Diagnose THIS! (kind of a RANT)

Nurses General Nursing

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I had strep throat dx Dec. 4 with my family Dr. Have taken my course of antibiotics, felt better for a day, and the sore throat came back. Woke up this AM feeling crappy still. I have been soooo tired, coughing, the sore throat thing, dizzy, no appetite, sinus congestion. I have had NO fever, nausea, aches, diarrhea...one day with a headache, but not ongoing.

Family dr has no appts available today, of course, but the young dr he recently brought in was available. OK, gotta have someone check this out. I go in and they have a new MA (I guess that's what she was, he doesn't have nurses). She took my blood pressure wrong, twice which gave a REALLY high reading, no way, I have never had BP that high. I had to help her the second time with the cuff to reposition and get it tight enough as it was FALLING down my arm. :confused: She was like, "Well, maybe you've been coughing a lot or it's just because you're sick." Umm, no, ya did it wrong babe! I just looked at her, smiled a bit and she said, "Since it's so high you should have the Dr. double check it." I told her I sure would.

Doc comes in, I tell him my symptoms, asks if I have drainage...tell him, no...proceeds with exam...when done he prescribes and antihistimine and a decongestant for the DRAINAGE I don't have! I have white pus patches on my tonsils still, even after the antibiotics. Yes, this could certainly be viral...I am thinking it might be mono, I have been burning the candle at both ends with school and family commitments.

I didn't mention to the dr what I thought it might be because the last time I did he told my family dr that he thought I didn't like him....(again, :confused: ) It is times like these I wish my family dr was less busy or that I had an NP instead!!!!

I've had my flu shot, BTW. This doesn't seem like flu to me, though. Oh, and he told me if I don't feel better in 10-14 days to give him a call :( Is he telling me this so he's covering his butt if it IS mono? :confused: What to do...I feel HORRIBLE!

(He did check my BP again...normal...I felt like I wanted to alert someone to the fact the MA needs some skills brush up, but I didn't want to piss anyone off!)

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
Originally posted by LPN2Be2004

:eek: WASH THEM FIRST! lol j/k

:chuckle :chuckle :roll

Well, all 5 kids are sick...one with sinusitis, one with strep throat, two with pharyngitis and just got back from a 7 hour wait in the ER to find out my son was the only one there who didn't have the flu...no, instead he has strep throat AND CROUP!

Getting ready to go to the 24 hour pharmacy a half hour away from here to get his antibiotics...he already got a corticosteroid in the ER. I'm draggin' azz, I'll tell ya...feeling a little better myself, but my cough is worse. Sorry I'm whining, just can't believe all this.

I am very thankful I am on break from school, though I had planned to spend it in a much different way than this! Must go Christmas shopping tomorrow...I have NONE of it done! :eek:

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

((((((((((Lisa))))))))))))) :kiss Praying for you and the family to be comfortable and have good rest soon as you battle the sickness that has overcome your bodies. Take your meds, rest as often as you can, hydrate hydrate hydrate, take some vitamin C and/or drink plenty of orange juice or other juices/foods high in Vitamin C, pray and thank God for your healing (I know you believe in prayer that is why I am mentioning this), and do keep us informed of your progress. Is there anything I can do to help you? :kiss

Originally posted by LisaRN2B

I am very thankful I am on break from school, though I had planned to spend it in a much different way than this! Must go Christmas shopping tomorrow...I have NONE of it done! :eek:

Sounds like you ought to do some online shopping instead. Oh, yeah, and insist on only seeing your regular doctor from now on; after all, it's YOUR health, time, and money. I wouldn't worry about some whiny new doctor who gets his feelings hurt. How much more unprofessional can he be?

