How do you get doctors to listen to you?

I have physical signs and my bloodwork reveals something isn't right. I'm having some other tests done, but because of insurance, they have to be done in a certain order and it takes forever. Months between. And in the meantime I keep getting more depressed because I'm in so much pain. Something or a few things aren't right.

What I'm experiencing is ruining my life.

Yet my brand new primary says, "I'm not worried about it."...

Wtf does that mean? I'm worried about it! I have almost no quality of life left and I get blown off?

How do you get docs to listen to you? How do you get them to care or do something? It's in black and white that my body is fighting itself. You diagnosed me fibromyalgia and said too bad.

I don't want to fall apart. I'm young and my son is young and I don't have any help at all. Why won't anyone take me seriously?

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Mamapolo2016 · F

I take you seriously. I can only suggest what I have seen work with loved ones (and a time or two, myself).

I don’t know where you live, so I may have no clue what obstacles may exist.

One: keep a pain journal. Idiotic, I know, but doctors tend to believe what they read and not what they hear. After all, people are telling them all day every day that they’re in pain. When you see a doctor, ask them to read it. Write down questions you have. Make the most of the time they give you. And tell them what you mean when you say it hurts. “It woke me at 1 am and kept me awake until 7.” “It hurts so much to shower I just cannot stand it when the water hits.”

Two: If possible, take an oblique approach to helping find pain relief. Can you get a referral to a pain management specialist? Their JOB is to know about pain.

Three: Ask for paper copies of tests. Keep at least a general record of what you discussed with your doctor and what action was taken.

It’s a maddening, frustrating thing to go through.

I hope it doesn’t offend - I’ll keep you in my prayers.