Doctors visit gone wrong

dlobbs · June 13

Sorry for the long post.

My DH is in year 5 of official diagnosis of vascular/FTD dementia. We have a wonderful doctor we see every 6 months. Or more if needed. In March he took what I call a hard dip and we went in for his 6 months appointment . A few medicine changes started taking place that seemed to make things worse. We have been seeing her ever 30 days since then with no problem with appointments. Last week was time for our appointment and she was out of state on a family emergency so we saw a new doctor in the clinic.

I have never been so upset leaving an appointment in my life, This doctor came in with an attitude of we shoudn’t be there. I tried to go over my concerns and results of last months blood test showing low vitimans b12 low vitimans d and recent changes in his behavior which has always been the norm( he even asked questions about his mediation( which is not the norm). There had been some major mixups at the pharmacy with what was called in for refills(which I quickly figured out was her mistake).

She abruptly shut us both down looking at my husband and saying you need a psychiatrist. She loudly told him he was on the highest dose of anxiety medicine prescribed(which is definitely not true) and she was a doctor and he needed a psychiatrist. I quickly explained to her that the our doctor was slowly taking him off a different mediation and should we reduce again this month. I then asked about the mixup at the pharmacy and she said you need to follow up with your pcp and a psychiatrist. I told her the mixup was with a medication prescribed by there office. Which she again said follow up with your pcp.

At this point I was ready to leave. I asked for a 30 day appointment to follow up on the reduction of medication. She flatly told me they have people waiting for months to get in go to my pcp. I actually thought we were being dismissed from the clinic. When we left the check out person stopped us and asked if we needed to c heck out. I said I don’t guess so he looked and there was an order for a 6 month appointment.

It was all I could do to hold it together on the way home. My DH husband seemed oblivious to what happened but later said I didn’t like that doctor. I am still upset 3 days later. Does my husband need a pyschiatrist?? Possibly, but I think cognitively we have missed that window. Our dementia doctor we normally see has always told us what mediations she wanted to prescribe and what medicines the pcp takes care of in a very kind respectful way. She always talks to my husband in a way he can understand and ask me questions about behaviors and my concerns. Before we leave she always tells me when she wants us to come back. Any time we have a medicine change she monitors him closely.

I feel like I should call the social worker on Monday and tell her about our experience????

Once again sorry for the long post, but I need to vent.

Arrowhead · June 13

The odds are that you will never have that doctor again. I would put it behind me and look forward to seeing his regular doctor who will straighten things out.

dlobbs · June 13

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/274770#Comment_274770

That’s what I’m trying to do thanks for your support

LearningCurve · June 13

Heyyyyy, That was way out of bounds. I suggest that you email the Practice Mgr/Clinical Director and cc husbands regular Dr. If affiliated with a hospital you could kick it up a notch to the VP that oversees their clinic practices. Then hold your head up. This was definitely uncalled for and the higher powers need to know. (I spent my career working in the healthcare industry).

harshedbuzz · June 13

@dlobbs

I am so sorry you had such a bad experience with this physician. She sounds ghastly.

That said, if your DH is taking psychoactive medications for anxiety or behaviors, I would absolutely suggest seeing a geriatric psychiatrist for medication management. Geri psych as the subspecialists most qualified to prescribe such medications in the elderly and those with dementia. IME, both of dad's neurologists and his PCP were reluctant to prescribe an adequate dose to take the edge off dad's anxiety.

His geri psych was the most important person on the care team aside from mom. He created a cocktail of 3 medications at lower doses which avoided side effects and sedation but worked well together. The geri psych had a great bedside manner and dad actually liked visits with him.

HB

Timmyd · June 13

Thank you for sharing. I know how hard it can be to get a PWD through an office visit. When you encounter someone along the journey who seems intent on making it even more difficult, that can be infuriating. Given the prevalence of dementia in our society (1 in 10 people over age 65), I am always amazed when we encounter people who are trained medical professionals, but they just don't seem to get it. A bit of grace, compassion, and patience goes such a long way when you are trying to navigate the system. It is such a relief when you get it, and so maddening when it is the opposite.

TooYoungForThis64 · June 19

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/76269/doctors-visit-gone-wrong

I imagine a lot of us on here have experienced a "professional" who absolutely anything but professional.

In late 2019, after a couple of years of begging him to see someone, he agreed. We weren't able to get an appointment with a neurologist until March 2020. When we did see him, he went through the ritual: remember 3 words, draw a clock, repeat this sequence of numbers, etc. To this day I remember those 3 words: apple, penny, table. At the end, this "doctor" actually looked at my 58 yo DH and said, "I don't want to tell you you have Alz. You are too young. But I will tell you that most people would use some sentence to help them remember the words. You know, something like 'I bought an apple on the table for a penny.' And this clock? I wouldn't buy that clock from you. It doesn't make any sense! But I figure you will want another opinion so I'll send you to a specialist (just over 100 mi away)." Not only did he dismiss our concerns, he mocked and shamed my DH.

Well, if you noticed the date (2020), as you can imagine it took us almost 2 years to get an appointment with the 2nd opinion neurologist. Two YEARS. I look back & have to wonder if the meds could have helped this slow down with greater success. I'll never know. Here we are, 4 years later and my DH is in a local VA nursing home.

What I can tell you is continue to advocate for your LO. They can't. I wish I'd reported our oh-so-friendly Dr. Quack, but I don't know what good that would have done as he's one of few neurologists in our community. I will also say that when I required a nerve conduction test, they wanted me to see Dr. Quack. I refused, deciding to drive 45 mi away to have someone else do the test. I wouldn't trust him to change a band-aid.

I'm so sorry you had this experience. Hang in there. Tie a knot in the end of your rope, and hang on.

SDianeL · June 22

a Geriatric Psychiatrist is the best type of doctor to prescribe and manage meds for dementia patients. Get an appointment with one if you can.

elainechem · June 22

I once took my husband to a urologist because of his enlarged prostate. When I started to explain about his Alzheimer’s, she shut me down and said that she wanted to hear it from my husband. Ok. Fine. My husband had no clue about any of his medical issues. He always said that he was fine. The nurse practitioner had the audacity to lecture me about making mountains out of molehills, in effect. I was really angry. After I got home and had cooled down, I called the office and complained. They refunded my money and I never went back there. I don't know what happened to the NP after that.

Dusty217 · June 22

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/274790#Comment_274790

I agree. !! They were treated horribly.

Doctors visit gone wrong

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