Day 4 Day 4

"What was the most disheartening thing a doctor has told you about your symptoms? In what ways have you kept that in your mind? If you feel comfortable sharing, post your response in the Structured Educational Program section of the PTPN's discussion forum. We would love to hear from you "

I feel pretty lucky in this scenario, where as mentioned previously a lot of my physical symptoms were on the milder side. I never experienced full numbness, tingling, or loss of strength in my wrists and hands. To answer the above question though, originally my family doctor assumed my pain was from a small ganglion at the dorsal area of my wrist. I did not have any sharp pain with certain areas of movement, but alas it was recommended I speak to a hand surgeon. The hand surgeon told me we could drain it and it will likely berid of my symptoms. She drained it, it felt gone (it was hard to feel it in the first place) but days later the pain persisted. When I went back she told me the onset of pain was not her problem (her exact words) and I felt hopeless in that moment. It wasn't until I was referred to a sports doctor who assured me I would get better with exercise, movement, and learned safe experiences.

 

I also had a surgeon that was like: ‘Ok you tore your acl now get the hell out of my office.’ In the end you just want the surgeon to do a good job but he dropped such a bomb without caring at all. I wouldnt even say im in that much need of compassion and acknowledgement but this was honestly kind of surreal. Needless to say i went to another surgeon. The new one was quite amicable. It is one of the only times in my life that i made a choice with my gut, and it was definitely the right choice. I’m looking forward to trusting my gut more over my wicked head.

I have heard so many stories about surgeons being weirdos and honestly when i think of the people in my class who were gonna become a surgeon that really tracks.

Happy youre in the right place now. We might also be a little weird but its a safe space.