Even Drs don't understand side effects

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valeriedl

valeriedl

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I saw my PCP today for a checkup and he was going through all the other medical problems I was having or had and wanted to know how I was doing with them. That's when he asked me how I was doing with my depression. I just looked at him like he was crazy (which I think I might be :roflmao:) and started laughing.

I told him I wasn't depressed and never have been, I'm probably the least depressed person out there, just ask anyone who knows me. He looked at his paper work again and sort of gave me a look just to make sure I was telling him the truth. I told him that depression is one of the side effects of some of the meds that I take but it isn't one of the side effects that I have.

Many people are the same when it comes to med side effects - Just because it says it's going to happen doesn't mean it will! It makes me mad when people think that, especially drs.
 
Gotta love stereotypes.
I had this happen before. I was on a medication (non-E related) and only experienced tiredness for two days. The doctor was acting like she didn't believe me when I said that I was not experiencing any side effects. Some doctors need to realize that every body is a different body and everyone doesn't react the same to every medication.
 
I would say especially doctors don't understand side effects. Unless they've taken the med yourself, they can be empathetic but they still may not truly "get" what you're feeling. Aside from that, everyone is different in terms of what feels "normal" and what constitutes "problematic" or intolerable.

At one point I saw an epilepsy nurse who had epilepsy herself, and whose son also had E. That was great. Even if she didn't have experience with specific med, she was familiar with the experience of "not knowing" -- that is, taking a med with no guarantee of how it might make you feel or what kind of side effects you might experience. That kind of empathy can be priceless.
 
I had told my mom today about what the dr said. She told me that her and my dad had talked about this once and they were surprised that I've never had problems with depression because of all the things that have happened through the years. There are so many things I can't do now like work and drive. I've lost a good many friends too, I don't know if it's because they just don't have time to get together because of their lives or if it's because of my epilepsy. Plus all that I've gone through with epilepsy in general, meds having seizures and things like that. They said that I've never had a problem dealing with it.

The only real problem I have is Kepprage. It's only my husband who understands that's due to the med and not just me liking to yell at people like my parents think.

Thanks everyone!
 
Its kind of funny about doctors. Some are great and listen to your feedback and others are so full of themselves and you have to prepare yourself for whatever comes your way. My current family doctor is good. She listens, takes lots of notes from my description of things, says that I probably know then she does on some things as I do plenty of reading. She then looks into things or contacts my neurologist for his input.
 
I sometimes think that my previous PCP understood epilepsy better than my neurologist does. His sister has it.
 
gnault said:
What's PCP?

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Primary Care Physician. This would be you're regular dr who you go to have regular check up and see general things about like the flu, if you aren't feeling good or if something is going on that you don't think is right. He might be able to take care of or he can recommend a specialist for. A specialist is a dr who deals with only one medical condition like a dermatologist, dentist, gynecologist, neurologist, cardiologist, orthopedist, some type of surgeon and things like that.
 
I figured it out after I had asked the question. In Canada we don't use the term Primary Care Provider. We have general practitionar, nurse practitionar and specialist.

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