Hugs and best wishes. Hope you all get well soon and are able to enjoy the holidays. :kiss

Originally posted by cheerfuldoer

((((((((((Lisa))))))))))))) :kiss Praying for you and the family to be comfortable and have good rest soon as you battle the sickness that has overcome your bodies. Take your meds, rest as often as you can, hydrate hydrate hydrate, take some vitamin C and/or drink plenty of orange juice or other juices/foods high in Vitamin C, pray and thank God for your healing (I know you believe in prayer that is why I am mentioning this), and do keep us informed of your progress. Is there anything I can do to help you? :kiss

I will take your advice, all of it! Thank you, cheerfuldoer. I am thanking God for our healing, I know He is the Great Physician!

Yes, there is something you can do to help me...please DO keep us in your prayers! Thank you for your advice and concern :kiss

Put some things in perspective first:

1. If you are unhappy with your physician or his staff, why are you still going to him? Ther must be more than one physician in your town.................................................or perhaps one with a nurse practicioner..

2. What type of antibiotic were you taking? Did you have your Dr. do cultures? Some infections ARE resistant to some antibiotics, and sometimes you just need a second dose of the antibiotic............................

3. You need to think these things thru first, instead of worrying how you were treated. Better yet, what would you do if you had a patient with the same symptoms? What would you expect to be done for that patient? Shouldn't you have the same things done for yourself?

4. You are a nurse, use your critical thinking methods....that is what you were trained to do. I know that you don't feel good and it is holiday time.....but stop for a moment and just think,

Originally posted by peggysue

Sounds like you ought to do some online shopping instead. Oh, yeah, and insist on only seeing your regular doctor from now on; after all, it's YOUR health, time, and money. I wouldn't worry about some whiny new doctor who gets his feelings hurt. How much more unprofessional can he be?

Hugs and best wishes. Hope you all get well soon and are able to enjoy the holidays. :kiss

I am just afraid if I do it online I won't get it in time for Christmas! I just wish I could've started sooner.

The young Dr. has A LOT more growing to do, for sure. Yeah, I couldn't get over the unprofessional attitude.

Thank you for wishing us well...praying things resolve quickly for us health-wise!

Originally posted by suzanne4

Put some things in perspective first:

1. If you are unhappy with your physician or his staff, why are you still going to him? Ther must be more than one physician in your town.................................................or perhaps one with a nurse practicioner..

2. What type of antibiotic were you taking? Did you have your Dr. do cultures? Some infections ARE resistant to some antibiotics, and sometimes you just need a second dose of the antibiotic............................

3. You need to think these things thru first, instead of worrying how you were treated. Better yet, what would you do if you had a patient with the same symptoms? What would you expect to be done for that patient? Shouldn't you have the same things done for yourself?

4. You are a nurse, use your critical thinking methods....that is what you were trained to do. I know that you don't feel good and it is holiday time.....but stop for a moment and just think,

Hi Suzanne,

I love my doctor, he has been a God-send to me and my family. Others love him, too, evidently, as he is SO busy I can rarely get in to see him anymore. It wasn't always like that, but it sure is now. As good as he is, I know that he is no good to me if I can't get an appt. I would LOVE to have an NP...don't know of any in my area (Dayton, OH), so if any of you out there know of any here, please let me know.

I was taking Keflex 500 mg, TID. Nope, no cultures taken...my son had had strep two weeks prior.

I am not a nurse yet. I am still in the pre-req phase, I have yet to have my first real nursing class or clinical. My very own critical thinking skills told me that I was not being treated as I should, but I also knew that I was going to get nowhere with this particular doctor. I DO need to look elsewhere for a doctor more available to meet my needs and the needs of my family, obviously. I am sure my doc is not the only good one out there, but I have a had a few not-so-good-ones in the past and I am a little hesitant to start the long process of weeding through them to find "the one." Especially when all hades is breaking loose here at home on the health front, know what I mean? And before the Holidays...nearly impossible!

As soon as we are all feeling a little better, and after the first of the year, I will be scoping out the doctors and/or NP's (if any) in my area.

Thanks for your post!

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