medical misconduct

What is the name of your state? Texas
I filled out paperwork and describe purpose of appointment, which was sinus irritation, and stated that I needed a prescription for flonase and clarinex. Doctor explained that his nurse was running late and that he was alone. He said he didn't like to hurry patients through and wanted to make sure he treated them properly. He said the exam would take some time and he would be asking a lot of questions about my medical history. After examination, he asked if I could take the time to answer questions about my medical history. I said yes. He asked about medications I was taking. I told him none right now, but would be starting ortho evra, the patch, for birth control. He said he didn't know much about the patch. I said I have it with me, would you like to see it. I went to my car and got the prescription and brought it in to him. He recommended I use a ring, I interrupted and said I have to use birth control for my bad periods, doctor responded "will you listen?," and continued talking about the ring and another type of birth control pill that would help with my menstruation pains. During the course of the examination he would ask me medical questions such as do you experience chest pains and such, and then would return to the topic of my menstruation. At one point the doctor asked if I experienced pain during intercourse. I responded yes. I explained that I had discussed this with my gynecologist and he had offered possible treatments. I stated that I had experienced a cyst on my ovary and had been treated for that by my gynecologist. He began asking questions to see why I experience pain. I offered that my gynecologist thought it could be related to endometriosis. At some point he asked if I got "wet" during intercourse. I felt extremely uncomfortable at that point, and reluctantly answered yes. He explained that I may be having performance anxiety. He suggested that I take control of intercourse by leading my husband in the sex act. He suggested I show my husband how to manually stimulate me, and he demonstrated on his hand ways I could move my husband’s hand and stated this would help me orgasm. He then stated that if I wasn’t experience good sex, that was directly related to me taking control and making the sex experience good for myself. He said that sex was something mental that I could control. He remarked that he was also a sex therapist. At one point, after I had told him that my obgyn said that I might have endometriosis, and that a laparoscopy would have to be performed to tell, he gave me some other medical reasons that may cause my pain, and said that if you know what you are looking for, you could do a pelvic exam to tell if there is endometriosis. He said that if his nurse was here, he could do that for me. About 15 minutes before I would be leaving, his nurse arrived. He asked if I would like to do the pelvic exam, and I said no. What do I do? Is this what I should expect from a doctor? I am feeling so violated. Please help me. Sorry this is so long. I was at the examination for two hours.

[ellencee]

leighbo
Send a concise letter of concern to the physician's licensing board of Texas. Include in your letter the physician's claim of being a sex therapist. Ask the board to investigate your complaint.

Learn from this encounter:
Flonase and Claritin are over the counter medications and you did not need an appointment with a physician in order to obtain a prescription. Flonase and Claritin are widely available in stores such as WalMart, K-Mart, CVS, grocery stores, etc. Generic Claritin seems to work as well as Claritin; Flonase seems to be more beneficial than generic Flonase.

Find a regular physician with whom you can develop a therapeutic doctor/patient relationship and stay with one provider for your general health. (This was your first appointment with this provider, right?)

Although you may have felt intimidated, initially you certainly indicated your willingness to discuss your gyn concerns as you ran to your car and got your bc patch to show the physician. Next time, get in the car and leave.

Write and mail the letter and learn from the experience.

Best wishes,
EC

As I was walking out to my car to get the patch for him to see, I wanted to get in the car and leave...I almost did, but I am young, stupid, and too trusting. I have since looked this doctor up, and he has many marks against him, as well as a two year stint in prison. I would not say that I was willing to talk about my obgyn issues, I felt obligated to answer his questions. When I volunteered to get the medicine, he had not done anything out of the ordinary. I have sent a letter to the Texas Medical Board. My hope is that he is not allowed to practice anymore.

Thank you for your advice.

