Doctor #4

February 2007….Armed with my Creighton Chart… (which now has 2 ½ years of charting, a year and ½ with pain, all documented)…. all my files from pervious doctors (ultra sounds, bloodwork, etc), and my husband, I head off to my appointment at Texas Tech. I had such high hopes. Here is a facility that seems to pride itself on attention to WOMENS needs and issues. RIGHT! This was the worst experience on my journey. First the doc was over 45 mins late, George had to leave me and return to work, and when the doc finally does see me, he takes me into a conference room. He explains he doesn’t need to exam me because we are just going to talk. He has a student join him on this visit (poor girl). I start to tell him my story from the beginning…. Showing him the chart, when things started, how the pain has increased over the year, the concern I have over the cyst and more importantly now, how relations are starting to be too painful for me. After listening he goes into saying that I am not sick, I am making this all up in my head and I am perfectly fine. WHAT?!?!?! Did he not just hear what I said? I start to ask questions, he says I look healthy, I am having normal cycles and that I just need to settle down and that I should start trying to get pregnant. He kept me in his office for over an hour! No plan of action from this appointment, no solutions….just go home and get pregnant! Well now I am really upset. Doctor #3 said he would help me… but no such luck. Not to mention they tried to charge me $275 (extensive consultation) for this appointment. After calling the billing office to tell them this was ridiculous and we would be more than happy to pay for this “extensive consultation” if there was a plan of action that formulated from it …but I am still in pain and nothing came of this appointment. They moved the charge down to $65. Interesting…see you have to fight for yourself!

Doctor #3

I had lunch one afternoon where the speaker was a female doctor that really cared about women’s health. She gave a great talk and after speaking took a few questions. I thought to myself, “She may know something; she seems to care so much.” After the lunch I stopped her before she left and explained what the previous doctors were seeing, what I was seeing on my Creighton chart and my concerns with all the pain developments I was experiencing. We had to have talked for 30 mins. I figured I finally found someone that was going to help me. Mind you, this is January 2007. At the end of the conversation she recommends I see a doctor at Texas Tech University Medical Center here in Amarillo. He was supposed to be one of the best in town. I promptly went back to my office and called for an appointment…..