After months of testing (that I'm still paying for) my doctor told me that they didn't know why I was having stomach problems... I should just, you know, eat bland foods.

So from age 24 on I was just supposed to eat bland foods.

Then I was told that my birth control was causing my headaches and that if they continued I should stop taking them and "we'd consider non-hormonal methods" (she keeps pushing for me to have chidren whever I see her, I'm supposed to be taking folic acid already!) Thanks, but I'll stick with discussing my birth control with my OBGYN.

So you shouldn't put chemicals in your body, yet getting an abortion is recommended. that is the craziest thing I've heard at least this week.

OH MY GOODNESS. what a freak! i would be so creeped out by that. i AM so creeped out by that...and mad. I think I'd give more than my two cents... i'd probably enlighten anyone else i saw walking into the office.

wow that is AWFUL. way to give all naturopaths a bad name...I can't believe the entire community buys into that..

I had an awful incident a few years ago. My boyfriend at the time died tragically and abruptly. I was horribly grief stricken and I went to the doctor because I was constantly considering suicide and could not get out of bed. He wanted to put me on antidepressants and we were discussing that when he popped off with "Of course, we will want to put you on one with the lowest risk of sexual side effects so it won't interfere with your active sex life". I just sat there in disbelief. After the words came out of his mouth I think he instantly regretted them.

Now, 4+ years later, I can almost laugh at it. Did he really think I was getting out there and having sex 4 days after my boyfriend died?

Wow! That is a horrible thing to say!!!
I am appaled!
I think the only thing that grind my gears about doctors is when I go see a walk-in doctor because I cna't get into to see my usual one.
I have had severe asthma since I was 5, so I know how to handle it and how my body is. I hate when they tell me I don't have it under control and try to prescripe me all these all medications!!!
Like come on! I know my body! My doctor said I am doing great! I just need a Birth Control Refill!!!

Before I was married doctors had a hard time believing I wasn't sexually active. I would get the third degree every time (until I found my current doctor) I went in for a check up. I was literally asked five to six times if I was having sex by nurses and doctors. I even heard "Are you sure?" The last time I was so frustrated and said "Well, you'll know in a minute won't you?" It was extremely frustrating to have someone not believe me.

How awful Blondie... Im so sorry

My doctor refused to believe that my birth control pills were not the right prescription for me... she told me to stop having sex...

uuuuuuuhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm way to help a girl out

I agree with the "healer" to the extent that birth control pills are putting chemicals (or synthetic hormones) in your body.. I avoid medicines and pills unless absolutely necessary - but to get pregnant and have an abortion?! Ridiculous.

well when you go to alternative doctors they are going to push their beliefs on you because they think that you feel the same way, why else would you go to one? And they usually feel very strongly about their beliefs and do believe that chemicals and artifical supplmements are very bad for the body.

they'll give you advice that you wont like, so just don't take it. you know what you're getting yourself into when you go to those places.

AND BIRTH CONTROL PILLS CAN CAUSE ALL TYPES OF AWFUL PROBLEMS.

I was on tricylcin and had headaches and actually suffered from depression; i would sob endlessly for no reason. and that was not like me!!!! After 6 of the worst months of my life, I finally realized it was the damn pills and switched to Levora, and I have been awesome ever since.

Wow fit you really seen a nutcase.. not a true naturopath. I quit seeing traditional doctors years ago and I'm much healthier for it. My holistic doc would *NEVER* suggest such a thing to you that yours did. My doc gets to the root of the problem and fixes them accordingly.. yeah it takes awhile sometimes but she always figures it out. I too had horrible stomach problems.. turned out to be severe allergy to dairy products and oils (olive oil, canola oil, etc). I gave up dairy and oily foods and within 3 months.. no more stomach problems.
Don't let this wacho cloud your vision towards other true naturopaths. My doc has more education behind her than most traditional docs.

Good luck.

I actually had to change OBGYN's because of insurance reasons so my friend sent me to hers. During our consultation after my examination he told me that it must be uncomfortable for me to have sex unless it's the "doggy-style" position. I was thinking, "You're like 60 and you just said that!?!"

