Still sick and searching for a diagnosis

I am so sorry for your situation. I have been on that path until recently I lost it when I was having leg pain on my left side. I called my doctor one day, has been my doctor for most of my life, the nurse got to argue with me and she acccused me of looking for any diagnosis. I told her it was true that I wanted a diagnoses since I have been in pain for a long time and was tired of going to their practice over and over again. Pretty much he never ever saw a reason to send me to the specialists of any kind. He said I was just getting older. The last time he said I had a bruise in my bone probably and I was not able to know what was happening to me. After about four month of pain and I mean pain he finally send me to an orthopedist. The NP sent me to get an mri and lo and behold I had a protrusion in my back, disc bulge and mild stenosis. So much for my remarkable on that xray. I actually my doctor has only look for the word normal or within range in all of my blood test and never thought hey this lady might need to see a specialist cause she has had high calcium results for like 10 plus years. So, now everyone around here in the hospitals look at me weird. I tell you I don't know what it is that they read about me but after a few seconds of reading in their laptop their attitude changes toward me. Any way, he refused to ask for an MRI and had to wait four to five months to get one ordered. It really bothered me because now I know that my insurance doesn't require a referral.

Enough about me, you probably have to ask your insurance. I am pretty sure that hospitals don't care who you see as long as your medical insurance pay for it. If you don't feel your doctor care or is taking you seriously, common sense would dictate that you change him or her. Please don't do like I did. Stay with the same guy for years and year. And who know what has he written about me that I can see. I would like to see a doctor that the medical system in not Covenant. But I don't know where I can go that I will find doctors that will see me as a worthy human and not believe whatever they have written about me.

Yes, you can talk to your care team about consulting with another doctor at Mayo Clinic. Keep in mind that Mayo Clinic doctors work together as teams. This means that your doctor consults with their colleagues and you benefit from the experience and knowledge of the whole team. Perhaps you can ask him to consult with colleagues about an aspect of your care that you are concerned about.

I realize that may be a difficult request to make. If you are uncomfortable making this request through your current doctor, you can talk with the Office of Patient Experience. The Office of Patient Experience can address concerns about your care experience by phone, email, or letter.

Mayo Clinic Office of Patient Experience
https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/patient-experience
Phone: 844-544-0036 (toll free)
Email: opx@mayo.edu

Dear lordy! Your situation is just about a mirror to mine. So sorry for not nice people.
I am in a small island town. So yes I understand. A ton of DR's but,,, mine was the same way. No no no no for almost 7 years even though it was his idea to use a cane because of weakness in my left leg. I was bad, it came to a point where he told me to start weaning off pain meds. (3, hydrocodone a day)
I told him he must love seeing me suffer. And that if I didn't have a MRI asap! I'm out! 30 days later at my appt. He basically tossed the report my direction and mumbled referral. Nothing explained. The ortho. Surg was on vaca. But had a zoom with me, he told me i basically had 48 hours to get in a ER To be transported to have emerg. Surgery. It Is A Miracle Im Walking. Stenosis 50%, Cauda Equina. (Compression of all root nerves)Me 6 mo. Post laminectomy, discectomy, clearing of the formina. I will forever have a limp, I have perm. Saddle numbness, I retain urine because I don't feel when I need to go. Catheter. Anal prolapse. 🙄 and honestly if at 60 I was told i would never have feeling (down there) again? well, I would have had more fun when I was younger. Sister, I feel your situation. We Need To use our voices! WE know our bodies. They are not the gods we were told they were as children. Whew I wrote a book? Hope all is much better in 22!

My husband has had what one doc called a "mystery illness" all his life. No one could ever get a handle on it. He's been called a hypochondriac several times. He's been dealing with it for over 50 years. Symptoms are most chronic fatigue and just plain feeling awful. I always know when it hits because he looks pale, drawn and grey. Sometimes it affected him for 3-4 days - other times 3 months. Whenever it hit he just could not function. There was no way he could work. There has never been any place he could turn to. It can be mighty discouraging for both of us and killed us financially.

Has he been checked for auto immune diseases? Fibromyalgia, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis?

Yes, on several occasions. It all comes back negative.

My husband has a similar disability, but hasn't qualified for disability, so it's been a financial hit too. A doc in the past speculated it might be an adverse effect of quinolone antibiotic but wouldn't commit to that.

Have you thought of suing your PCP for the years of ignoring your symptoms and complaints? I know it’s harsh and the farthest thought from your mind and I’m not being serious. But since he treated you so poorly, ignored your symptoms, I presume didn’t apologize for his ignoring your after your MRI results were back showing your disease process? You should at least write him a letter of complaint and if in a large group you might consider speaking with their practice manager. If the doctor is treating you poorly he’s doing it to others. You should at a minimum speak your mind to someone.
I’m in a similar situation where the docs rush to write me a prescription, which was written incorrectly to dispense a 30 day supply instead of 90 day supply cost me over $300.00. I’m sending him a letter pointing this out to him. If I get reimbursed great but not expected or wanted.