Should I change doctors

It has been a while since I posted here and now I have a question about change my heart doctor. I have had my pacemaker for almost 10 years now and had had it replaced in May of 2010. I am a 66 year old male.
I feel that she does not listen to me anymore and keeps pushing me to try taking statins even though I have tried every one of them and always get the same results, muscle aches and feeling like I have the flu all the time when I take them. I have taken Niaspan on and off for 10 years when not trying a statin and it works for me and keeps my cholestrol low where it should be. She even refused to give me a new RX for niaspan during my recent visit telling me that i may as well not take anything because the niaspan does nothing to prevent a heart attack. There are other things that we do not see eye to eye on and it is becoming a problem.
My question is should i try and talk to her or just change doctors. What are the pros and cons.

Thanks for any input

Tom

7 Comments

switch

by Tracey_E - 2012-11-19 05:11:18

Life's too short to put up with crap every time you have an appointment. Sounds like she's trying to bully you into doing what she wants. I don't see any cons to changing, unless there aren't any other good drs in your area that take your insurance. If you can't see eye to eye on the little stuff, what happens if something big comes up? I'm on a hunt for a new gp for a similar reason. She blew me off on something I asked about, gave me a flip answer. Two other little things happened over the last couple of years, now what it comes down to is I won't trust her if something serious comes up. We don't owe them our loyalty if we aren't getting what we need.

Tom

by IAN MC - 2012-11-19 05:11:47

It seems to be a no-brainer to me ! . The relationship between patient and Dr is important and in your case it seems that you don't respect her views and she doesn't respect yours. Once communication breaks down , as in a marriage, it is time to go your separate ways.

I'm sure Smitty is right on the Niaspan issue , although your Dr may be right, she hasn't clearly communicated her reasons for being reluctant to prescribe it . Why not ? You deserve a clear explanation.

Change Drs a.s.a.p.

Best of luck

Ian

Change Drs.

by SMITTY - 2012-11-19 05:11:58

Hi Tomh,
I say change doctors. However you may run into the same thing if you plan to try to continue to take Niaspan. See the article below, which is apparently what some Drs. think about Niaspan for cholesterol control.

"Doctors rethinking prescribing Abbott's Niaspan.
National Institutes of Health's study suggests minimal benefit, and some risk, to combining HDL cholesterol-raising drug with LDL-lowering statins
May 31, 2011|By Bruce Japsen, Tribune reporter
Doctors say they are thinking twice about prescribing an Abbott Laboratories drug used to raise levels of good cholesterol to patients taking a statin pill that is successfully lowering their bad cholesterol.
The change of heart by physicians about the need for Abbott's Niaspan follows the release last week of a National Institutes of Health study that showed the drug failed to prevent heart attacks and slightly raised the risk of a stroke when combined with the popular generic cholesterol pill simvastatin, also known by the brand name Zocor."

I don't like the statins for the very reasons you list and just quite them to my Drs. displeasure. But I'm 83 and hard headed as a goat about medicines, so statins are not the only ones I refuse to take. Also I'm not trying to tell you what you should do, I'm just saying you are not alone with your feeling about medicines and Drs.

Good luck,

Smitty


change?

by Zia - 2012-11-20 03:11:52

You probably should change because you no longer trust her. The article Smitty quoted makes a good point but it also states repeatedly about taking Niaspan when also taking statins. Since you've already seen what statin can do and don't want to take them, this should be irrelevant.
BTW you can get niacin over the counter in similar dosages, and that's something to think about and/or talk over with your new doc if/when you go to one.

Hey Frank, did you remind the doc that we all have to die of something when our time comes??

Suggestion

by ElectricFrank - 2012-11-20 12:11:26

My suggestion is to put it in writing to the doctor. Almost any doctor will be pushy about statins. They are heavily marketed to prescribe them, and supplied with ready made sales pitches.

With my doc I made it clear that I was not under any circumstances going take statins. After that I simply let him know that any time he spent trying to sell me on them was on his own time, and was not to take away from my questions. You might also ask to have it in writing that the doc refuses to give you the niaspan, and why.

I've found that being firm often works. The funniest part was when I was asked how I was going to feel when I was in the ICU dying of a heart attack. My answer was "I won't feel much at all for long".

frank

Thanks for your comments

by tomh140 - 2012-11-22 01:11:20

I want to thank everyone for their comments and found it very useful. I will start looking for a new doctor next month but I already have one in mind and hope he is taking new patients.

Have a happy Thanksgiving

Tom

When time comes

by ElectricFrank - 2012-11-22 12:11:02

I remind him I am at a high risk of dying, and so it he.

My other favorite is that life is a terminal illness. We are all born with it and then go into remission. Eventually it recurs.

My latest is that I am excited about the experience of dying and want to be around to enjoy it. I'm afraid to tell him that one. I'd wind up in the Funny Farm.

frank

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A properly implanted and adjusted pacemaker will not even be noticeable after you get over the surgery.