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William Ramshaw resides in the expansive Pacific Northwest. He is a six-year survivor of pancreatic cancer and has written a memoir Gut Punched! Facing Pancreatic Cancer.
Here are four signs of your doctor not listening and four things I do when they don't listen to me.
As much as I want to believe my doctors are beyond brilliant and can do anything, they are people too. Much like me, they have good days and not-so-great ones.
Before finding out I had pancreatic cancer I rarely saw a doctor. Perhaps I would see my general practice doctor for an annual physical every three or four years. I should note when I turned yellow, it was this same general practice doctor who ordered an emergency CT scan, which likely saved my life.
Post-cancer, I see a raft of doctors. I see a gastroenterologist to monitor my digestive system which is a mess. Missing the top third of my pancreas courtesy of a Whipple procedure to extract my pancreatic tumor, I take enzymes to help me digest my food. I see an endocrinologist to track the progression of my diabetes. He also monitors my osteoporosis, courtesy of the abdominal radiation I had to help excise any post-surgery cancer cells. Did I mention I see a podiatrist who is tracking my peripheral neuropathy — loss of feeling — in my feet? Yet another side effect of my diabetes.
Perhaps it is not cancer-related, but I see a cardiologist who is wondering why my atrial fibrillation (AFib) instances are increasing.
As I told one of my doctors, I have doctor fatigue.
While many of my doctors listen most of the time, I’ve had instances where I’ve had to remind a doctor to listen to me rather than assume they understand what is going on. I live in my body. They don’t.
What are the signs your doctor isn’t listening?
I make sure my doctor is listening by:
Rather than shrink back from having a “tough” conversation with a doctor, it is critical to do just that. Often these types of conversations, rather than ending a relationship with a doctor, strengthen it.
So, if you find your doctor isn’t listening to you, show up prepared for your appointments, always be courteous, rewind the conversation when necessary and most of all, don’t hesitate to change doctors if nothing else works.
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