“I’m sorry,” the doctor said, “we can’t give you this. It’s a strong drug, and all you have is CFS.”
But I have cytomegalovirus, and Vistide is approved for cytomegalovirus.
“We know. And if you had something serious, like AIDS, or were on chemo from cancer, we would give it to you. But all you have is CFS.”
But you told my specialist you would administer it to me.
“Yes, but we hadn’t seen your files yet. We didn’t know you have CFS.”
All you have is CFS.
A part of me really wants to punch the guy. But then, how would he know CFS is a potentially fatal, multi-systemic disease that, like AIDS and cancer, damages the immune system? He didn't learn about it at medical school. If he went to the CDC website, it lists "professional counseling" as it's top treatment option. And why would he not believe the CDC?
Head. Table. Bang.
4 comments:
Argghhh!!!!
Just... arggghhh. I am so frickin' tired of the assumption that what's wrong with us (I include myself, although I'm starting to strongly suspect that my issue is M.S. rather than CFS or Fibromyalgia) is psychosomatic, or because we don't exercise, or something that doesn't require medical treatment.
"All" we have is something that is slowly (or quickly) sucking our lives away. And, apparently, a diagnosis that causes our legitimate issues to be ignored.
Ouch. My head hurts from the banging.
I don't have any words to express my enormous upset upon reading that.
this makes me want to crawl back into bed and give up on the world, unfortunately, i'm too tired to climb the stairs right now.
In Finland the situation is quite peculiar in that officially CFS/ME doesn't exist. It doesn't exist even as a psychiatric malady - it just doesn't exist at all. Yet a few lucky patients have got stuff like intravenous antiherpesvirals in a hospital. I wonder how the doctors document it to the public insurance provider who foots the bill...
(If the treatment fails, these same patients are often told to go to psychotherapy or prescribed antidepressants, even by the same doctors. Because obviously they are just as effective in treating viral infections.)
Post a Comment