My Visit To Dartmouth Hitchcock....

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Harrybaby666

Harrybaby666

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 1, 2003
Messages
2,541
Location
NH-Further North
Hi All....

I just don't know what to say here....I guess that I am going to give up the fight with the doctors and just let whatever happens happen. I have to go back in about a month for an echo and we are going to take steps from there, but I am so discouraged that I don't think I will even go for the echo. The bottom line here is that I know that something is wrong, but the doctor's aren't catching it for whatever reason, so I have just decided to wait and see for myself. I handed the doctor my cardiac MRI that showed the valve leakage worsening and the Pulmonary Hypertension that exists, and he just blew it off. He didn't even look at my swollen legs after I had told him about them. I am not happy at all, so this is all I shall say for now, and hopefully I will be in a better way tomorrow....

Downright Disgusted and Discouraged Harrybaby:(:(:(:(:(
 
ah Harry I'm so sorry to hear this.
Can you find a different doctor?
Maybe if you go to the ER there will be a doctor who really cares on how you feel.
I pray that tomorrow will be a brighter day for you.

((((hugs)))))
 
I am so sorry Harry...I HATE it when dr's blow people off-it happened so much to my mom...hang in there and keep us posted...Deb
 
Not easy at all!

Not easy at all!

That`s really frustrating, but please, don`t give up!! I`ve been having some health issues myself but I must say that the doctors who are on the case have been second to none. They want to explore every possibility before they`ll be satisfied. In case you haven`t seen it, I started a thread called " A lot has happened since my wedding".
Hugs,
Debora
 
Hi Harry, I know just how you feel. They make you feel like the world's biggest hypochondriac don't they. I am at the same point as you right now; just waiting until something gets so bad that they'll go 'oh yeah, that must be what it was', just like they did when I was first diagnosed. Unfortunately for us, that means feeling like crap and waiting for something to go bang, all the while knowing there's something very much going wrong while they congratulate themselves on having got us out of their offices.

It's a great pity we couldn't just let people live our lives for even an hour. The experts and doctors know all about everything, but they've never had it themselves. I guess a few have, but I know mine haven't. The two doctors who've told me there's no medical reason why I should feel this bad now haven't got to live being me. It's like trying to explain what childbirth feels like. Unless you've done it, you can't know.

My sympathies Harry and I hope you'll feel better soon,

Lynn
 
Harry, I am so very sorry to hear how your visit went. Its the most awful feeling to be blown off like that...believe me I know the feeling !!! I will pray for you to come back with renewed strength soon. Blessings...:cool:
 
Oh Harry-

That's disgusting. Instead of getting depressed, get MAD! It seems to me that when PH is in the diagnosis, doctors shy away from doing anything. I surely would like to know why. It happened to Joe too, until he almost died from PH. When I brought him to the ER one time there was one doctor there who was filling in--just luck I guess. This cardiologist had done an internship with the PH specialist in our area, and he really knew what the disease was all about. It was from this man that I got the name of the specialist, and Joe finally got some help.

But it was several years of Joe complaining and complaining about not being able to breathe, and other strange symptoms which are part of PH. His former cardiologist just kept ignoring him. He became history very fast after we found out what was at the bottom of all the problems.

DO NOT give up!! Keep going to the ER, keep your echo appt. keep asking the tough questions. At some point, your doctor may start to doubt his own thoughts about what is going on, and get you the help that you need.

In the meantime, stay low sodium. Call your cardiologist with any CHF symptoms. Keep yourself on a tight margin of error either way, don't allow too much fluid buildup before you call to get diuretic adjustment.

Was this guy the PH specialist???

Maybe it would be helpful to go th the PH forum and talk about what happened. There may be someone there who is being treated by the same doctor and could shed some light about whether he is any good or not.

http://www.phassociation.org/Message_Boards/main.asp?board=1
 
Geez Harry,
If any consolation its same for me too,since nov.2007 im feeling
sob and saw dr but nothing great happened legs and abdomin start swelling
after i got pneumonia,xrays finally ordered april30th and now maybe heart failures gotten worse so an echo ordered for may 12th ,but no big deal
im suppose to wait all this out and xrays good he says,omg in mean time im dying here ,completely lost any appetite and theres been so much run a round already and wait I'm alot like you ive said to hell with it 2 years ago when i got the endocarditas i went back for my last trans echo thingy down my throat and my cardiologist from there left Calgary and i give up looking for more dr's that didnt brush me off its so tiring and exhausting when i dont feel good. Anyhow a dr 2 years ago here needed to transfer me to another hospital and had a wrong last name for me .........well the echos being done in his clinic not by him thank goodness:eek: anyhow just wanted to let you know my symptoms are here as well and im on the rollercoaster ride with Dr's
again and that alone is very frightening for me.
your in my thoughts and prayers as you sort this all out too Harry

zipper2
 
Sorry to hear this news Harry. Prayers being offered that you will somehow get the help you need for your physical challenges. Don't let them beat you down and remember your friends are thinking of you.
 