Needless to say I never went back and have had a WONDERFUL doctor for 5 years now.

In discussing birth control options with one doctor(I was having a hard time remembering to take the pill every day)she suggested I not worry about it and if I have an "accident" maybe its a sign I should have a baby. No where near as heinous a suggestion as the naturopath, but pretty irresponsible none the less.

"Have an abortion"..Thats CRAZY!!!
I totally have a fear of doctors...I always feel so vulnerable in that situation...I hate male doctors especially.

@lintacious, I felt the exact same way on the pill, I was sad and became insanely jealous and posessive with my husband...that was NOT ME either...the side effects are insane, not worth it at all.

@Blondie 1973, So sorry for your loss...that mustve been extremely hard to get over.

That naturopath is ridiculous.

Personally, I also had a negative medical experience. When I was in college, I was a virgin. When I told my female doctor that, she did not believe me. She rolled her eyes at me.

My friend had a negative experience, too. My friend had recently married. When she informed her female gyno that, the gyno insisted that when my friend got pregnant, she should have a C-section instead of vaginal birth. The reason: Her husband will thank her for it (the gyno's exact words). I was appalled.

The gyno's advice was bad on various levels, in my opinion.

how ridiculous...

i had an actual gynecologist tell me that his main priority was "preserving my fertility" and not my overall health. i was like, seriously? you care more about whether i can have kids than whether i live or die? i never went back to him.

the man also had a giant stuffed turkey in his office along with photographs of him posing with various wildlife he'd felled with his massive crossbow, and creepy posters for non-FDA approved vitamin supplements (including men's formulas... wtf) on the ceilings over the exam tables so you had to look at them while your feet were in the stirrups.

you know what they call the guy who finished last in his class at med school?

doctor.

I had a very bad experience with my gyno. She put me on the pill, Yasmin, and i had awful side effects-- depression and excessive wax in ears (b/c it wacked out my potassium levels). So I told her I wanted to change to older, more tested pills and she told me that she thought my symptoms were in my head and that I should get on antidepressants and stay with Yasmin.

So I told her that I didn't care if she thought my symptoms were all in my head and that if she didn't write me a new prescription I'd have to find someone else who would. And now I'm on an older pill and all of those bad symptoms are gone.

OMG!! THAT IS BEYOND WRONG!!
My story isn't so bad, but just this week I got the results of some blood tests. My doctor called my phone and left a voicemail that sounded something like this...
"I recieved the results of your blood test. Your cholesterol came out very high 161 (like I know wtf that means). Go on a low fat, low cholesterol diet and we'll see what happens. Click" I listened to it again and just had to laugh. I think I need a new doctor.

I've had some bad experiences with doctors, and some good ones with a naturopath that I used to see.

I was 18, exercising like a fiend, vegan, eating way too little and I dropped about 25-30 pounds even though I was already at a healthy weight to begin with. I told the doctor how I hadn't had a period for about 9 months. Both my family practice doc (who I had seen my entire life) and my gynocologist told me it was no big deal to not have a period regularly at my age, but I should just go on birth control to regulate it. No one thought all the other things above were odd--major warning signs for what I found out years later was actually an eating disorder.

Needless to say, I said no to the pills. It was actually the naturopath who helped me get down to the real cause of my symptoms and how to get better.

Wow! These stories are insane. I've had some bad experiences with doctors, but nothing like this.

When I was in high school, I was having migraines, but didn't realize that's what they were. The symptoms - I get the "aura" beforehand, really really badly - can be very scary, especially if you've never had it before. The doctor put me on anti-depressants. @@ I went home, looked in one of my parents' medical books, and figured out right then it was migraines.

A few months ago, I went to an ob/gyn, and after he got over the shock that I was "still" breastfeeding my 10-month-old (as if that's a long time to breastfeed, he's 18 months and still going strong), he told me it was breastfeeding that was causing my PMS. He didn't come right out and tell me to stop, but I could tell that's what he was thinking. Genius.

ive never had a bad experience really. my ob/gyn goes over and beyond for me. i was put on a certain birth control pill that was too strong for me and i wasnt having sex so i just stopped taking them and didnt refill the perscription. well she actually called to find out why i never went to get the pills and had me come back in, no additional charge to find a pill that worked for me. maybe some people have had a negative experience on the pill, but for me it has really been a really good experience.

