The Venting Thread

[RatGuy]

Dismissive doctors can be frustrating. Condescending doctors who literally laugh in your face can be outright infuriating.

I sympathize, SCR. My wife's epilepsy counts as an autoimmune issue, and she's quite sensitive to such changes and pains in her body. Once a clinic doctor told her that her conjunctivitis was "those fake eyelashes you women wear. I see it all the time." She went to that clinic another time because she was worried she had a kidney infection. "A kidney infection?" that different doc chortled. "If it were a kidney infection then it'd hurt right here" and he did a mild karate chop to the area that hurt her the most.

[AmLitHist]

Re: the talk about doctors makes me feel very, very fortunate to have my internist/GP.  I saw him this morning and spent a good deal of time talking with him about various things without feeling rushed (despite his practice being down many nurses/techs, as mine told me--between a couple of maternity leaves, one out for surgery, various ones in isolation/quarantine, and a couple with sick kids, they're scrambling to keep up tech/nurse coverage in the office). 

The vent of all this is that, as suspected, I do have a sinus infection (third one this year), plus he had to add a diabetes med and up my insulin.  Pfft. He agreed with my self-diagnosis that if COVID and other stressors would go away, I'd likely feel better and see my BG numbers come down.  I guess there's a little comfort knowing that most of his diabetic patients are also struggling, in a misery-loves-company kind of way.

[smallcleanrat]

Doctors and other medical staff are only human.

I'm pretty sure I acknowledged this in my earlier post. I'm aware that medical providers are human. The whole reason I feel I'm reaching the end of my rope is that I'M HUMAN TOO, and I want to be acknowledged for it like anybody else!

My usual mode of operation is to give people the benefit of the doubt, but right now I just don't have it in me to keep coming up with excuses for everyone else. I haven't slept more than 2 hours a night for over a week; I'm rundown from lack of food, but too nauseated to eat enough to refuel; my voice is hoarse from crying through intense joint pains and muscle spasms. I'm too tapped out to try to be understanding at moment; all I can do right now is be selfish.

I'm sick of being met with indifference or outright contempt when I try to get help for myself. Mistakes in medicine (or any other human endeavor are inevitable); eye rolls, exasperated sighs, mocking laughter, and condescending remarks are not.

Sometimes I want to scream when people lecture me against looking to family or friends for support through my health issues because "that's what professionals are for..." Not because the principle is wrong in theory, but because too many of those professionals just don't seem to have gotten the message. What other recourse do I have except to be a pest?

[mamselle]

I didn't realize joint pains and muscle spasms were a part of your situation.

Do you have problems with subluxation?

There are some differential diagnoses for which that is an indicator.

M.

[clean]

Student took a class in the 7 week online session that ended in early october.  Student was caught by online proctor using multiple sheets of notes, when only one was permitted.  When I got the notice from the proctoring service, I emailed the student for her description of the event.  Krickets.
Being out of time, and hearing nothing, I completed the academic misconduct forms. 
2 weeks later I get an email from the student's advisor asking about the I grade (we must give an incomplete until the resolution of the issue).  I emailed that student should check emails for full description of issue.  8 days later student emails me.  Today (now over 5 full weeks after initial emails) student is claiming that s/he never got the emails or knew of deadlines.

SO, Im now copying all of the emails in an effort not to have to go to Cheater Court, especially after the deadlines for filing an appeal have lapsed.  EVEN IF the student didnt get the initial emails, it has been nearly a month since student visited advisor and was told to "check your emails"!  2 weeks is the max time limit to deal with these forms! so EVEN IF we go by the LATEST date that the student emailed ME, it is more than 2 weeks. 

Case closed (I HOPE!!)

[mamselle]

As Pry used to say, sounds like the student is going to flunk cheating as well as the course.

My vent:

Oh, come on, now. After all the work I've done on this booklet, your machine has GOT to print back-to-back!

It's got enough other bells and whistles (I've used it in the pre-covid past) that a simple thing like a back-to-back/short-side flip booklet shouldn't be an issue.

And I'm NOT going across town to help figure it out: the office staff there has got to know how to do this.

Good grief. 

M.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I think my damn sciatica is back. :(

[mamselle]

I think my damn sciatica is back. :(

Ouch!

Sleeping surfaces? Chairs or car seats too soft? Belt or other constraining clothing doing a number on the muscles near the back?

Or just a couple of vertebrae having a tug of war?

No fun when it happens. I can usually exercise mine away, but it's indeed worrisome.

I hope it resolves quickly

M.

[ab_grp]

I think my damn sciatica is back. :(

NO!! Sorry to hear that! I hope it's not back or that whatever is back or is new is very, very temporary.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I think my damn sciatica is back. :(

NO!! Sorry to hear that! I hope it's not back or that whatever is back or is new is very, very temporary.

Ouch!

Sleeping surfaces? Chairs or car seats too soft? Belt or other constraining clothing doing a number on the muscles near the back?

Or just a couple of vertebrae having a tug of war?

No fun when it happens. I can usually exercise mine away, but it's indeed worrisome.

I hope it resolves quickly

M.

Thanks all. I think it has something to do with me thinking I'm all better and stubbornly doing a Webex marathon at my desk- in the hard chair. :(

[smallcleanrat]

Didn't occur to me until now my post might have come across as directed at apl68 specifically when I didn't mean for it to be.

I didn't realize joint pains and muscle spasms were a part of your situation.

Do you have problems with subluxation?

There are some differential diagnoses for which that is an indicator.

M.

