What a crappy day. :’( I have recently had fibromyalgia added to my dx of PsA. The addition of Cymbalta to my Humira was a Godsend as it seemed to fill in a lot of cracks on my medicine warfare. Lower backpain and ankle swelling were greatly helped! I developed a very painful chest and rib problem on the left side. It went all the way through to my shoulder area and felt like a knife stabbing me when I moved. It hurt to touch my ribs on my side and movin my torso at all was very painful. If it had been on my left side I would have been terrified. I do have some heart problems so I was a little concerned ab the pain in my sternum. I googled it and costochondritis came up. I waited and waited to see if it would go away and it just got worse and worse until it felt like a bruise all over. Even my shoulder hurt. Sometimes when I googles it lung cancer would come up and I started to get worried. I made an appt to see my gp. It went like this. He listened to my chest, asked ab a cough… None. I do have asthma so there is wheezing. Then I explained my concerns. He doesn’t believe in fibromyalgia. I have pain all over so… (I am quoting him). He can’t remember all my pains because I have so many. Very very rude. Made me have a gall bladder ultrasound even though I had one a couple years ago and rib X-rays and when I asked ab lung X-rays he snapped at me and said, "Well, sure I cow tail to people all day long who demand what they want."
Ok? So I started crying in the ultrasound room… I know… They all came back fine. He prescribed gas medicine. NEVER felt my ribs or sternum. I honestly think he thought I just wanted pain meds which never crossed my mind. I wanted to make sure I didn’t have lung cance or a more serious problem since the pain had persisted for such a long time. I was so hurt that my long time doctor would treat me like this. Then I said that I didn’t think it was gas because it felt like a muscoskelatal problem an he said, “Well I guess it’s whatever you want it to be.” And changed it in the computer to costochondritis?!? Really? I burst into tears and then walked out of the room. I don’t even know what to think. I am not a drama queen. I take my entire family there. When I have been for migraine pain I have been throwing up so profusely it has been to the point that nothing can make it stop and I’m dehydrated. I can’t believe a dr would treat a patient this way just because they can’t see what causes your pain. So hurt.
I’d be hurt too. What an unprofessional way to treat a patient! Is this the first time you’ve received this kind of reception? Because if this is the way he routinely is, it’s probably time to start thinking of getting a new doctor.
The kind of pain you described needs to be checked out. If you continue to have it, it might be worth a trip to urgent care to see what they say.
I’m glad you came here to vent, and I hope you’re feeling a bit more composed before long.
Thank you for validating my hurt feelings. That’s what is so weird. No. My dr is a friend. I guess that is what made it so much worse. All the tests came back ok. All I really wanted was to make sure I didn’t have a serious internal problem before I sought chiropractic help. The pain is quite severe and keeps me from sleeping or doing anything that requires moving my torso. 
Wish I could give you a big (but gentle) hug TigerGirl, some doctors attitudes defies belief! Think a new GP is needed as Seenie says.
Years ago I left a supposed “good GP” because he found it amusing that I was embarrassed about my wide spread P. I was also having fertility problems because of my polycystic ovaries, after loosing a stone in weight, as he had requested in a month, he expected me to loose more, when I just couldn’t shift it he told me that he wasn’t going to help me because if I wanted another baby I would have lost the weight. I went home and howled. Changed GP to my present one, who was disgusted with his attitude, and after fertility treatment at the local hosp. was pregnant within a year.
Treating you like a timewaster isn’t acceptable x
Oh yes, the doc was frustrated and having a bad day! A patient he (I gather) likes, he can’t figure out what the problem is, she’s in pain, but no obvious cause, she has this really nasty arthritis thing going on, he’d had several drug seekers and brainless googlers in there earlier, a favourite patient died last night, and he forgot his wife’s birthday. None of that matters. He’s the professional, and you deserve to have him treat you in a professional manner. That said, doctors have bad days, and they are human and say things that they shouldn’t. But I’d say if this happens very often, you need to protect yourself and move on.
What an awful experience Tigergirl! I'm so sorry you had that experience. I would definitely get a 2nd opinion on the rib pain... it sounds like it would send a 'normal' person to the ER!
Dr's do get frustrated sometimes, but he is a professional and should have acted like one.
I am so sorry you were treated this way Tigergirl. No one should leave their doctors office in tears. It is unacceptable.
But having said that if you are very fond of this GP I would give him another chance. I tend to be too forgiving but when I really like a provider I will give them a second chance but not a third. I have found they are too few in my area.
I have had similar pain. I was dealing with it just last night and it reduced me to tears and I never cry. It is awful to have your torso circles in pain and not be able to stop it. I am awaiting a PA on my next bio. I think theepain starts in a thoracic vertebra and circles to my sternum. It really hurts. I hope you can get some answers and relief.
Tiger, you describe this guy as "a friend". Is he someone you see socially, outside of the office, or is it just that you thought he was on your side medically?
Especially if he is someone you break bread with, is there any chance he was, in some weird way, teasing? thinking he was being funny? figuring you would let him get away with it after the sort of day Seenie described above? If this behavior is new, and totally out of character, my guess is that there was something going on there that had nothing to do with you- you just walked into something that wasn't yours.
