Friday, April 4, 2008

Meany Head

I saw Dr. Oh about four months ago regarding the numbness, tingling, and twitches going on in my left leg and he told me I needed to stretch six times a day and it would get better but to have an MRI done on my neck to be sure. When nothing showed up in the MRI and four months later nothing was better my Chiro sent me back to him to re-eval the situation.

I saw him today and he asked me if I had been stretching, I told him not as much as he had asked me to but some. Then he told me to try and touch my toes and bend this way and that way, etc. He had me sit down and put my leg up on a chair (just doing that hurt) and then reach and try to touch my toes. I didnt get very far before I welled up with tears because it hurt so bad. He measured with a ruler and I was ten inches away from my toe. He had me sit there stretching for five minutes while we talked. I told him that a lot of times at night when I stretched before bed it made the symptoms worse. He explained that I was stretching to hard, to go slow at first. He said that my muscles are wound way to tight and began to demonstrate (I really think he was just showing off) how most of the population can touch their toes with ease. He told me he wanted me to take at least five minutes at least three times a day (morning, noon, and night) and stretch,stretch,stretch. My eyes were welling up with tears the entire time he was talking and I finally broke down at this point and started crying. I asked him if he really thought it was realistic for me to do this. I have trouble waking up in the morning as is (thats a whole other problem I've been overwhelmed with lately) and have about ten minutes to get ready. It's not realistic to say while at work I can sit in the break room doing stretches in front of everyone. Which only leaves the night which I realistically could do while watching TV. I don't think he knew how to respond to me tears. He asked why I was crying and I told him its because I've been having this pain for almost five years now and I was tired of it. Being told to stretch all the time and the pain "should" go away wasn't something I really wanted to hear. I wanted a concrete this is why you hurt do this and you'll be better. He said that if I really wanted he could refer me to get another MRI done on my lower back this time and if nothing showed up we would know that he was right (what an ass!)

At the end of the five minutes he explained that after that much time of stretching you should have at least a three inch improvement in your reach. We tried again and I was at nine inches, I gained one inch. He kind of laughed at me and said well, just keep stretching. Again, not what I wanted to hear and especially didnt want to be laughed at about it. I started to cry again, he handed me a tissue and said he would meet me up front. I walked out into a waiting room full of people with red, puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. I was humiliated. It's Dr.'s like that that make me want to purposely not stretch because I dont want him to be right. He was so arrogant and uncaring, not the type of Dr. I need or want in my life.

I will stretch as much as I can and I do hope that it will help, that its all that simple but I will not give him any credit for it....butt hole.

2 comments:

Joe said...

It sure would be nice if you could find someone who would just say what is wrong with you and fix it. The whole stretching thing sounds kind of hokie to me.

On another note, Allison's new clothes look great, there are some real cute outfits! Thanks!

Allison said...

I think it's kind of weird that if the MRI doesn't show anything that it automatically means that stretching is the answer. I can't even get close to my toes (it must run in the family--except for Lauren) but I don't have the pain and numbness that you have. That's why I think there's more to your story. Hopefully the stretching will help ease some of the symptoms for you, but I don't want him to be right either. He sounds like a jerk. Love you! Hang in there!