Since i was young, i thought i might want to be a doctor. When i was asked to share my ambition during Form 1 in an english class, i told the class that i want to be a doctor. Well, things changed after that. I do not remember when was the first time i started to hate doctors. In the past, they have never left me any good impression on their working behaviors. Many of the doctors are not sincere in treating their patients. At many times, my sisters went to the doctors when they need a medical certificate for their boss, plus it is under coverage of health insurance/company allowance. That is the truth and i believe many working people are experiencing the same thing. They didnt go for the doctor because they are sick.
I am so glad that i chose to study pharmacy instead of medicine. I am officially a registered pharmacist now.
In the past 1 week, I went to 3 different opthalmologists at 3 different private eye specialist centres.
3 months ago, my ah gong undergone a cataract sugery for his left eye under Dr K at Clinic X. During the first follow up session, he commented that my ah gong's eye sight was never improved, i.e. still excatly the same like before the surgery. Then after looking around his office, he saw a leaflet and he immediated pointed to the leaflet and said to my dad 'ohhh this patient has got Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), that is why his eyesight was never improved after the surgery. He blamed AMD for making the cataract surgery useless. If he had said that to my dad that having both AMD and cataract would not help the patient to see clearly after surgery, we would not consider letting the patient to go for a cataract surgery at all, plus, cataract is not life threatening! Then a week ago, my dad and i accompanied my ah gong for another check up session done by Dr C. Dr C agreed with Dr K's diagnosis and commented that my ah gong's disease has progressed to an advanced stage, i.e. from dry AMD to wet AMD. He suggested to give the patient intravitrael injection, Rm 1200 per injection (Avastin) or Rm 6000 per injection (Lucentis), each course consists of 3 injections. He added that this intravitrael injection is the best option by far. Because this clinic has done errors in dignosing my grandmother before, we doubt his diagnosis.
p/s : Dr C decided to give Rm 500 discount for the cataract surgery done earlier on.
So a few days later, we brought my ah gong to Clinic Y for another examination. Out of my surprise, Dr L gave a totally different diagnosis from the first 2 doctors. From his examination, he found a scar in ah gong's left eye. He said it is not a disease, it might be due to damage or surgery, he was not sure. Then he did an OCT scan and dilated eye test (abnormal result on left eye, there seemed to be an extra tissue on the macula region of the retina where he believed it to be a scar). He said it is not AMD. I did mention to him that another doctor diagnosed to be wet AMD, and that made us so worried that we brought him here for another examination. He then suggested a surgery to 'pull' the scar away and also to pump gases in the vitreous area to remove the cloudy part. He said there is 20% chances for the eyesights to be improved after the surgery. Dr L is a retinal surgeon. He likes to opt his patient to go for retinal surgery. The surgery costs Rm 6000. Asking if surgery is needed at the moment to prevent deterioration of the eyesight, he said it will be fine to leave it and do more observation during the next follow up.
At that point, i was really confused. One said it is a dangerous disease and another said it is just a scar. So i chose to bring my ah gong for another inspection.
This afternoon, we went to hospital Z for examination under Dr P. Initially i thought this doctor might be the nicest as he was very patient in checking my ah gong. I spent almost 7 hours in hospital Z today. Dr P confirmed that it is not AMD. There is a lession in the left eye. He suggested to inject Avastin (Rm 300) to reduce the swelling and subsequently to go for surgery to remove the lession (Rm 5000+). Asking if surgery is necessary to prevent vision loss, he said it is not. In addition, he addded that the surgery might or might not help to improve the eye sight. With consideration that my ah gong is already 80 years old, he will be able to see things but the images might be blurred at times, i decided to with hold my grandpa for the surgery until i have discussed with my family. However, Dr P said he would not be happy if the patient do not go for the surgery. After that, my ah gong was ordered to do a blood test.
When we met the nurse, we were expected to answer whether or not my ah gong can make it for the surgery next Tuesday. I was so shocked because i have explained to the doctor that i would not make any decision regarding the surgery until i have discussed the issue with my family. Besides doing a blood test, the nurse was trying to help to take my ah gong's bp and glucose levels too. In the end, i cancalled off blood test (since he will be going monthly blood test from another doctor to monitor his renal), bp monitoring (he monitors his bp every morning and night on his own) and glucose levels. EACH SINGLE TEST costs money okay.
I have one general opinion on doctors --> Most doctors are serious $$$$ sucker. They will never consider patient's situation (financial, moral, emotional) . Instead of letting the patient or their loved one to make the final decision, they will try to manipulate the situation so strong that eventually they are the one who will make he final decision in order to earn them some money.
I dislike doctors. I hate them. Yes, i do.
Tell me i am wrong. Doctors, show me your kind heart, show it to all the patients and prove to me that i am wrong!
I am so glad that i chose to study pharmacy instead of medicine. I am officially a registered pharmacist now.
In the past 1 week, I went to 3 different opthalmologists at 3 different private eye specialist centres.
3 months ago, my ah gong undergone a cataract sugery for his left eye under Dr K at Clinic X. During the first follow up session, he commented that my ah gong's eye sight was never improved, i.e. still excatly the same like before the surgery. Then after looking around his office, he saw a leaflet and he immediated pointed to the leaflet and said to my dad 'ohhh this patient has got Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), that is why his eyesight was never improved after the surgery. He blamed AMD for making the cataract surgery useless. If he had said that to my dad that having both AMD and cataract would not help the patient to see clearly after surgery, we would not consider letting the patient to go for a cataract surgery at all, plus, cataract is not life threatening! Then a week ago, my dad and i accompanied my ah gong for another check up session done by Dr C. Dr C agreed with Dr K's diagnosis and commented that my ah gong's disease has progressed to an advanced stage, i.e. from dry AMD to wet AMD. He suggested to give the patient intravitrael injection, Rm 1200 per injection (Avastin) or Rm 6000 per injection (Lucentis), each course consists of 3 injections. He added that this intravitrael injection is the best option by far. Because this clinic has done errors in dignosing my grandmother before, we doubt his diagnosis.
p/s : Dr C decided to give Rm 500 discount for the cataract surgery done earlier on.
