Gingergrrl
Senior Member
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I want to run this by you guys before I make a decision how to proceed. I saw my naturopath (ND) this morning who I've been seeing since Feb and in general have a good connection with.
To give the background: Last week I saw Dr. Kaufman at OMI and had a great experience and he tested me for all the viruses, etc, and I am awaiting the results. As soon as I got back from long road trip to OMI, I e-mailed my ND and told her about the whole visit and sent a copy of everything Dr. K tested me for. We frequently correspond by e-mail so this was normal. She never responded so last night I e-mailed her to confirm that she received my prior e-mail and that just in case she didn't, I'd bring her a hard copy of what Dr. K tested me for.
So I went to my appt today very excited (thinking she'd read my e-mail and would be proud of me for all my efforts to get to OMI and my continued 100% compliance with her food & supplement plan.)
Instead she had an angry tone (unlike her) and said, "I didn't read your e-mails b/c I was on vacation." I remained calm and said, "No worries and I brought you a copy of what Dr. K tested me for." She looked at the copy and said, "You do realize that I have already tested you for most of this?"
At that point I struggled to remain cool b/c I had BEGGED her for months to test me for viruses other than EBV and she would not do it. She said the natural anti-virals would remain the same so the tests were not necessary. I asked her to test my NK functioning and she said it was not necessary b/c she "Already knows it is low." I asked her to test for Lyme & co-infections (even though I do not think I have it but just to be sure) and she said, "Your symptoms do not meet the profile of Lyme" (which I agree with) but again she did NOT test me.
I asked her to test me for ASO (strep titer) due to unresolved tests/questions I had since 2010 and she said no. I asked her to test my blood clotting time b/c I had unexplained bruises on my legs and she said, "Let's just watch and wait." I would not have driven 6-7 hrs to OMI if I could have found a local Dr to test me for these things!
So I challenged her on this and said that other than the CBC, Vit D, and 3 of the 5 of the EBV tests, everything that Dr. K tested me for was new. She started to argue and said that she had tested me for these tests. So I argued back and said that if this was the case, then where were the results b/c I have never seen them and I spent an entire week putting four yrs of med records together for OMI including EVERY test that she ran on me.
She then changed her story and said, "Well, I recommended those tests for you but you were resistant." At that point I started to cry b/c I felt that she was either lying or questioning my integrity. I told her that I BEGGED her for those tests and if she would have offered them, I would have jumped at the chance. (I was willing to swear on a bible in court, I am that confident of this.)
I (unfortunately) was still crying at this point and told her that I have built my life around her supplement & food plan and have complied with everything she has ever asked me to do. I have spent thousands of dollars on treatment this year and have done everything asked of me by every single doctor.
I was so hopeful after seeing Dr. K and thought that she would share in my hope and they would collaborate. I did not expect her to have the knowledge of a CFS expert nor him to have the knowledge of an ND and that they would compliment each other and I'd the attack the virus with both prescription and natural anti-virals.
So here is my dilemma:
1) Do I stop seeing her b/c I no longer trust her and feel that she has questioned my integrity or do I continue b/c her skills/knowledge are very good and she has (literally) virtually cured my GI issues. She has helped me, thus far, more than any other doctor and if my goal is to get better, can I just let today go and not throw away a Dr who could still help me medically?
2) Do you think she was just having a bad day or that she felt threatened by Dr. K's expertise and had some kind of defensive transference reaction? But if so, do I just let that go?
3) Do I e-mail her and try to discuss it and depending on how she responds, make my decision then? I am really conflicted b/c her actions today were out of character but I also don't want to do something impulsive.
My husband said he would be done with someone if they had questioned his integrity and that I should make a decision and not dwell on this and allow her to upset me so much. But he is healthy and not in a desperate place like I am. I trust the supplement & food plan that I am on and need someone to monitor it (and it's not like I'd immediately find some other ND with availability so close to where I live.)
Thanks for any feedback and sorry this post is so long!!!
To give the background: Last week I saw Dr. Kaufman at OMI and had a great experience and he tested me for all the viruses, etc, and I am awaiting the results. As soon as I got back from long road trip to OMI, I e-mailed my ND and told her about the whole visit and sent a copy of everything Dr. K tested me for. We frequently correspond by e-mail so this was normal. She never responded so last night I e-mailed her to confirm that she received my prior e-mail and that just in case she didn't, I'd bring her a hard copy of what Dr. K tested me for.
So I went to my appt today very excited (thinking she'd read my e-mail and would be proud of me for all my efforts to get to OMI and my continued 100% compliance with her food & supplement plan.)
Instead she had an angry tone (unlike her) and said, "I didn't read your e-mails b/c I was on vacation." I remained calm and said, "No worries and I brought you a copy of what Dr. K tested me for." She looked at the copy and said, "You do realize that I have already tested you for most of this?"
At that point I struggled to remain cool b/c I had BEGGED her for months to test me for viruses other than EBV and she would not do it. She said the natural anti-virals would remain the same so the tests were not necessary. I asked her to test my NK functioning and she said it was not necessary b/c she "Already knows it is low." I asked her to test for Lyme & co-infections (even though I do not think I have it but just to be sure) and she said, "Your symptoms do not meet the profile of Lyme" (which I agree with) but again she did NOT test me.
I asked her to test me for ASO (strep titer) due to unresolved tests/questions I had since 2010 and she said no. I asked her to test my blood clotting time b/c I had unexplained bruises on my legs and she said, "Let's just watch and wait." I would not have driven 6-7 hrs to OMI if I could have found a local Dr to test me for these things!
So I challenged her on this and said that other than the CBC, Vit D, and 3 of the 5 of the EBV tests, everything that Dr. K tested me for was new. She started to argue and said that she had tested me for these tests. So I argued back and said that if this was the case, then where were the results b/c I have never seen them and I spent an entire week putting four yrs of med records together for OMI including EVERY test that she ran on me.
She then changed her story and said, "Well, I recommended those tests for you but you were resistant." At that point I started to cry b/c I felt that she was either lying or questioning my integrity. I told her that I BEGGED her for those tests and if she would have offered them, I would have jumped at the chance. (I was willing to swear on a bible in court, I am that confident of this.)
I (unfortunately) was still crying at this point and told her that I have built my life around her supplement & food plan and have complied with everything she has ever asked me to do. I have spent thousands of dollars on treatment this year and have done everything asked of me by every single doctor.
I was so hopeful after seeing Dr. K and thought that she would share in my hope and they would collaborate. I did not expect her to have the knowledge of a CFS expert nor him to have the knowledge of an ND and that they would compliment each other and I'd the attack the virus with both prescription and natural anti-virals.
So here is my dilemma:
1) Do I stop seeing her b/c I no longer trust her and feel that she has questioned my integrity or do I continue b/c her skills/knowledge are very good and she has (literally) virtually cured my GI issues. She has helped me, thus far, more than any other doctor and if my goal is to get better, can I just let today go and not throw away a Dr who could still help me medically?
2) Do you think she was just having a bad day or that she felt threatened by Dr. K's expertise and had some kind of defensive transference reaction? But if so, do I just let that go?
3) Do I e-mail her and try to discuss it and depending on how she responds, make my decision then? I am really conflicted b/c her actions today were out of character but I also don't want to do something impulsive.
My husband said he would be done with someone if they had questioned his integrity and that I should make a decision and not dwell on this and allow her to upset me so much. But he is healthy and not in a desperate place like I am. I trust the supplement & food plan that I am on and need someone to monitor it (and it's not like I'd immediately find some other ND with availability so close to where I live.)
Thanks for any feedback and sorry this post is so long!!!