I have a seriously strong family history of breat cancer, and my mom got it in her early 30's....so my PCP and my mother (and RN in a surgeon's office) had recommended that I get a mammogram when I was 29. I asked my OB/GYN to prescribe one for me, and she just said, "Oh, I don't think your insurance would go for that. Just keep doing your monthly exams."

Well, neither I nor my mother were comfortable with that, so when I visited my mom in the Midwest a couple months later, she had me get in for a mammogram in her hospital. Turns out, I had a lump that no one could feel through a manual screening. I went through an ultrasound, an MRI, and finally a biopsy. Luckily, it was just a fibroadenoma, but because tests weren't prescribed by my OB/GYN the insurance company didn't pay for any of it.

The thing that upsets me the most is that my doctor didn't even TRY. She didn't even attempt to call the insurance company and see if they would cover my mammogram when I asked her to. At the least, she could have gotten me in for one regardless of whether insurance would cover it or not. Lesson learned -- NEVER stick with a doctor that won't go to bat for you. Doctors should not be intimidated by insurance!

Wow, I'm so sorry for everything everyone has been through. My story is with my regular doctor, I had migraines since age 14 and was looking for a cure for years. Finally around 29 I went to see my doctor and she prescribed a birth control shot Depo-Provera.

Well let me tell you, I only went to their website to check it out and should have done further research. There are support groups for former users! It totally dried up my libido (and I used to be the total opposite), my hair started falling out in clumps, gave me my period everyday for a year..heavy, not spotting and low and behold migraines are actually a side effect! So I had more migraines than ever, lost a lot of hair, had a never ending period and didn't want to have sex on my honeymoon!

Turns out they actually give Sexual Offenders and Deviants the Depo-Provera shot so they don't get any sexual urges. Thanks doc!!! Way to go on your research.

During my first visit to an OB/GYN when I was 17, I ended up with an older gentleman. When he was putting that damn evil speculum in, I said "Ow, that hurts," because he was in no way gentle. He told me to "quit whining."

So I switched doctors. My next OB/GYN I made certain was a woman. When we were going over my history, I told her that I'd been raped. Her response was that it was very irresponsible of me to allow myself to be in a position where that could happen.

Thank goodness I have an amazing doctor now.

I have been living with a chronic disease for 17 years, and thanks to that I've gotten to experience a lot of weird stuff with various doctors. I've had some great doctors, too, but here are some of my favorites:

*Three different doctors whose accents were so pronounced I couldn't understand their directions for how to treat my disease.

*The doctors who made me cry by telling me that if I didn't get my test results down to a certain level I would die.

*The gyno who would ask me about my love life in a sleazy way in the middle of a pelvic exam.

*The gyno who told me my breasts felt like "a bunch of grapes." Thanks doc, I'll pass that one on to my romantic partner!

The best thing I've learned in all of my years of dealing with the medical and insurance establishment is ASSERT YOURSELF. Don't leave until you have what you need. Make them answer your questions. If your prescription isn't right, make them fix it.

When I got ready to leave for college, I was 18 and still a virgin. I went to my first Gyno, uncomfortable already, and the first thing she said was, "Well YOU sure can't afford to put on the freshman fifteen!" After that, she grabbed a huge speculam. I asked if there was something smaller, and she said none of the small ones were clean. She ended up tearing me and making me bleed, and told me it was bound to happen soon anyway. Luckily, my mom had taken me so, when I told her what happened, she went Mama Bear on that doctor. Also, the managing partner, and the doctor's boss, was my parents neighbor. They made sure he knew what went on.

I had a doctor diagnose me with Fibromyalgia and treat me for over a year, turns out I had torn my rotator cuff and had a bone spur in my right shoulder. the guy never bothered to send me for an MRI. I went to another doctor because I just KNEW he was wrong and got diagnosed properly. I hate it when doctors treat you under their research agenda, but don't really care about you.

