Do you argue with doctors?

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I was just wondering if other people find themselves arguing with doctors and other health professionals (or in fact any 'professionals') in ways they probably shouldn't?

Both me and my wife are constantly at odds with our GP and we can never let it slide when they say things that we can back up as false but they refuse to back up as true.

We turn up armed with reams of paperwork to prove our point and they just toss it in the bin and tell us to shut up basically. It drives us both nuts.

We did the same when the kids were at school. I got myself labelled as 'difficult' by more than one headmistress

I have nothing to argue with my doctors about. Wait I argued over having anxiety when I had my miscarriage. I was upset so I was crying and they called it anxiety.

When I was diagnosed with anorexia two years ago, I argued about the label. I didn't believe I had it and still don't. I eat better now but less again due to not working.

When my therapist told me I was a black and white thinker, I argued about it because I'm not. I used to be but I got over it. I respect people's beliefs now and point of views and I know I am not always right. I also have gray areas. I don't know why people keep thinking I'm black and white

I'd find a new GP, OP. *too many letters*

I never had to argue with my old doc, he was more than willing to listen to what I had to say. It's too bad he's retired now. New doc's though, I swear they take a class about 'BSing your patients' or something, cause 90% of what they say is easily proven wrong with a quick google.

And if you print that out, they will say something like "is this off the internet?" with utter contempt and throw it in the bin. I've seen it.

I've had many doctors over the years and they're pretty much all like that, IME. It's all about power, and if you need them more than they need you, then you've got a serious problem. I've found the best technique is to make them think that they thought of it. I think in medical school they get flogged if you say "I don't know," or "I didn't know that."

Main reason I posted is that we keep getting ourselves into trouble with them because neither of us have a clue how to express ourselves properly and are always taken to be 'trouble' and 'denying treatment', etc. Or the big one being 'not co-operating with health professionals'. I'm sure if either of us were NT it would be a whole lot easier.

I am a firebrand with writing letters to doctors, especially psychiatrists who usually cower when they can't back up their pseudoscientific nonsense.

However my GP is good, probably because she also happens to be a paediatrician.

I used to write really detailed multipage letters on my background, however lately I could give a s**t about doing that with specialists. I’m only doing the referrals because my GP does things by the book. I make it clear to them it is just procedural, and I’m not wasting time with them.

So last time the guy obliged, yet he threw it back in my face in the follow up letter, saying he insisted I came back but I wanted to stick with my GP. I wrote back to expose his all-round sketchiness, due to the fact I remembered word for word what had happened: He actually asked me if I liked my GP and gave me a choice to come back or not.

One thing I am very insistent on is READ THE DAMN LETTER! It is so common for doctors to be totally clueless as to why you are there and then proceeded to ask a series of vague questions. I always write to my GP before hand for major issues. She says she find the letter very helpful. She knows now that if it is in the letter that is what I want to talk about and to be prepared.

What is the treatment out of interest?

Ask them for benchmarks, if they record their success rates, importance of transparency etc. If it is not an empirically backed up treatment watch them cower and squirm.

No specific example. Any time one of the kids has something that needs a visit to see them we end up with this kind of thing happening. Even school things had the same effect. They would never get what we were trying to say when we knew we were talking logical sense. Not to mention evidence backed logical sense! Someone will always want to use/give a treatment/medication/food stuff/whatever that we have a reason to not give and then the same old stuff happens and we end up being regarded as uncooperative and difficult people that need watched.

God Syndrome, don't know a doctor who doesn't have it. They really need to teach listening at Medical School.

yes, ive argued with psychs so many times. I rarely argue with doctors dealing with physical health only maybe once with my regular doctor but thats because he is an load mouthed, adrupt ass. I generally trust doctors dealing with physical ailments but I dont trust most psychs. They rarely understand me, Im stubborn and if I think there wrong or want to justify my point I dont hold back.

Also, most psyches today are all about pushing drugs, and they no longer seem to psychoanalyze!

I've had to argue with doctors and psychiatrists pretty much every step of the way since wanting a diagnosis, and even after getting one. One time I complained against a GP, who defended himself by trying to say I was "aggressive" (which I KNOW, in spite of my occasional lack of self-awareness, is complete BS). Still, every now and then I get a positive result. I agree with other posters that putting things in writing can help a lot, especially when there's potential for disagreement.

My present GP knows now that I'll come in with a hand-written list of the points I need to cover with him - he's very understanding about it. He even encouraged me to write to the mental health team when my old psych discharged me (to save the NHS money) and left me without a care co-ordinator. Which is pretty dumb, considering I was roaming the streets all night 4 months ago unable to eat or sleep and going out of my mind with anxiety. I know it could happen again any time, but they'd rather see me after I've gone off the rails, than help me to stop it happening in the first place, the idiots....

I think it's not uncommon with people with AS. I think what happens is they get a little bit of the information, which they focus on, and hold onto like a pit bull. The problem is they are so focused on those few specific facts they cannot see the overall picture. The classic "Can't see the forest through the trees". The doctors can see the overall scheme of things and can usually put things in proper context and perspective.

Except I'm normally arguing with things they've said like 'doing this is perfectly safe' when there are a thousand studies saying it's not, etc.

Fair play to your point of view, and you're entitled to hold it, but I personally disagree. I quite often deal with doctors whose problem is that they THINK they can see the overall scheme of things, but actually don't know enough about the topic to really know what they are talking about.

A recent consultation for the new Autism Act showed that an overwhelming majority of health professionals in the UK felt they needed extra training to be able to understand the issues faced by persons on the autism spectrum. The difficulty is that when you sit down in front of them, they are too scared to admit that to you. The best doctors and therapists I've had are the ones that admit they don't know so much about AS, and who are humble enough to ask for information.