Doctor Changed His Mind

Hi Ladies, I was scheduled for hyst with A&P repair on 2/28/02, had the pre-op lab work done then on 2/25/02 the dr. called me at home and said he'd rather cancel the surgery. He said he was uncomfortable about doing it because he wasn't sure it was what I wanted. Is that crazy or what? I did ask a whole lot of questions about the surgery, my friends and sister say I asked too many questions and scarced the dr. out of doing surgery. Not a laughing matter to me! Has this ever happened to any of you? Now I'm wondering if I should get a new dr. or call him back and demand he do it. He is a board certified dr. and specialist in gyno, good reputation from patients. I'm wondering if he has my best interest in mind or his? The surgery was for prolapsed uterus,cystocele, and rectocele, which he says is not life threatening but, my back and stomach hurts all the time now. I'm frustrated, confused, and scarced. Does any one have any advise? I love this site and have learned more here than from the dr. Any advise will be extremely appreciated. Thanks so much for listening. Rocky

Hi Rocky,

You can never ask too many questions. When I went for my pre-op appointment with my doctor, I had a rather long list of questions written down to ask him. Then on the day of my surgery we were called in early because the doctor was running ahead of schedule, when the nurse went to put in the IV, I freaked out and started crying because I was nervous about being put under because of a previous bad experience. My doctor was wonderful, he came out to talk to me and told me I could go home and no one would be mad at me even if I wanted to come back another time. He said it was a big decision and was mine to make no matter how much time it took. I ended up doing it with an epidural while I was awake. At my 4 week post op I had an even longer list of questions to ask. Just because you want to be informed, does not mean that you don't want to go ahead with it. You should call the doctor back and discuss it with him.

Good luck!

cyaple

That sounds really strange! Did he say to come back when you were sure that this is what you really wanted? Or come in and lets talk about it some more? I personally would get a second opinion. Best to you on getting your needs met and getting well again.

I agree with the others, call back and find out what exactly was his point. Did he really feel you weren't ready because of something you said? And ask what that was. If he truly believes that you are not mentally ready for this, good for him for not just going through with it. Bbut he needs to sit down face to face and tell you what he is thinking, so that you can tell him what you are thinking. Afterall, you are the one that this affects most. If he doesn't want to do that, then I would definatly find a new Dr.

There is no such thing as too many questions. I scheduled my surgery and then called back a week later and told them that I had more questions. I went into the office and sat down with an entire sheet of paper with questions. He was very patient and answered each of them. When we were finished talking, he said "great questions. You've done your homework!". I really like him!!

Good luck.

Caren
5/20/02 for TAH/ poss BSO and Birch proceedure

oh my! I've never heard of a dr saying a patient asked too many questions about a procedure. Isn't one of the primary responsibilities of a dr to make sure that the patient understands. I may not be the best person to give advice on trusting a dr, but I would seek another opinion from another dr. Unless you were asking questions like 'what color cap will you be wearing in surgery' a dr has an obligation to answer any and all questions you may have.

Well I don't get it. I didn't think this was something that I had a choice in. Of course I have CIN III/CIS with glandular involvement and last test had lots of irregular cell activity, so I didn't ask what my options were, he told me he was going to schedule the hyst because my life was at stake.

Even if you do have a choice, I certainly would feel wiggy about the whole thing cuz noone in their right mind would choose to do this if they didn't have to, and if the doctor said he didn't want to do it, then why wouldn't he have given you other options at the time he scheduled you?

I would find another doctor, one that was comfortable carrying out the treatment he prescribes, no matter what the choice.

Good Luck!

SueK

That sounds very strange! I am the one that has been putting my doctor off on scheduling a surgery date. I was told in June that I needed the surgery. I said no and went home. Then in December, I bled for the entire month. I had to call my doctor so that I could talk to him about the bleeding. He wasn't in that day, so I saw another doctor in the practice who told me I definitely needed the hysterectomy before I ended up in the emergency room bleeding to death! I told him I needed time to think about a surgery date and I still haven't sceduled it! But for a doctor to all of a sudden say he doesn't want to do the surgery, that sounds too weird to me.

I would find another doctor right away. There are plenty of them out there who will listen to you. Just keep searching until you find one. I will be praying for you.

Sue

I agree...I'd schedule a sit down meeting with this doctor and find out what the story really is.

Then if you can't agree on a course of action, find yourself a new doctor. You can NEVER ask too many questions or be too well informed. If your doctor can't handle an intelligent woman who is a full participant in her own health decisions, find one who can.

There are PLENTY of excellent doctors out there if you need one. Talk to this one, and then make your decision.

Weird!!!

Karen