So the toddler's PT and I are pretty chatty. Actually, I wouldn't mind staying in touch with them beyond therapy, but we'll see.
Anyway their kid was in the ER for a decently serious allergic reaction to an OTC that no one is ever supposed to be allergic to. So they ended up on steroids, a five day burst.
The ER doc took the time to explain how the steroids would impact the kid's appetite and weight.
At that point, my jaw hit the floor and I lost consciousness from the shock.
Wow.
Basically I'm pre-diabetic, overweight and having all sorts of medical fun because not one physician ever attempted to educate me on the impact of steroids.
I was never even given the chance to take personal responsibility for my health because medicine didn't do their part. Over and over and over again.
Of course, I did get shaming lectures on my weight from the ped who was prescribing the bulk of the steroids between the ages of 15-18. Medicine totally wins at hating fat people.
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Diagnostic Tests to Reassure Patients
4 days ago
I like the tag "doctors behaving badly" quite a lot. How horrible that you had to be on steroids so young, but more horrible is that they treated you without that crucial information. As bad as people in health care treat women, I have to say, they really pull out all the stops for adolescent girls. I had a GYN prescribe a psych med for me after I was surly with him (rightly so) in his office when I was 18 - I'd ruptured an ovarian cyst and it was my post-discharge from the hospital follow up visit. At it, he told me I "probably never would get pregnant" and then didn't discuss what was up with the cyst, whether it was likely to happen again, why it had happened in the first place (I was left assuming it was part of the endometriosis, which no, it's not). He didn't tell me the medication he'd prescribed was a psych med, let alone talk about the side effects, how to take it, or possible interactions. And people wonder why doctors get sued. I present exhibits A (your pediatrician) and B.
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