So a few days later, we brought my ah gong to Clinic Y for another examination. Out of my surprise, Dr L gave a totally different diagnosis from the first 2 doctors. From his examination, he found a scar in ah gong's left eye. He said it is not a disease, it might be due to damage or surgery, he was not sure. Then he did an OCT scan and dilated eye test (abnormal result on left eye, there seemed to be an extra tissue on the macula region of the retina where he believed it to be a scar). He said it is not AMD. I did mention to him that another doctor diagnosed to be wet AMD, and that made us so worried that we brought him here for another examination. He then suggested a surgery to 'pull' the scar away and also to pump gases in the vitreous area to remove the cloudy part. He said there is 20% chances for the eyesights to be improved after the surgery. Dr L is a retinal surgeon. He likes to opt his patient to go for retinal surgery. The surgery costs Rm 6000. Asking if surgery is needed at the moment to prevent deterioration of the eyesight, he said it will be fine to leave it and do more observation during the next follow up.
At that point, i was really confused. One said it is a dangerous disease and another said it is just a scar. So i chose to bring my ah gong for another inspection.
This afternoon, we went to hospital Z for examination under Dr P. Initially i thought this doctor might be the nicest as he was very patient in checking my ah gong. I spent almost 7 hours in hospital Z today. Dr P confirmed that it is not AMD. There is a lession in the left eye. He suggested to inject Avastin (Rm 300) to reduce the swelling and subsequently to go for surgery to remove the lession (Rm 5000+). Asking if surgery is necessary to prevent vision loss, he said it is not. In addition, he addded that the surgery might or might not help to improve the eye sight. With consideration that my ah gong is already 80 years old, he will be able to see things but the images might be blurred at times, i decided to with hold my grandpa for the surgery until i have discussed with my family. However, Dr P said he would not be happy if the patient do not go for the surgery. After that, my ah gong was ordered to do a blood test.
When we met the nurse, we were expected to answer whether or not my ah gong can make it for the surgery next Tuesday. I was so shocked because i have explained to the doctor that i would not make any decision regarding the surgery until i have discussed the issue with my family. Besides doing a blood test, the nurse was trying to help to take my ah gong's bp and glucose levels too. In the end, i cancalled off blood test (since he will be going monthly blood test from another doctor to monitor his renal), bp monitoring (he monitors his bp every morning and night on his own) and glucose levels. EACH SINGLE TEST costs money okay.
I have one general opinion on doctors --> Most doctors are serious $$$$ sucker. They will never consider patient's situation (financial, moral, emotional) . Instead of letting the patient or their loved one to make the final decision, they will try to manipulate the situation so strong that eventually they are the one who will make he final decision in order to earn them some money.
I dislike doctors. I hate them. Yes, i do.
Tell me i am wrong. Doctors, show me your kind heart, show it to all the patients and prove to me that i am wrong!
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5 comments:
As people continue to live longer, the incidence of eye disease such as macular degeneration is on the rise. These types of debilitating eye diseases rob people of vision, and can result in individuals losing their independence.
It is really a shame that the medical community does not embrace nutrition and lifestyle considerations as a major part of their treatment strategies.
It is believed that the visual system requires up to 25% of the nutrients we take into our bodies in order to stay healthy. Impaired circulation and/or poor absorption of nutrients can significantly contribute to eye disease.
There is a great deal of peer review research now showing the vision can be preserved through a proper diet and specific nutritional supplementation.
Essential nutrients include lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids, taurine, gingko biloba, lycopene, vitamin A, E, zinc, copper, selenium for example, that can help both prevent the onset of eye disease such as macular degeneration as well as help preserve vision for those with macular degeneration.
For more information and specific research studies by eye condition on nutrition and vision, go to www.naturaleyecare.com
I think you might want to pay a visit to Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital TONNEH & getting some expert opinion before any surgery? They might be the best option around in Malaysia about the eye. Or you might just try any government hospital where you might see the difference in opinions in both sectors.
That's the difference with private & government sector. Private hospitals are income based, the fees are expensive; goverment hospitals are totally sponsored by the government, resources are scarce, hence people abuses it.
Althought i am not yet a doctor, the decision about surgery is the patient's & no one can force him to do so. May your grand pa get well soon!
Michael Esdon,
Thanks for the long comment. Yeap multivitamins can help, but they are in long-term-based, i.e. they are more for preventing AMD then to cure. One example would be Vitalex.
Ck : again, thanks for the long comment and advises. Sadly, TONNEH is in one of the 3 clinics that i have mentioned. of coz, there will be some good doctors, just that i didnt come across them yet.
Totally agreed with what you said about differences btwn private and government hospitals.
Thanks again.
I'm so sorry for the bad experience you have had in regards to your grandfather's (I presumed it's your grandpa) eye surgery. I'm married a a doctor and I've been around doctors for almost a decade now. May be I've taken things for granted now but I don't think all doctors are money minded as you've painted them to be. I suspect that it's the red tape/ bureaucracy surrounded in M'sian hospitals.
I've had my fair share of bad experiences in M'sian hospitals and M'sian private and govt clinics too but ever since I came to the UK, my perspective on doctors have changed . I think they're very dedicated professionals (may be it's the doctrine issued by the General Medical Council) and I've respected their opinions/diagnosis a lot.
Anyway, hope your perspectives and opinions of doctors will change with some positive and better experiences with them soon.
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