Quote by Cuddly Aardvark:
Sorry, I am long winded and I have a feeling this is going to be long. So again, sorry.
Spoiler: Click here to toggle spoilerI have been 'Doctor Shopping' for a few months now. I haven't been to a doctor in about 5 years so I figured it would be good to get a physical in. My mom finally got off work before human services in Sutter closed. Well they recommended to this one women. I liked so name so I figured I would give it a shot, called her up. "Sorry we are not accepting any new patients." Okay. So she shoved me off to someone else. The new lady she recommended, whos name I didn't like, was accepting new patients. Cool, went in today. My hopes weren't very high for her, but her nurse was really nice so I thought maybe her name was wrong. (I don't know why I judge doctors by their name, or why it evens matters, it just seems like nice names=Good doctors weird/bad names= bad doctors. It's weird I know) Well she finally comes in the room. Tell her I can't sleep and haven't slept on a regular schedule for four years. She starts asking me if my parents are hurting me, hitting me, touching me. After a million times NO, she tells me I should be able to sleep, again after a million times telling her it isn't that simple or easy. I ask her for a prescription because all over the counters have stopped working. "Sorry, can't do that." I say Okay, whatever. She gets on with the physical, it only lasts 10 minutes. I was in there for 40. The other 30 minutes she talking to me like a psychologist. Now she wants my real psychologists notes about me, shes a doctor shouldn't she know about doctor-patient confidentiality? She really pissed me off. I had to say no to her asking me if I had had sex about 10 times. I don't know whether she didn't believe or what. She also wants to meet my parents. I don't know what they have to do with it, i'm 18 now. I can understand some questions, but not listening to me is complete bullshit. FUCK. I might have so suck it up and drive 4 hours round trip to Kaiser. Because I have always had bad luck with Sutter.
/rant
Surprising it made me feel better writing it.
Well let me preface my response with the fact that I am just a student (nursing) and not a medical professional, so take things I say with a grain of salt.
I agree with you that the doctor is not really addressing your concerns and unfortunately is treating you like a child in some ways. In others they have legitimate concerns. Since it is your first visit and you stated that over the counter stuff doesn't work, I would be concerned about giving you a prescription for stronger stuff. You probably have developed a tolerance to the OTC stuff and stronger stuff may or may not help. The doctor is trying to do the right thing to see if there is a underlying problem. If there is, and that gets fixed no meds are needed to fix things. However it sounds like they are treating you a bit like a child instead of an adult. I personally would get a new doctor if you don't feel they can treat you with respect.
As for the psych info, they ask because it is relevant to prescribing sleep medication. Again if there is a psych problem that can be addressed instead of just throwing pills at it (to which you might develop a tolerance, or become addicted to), that is the way to go. I'm also sure the doctor is probably worried about having a new patient ask for sleep meds, some of those go for good amounts illegally, or they might be concerned that you are an addict yourself....
My suggestion is if you try to switch to a new doctor, have an interview first before an appointment. Most good doctors will take the time to do this. Basically you go in (it shouldn't cost anything) meet the doctor, tell them what you want out of their service and they can respond to your concerns. If they treat you like a child, then you just don't make an appointment. A lot of people never do this and then pay good money to have a first appointment just to find out the doctor is not a good fit for them.
I will also say that I've had some doctors with really funny names that were absolutely fantastic, so you've just had some bad luck
