are doctors even reliable?

[vonnhelsing]

My anxiety is back full throttle and im thinking about going to the hospital for a check up (havent been to one in over a year). Ive been hearing a lot that doctors most of the time dont even check things properly due to budgets and trying to cut costs. Im worried they wont pick up on something which may be harmful. My heart has been beating funny lately and its really freaking me out. What do u guys think?

[Lee Grant Irons]

Hi vonn,

I would not recommend going to an emergency room, especially if you are familiar wih your own anxiety and are pretty sure this is just another anxiety attack. They are not very helpful unless a bone is protruding from your skin, or you are bleeding profusely, or you are unconscious.

You really need to find yourself a half-way decent primary care doctor. I had to find a doctor who was willing to consult with me and rubber stamp what I wanted to do. Once my doctor had run out of ideas, I had to figure it out myself and then tell the doctor what tests I wanted to do and what treatments I wanted to try. The doctor just ensured that risks were minimized while we did this. As a result, after 5 years of effort and over 40 doctors, I finally got a full diagnosis and the correct medicines. The doctor learned a lot, also, and has used the knowledge to help other people with similar conditions to mine.

This is my story. Your own story needs to be driven by you. No one is ore concerned about your own welfare than you. So you have to be your own advocate. If you need some ideas on how to start, let me know.

[jessed03]

Are you UK vonnhelsing?

[vonnhelsing]

No I live in dubai where mental health care is very limited and very expensive. Im facing a dilemma because I just don't trust the doctors here. I am scheduling an appointment with a pretty well known hypnotherapist called russell hemmings (was on the news for helping a kid through his intense fear of flying) I just know its going to be ridiculously expensive. I can see that it is important to find a doctor who actually cares about you and wants to see you get better. But where to start I just dont know..

[vonnhelsing]

Actually nevermind I just checked with the russell hemmings place its like £600 per session. He can help only the rich : p

[jessed03]

Dayam! 600 bucks a session.

I read about him too, he helped that kid with the insanely severe flying phobia.

When you say you don't trust the doctors, what are you looking for? Do you just want some health checks, or some therapy, or maybe meds? I guess the first one they should be pretty good at in Dubai, but it sounds like the second two maybe not so much.

[Lee Grant Irons]

vonnhelsing,

The approach is the same regardless of where you live, recognizing that the doctors where you live might be insufficient for your case and you might have to go somewhere else to get what you need. Unfortunately, this is just the facts of life in our world where standards of care and health care systems vary widely from one country to the next, and even from one location to the next within the same country.

I don't think you need a high cost therapist to get a high standard of care. There are some really good therapists out there who charge fees that are reasonable. You just need to put out the effort to find them. You might have to go through more than one before you find a therapist that works for you.

Same with medical doctors. Don't settle for the first one you see if you don;t feel like you are moving forward. What you consider to be "moving forward" is key here. You need to have an objective in mind for each visit with the doctor. The first visit might be to just give the doctor your copies of tests from other doctors (I would not recommend giving the full doctors records, because other doctor's opinions on your case could bias the new doctor). The second visit might be to get the doctors opinion on how to proceed with trying to help you based upon the information you provided in the first visit. Subsequent tests, treatments, and visits should be working on this plan established by you and the doctor in the second visit. If you get the feeling that the doctor is not applying his/her brain, but is just throwing meds at you in an attempt to get you to go away, then it is time to see a new doctor. After all, the reason for going to a doctor is to determine the root cause of the problem and apply whatever treatments or therapies exist to help you feel better.

[Perses]

Hi Helsing,

If I were in your situation, I would start by going to various embassies and asking for their list of approved doctors. Second, I would also ask the various universities affiliated with American, Brit, or Australian universities where they tend to send their students. Also, you must have a sense of what hospitals are top-notch expat places....

I did that when I lived in Egypt, and it worked for me. Dubai is an extremely wealthy place, and usually persons who secure jobs there have access to world-class doctors.

So, first thing you need to do is find a doctor you can trust. Now, the cost of the visit, well, that can be expensive. I'm not sure if you have insurance, or if Dubai has subsidized health care, but I wouldn't start out by going to a hypnotist. I'd start with someone who can evaluate your heart, and then I'd find a psychiatrist.