What is the MOST Infuriating Thing a Doctor Has Said to You?

Last week, I asked you to share your stories about the most infuriating thing a doctor has said to you. I started out by sharing my own saga, which involves Synthroid, hair falling out so much that I wanted to buy stock in Drano, and a doctor who thought that people who research health issues are pains in the neck that he referred to as "Petit Papier" women (women with the little papers!) !!

Needless to say, there are alot of other frustrated Petit Papier patients out there, and my post has launched a very active discussion on my forums. You can view all the responses -- or share your own story -- online at my thyroid forum now.

But here are a few memorable highlights!! See if you recognize things YOUR doctor may have said to YOU along the way!

Jeanne02 had an interesting exchange with her doctor, who started it off by announcing:

"THIS DISEASE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE METABOLISM!" "Nothing," I replied? He replied..."NO NOTHING!" Mary, he treats diabetes, so he probably thinks that has nothing to do with the pancreas either! (Read Jeanne02's entire post.)

' nette has this to share...

Five years before I was diagnosed (but very symptomatic), a holistic doc lightly pinched the skin on the back of my hand and commented it was awfully thin for my age, so I must be malnourished. A few years later, my dog's vet did the same skin pinching on my dog who was rapidly gaining weight and losing fur. The vet said "hmmm, thin skin is pretty common with hypo, let's test her". The dog was diagnosed hypo. The human was diagnosed six months later. Therefore, the doc's comment didn't infuriate me at the time, but in retrospect I think he needs to go to vet school!

Sandygirl2 went through something many of us have experienced.

"When I first went to an endo that my OBGYN referred me to, I told him my symptoms which included weight problems. He asks if I exercise. When I told him I walked everyday, he asked "to and from the refrigerator?" Great bedside manner, don't you think?

Here's Leslie, whose horrible menstrual cramps were so bad that she describes them as "some strange monthly endurance tests." Says Leslie:

This doctor looked at me, told me she would not prescribe any pain medicine for cramps. She went on to tell me that lots of women have cramps, so it's normal. The pain you feel is ALL IN YOUR HEAD and if you wanted to, you could control the pain with a positive attitude. Right then and there... a future patient advocate was born. I asked, if my cramps are all in my head, why do I have pain right here (pointing to my uterus) and bleed so heavily? She repeated, lots of women have endured pain worse than yours for millions of years. Gee, that's reassuring...So when someone tells me that I've brought something on myself, psychologically, I look at all points of view: am I really crazy or are these childbirth-like cramps as bad as I think they are? (Read All of Leslie's story)

dorothy13 has a list of comments she's heard from doctors.

"T3 is the equivalent to cocaine and I'm not giving you that."

"You'll have the thyroid lobectomy on Friday and be able to go to work on Monday."

"Armour thyroid is made from cows."

The guidelines about the TSH being below 3 from the AACE are "propoganda".

(Read more of the comments from dorothy13's endocrinologist)

Here's alviarin's story:

"At my very first appointment with an endocrinoligist, I told her about my strong family history of thyroid disease, and listed my current symptoms, and my concern that I might have a thyroid problem. Her response: "You don't have a thyroid problem. You are just depressed because you moved recently. " What? Since when does a move equal depression? Depression wasn't even on my list of complaints! She never bothered to physically manipulate my thyroid gland, and didn't want to order any thyroid bloodwork. What a quack."

After Dottye made an appointment and agreed to pay $400 up front for an out of network "Hashimoto's expert," she had this experience:

"When I explained why I had come to see him, to optimize my treatment and reduce symptoms, he said: 'I don't believe in Hashimoto's.' I asked him why there would be an antibody test for a condition that doesn't exist. He had no answer...A very few minutes into the conversation he said: "You know, I'm spending way too much time with you for an HMO patient." I reminded him that I was paying $400 cash, out of pocket/out of network but his attitude did not improve..." (Read Dottye's full post.)

Amie has a unique perspective.

"I am a triathlete and marathoner and went to a doctor because I had trouble losing and maintaining my weight. I was also a personal trainer and a lifestyle consultant, and kept detailed logs about what I ate on a computer. I had several doctors tell me to eat less/or I wasn't watching what I ate. Yeah, right. One of the dumbest was the doctor who said maybe I should exercise more. I told him I was cycling around 100 miles a week, swimming several thousand meters a week, and running 30-40 miles a week, sometimes weight training and teaching aerobics. I said, 'Why don't YOU try to exercise more than I do.'"

Emory's doctor told her that he had a greater chance of having thyroid cancer then she did and, her family Dr wasted his time sending her to him.

"I had a multinodular goiter with very prominant nodule that my GP was concerned with so he sent me to this idiot Endo who order no labs nothing and laughed .I never returned to any Dr for my thyroid for a few years, then after 6 years I found a enlarged lymph node in my neck which was watched and grew for over 2 years, finally I was forced to get a new doctor due to insurance change. I eventually ended up with surgery to remove the lymph node, which showed that I had metastatic Thyroid cancer which involved my jugular. I had 3 more surgeries and 3 large doses of RAI...The Endo still does not have thyroid cancer that I know. Nor does he have many patients these days."

Shaylyn's doctor refuses to listen to her symptoms.

"...according to him my only problem is that I must be depressed. Yeah by the fact I count everything I eat in a journal, about pass out from exahustion by noon, and still need to wear a hair piece! (most the time I am in a ball cap now) He won't even take anything else into consideration but depression. Such as the fact my mother and Aunt both have Lupus; I asked him if this might also be something that needed to be looked into. That perhaps it was another autoimmune disorder causing me to feel so bad, or perhaps in conjunction with my thyroid. Nope...I am depressed.....glad he knows that. I think the manufacturers of Synthroid put these doctors through brainwashing seminars or something. As I left with my new found diagnosis of depression, he handed me some samples of Synthroid the rep just left for them. Hmmmmm...I thought I smelled food when I walked in....maybe the reps put something in it that turns doctors into mindless idiots." (Read Shaylyn's full message)

And finally, Maccy's heard perhaps one of the most standard, yet inexplicable, lines.

"Well it goes like, the normal range for TSH is roughly between 3 and 4. We don't usually treat it until it is at 10. Wow, comatose."

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