Spasms aren't that new for me, but this level of joint pain is. I'm not really clear on the meaning of subluxation.

Right now it's the nausea that's hurting me most; have lost over ten pounds in about a week; argued with SO last night about going to the ER when a really bad bout had me struggling to catch my breath and crying from the pain; was struggling to hold down even a few sips of water. SO wanted to take me to hospital so I could at least get hydrated and enough nutrition to prevent crashing any harder. I begged him not to because I couldn't handle the contemptuous attitude I might get if the medical personnel decided I was wasting their time with insignificant problems. Too many experiences of being dismissed without getting help, with a heap of humiliation to top off the pain of whatever motivated me to ask for help in the first place.

Probably being short-sighted and irrational about this; not feeling much better today so may end up having to go in for medical help anyway

[Puget]

Spasms aren't that new for me, but this level of joint pain is. I'm not really clear on the meaning of subluxation.

Right now it's the nausea that's hurting me most; have lost over ten pounds in about a week; argued with SO last night about going to the ER when a really bad bout had me struggling to catch my breath and crying from the pain; was struggling to hold down even a few sips of water. SO wanted to take me to hospital so I could at least get hydrated and enough nutrition to prevent crashing any harder. I begged him not to because I couldn't handle the contemptuous attitude I might get if the medical personnel decided I was wasting their time with insignificant problems. Too many experiences of being dismissed without getting help, with a heap of humiliation to top off the pain of whatever motivated me to ask for help in the first place.

Probably being short-sighted and irrational about this; not feeling much better today so may end up having to go in for medical help anyway

I'm no MD, but have you had your sodium levels checked? Symptoms of low blood sodium include:
Nausea and vomiting.
Headache.
Confusion.
Loss of energy, drowsiness and fatigue.
Restlessness and irritability.
Muscle weakness, spasms or cramps.
Seizures.

AND, SSRIs and some other medications can cause low sodium.

[the_geneticist]

Didn't occur to me until now my post might have come across as directed at apl68 specifically when I didn't mean for it to be.

I didn't realize joint pains and muscle spasms were a part of your situation.

Do you have problems with subluxation?

There are some differential diagnoses for which that is an indicator.

M.

Spasms aren't that new for me, but this level of joint pain is. I'm not really clear on the meaning of subluxation.

Right now it's the nausea that's hurting me most; have lost over ten pounds in about a week; argued with SO last night about going to the ER when a really bad bout had me struggling to catch my breath and crying from the pain; was struggling to hold down even a few sips of water. SO wanted to take me to hospital so I could at least get hydrated and enough nutrition to prevent crashing any harder. I begged him not to because I couldn't handle the contemptuous attitude I might get if the medical personnel decided I was wasting their time with insignificant problems. Too many experiences of being dismissed without getting help, with a heap of humiliation to top off the pain of whatever motivated me to ask for help in the first place.

Probably being short-sighted and irrational about this; not feeling much better today so may end up having to go in for medical help anyway

Smallcleanrat, you need to seek medical care.  That much weight loss in a week is alarming, so is the dehydration.  If you can, see if there is a walk-in clinic open rather than and ER.  Otherwise you might spend hours waiting to be seen.  Or go to the ER during the middle of the day - do not wait until the evening or you'll again have a really long wait.
You'll have to answer a bunch of repetitive questions (medications? symptoms? etc), but that's mostly so they can rule a bunch of stuff out (pregnancy, food poisoning, the flu, norovirus, COVID, appendicitis) .  Tell them upfront about your medications and your severe anxiety.  Tell them you are worried and you were feeling so severely terrible that you had to come in.  Don't try to hide or dismiss how serious this is.

[apl68]

Didn't occur to me until now my post might have come across as directed at apl68 specifically when I didn't mean for it to be.

I didn't realize joint pains and muscle spasms were a part of your situation.

Do you have problems with subluxation?

There are some differential diagnoses for which that is an indicator.

M.

Spasms aren't that new for me, but this level of joint pain is. I'm not really clear on the meaning of subluxation.

Right now it's the nausea that's hurting me most; have lost over ten pounds in about a week; argued with SO last night about going to the ER when a really bad bout had me struggling to catch my breath and crying from the pain; was struggling to hold down even a few sips of water. SO wanted to take me to hospital so I could at least get hydrated and enough nutrition to prevent crashing any harder. I begged him not to because I couldn't handle the contemptuous attitude I might get if the medical personnel decided I was wasting their time with insignificant problems. Too many experiences of being dismissed without getting help, with a heap of humiliation to top off the pain of whatever motivated me to ask for help in the first place.

Probably being short-sighted and irrational about this; not feeling much better today so may end up having to go in for medical help anyway

Smallcleanrat, you need to seek medical care.  That much weight loss in a week is alarming, so is the dehydration.  If you can, see if there is a walk-in clinic open rather than and ER.  Otherwise you might spend hours waiting to be seen.  Or go to the ER during the middle of the day - do not wait until the evening or you'll again have a really long wait.
You'll have to answer a bunch of repetitive questions (medications? symptoms? etc), but that's mostly so they can rule a bunch of stuff out (pregnancy, food poisoning, the flu, norovirus, COVID, appendicitis) .  Tell them upfront about your medications and your severe anxiety.  Tell them you are worried and you were feeling so severely terrible that you had to come in.  Don't try to hide or dismiss how serious this is.

Yes!  Nausea that severe needs to be checked out.

[downer]

If you think I'm going to download the PDF, print it out, sign it, scan it, and email to the registrar for every student who wants to withdraw, you have another think coming.