point I decided to seek a second opinion. I had had enough.

As soon as I related this story to doctor I sought out for the second opinion – someone also very highly recommended – she said she never would have ordered the ultrasound in the first place. That was like opening Pandora’s box for no reason. And for sure she wouldn’t have prescribed the cream. I liked her already. However, what really impressed me was that she had an ultrasound machine and technician right in her office suite, and she suggested we make use of it – right away. So in real time I had another ultrasound and the hysterogram, which the doctor performed herself – and I immediately got a diagnosis. By the way the hysterogram was painful and it caused about a day of spotting.

The tests showed a well-defined polyp. This second doctor, mindful that I came there for her opinion, asked if I wanted to have her remove it or did I want to go back to my present doctor and go through her list of steps that would probably lead to the same conclusion. I opted to stay with the second doctor and schedule an all-inclusive surgical procedure that consisted of a hysteroscopy, polyp-ectomy, and biopsy under general anesthesia – about a half hour worth of work. That seemed much more efficient to me.

I called my now former doctor the next day and left her a message. I actually wrote myself a script that described why I went for a second opinion and why I decided to cancel my appointment to have her perform a biopsy. I stated that I had found another solution and thanked her for all the good work she had done for me in the past. She called back and wanted more information, so I told her what surgery I was having performed. I also let her know that this new doctor honored Medicare and my secondary insurance. With that she seemed satisfied. She took the news so well she offered to send over my ream of handwritten records to my new doctor at no charge. Though she still cares about my health, I’ve moved on.

Madeline is the author of Leaving the Hall Light On: A Mother’s Memoir of Living with Her Son’s Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide (Dream of Things) and Blue-Collar Women: Trailblazing Women Take on Men-Only Jobs (New Horizon Press). She co-edits The Great American Poetry Show anthology series and wrote the poetry for The Emerging Goddessphotography book. See more at http://www.MadelineSharples.com