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This post is not medical advice.
Trigger warning: medical trauma, medical misogyny, gaslighting etc
I finally got the MRI and have the results. I still did not get my x ryas , radiology report or full medical record. I filled out the paperwork for that well over 30 days ago. Dr offices are required by law to fulfill those requests within 30 days. This is another violation of the law. Not abiding with ADA requests and lying in medical records are also against the law.
I do have an update on some of the xray findings. Would you like to take a guess as to whether the receptionist was correct when she said there were"no findings" as an excuse for the doctor to not go over them with me in office ?(Not standard of care,.Even with no findings doctors are supposed to go over results with the patient) I'l let you think on that a minute.
TLDR : My left ankle is fucked. Not only do I have that large mass but also my Achilles tendon is breaking down, has scar tissue and tears ,collagen degradation . I also have chronic swelling in the tendon sheath of another large tendon. I also have bone spurring.This is with a T 1.5 MRI without contrast. I likely have a lot more going on (like I did with my right side) that the MRI can't see. I will need multiple surgeries. One for the lump, the other for the ankle repair.
The xrays. The ones they did not go over in office (not the standard of care) and I was told no findings. Did you guess....? There were findings. Basically some bone warping and spacing issues. Nothing too major on it's own but in context (the bone that is warped is right under the large mass) shows something is very, very wrong.
Yeah warped bones, totally "normal". This goes without saying. I have received nothing for my pain. I am deathly allergic to NSAIDS. My husband was offered pain meds by this same doctor for a mild ankle sprain.
Now I have the fun task of submitting an official letter for medical record amendments. I have the letter drafted , professionally which points out all the lies in my record (that I know of). My husband is dropping it off today.
This record has to be corrected before I get a surgical consult. If it's not corrected the surgeon will think I had a treatment plan, supportive orthotics and physical therapy this whole time (which my medical record indicated) When the reality is I got nothing from that doctor. No treatment plan. No warning about needing a biopsy. No advice on weight bearing, bracing, or activity limitations. None of that happened.
They need to remove the "anxiety" diagnosis. I do not have anxiety. This is important because especially as a woman there is still a very real stigma. I don't even have anxiety. I will also say podiatrists don't diagnose anxiety. This is not normal. But if a doctor reports a patient as anxious they automatically are seen as less credible especially if they are a woman or part of other marginalized groups.
That said anxiety is a real , serious medical condition and those that do suffer from it deserve respect and treatments with dignity. Even if I had anxiety ,anxiety does not attack connective tissues or cause bone deformity.
This is so disgusting. I don't have the energy for this fight. It is causing more trauma to both myself and my husband. Thankfully he witnessed this doctor appointment and can testify. It's one of the reasons I bring him to every appointment.
I wish I could say this was the first time I had obvious findings (imaging/blood tests, etc) and they were brushed off as normal. I also wish this was the only time I saw blatant lies in my medical records. Unfortunately this happens all the time. A couple years ago I had a CT scan showing a partially collapsed lung and hernia. I was told it was "normal". Hospital released me with no treatment (except anti- vomiting medicine)with a BP of 75/because the EMT, a man, said it was "just anxiety" (my vitals kept crashing and I have POTS which causes very high heart rate. I was also projectile vomiting for hours before given any meds)
Drs ignored the findings on my right ankle, denying me an MRI and care for over a year an a half. That xray also showed bone abnormalities caused by chronic inflammation. This should have triggered an immediate ordering of an MRI. I asked for one and an ortho laughed in my face saying my problem "wasn't that big of a deal If it was you'd be in severe pain". I told him before he said that I was in fact in severe pain.
I have too many of these stories to address, this is just from the past couple of years.
This is what medical care looks like for women , especially those of us with chronic illnesses. I know many women with similar stories."normal" tests mean nothing is wrong( this is a false belief doctors push), abnormal tests/positive findings are ignored and the patient is told they are just anxious.
Funny, my husband has never once in his adult life had this happen to him and he has his own complex auto immune disease. His symptoms are treated even without tests or negative tests/no findings. If anything in his bloodwork is slightly off, he gets immediate treatments or further testing.