Also, I was needing an antibiotic as well as flonase and clarinex, not claritin. Claritin does not help me get better. I have really bad allergies. I don't mean to be rude, but you make it seem as if I encouraged him. I am preparing for graduate studies in Opera, and I needed badly to get better, so I had to go to the doctor. Wal-Mart was not an option. I was merely showing him the medication, because he said he had not seen it, and at that point he had not acted in a perverse way. I didn't realize he would begin probing me about my sex life, not my medical issues. And to top it all off, I wasn't there for my yearly visit. I made it clear that I was there for sinus irritation. I am a 24 year old teacher and I tend to trust people and give them the benefit of the doubt, before I make decisions. It is just a part of my nature and my job. However, I will be more careful next time, when chosing a physician. I really hope you don't feel I tried to get this man to act in this way, because I did not.

[ellencee]

leighbo
No, I don't think you encouraged him; but I think you had the opportunity to leave and did not and had the opportunity to tell him to only evaluate your sinus complaints and omit any sexual or gyn converstation and did not. I consider that a dangerous lapse in good judgment; therefore, I caution you to be more assertive in the future.

If you had presented to the physician in a debilitated state, or a highly emotional state, or some other disabling condition, then I would feel more inclined for you to report the incident to the police. From your description, you were not prevented from leaving at any time and were not in a compromised position.

Your college major and occupation are irrelevant except that as a teacher you must be aware of the need to teach children to leave unsafe situations.

As I said--send the letter and learn from the experience. If you can turn that into an insult, by all means feel free to do so.

By the way, Clarinex is the same medication as Claritin with two exceptions--Clarinex is a 24 hour preparation and costs about 8 X more than over the counter forms of Claritin. It would be more cost efficient to take one Claritin X number of times in a day than to take one Clarinex once a day. That is purely a consumer choice. The medication and its benefits are the same.

EC

ellencee, I'm not sure where you get your medical information but Flonase is only available by prescription. And Claritin is also a 24 hour antihistamine. It's common that one medicine will work for one person but not for another. I, myself, prefer Claritin over Clarinex.

And leighbo, send the letter.

You didn't ask for it in any way.

[ellencee]

bobina
Good grief. I get my medical knowledge at the same place I buy my over the counter Flonase and Claritin--KMart; it's a little cheaper there than at WalMart, CVS, or Eckerd's.

I can't believe Claritin and Clarinex aren't the same thing and are antihistimines! I'd better tell the makers of those drugs!

Gee--maybe you could tell me where you get your medical information and I could start getting mine there, too.

Thanks,
EC

Thank you for your kind reply. EC, I asked the pharm. when I went to pick up my medicines, and flonase and clarinex are both prescriptions not otc. I sent the letter, and the medical board contacted me...they took this seriously. I didn't leave because I didn't think it was an option. I was scared, confused, and wasn't able to make the judgements that NOW i know I should make.

Thanks for all your help.

[ellencee]

leighbo
Clarinex is by Rx only due to the time release ingredient; look for changes in that in the future. It's on its way to being made OTC. My pharmacist is the one who suggested I buy the generic Claritin OTC instead of the Rx Clarinex; and, I'm happy with it. As I said, it is consumer choice.

I used to buy Flonase via Rx, but for the past year, I have purchased it OTC. Perhaps in your area it is not available or perhaps a stronger concentration of Flonase is what you prefer to use and the more concentrated formula is by Rx only.

editing note!!
***Here's an oops on my part and a sincere apology. I've done a terrible thing! I've been stating the brand name Flonase instead of the product name of a generic brand with the same ingredients in an OTC formula!! Let me correct that--I buy a generic OTC 'equivalent' of the brand name Flonase. You may or may not have this product in your area, but it wouldn't hurt to ask the pharmacist if you are looking for ways to cut your med costs. As I said, it is a consumer's choice whether to spend extra bucks for name brands and time release preps instead of using OTC products of the same medicinal value.****EC

As a general note to readers, a prescription can be written for any medication, ie. Aspirin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, etc. Sometimes this is done to insure that the patient receives (purchases) the necessary medications. With pharmaceutical companies under pressure to bring down the costs of medications, you can expect to see many more medications OTC and no longer paid for by insurance, even in the higher concentrations that can be obtained only with an Rx. You may be surprised to find out what is and has always been available without prescription but required to be handed to you by a pharmacist and requiring you to sign for it. If you want to save money--ask your pharmacist which of your Rx are available at a lower cost and without a charge for 'filling' the Rx.

EC