He was listed in the Dartmouth Hitchock Directory

He was listed in the Dartmouth Hitchock Directory

Nancy said:
Oh Harry-


Was this guy the PH specialist???


http://www.phassociation.org/Message_Boards/main.asp?board=1
Click to expand...

Hi Nancy,

I was under the impression from the directory that Dartmouth Hitchcock has online that he was in fact a Pulmonary Hypertension Specialist, However, when I saw him yesterday, he said that he only had an "interest" in Pulmonary Hypertension. To me, there is a HUGE difference in whether you specialize in PH and just having an "interest in PH. Am I wrong in this? :confused::mad::mad::confused:

I am just tired of all of this. I want to keep fighting, but not if I am going to keep running into all these idiots. The bottom line, I don't feel good at all, the SOB is there, the edema is there, the nausea is there, the irregular heartbeat is there, the heart murmur is there, and the chest pain is there. What amazes me is that Dr. Catherwood stated that "He saw no evidence from examining me that any heart problems existed, yet he didn't pay any attention to my swollen legs. It also said right in the report from my Cardiac MRI that my pulmonary pressures were elevated, yet he told me that the cardicac MRI was normal and that one could not tell if one had PH from a Cardiac MRI. I am absolutely disgusted....I am wondering where to go from here, although I have to say, I am tired of fighting. Harrybaby:(:(:(

P.S. I forgot to mention the fact that Dr. Catherwood, also dismissed my not feeling well to being "deconditioned" due to my mobility issues. The other thing he suggested was to get me off of my medications and setting me up with the spine center to see about operating on my back so I might be able to stand longer and walk longer distances again, but I have heard from some perfessionals that operating on spinal stenosis backs and degenerative disc disease can be worse than not operating at all....I am just perplexed by the whole appointment....Harry
 
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Hi Harry - Awww, i'm SO sorry to hear about all the problems you're having with your doctor. Hopefully, you can find a good, caring physician. I, too, have been waiting to have surgery since i was in really bad congestive heart failure in November. Two cardiologists told me the middle of last month that if they were me they wouldn't wait more than a month to have surgery, or a month and a half at the very most (based on my cardiac catheterization and a TEE). My surgeon, himself, told me we were "under the gun" to get the surgery done. I called his office like he told me to to schedule an appointment just to find out he's on vacation until the end of May, so i can't even get in til May 27th. Frustrating!!

Please don't just give up...i know you feel like it sometimes, but life's too wonderful just to give up :eek:))!! I pray that you will find a solution to your problems soon. ~~LOTS OF HUGS~~ Dawn-Marie
 
Harry...no words of wisdom from me, just support and prayers. Hopefully you can remain vigilant and find a doc that understands your situation and is pro-active in helping get well.
 
Hi Harry,
I'm sorry to read about what you've been going through. My mom went through something kind of similar a while back with a cardio who told her that "she shouldn't be feeling as bad as she does". I was so mad to hear that, because in addition to being extremely unhelpful, it sounded kind of accusatory or punitive. I mean, a doc is allowed to get confused or to be stumped by something, but it's much better for them to admit it and refer you to someone else than to conclude that the patient is somehow wrong in their sense of how bad they feel. Shortly after that, my mom went to another cardio, and we are both very happy with him. He takes my mom's input seriously, and does not hesitate to send her to the pulmonologist (he happens to be a PH specialist) if he thinks it might a lung or lung/heart thing that is acting up. I know it must be so exhausting, but please don't give up on your health and finding the answers you need. There are wonderful docs out there, and I am praying you will find some of them to get you feeling better.
-Katie
 
dang it all! Life's a b***h when you can't get the help you need. There has to be something there for you. It's got to be discouraging to spend your time and $ getting somewhere and then getting nothing for your trouble. I am angry right along with you. I hope you can find a new direction. I don't like to hear you giving up. Bummer.......... well, blessins, too.........
 
When You say "idiots" , you are right!:mad: My Doc kept putting off my surgery so long that by thr time it was done , I had acquired permanent damage .HE also didnt 'think' my valve was bad enough to operate on...well he was wrong! And It is we who pay for these mistakes and brainless decisions. Please get the echo , get the results yourself ,and find a different doc . If it were only a matter of discomfort -well not great, but okay.But this
is not only that, it could mean permanent physical damage , that not even
the top Doctors can fix. I always hate when they say...." If only you would
have come to me sooner...." :(
So please avoid this scenario and dont stop fighting , research as much as you can , and check out some 2nd/3rd opinions.
Hoping the Best for You:)
 
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