Poll - has your doc ever lied to you?

I feel like I need to insert a disclaimer here.  There are many wonderful docs out there.  I have some wonderful docs - my PCP, my psychiatrist and my back specialist are all wonderful.  And I believe they are honest with me.  Once I told my psychiatrist I did not like the psych unit at the hospital at which he has privileges and he told me if he ever needed to be admitted to a psych unit, he would not want to go to that hospital either, and told me what hospital he would go to or take a family member to.  How cool is that?

But some lie to patients.  And I have a huge problem with it.

The doc that did my surgery lied about a couple things.  He told me drinking soda would stretch my pouch, and it won't.  He also once told me all my labs were fine and when I got a copy of the lab report I found several things marked high or low that he hadn't bothered to tell me about.  Apparently he did not consider them important but I wasn't asking him if everything he considered important was OK, I was asking if everything was OK.  He said yes and it wasn't.

He closed his practice when I was six months out, but if he  hadn't, I would have ended up finding a new surgeon anyway or just having my PCP do my follow up care.  I would not have continued to pay someone to tell me lies.  As far as I know,, he did a great job cutting and sewing, but I need doctors that will be honest about things.

Has you doc ever lied to you?  How do you handle that?

 Military doctors, need I say more?

I dealt with it by moving.

Not that I know of.... but, there have been some that didn't treat me very well, and to whom I would never go back!

Kelly,

Not sure exactly where this response belongs...but thinking you are an info/research junkie, maybe it would work here.

I dont consider this a 'lie', and I havent been able to find any info to back this up, but Im a band to rny revision. My surgeon (who I adore, by the way) says I should lose at the same rate as a 'virgin' rny patient. I didnt lose with the band...well, I lost 30 lbs and gained it back. Had a slip and couldnt eat solid food which led to my revision.

There is disagreement between my nut and my surgeon. Nut says no way would I lose as fast. I dont know. I just know I pretty much stopped losing around 7 months out and while I maintain well, I struggle to lose more. I have to assume its just me.

I probably wouldn't consider that a lie either.  I think it's a matter of them having different opinions and probably neither has anything to back if up except their own experience.  And it's quite possible your surgeon has seen some patients lose just as fast after a revision and it's quite possible that your nut has seen patients lose more slowly.  Probably they've each had patients that lost just as fast and some that lose more slowly but for whatever reason only some of their patients stand out in their minds.  Which might mean one of them is not giving you very accurate info, but it's not the same thing as them knowing some facts and deliberately not giving you the information.

My surgeon told me I did not need to take iron.  I believe he was wrong, but I don't consider that a lie because I think he truly believed I did not need it.  He should have known better but if he didn't know better, then he wasn't lying to me, he was just giving me bad information.

However, I do not believe he really thought drinking soda would stretch my pouch.  There is no way a surgeon could have that little understanding of our anatomy.  He would never have been able to perform my surgery if he didn't understand anatomy better than that!

and yeah, I like info and research.  You mean some people don't?

I have to say Im a junkie too. I recently took a friend to a wls seminar and was afraid for the people there. I couldnt believe the questions they were asking. I did so much research that I coudlnt think of questions to ask because I felt so prepared.

I don't know if I consider some things being lied to because maybe they believe what they are saying, tney just haven't had as much education in some areas as in others.  
My medical records are now online and so are my lab results from 2002, when I had my first surgery.  I have to admit I never even thought to ask to see my labs.  I just took their word for it that things were fine.
So I look back and in one case my vitamin D was 8.  I think that was the time they gave me the green prescription caps.
In 2006 my ferritin was 19.  In the normal range but at the very lower end of it.  No one told me a thing about it.
A year after my first WLS my albumin was 3.5 (normal is 3.5 to 4.7) and my protein was 6.1 (normal is 6.1 to 7.9).  No one told me a thing.
I was also told before my revision that I would hardly have any malabsorption.  I am having a hard time believing that given the fact that I can barely stay over 100 lbs eating 2000 calories a day.
I have also been told to take Flintstones and that my vitamin D level was dangerous at 87.
Is it any wonder that I am looking for another doctor?