Previous to that he also had me write down a food diary, and when I came back to him, he started laughing as he went over what I was eating. I was young and knew nothing about nutrition and he made me feel even worse about it.

Another time I went to a dermatologist who wanted to put me on antibiotics for acne, and I didn't want to because I didn't want to have it interfere with the Birth control pill. When I rejected that he started yelling at me in the office. "I have a MEDICAL DEGREE, who do you think you are questioning me?" Nurses and patients came out from other offices because they couldn't believe their ears. I got that doctor fired from the medical group.

Another doctor years later, scheduled me for a surgery to remove a cyst on my ovary. He didn't tell me that if it was malignant he was going to take my ovary until after I was prepped for surgery and drugged. He told me that he kept that from me to make sure I showed up for the surgery.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? He patted me on the head when he said that.

I now have all new doctors.

Blondie, that's awful. I'm so glad you can look back on what the doctor said to you now and laugh. I'd be wanting to punch him in the face! xx

jmast! My doctor put me on depo provera too and after five years I did the research and HOLY sh*t there was a page full of all of the medical problems I was having in the last five years.. nice one doc.

I've been told I am "f*cked up" by a COUNSELLOR who then had to formally apologise to me. I was told I "brought everything on myself" by a psychotherapist.. er right. That I made everything out to be so terrible (16 years of child abuse is apparently my fault?) and then didn't listen to him. I WONDER WHY.

My current doctor thinks it's normal that I still lactate (I've never been pregnant) even though I've been off depo for 3 years. He also thinks it's normal that I go to the toilet every half hour and has been dismissing my home-blood glucose tests which are showing diabetes-level results. I'll be switching my doctor soon..

GRRRRRR!!

I had a persistant cough for several months during the winter, so I went to see my normal doc. She said she wasn't sure what it was, but it could be asthma, allergies, or acid reflux...so she prescribed me medication for ALL THREE. Eventually the cough did go away, but I can't believe I really took all those medications!

For years now I've been dealing with extremely irregular (frequent) periods and an inability to lose weight (despite having successfully lost 80 lbs, watching my diet carefully, and exercising daily - I even completed a half marathon). I had to beg my primary care physician to send me to an endocrinologist, where I was promptly diagnosed with PCOS and put on Metformin. Six months later, no change. Went back to the endo and saw the head of the department. Among the more charming things he said to me: "Can you REALLY stay on the elliptical for an HOUR?", "You don't really know how much you're eating," and my favorite: "Well, you obviously have someone in your life who likes you the way you are, so don't worry about losing weight."

Needless to say, I never went back. I'm seeing a naturopath/acupuncturist in a few weeks. Here's hoping for some changes!

that is horrible! i wonder if that doctor would have offered to pay for the abortion! i have had tummy problems all my life so i decided to go to a gastroenterologist and i barely saw him for five minutes and he was like ok i'm going to put you on this medication! i mean, find the problem and fix it, people dont need to be on more and more medication!

Wow, these stories are pretty horrible! Here's mine: I was working out a lot and had lost my period. I was also eating a really clean diet and I got pretty thin. I went to my doctor to get a physical and blood work and I mentioned that my period had beeen MIA for a few months. She said, "Oh, that's no big deal" and said it happens to a lot of women. Then when I mentioned my weight issue, she said "You're not all that skinny by BMI standards". I mentioned how much I was working out (2+ hours a day at the time) and she said "Wow, I wish I had that much willpower!" I told her I was concerned that I was underfat and that was what was causing my period to stop. She basically gave me the line "You can't be too rich or too thin". I demanded a body fat test and it came back 8%...way too low for a woman. She STILL didn't believe me so she gave me a pregnancy test. WTF?? I asked her if it would be good if I gained some weight back and cut back on the workouts and she basically said "Yeah, that'd be good but don't get too fat because that will lead to health problems as well". Well, thank you, Dr. Obvious.

well first I just want to say that there are plenty of natural substances that putting into your body can be equally toxic and harmful as man made ones... cocain is natural, lsd, natural...

but yeah the doc was out of line, I had a doctor who didn't believe I was monogomous, and tried to tell me that my relationship would probobly end within a year, and tried to talk me into getting the vaccination for HPV when it had first come out (before all of the advertising) and kept pushing it even though I didn't have medicle insurance at the time...

