Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Feb
22
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“I Don’t Believe in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.”
“I don’t believe in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.” – OB to woman who had a PCOS diagnosis from a previous OB.
There are 44 comments to this post.
Jessica had this to say,
Feb 22, 2011 @ 4:35 pm (Quote)
So not only is this doctor insinuating his client is either crazy or stupid he’s also bashing a fellow doctor by claiming his diagnosis is bogus. Two birds with one stone, and hopefully one fewer patient.
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Robyn Reply:
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:40 pm (Quote)
Ah, but don’t people regularly go to another doctor in an attempt to get a different diagnosis? Or see if another doctor will agree with the given diagnosis? Second opinion.
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Bonita Reply:
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:30 pm (Quote)
A second opinion is different from saying that you don’t agree that a real disease exists…
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Robyn Reply:
February 23rd, 2011 at 3:38 am (Quote)
Very true. However, Jessica made the statement that this doctor also “bashed” a fellow doctor by claiming that their diagnosis was completely bogus. Determining that another doctor made a completely erroneous diagnosis is fairly common.
There are certain things that could make this doctor say this. As someone else mentioned, perhaps this doctor simply feels that PCOS is over-diagnosed. Much like a “big baby” diagnosis. This site itself has shown great testimony to what women are capable of birthing. If a woman sees one doctor for her first pregnancy and is induced because of a “big baby” and then sees another doctor for a subsequent pregnancy who tells her “I don’t believe in big babies.” she might be relieved. Either way, the wording is inaccurate. Same as there *are* big babies, PCOS *does* exist; this doctor may just be skeptical as to the veracity of the diagnosis.
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Kat Reply:
February 23rd, 2011 at 7:05 am (Quote)
Saying “Based on my experiences, I believe PCOS is over-diagnosed, and I’d like to check some other things before drawing any conclusions” is TOTALLY different than claiming PCOS does not exist. And assuming the OP’s recollection is accurate, that’s what the doctor said.
Cue gratuitous Princess Bride reference:
“What about the R.O.U.S.’s?”
“Rodents of Unusual Size? I don’t believe they exist… URGH!”
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road2vba2c had this to say,
Feb 22, 2011 @ 4:36 pm (Quote)
It doesn’t believe in you either, doc. *smacks head*
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Wouldn’t it be nice if just because you didn’t believe in something it didn’t exist?
I don’t believe in episiotomies either doc. Therefore, with my amazing mental power, I am able to negate their existance.
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“I don’t believe in the existence of ridiculous care providers who say ridiculous things.”
(Are they all gone now?! Did my wishful thinking send them all away?!)
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The Deranged Housewife had this to say,
Feb 22, 2011 @ 5:21 pm (Quote)
What, is this doctor 112 or something? And what does he think – she’s imagining it? Yeah. I can mentally make my periods stop. *poof*
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A lot of OBs see a woman with fertility issues, crazy cycles and a weight problem and go straight to PCOS, which it could be. But it could also be a lot of other things and is often over diagnosed. Perhaps what he was getting at was that he very often finds other reasons for those symptoms than PCOS and so is skeptical when he see’s that diagnosis. He said it in a flippant way which is never a good thing when discussing someone’s health but it may not be the pure evil that some think it is.
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Nicholas Fogelson, MD had this to say,
Feb 22, 2011 @ 8:26 pm (Quote)
This is bizarre. PCOS is a well defined entity with a known pathophysiology as well. Easy to diagnose, and fairly easy to treat as well.
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ElElri Reply:
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:35 am (Quote)
It’s really not bizarre.
There are the straight C- docs out there too.
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devil is in the details Reply:
February 23rd, 2011 at 5:54 am (Quote)
No there really aren’t. If C’s could get you into medical school, I would have gotten in myself since my problem was an over supply of B’s. However you might want to take a look at the social skills of straight A students if you really want to understand why so many have the bedside manner of a middle schooler. That, arrogance and burn-out would be your 3 main sources of “WTF just came out of your mouth.”
Thank you Dr. F for chiming in.
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ElElri Reply:
February 24th, 2011 at 11:04 pm (Quote)
I was not referring to their med school grades.. but.. okay 
I was a straight A student in h/s….. In college too…… lol
I never took any advanced math courses in college, tho. I’m more a philosophy/logic gal.. Calculus would’ve affected my GPA!
My social skills are lacking. How did you know?!?! 
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Mom of One Reply:
February 23rd, 2011 at 8:06 am (Quote)
What do you call the doctor who graduates last in his/her class?
Doctor!
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Serene Reply:
February 24th, 2011 at 5:05 am (Quote)
Agreed. It reminds me of all the people who also “dont believe in Gestational Diabetes”.
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... Reply:
February 25th, 2011 at 4:45 pm (Quote)
Not even close to the same thing.
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Serene Reply:
February 25th, 2011 at 4:56 pm (Quote)
Its EXACTLY the same thing. The only difference is one is overdiagnosed, one is underdiagnosed. Both are real and treatable conditions. Saying you dont believe in one is just the height of stupidity.
… Or is it just different because YOU dont believe in GD? Pot or kettle I wonder…
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LOL. I’m not laughing at the OP, I’m laughing at the doctor. PCOS is fake in the same world that nasty bacterial infections in teeth are caused by psychosomatic reasons..
Is it odd that women.. women who take pain and suffering (physical) just as well as men and sometimes better are told “It’s in your head!” when men would get full or continued work-ups?
