Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxwell'sMom
[Alice, I'm going to assume that you are speaking to me. I wasn't directing my post to Rach, I was merely explaining why some doctors are reluctant in saying a patient has Myasthenia.
I wasn't trying to say that her doctor was thinking this of her. Just each doctor has experiences, and that we need to take this into account.
I am not in any way shape or form saying that a doctor shouldn't be actively helping his/her patients, just trying to give the other side, to help people understand that the doctor may genuinely believe it's not MG, that's all.
Every time we enter a doctors office, we are entering the office of an individual who is human, faults and all.
I just don't believe that every doc out there is bad. And I'm sorry, but I'm not going to go bashing doctors. I have some real good friends who are in the medical world, and there is always two sides. My eldest is, at this very moment doing an internship.
I know there are bad ones, misinformed ones. I've had some, but I also think we need to know there are good ones out there too. Doctors who want to help, and want to find out what is going on, and want to work for the good of their patients.
I was just trying to say there are all sorts of reasons. And at the MG conference a few years ago, they did cover this subject, and explain why doctors were reluctant in diagnosing MG.
I didn't say it was right, or wrong, just what the MG expert explained. So Now can we please move on?
Lizzie
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Lizzie,
I think that you missunderstood me.
so let me clarify what I was trying to say. there are many reasons as to why it is sometimes very hard to diagnose MG, or even know when there is a flare up, that requires change of treatment or just the usual "ups and downs" of this illness. many MG symptoms may be easily mistaken for "something else", usually in the field of psychiatry, even in "classical", seropositive patients.
this has nothing to do with the doctor being "good" or "bad" or with the patient being "good" or "bad". it has to do with the way this illness is.
and the very variable presentations.
the fact that a neuorogist tried to explain those difficulties during a conference is very good evidence for that. as it goes without saying that you would not treat a patient without being sure of the diagnosis. so why even mention it?
do you think that an oncologist during a conference for patients with cancer would say- we are reluctant to give chemo. to a patient without being sure that they actually have cancer? I truly doubt that.
the problem is that many times, this situation is very frustrating for both the physician and the patient. most neurologists do not feel comfortable saying to their patient- look, what you are describing is very typical of MG, your neurological examination may be normal, because we don't really have the tools to asses MG weakness very well, you don't have antibodies, because about 20% of the patients don't have them, your EMG may be normal, because this test is not as accurate as we would like to think, and probably even less useful in seronegative patients like you.