You say he doesn't believe in fibromyalgia. (Frankly, I'm not sure I do either. I think it tends to be a junk diagnosis that gets slapped on people they can't otherwise diagnose.) Maybe next time, for what you think is musculoskeletal pain, either PsA or fibromyalgia, could you get in with your rheumatologist instead? Don't underestimate doctors' fear of drug seekers. He may have had a few of those in recently claiming "fibromyalgia", contributing to his lack of belief. If you are like a lot of us who have lived with chronic pain for a long time, you might be pretty good at hiding it, or functioning through it. Could he have been puzzled by your behavior seemingly not matching your words? No writhing and vomiting, like with the migraines?
In any case, can you talk to him about this? He may not have any idea how he sounded to you, and may be truly horrified at how the office visit made you feel. If you have a long-term relationship with him, give him a chance to apologize. If he doesn't see a problem, say sayonara and move on.
This got long, and contains too many question marks, maybe, but I hope something in it may help you make sense out of what happened. It's awful to leave an office feeling that way.
O…M…G…
I am SO sorry that this happened to you; it makes my heart ache for you. If you don’t mind my saying so, your doc is an ass. And incredibly unkind and unprofessional.
Can I tell you a story? I have spent the last year with pain that I always described as “deep bone pain in my femurs”. It has been pretty much constant, worse when the weather is bad, and awful. My Rheumatologist has also spent the last year trying to CONVINCE me that I have fibromyalgia, but I wouldn’t let him treat me for it because of what you just described up there. My GP has also mentioned it. I did try 2 of the drugs, cymbalta and Savella, with no improvements, so I was certain that I didn’t have it, and I didn’t want it any way, and they didn’t know what they were taking in about. Idiots. I worked as an RN in the ER for a number of years and patients with fibro are routinely dismissed and treated like drug seekers. It’s not fair and it’s the wrong way to practice medicine.
Long story short, I got desperate, started Lyrica and feel like a new woman, but the point is that if people are afraid to be diagnosed with something by one doc, just to be ridiculed by other docs, then we have a serious problem. You definitely need a new GP. If you can, try to find someone o the younger end of the spectrum. They tend to be more open minded about fibro. I also find the statement, “I don’t want pain meds. I want you to find out what is wrong with me and treat it” to be helpful when I suspect that I am getting the brush off, to be effective. But that doc has got to go. If he thinks you are a seeker, you will never get good care from him.
I don’t know what else to say, but I will repeat how sorry I am that you had to experience being treated like that. You don’t deserve it.
I think your doc's behavior is appalling ! What a degrading experience that must have been, and you didn't deserve that. And so what if someone really does need pain meds ? If they are properly prescribed and taken, there is nothing wrong with that !
Unfortunately, a large part of the medical community does not believe that fibromyalgia is a real diagnosis. I will look up some articles for you, but I best if you cruised on over to the Living with Fibromyalgia page of Ben’s Friends, you would find more than one story like this. There is a serious lack of awareness for this condition.
It doesn’t help that people with chronic drug seeking behavior often “claim” to have fibromyalgia.
sybil said:
Apart from the affront to your dignity from this bully, it’s a bit worrying that he doesn’t believe in fibromyalgia. Okay, maybe it is a bit of a random diagnosis sometimes, but I know from the experience of a family member that it usually refers to a fairly horrible set of symptoms. If he doesn’t ‘believe’ in it, he should be pulling out all the stops to get you a diagnosis he can believe in.
This sort of thing never seems to happen when you’re in the mood to give as good as you get. And sick people very often are not in that frame of mind. I reckon he’s messed up big time. I’ve had some traumatic experiences with doctors, especially when I was young, and I just put up with it. These days, needing medical care more often, I can’t be doing with weirdos. Do you know him well enough to hold him to account for his attitude? If not perhaps a new doctor would be a good idea. It’s good we have this place to offload, but don’t let it get to you if at all possible - just focus on you & getting answers.
You guys are very kind. I had to walk away from this for a day. This was the worst experience I have had at a doctors office. My doctor is usually very kind and I just was floored. I have heard other people say he has bitten their heads off but never had experienced it. I think as far as a doctor/patient relationship goes this is over. It will be awhile before I can look this person in the face again without feeling resentment. I felt like I was on candid camera and they were gonna pop out and say, “Smile! You’re on Candid Camera!” But it wasn’t funny and kept getting worse by the minute until I gathered my belongings and walked out of the exam room.
The funny thing is that opioids are contraindicative for fibromyalgia. They don’t help it. Why would someone seekin drugs choose that disease? Dummies.
They pick it because there is no test to say they are wrong. But you are definitely correct about the opiates not working. I take them for PsA pain and when I started having my mystery pain, fibromyalgia, I tried to take them. They did nothing. Two doses of Lyrica? That was the ticket.
TigerGirl said:
The funny thing is that opioids are contraindicative for fibromyalgia. They don’t help it. Why would someone seekin drugs choose that disease? Dummies.
I did sign up for the fibromyalgia page but I am waiting on the confirmation email still