Women are seriously belittled in the medical world. I’m not sure why. They’re more likely to report symptoms earlier in an illness vs. later (where it may become or be more likely to be untreatable), are NOT more likely to make up symptoms, are less likely to be addicts, and are more likely to make family decisions about care: re bring in business if treated well. Why docs insist that they’re full of shit on a continual basis and jade women towards the profession is completely beyond me.
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Dee Reply:
February 23rd, 2011 at 7:41 am (Quote)
I couldn’t possibly agree with you more about the way that women are treated in the medical profession. It’s rather disgusting, really.
My husband and I go to the same clinic for healthcare, though we see different doctors. My 31 year old husband went in one day for his physical and mentioned that he’d been having a few chest pains here and there. There were no abnormalities heard or seen or anything, but he left that office with a prescription for an immediate EKG (the doctor actually called it in STAT), an ultrasound of his heart, and also a stress test.. all to be done like OMGRIGHTNOW!!
I was absolutely fuming over this.. not that I wasn’t concerned for my husband, but because I had gotten the exact opposite treatment just two weeks prior. As I said before, he had no abnormalities that day, but they wanted to be sure he was ok, whereas I was simply brushed off and told it was probably just stress.
Both of us are fine, btw (I brought it up to one of my other doctors and was checked out).
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Liz Reply:
February 23rd, 2011 at 10:26 am (Quote)
I absolutely hate it when a doctor does not believe me. It happens so often. It seems like I have to fight with the doctor just to make them believe I really have a problem.
Having worked in the medical field before I understand there are a lot of hypochondriacs out there, but that does not mean that every person who walks through the door is faking for attention.
Right now I am having contractions at 29 weeks that are sometimes just as intense as labor contractions and it has been such a battle to get care providers to believe me. They say I am just sensitive to braxton hicks contractions. Okay have been in labor twice before and I know the difference! I thin k my OB is just starting to believe me after two weeks of this. SOOOOO frustrating!
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The OB I had with my now 3 year old told me I can’t *possibly* have PCOS and fertility issues because I was (then) pregnant with my fifth child… forget that I was on chlomid to get pregnant (prescribed by my GP).. He said I *had* to have been misdiagnosed! Umm NO.. HEALTHY women can get pregnant in six or so months with no contraceptives… it takes me 2-3 years in between each child.. without chlomid… thanks Dr… the same drs medwife told me that PACS were nothing to worry about, it was normal and walked out of the room without any further explanation or without answering a single question and got all pissy when I asked for more information 
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The Well-Rounded Mama had this to say,
Feb 23, 2011 @ 8:33 pm (Quote)
Well, we don’t know why THIS particular doctor doesn’t believe in PCOS, but it’s not an uncommon thing for some docs to say.
For a lot of docs, the problem is weight bias. Many of the women who have PCOS are fat, and some docs think that “PCOS” is just looking for an excuse for being fat. In other words, a failure to take personal responsibility for bad habits and looking for something external to blame for supposedly self-created medical issues.
That may or may not be the source of THIS particular doc’s reservations, but it is not that unusual a response, even today. Ask around the PCOS community. A lot of them have heard this, or something similar, and weight bias is often a part of it.
Even with glaringly obvious symptoms, many women go years without being diagnosed because all some docs see and blame is weight and don’t want to see or acknowledge that something else might be causing/adding to the weight issues besides just habits.
Of course, the dr could mean something different in this situation, but just pointing out this possibility too. It’s not that unusual.
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Jenny Islander Reply:
February 24th, 2011 at 10:20 am (Quote)
Oh, absolutely. I had some peculiar things going on with my pulse for years and every doctor I saw had to be told that I started having problems before before before BEFORE I started getting fat. Every doctor, every visit. It was like, “See fat, activate fat talk, shut off diagnostic part of brain.”
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Nicholas Fogelson, MD Reply:
February 25th, 2011 at 7:22 pm (Quote)
Not every obese woman has PCOS, but PCOS and obesity certainly are linked. Most women with PCOS are able to restore ovulation if they lose a substantial amount of body weight. There are a few thin women with PCOS, but a fair number of them actually have some other reason for their anovulation (thyroid, prolactin, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, hypothalamic ammenoreah being the most common)
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I had been diagnosed with PCOS when I was having problems getting pregnant. I went on the PCOS diet, was prescribed Metformin, and Clomid and got pregnant 2 months later. My husband and I moved to another city, and I had started with this OB practice because it came highly recommended.
I asked for a refill of Metformin, and this OB (A young, attractive female OB) said “Well, if it makes you feel better, I will… but I don’t believe in PCOS.” I wasn’t happy leaving the office that day, and then things got interesting.
The long story involves signing out of the hospital “against medical advice” after my ‘water broke’ (it wasn’t) and discovering they used Cytotec regularly. My husband drove me to a completely different hospital system, where checking myself in, where they determined that the Doctor and staff were practically incompetent.
I wouldn’t trust that Doctor or her staff with anyone in labor.
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Marissa Reply:
February 22nd, 2011 at 6:48 pm Marissa(Quote)
“Uh oh! It’s Isaac Newton and he’s pissed!”
Really, though, I think the syndrome would exist whether this OB believes in it or not. So it’s all a moo point.
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Julie Reply:
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:39 pm Julie(Quote)
LOVE!
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