Doctor Ignored My Side Effect Complaints: I’m Not Being Heard

You have probably heard the joke about a doctor who walks into the examining room. The patient says, “Doctor, people ignore me.” The doctor walks out and yells, “Next!”

Unfortunately, that’s not a joke.

Admit it. You wait a long time to get an appointment and a long time in the waiting room. Finally, when you’re face to face with a doctor, they have to look at the chart to remember your name and if you don’t talk fast—he or she is out in a flash before you’ve had a chance to exhale and say what the problem is or where does it hurt. If you did have a chance to speak, you have an uncanny feeling that no one heard you and or nobody cares.

The mantra used to be, your doctor would see you now but that phrase is open for interpretation.

After all, doctors are busy people and you either look healthy enough or have had too many complaints in the past. Are you old enough to remember when doctors knew your name, asked about the family, sat down and asked how you felt, then offered you more than a cookie cutter response? Those were the days.

You have had high cholesterol and your doctor puts you on a statin drug which is supposed to solve the problem. But what happens when those statin drugs cause more problems? For instance, sometimes you have numbness in your feet or memory loss so severe you forget how to do simple computer tasks. Sometimes your muscles ache to the point that you cannot walk around the block.

Your cholesterol is good now but statin side effects continue to plague you. Your doctor seems single-mindedly focused on your cholesterol numbers. “What’s a little discomfort?” he says.

The University of California, San Diego, investigated doctors' behavior for how they deal with patients who complain of statin side effects.  The researchers focused on three types of side effects commonly caused by statins.  The first type involved muscle pain, tightness, cramping, or weakness.  In private consultations, the patients described their symptoms to 138 doctors; 85 doctors dismissed the possibility. Patients presented symptoms of impaired memory or thinking to 56 doctors; 40 doctors dismissed the possibility. Lastly, patients presented symptoms of nerve injuries including pain, weakness, or loss of function to 49 doctors; 32 doctors dismissed the possibility.

Almost 80 percent of the cases had enough criteria for probable drug reaction.  Many doctors considered the symptoms as relative to the patient’s to age or thought process.  Some doctors denied outright that statins caused these or any side effects. Almost two-thirds failed to diagnose these adverse side effects and did not report them to the FDA Medwatch program.   
Is this a cause for medical malpractice? Yes. Please contact a medical malpractice law firm to discuss your options.

* Required Fields. * Click on the Disclaimer, below, for Terms PERSONAL INFORMATION
First Name:
Last Name:
E-mail Address:
Address:
City:
State:	-Please Select- Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Zipcode:
Phone:	()  -
MALPRACTICE INFORMATION
Date when malpractice occurred:	January February March April May June July August September October November December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 1902
Please describe the injuries suffered:
Please describe the medical malpractice:
Other comments/questions:

Source: http://www.medicationsense.com/articles/jan_dec_08/statin_sidefects012108.html
###