The Dermatologist Was Rude
By StacyB
@Srbageldog (7716)
United States
October 8, 2018 5:15am CST
Saturday morning I went to the dermatologist since the eczema on my eyelids came back. He was pretty rude. He chewed me out for not following instructions that he never even gave me. He claimed he gave me a handout with all these instructions that he did not give me the last time I saw him. So then he gave me the handout and went on this lecture about how I'm not to eat wheat, corn, or dairy anymore since those are inflammatory foods. I know for a fact I do not have Celiac's disease, as I have been checked for that. So I am not allergic to gluten. He also told me I should not touch my cat anymore, since every time I pet my cat it is the equivalent of rubbing my eyelids in that it will aggravate them. And that if my cat likes getting attention from me I should just do like he does and tap the cat on the head and then get away from it. Um, to hell with that. I love my cat. He is my baby. I will NOT avoid him just to try to prevent an eczema outbreak. I will just suffer if he is the cause of it. Not showing him affection or getting rid of him is not an option. I will never do that.
Anyway then I was given a steroid shot and was given some samples of a non-steroid ointment to use on my eyes. The dermatologist says it's my responsibility to figure out what's causing the eczema. I guess he's never heard of testing for allergies? I have to go back in 3 months for another steroid shot. Before he came in to see me, I could hear him talking in depth about eczema with another patient, and how low vitamin D levels can trigger it as well as stress. He was sending her to get blood work but he didn't send me for any. Even though I know I have a severe vitamin D deficiency. At least I did the last time I had labs done.
I didn't even get a chance to tell him that the eczema has spread to other parts of my body, or that I had to go to the ER a couple weeks ago to get a prescription for Prednisone because my eyes were so swollen I could barely open them. He was just in and out and didn't give me much of a chance to speak. I hate when doctors act like that. Hopefully I can manage to get it under control and then not have to see him anymore.
5 people like this
5 responses
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
9 Oct 18
@LadyDuck He just told me that from now on I can't have wheat, corn, or dairy, and if I want to eat things like tacos or pizza I will have to learn to make tortillas and pizza crust from potatoes and cauliflower. I do now that I am lactose intolerant (my whole family is -- we get it from our mom I think) so I already avoid most dairy.
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
9 Oct 18
@MALUSE I will have to ask my primary doctor to refer me to someone else. This dermatologist works at my primary clinic, so my insurance might refuse to authorize a referral elsewhere. The way health insurance works here is stupid. The insurance companies are gatekeepers to who you can and cannot see.
But I will ask for a referral to someone else.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458053)
• Switzerland
9 Oct 18
@Srbageldog Stress and low vitamin D combined may surely be the cause of your eczema.
1 person likes this
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
9 Oct 18
This one is at my primary clinic, so I don't know if they will refer me out. But I will ask next time I see my primary doctor.
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
9 Oct 18
@LadyDuck I know my vitamin D is severely low. I wonder if that's what is causing my eczema. Or maybe it's even stress. I had my first outbreak after I broke my ankle, and then it flared up again when I was stressing over my brother's wedding.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (85484)
• United States
8 Oct 18
Can you get a referral to another one? That's despicable! You can also write a review of him online. A lot of places let you write about your experiences with doctors, and when you get a bad one they deserve to be found out. I filed a complaint with my healthcare provider once because a doctor was such a jerk.
1 person likes this
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
9 Oct 18
I will ask the next time I see my PCP. Once I know for sure I don't have to see him again, I'll leave him a review. The last time I saw him he didn't act rude like that... But the time I saw him before that (for something completely different) he was abrupt and came across as rude.
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
12 Oct 18
cats don't cause eczema.i don't know what it is with allergists hating on pets all the time.oh your butt itches?get rid of your pet..
1 person likes this
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
15 Oct 18
Yeah, I've had cats my whole life and have never had eczema before. I think it's more likely dust triggering it, or stress or low vitamin D.
@Courtlynn (66921)
• United States
9 Oct 18
Oh my god. I would have cussed him out.
He had no reason to not send you for bloodwork too, and of course he knows about allergy testing, he was just being a jerk and acting like you did something you shouldn't have.
And the cat.. holy moly!. My boyfriend would have flipped his lid, and probably cussed, if he was told that. His pets, like most peoples, are apart of their family. And you don't just ignore them! So wrong.
1 person likes this
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
9 Oct 18
I always freeze up when I'm at the doctors, like my brain won't work and I can't think of a good response. I'll think of all the things I should have said later, after the fact. I wish I would have told him where to shove it. Especially when he acted like I should just shun my cat from now on! Mr. Lister isn't some "dirty animal," he is my family.
I'm going to see if I can get referred somewhere else. Because you'd think a dermatologist would at least test for allergies to try to determine what's causing the eczema outbreak! I mean wouldn't that make more sense than just telling me to figure it out myself?
1 person likes this
@Courtlynn (66921)
• United States
9 Oct 18
@Srbageldog yes, you should definitely try somewhere else. what a poor excuse for a doctor!
1 person likes this