My jaw is hanging open reading all of these stories. WOW! Kudos to everyone who has had to overcome these really tramatic and shocking experiences!

When i was 13 i became chronically headaches. I had migraine since i was 8 or 9 so the first doctor my mother took me to, just told me it was a new way of migraine. Something with my body or something changed and i should be worried about it. It would go away. Sooner or later. I mean hallo? 13 year old girl here! Nothings changed with my body anymore!
So we went to another doctors, for like 2 years, but no one found anything. My family doctor, how did a really great job to keep me sane, believe me when you don't have a minute you don't have a banging in your Head you wish you could just jump out a window, send my to a cardiologist. I wasn't going to school to this time, like tow weeks, because i just couldn't. I lost in four Month 5 kg and couldn't nearly walk alone anymore. So he said to me that i just say i have this Headaches, because i don't want to go to school. He send my to and psychologist, cause an 15 year old girl, that has like 2 years headachs that never stoppt has school problems. Yeah right! But my mother didn't know what to do anymore, so i went. And what did this guy say? He guessed that my parents are beat me, or my sister is downtrodden me and his last guess was, that i was sexual harassed or raped. And my soul is crying for help with headachs.
When i told him nothing like that happend to me, he told me that i was creazy. In my face. So i took my things and walked out.
My Mother took me to a *normal* doctor after that, against my free will, cause i wouldn't want to see a doc never ever again after that, and this women told my mother the same thing. That she things the best thing is that i should she someone that can help me with my mentalbreakdown befor its to late.
I was a normal 15 year old girl. I was a litte sturborn, yes, but i am healthy! i have my headaches, but i am not creazy. A year later, my mother told my way those people though i was creazy.
I talked back to them. I didn't just sit there and let them tell me, what i had. I told them when they where wrong in my eyes, and apparent doctors don't like it when teenagers tell them that they have no idea what to do.
I don't like doctors now, and just go when i really really really have to. But just when really must.

These are all horrible. I am so sorry to all of you! Here's mine: I almost had a major surgery that could have potentially left me barren (and I'm 22). This was in college, so my college gyno told me to get the surgery but that I could wait until I had graduated so that I would have insurance that would pay for it. So before I did it, I went to another OBGYN and all of the tests were absolutely normal. I made her do them all twice, and they were all normal, no need for surgery. One of my friends from college was told to get the same surgery, got a second opinion, and didn't need it either! My other bad story is when I went to get BC for the first time, I was 20, had JUST started having sex and was kind of freaked out. The guy told me that he would write me a prescription, but that premarital sex was a sin and that I was going to hell if I didn't change my ways. Ugh.

when i got my first pap, my previous doctor asked me if i wanted to get other tests done down there. i said sure, but i asked if any needles were involved. after he let out a huge sigh, he said "u must not be that scared of needles with that big tatoo on your back!"

jerk

Wow - those are some pretty bad stories, I thankfully have not had any. I wish all of you the best of luck

@Dawnie86

I really feel for you Dawnie. I started getting headaches in elementary school. By the time I was in high school I got headaches daily. Someone finally mentioned to me in Junior College that a relative of theirs had found out their migraines were actually from dehydration. I tried drinking a lot more water (a liter a day at least - then I got a Camelback to use instead of a normal backpack to remind me to drink all the time) and half my headaches disappeared. So I only had them every other day.

Then my last year or so of university I got sent to physical therapy for my headaches, and they did deep tissue massage. That got rid of the other half of my headaches for two years. They've started to come back, but I just need to find a new massage therapist I can afford.

I don't know if these ideas will help you, but definitely keep doing research online and trying stuff out. Hopefully someday you can find out what is wrong and get rid of the pain.

I know how crazy making the pain can be too. I'm normally really happy, pretty much the only times I get moody or cranky or depressed are when I'm in serious pain, and the pain messes with my mind and emotions.