Before we go about indicting some percentage of medical professionals as less than honest or not truth tellers, first think that just like any other schooled profession, 50% of each class graduates above median; 50% below median -- and yet, most all have jobs and patients regardless of awards or accolades they may or may not have received.

Many medical professionals are now running up against an informed patient. Remember too that the internet was really only birthed in 1993-1996. So you have a vast age range of people seeking medical help, that come from a vast range of socio-economic and educational backgrounds. From those that are informed and are great advocates for themselves; to those who generally accept that doctors are without peer and accept their diagnoses without question. And I think much of that depends on the age of the patient.

For instance, my father (80 years old) believes that doctors are healers and are god-like (of course he believes they are all out for his money ~grin~). While, we, his children, understand that we are in control of our health and have to act as our own advocates, and temper information we receive. And that's just the beginning of complexity in today's medical fields. Throw in managed care, caps on patient time, and other frustrations experienced by all medical professionals, it's amazing that we receive the quality of care we do.

I do not condemn doctors/medical professionals when they speak less than truth. Why? Because I need to understand where they are coming from and most certainly the frustrations they encounter in caring for the vast array of patients they deal with on a daily basis. Anecdotally, I once was seeing my PCP (whom I liked very much), but I felt that I was no closer to a diagnosis after six or seven visits. When I suggested some form of treatment I had read about online, the doctor got perturbed with me. And while I can look back now and understand why, at the moment, I was quite livid. But he was using a diagnostic pattern that works...and that was his forte, diagnostic medicine. He point blank told me he didn't use the "shotgun" approach to diagnosis, but rather a very methodical pattern to help him render a correct diagnosis. I do believe that Ockham's Razor principle is the most predominant in medicine, in most professions today. And that is: simpler explanations are, other things being equal, generally better than more complex ones.

I know there are certain things you don't mess with: a person's paycheck, their religious beliefs and their opinions of medical professionals. People hold these very near and dear to them. But I also don't expect that medical professionals are without fault. They are just like you and me, they put their pants on one leg at a time, but have the incredible benefit of attending four years of University, three+ years of residency and however many more years specialized education. They usually aren't personality divas or charismatic folk, just highly educated and experienced folk, who I tend to believe (without any substantion of course) are medical professionals because they care and believe in the hypocratic oath. Hey I can have my own flowery opinion about things too!

So I take the long view that my medical professionals are that..."professionals". Do I get angered with them sometimes, sure. But overall, I've got the ability to do my own research and advocate for myself, plus control some of my own outcomes through choices I make for better health, I can chose to accept or dismiss their hypothesis. But I never, ever assume that I have more education, knowledge or experience than they do medically.

However, if they want me to build them a website.....

 At one time it was in the literature not to drink soda because of stretching your pouch, so I don't think he lied to you there, it has been since I first had my band that the doctors have starting saying that it is ok to drink carbonated beverages, if they do not cause you excess gas.  My doctor told me that after my surgery and I was so far out that I could go back on some medication and he now says no, did he lie to me? I honestly do not know, he may have thought that I could but shouldn't or he could have changed his mind, but that was the deciding factor that I would have a revision.  I am still happy I revised and am not angry with him for not allowing me to take this medication again.   

Anyway if he lied to me on purpose I am glad he did.

 I work often with doctors and see many reviewed lab reports. It is not unusual for labs to out of range on the high or low end. It matters, depending on the test, when the result is considered clinically significant. Unless it's something very specific to a particular patient, results considered Noy Clinically Significant (NCS) are not considered of major concern. They may wait to see the next set and if the value is still out of range they might say something. Don't know why that is, butit is that way in many cases. Also, and this sounds bad, but a nurse in the Docs office may see the report first and flag out of range results for the Doc to review. If something is missed, the Doc may never see it. That is why it's impotant to always request copies of lab report and other test results.