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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Carolyn on March 8, 2000, at 17:24:09
I've been on disability for three weeks. I don't feel any better, and I'm afraid my doctor will make me go back to work Monday. And I'm so tired of having this crummy disease that makes everyone treat you like you are stupid or lazy! I feel as though even my doctor doesn't believe how bad I feel and thinks I'm just trying to avoid work! I like my job and my co-workers, and I know that I would want to go back if I was ready. But how do I convince him of that?
Posted by CarolAnn on March 9, 2000, at 8:12:36
In reply to I'm not lazy, but..., posted by Carolyn on March 8, 2000, at 17:24:09
Carolyn, I have always had a problem with depression related fatigue, and I too have dealt with the "lazy" tag. My fatigue worsens with stress, and over the holidays I got worse then I've ever been. Still, I could not seem to convey to my doctor how serious the situation was. Finally, I told him that I was so tired and so tired of being tired, that I truly wanted to kill myself *just* to end the tiredness(which really was true). This got his attention, and he ended up prescribing me Adderall(a stimulant).
I don't know if your fatigue is at this level, but if you aren't ready to go back to work, it couldn't hurt to let the doctor *think* that you are this bad off. Good Luck!CarolAnn
Posted by Mark H. on March 10, 2000, at 19:55:34
In reply to Re: I'm not lazy, but..., posted by CarolAnn on March 9, 2000, at 8:12:36
Carol Ann makes a good point: if your illness is interfering with your primary relationships and ability to perform at work, then it should be taken seriously by your physician. If not, you need a new physician. Is your doctor a psychiatrist? I had nightmare experiences with one general practitioner before finally going to a shrink. There are few things more offensive than being told that you're "drug-seeking" or "lazy" when you're trying to cope with homicidal and/or suicidal ideation. My incompetent "family doctor" went so far as to mutter under his breath that he thought I was probably selling my prescriptions on the street! I felt like I had stepped off a plane in a foreign country and been arrested for being a Nazi war criminal! What an asshole!
There are psychiatrists who do not use medication, just as there are board-certified allergists who think there are no such things as food allergies or environmental allergies (unless you break out in hives, of course). You are the consumer, and you have the right to be treated respectfully and well. Find another doctor if he or she doesn't.
This is the end of the thread.
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