Good luck! If you can you might want to try to get someone to send you to a neurologist if you can stand to see more doctors.

these stories are terrifying. i've never had bad experience, expept for 2 years ago, when I was told I had a minor problem (gyno) and had to take yogurt pills (to keep the level of my bio bacteria higher - that what supposedly was making my ill). strange huh? i had problem with my vagina and i had to take pills for my tummy. so... the problems would go away for 2 months than come back.

and so after a long night of sex, my symptoms came back and 10 times bigger and more painful... so i went to another gyno and she told me a had a severe form of a fungus infection, which was not treated right 2 years ago. she gave me a course of pills, powders and candles. and now it's all gone! 6 months and counting

btw first doctor was from the best specialist of fertility in the country! and the second one was also from pretty expensive private practice.

Wow. Just...wow. I told my husband the abortion/fertility thing, and he is equally agog. When I was pregnant with my daughter, we went to a ob/gym suggested by my husband's insurance provider (mistake #1) who warned us that my use of the Pill would mean that our baby would be 'deformed, at the very least retarded.' Needless to say, we didn't stay with him, but it is just unbelievable what comes out of the mouths of these people you want to trust.

I'm naturally thin. So, every year at my physicals I get grilled if I'm anorexic. My psychologist would tell me every week how skinny I was and how I needed to put on weight. Um...isn't she supposed to listen to my problems and not give her piece of mind on my weight? I don't see her anymore.

When I was a toddler my pediatrician was concerned that I wasn't putting on weight. He told my mother to start feeding me full-fat MILKSHAKES every night before bed. My mom said "o kay" but refused to do it. That would have been a terrible habit.

When I first went in to get my PAP smear I started freaking out and crying cause it hurt(I was a virgin) The doctor asked if I was raped. I said no. She asked if I was molested in anyway. And was like "Never touched by a stranger?" "NO!"

These are all so horrible! I've never had real bad experiences, but when I was getting my wisdom teeth surgery, they sedated me with laughing gas. I was falling asleep, but was still half awake...when the surgeons thought I was asleep, they started talking about their weekend and how much fun they had...shouldn't they be concentrating on my mouth?

That is one of the craziest, most horrifying pieces of medical "advice" I have ever heard.

Thankfully, I have never received bad or offensive medical advice from my doctor.

And if I did, trust me, I'd switch in a heartbeat!

I had a friend in my Weight Watchers meeting who's doctor told her that she "might as well start saving for all of the hospital bills you are going to have, because there is no hope for weight loss". How horrible! She showed that doctor though, now she is losing weight like a pro!

I've never had any horrible doctor experiences, but I did have one moron doctor. When sending me to get a heart sonogram for my heart murmur (which is possibly maybe rarely dangerous, but I didn't really mind just getting it over with), he rationalised it with this point: 'if you have a headache, you don't just take a aspirin, right? no, you make sure it isn't a tumour.'
right, of course.

I'm lucky to have never received medical advice as outrageous and appalling as that. I hope I can keep it that way too.

Can any med students speak up to tell us this is not normal!? There are waaaay too many people in a fairly random sample to have this be a strange coincidence. Everyone remember - always get a second opinion!!

Ladies, I am so, so sorry that y'all have had to go through this! Unfortunately, I'm in the midst of dealing with a difficult doc myself as I try to treat my thyroid disease, hypothryoidism. He's close to retirement age, and clearly began practicing medicine in the pre-PC era -- in other words, he's a sexist bastard who thinks I'm just "pretty emotional." I had my testosterone levels tested a few months ago because I had had amenorrhea for a few months; he wanted to know if it was because I "needed a shave." I told him that I had been researching my disease independently, and reading about other thyroid patients' experiences, and he was so patronizing, and told me that I should not listen to other patients, just "experts" like himself. I respect that he has an MD and I don't, but most thyroid patients I know have had to deal with difficult doctors who DON'T LISTEN TO THEIR PATIENTS -- like my mom's best friend, who has Hashimoto's disease (another thyroid disease), and had to listen to doctors tell her it was "just menopause," or who put her on Prozac. My ex-boyfriend also has a chronic illness, and was misdiagnosed for YEARS -- he could have died! GRRRRRR!!! What are these people learning in medical school?!

i had a gyno ask me mid exam why i didnt have a boyfriend.......