[Elisa]

Hi,

I need some input on a situation that not only humiliated the heck out of me, but im not even sure what to do about it..i feel that I cant let it go, but not sure what to do.

Last week I was sent to an orthopedic specialist by my family doctor because of a chronic back pain problem that I have. So, after suffering for a decade with the pain, I finally muster the nads to go see a specialist, even though I am terrified of them discussing back surgery (which i have watched my friend go through and HEL* NO am i doing that) So off I go to the specialist, who doesnt touch me at all, only tells me he is going to refer me to a bariatric surgeon for WLS, and an MRI test. In my rambling to him, I did tell him that I am aware that my weight impacts my back pain.
Now this is the part that blows my mind. The specialist goes into this story that I have to go to a specific hospital because they have open MRI machines that can accomodate my weight (oh god! ) I gracefully nod and grab my paperwork and leave the office red faced. I wait a week and a half, get to the MRI appointment, for them to tell me that they cannot accomodate me because they stopped using their open MRI machines a YEAR ago! and...there are none in TORONTO and i would have to travel to another town! (apparantly the specialist must not have known this?) THEN, as im leaving in tears, the Dr. calls me back and tries to get me in the machine saying "it may be a tight fit but we can try...." Well I nearly died right there. I left that hospital in tears...refused to pay the 14 dollar hospital parking, and my friend and I left.
Now..what freaks me out is...what if an obese person was involved in an accident and needed an emergency MRI to keep them alive? are they screwed? Do I just accept what happened to me and swallow it??? What if I have a medical issue and I cant get an MRI scan to save my life? I do not drive, i cant make it out of town...how would i get there? My back wont allow me to travel like that even if i were willing to buy a train ticket! What do i do?? What would you do?

[DocSanae]

First off, ((((((((HUGS))))))))), sorry that you had a situation that distressed you so very much.
Hang in there, don't feel too distressed over what you experienced.

I can't really say anything valid, execpt give you a dr's point of view, but I hope this will help you some.

In case of emergencies. You won't need to worry about MRIs. Don't take me wrong, what I mean is, there is no tell-it-all instrument that is a magic wand, and once you go through it, the drs will have a diagnosis at the snap of a finger.
Remember, we did quite well in ER without MRIs for a very long time.
MRIs tell us a lot, but we don't depend on them to tell us all, actually. As with any other medical equipment, there is a limit to what info any single instrument can give us, and because one info is missing, doesn't mean that the drs hands are tied to treat you in emergencies. It only means that we have to use our brains and experience, and deduce from what data we have on hand to save your life. Also, in an emergency situation, we probably won't have the time to set a patient up for MRI, for the matter. We need to get down to treating you fast with what info we have on hand, stabilizing you, as we search for 1) damage that needs immediate care to stabilize your condition. As we search, we prioritize the rest to 2) damages that needs to be take care of quickly, but not as pressing as 1), and 3) damages that once attended to for the moment, can be left for a while to be assessed further while the other damages needing care are taken care of.

If you were in an emergency situation, and unconcscious, a CAT scan for the brain will do the job for the moement and for the bones, a regular X-ray will suffice for the time being, and there are also ultrasonography and other conventional instruments that can tell us what about your heart and your abdominal organs.
The more sophisticated instruments are to give us data for how to do the reconstruction, and long term treatment when there is need for one.

I know, what you see/feel with your eyes and heart and what we drs see and understand of any situation are not the same. I can only say that, whatever the situation, the first thing we think is, is this an immediatly life threatening situation. After that, it is, is this a life threatening situation that needs to be assessed throughly and treated, or is it a debliating --in other words, not life threatening, but something that would severly limit your movements and life--condition that needs attention, or is it a chronic issue that could develop into debliating or life threatening situations. And then, is it something, that though may take time in treating, can eventually resolved. And of course, the daily colds and stomach aches, which of course can hide some other serious issues, or be the first symptoms of something serious.

Obviously, if you are in great discomfort, but if the drs see the sitation as something that can't be resolved with a single pill or single injection or single procedure, but needs to be assessed carefully for the best course, the dr could take time in doing so, and you aren't going to be happy, because the first thing you need is to be relieved of the pain and discomfiture.

It won't be easy not to feel humiliated, nor to end up in tears over such situations, but the best advice I can give you is keep your chin up, head high, state clearly that such treatment makes you feel humiliated-- please do understand, we are trained not to humiliate our patients, but there often are situations that we take for granted that aren't taken for granted by patients, and we need to be told that that is so--so the drs and other medical staff can work out a solution that will work best for you.
To you, the dr who called you back may have seemed to want to hurt you only, but he probably was only trying to help you so your visit wouldn't be wasted, and you could receive the info you need, but it was one of those situations where the intent was kind, but the choice of words were poor.

((((((HUGS)))))) I hope my rambling will help you some.