Changed my cardiologist ;)

[Japaholic]

sadly, I have decided to change my cardiologist.

The guy who did my ablation in 2015 retired from surgery and opened his own cardiology clinic.

I thought about changing to his clinic, and switch from my old clinic a year ago. After a bad experience their (being mocked by the receptionist for forgetting my insurance card) I switched.

Sadly that didn’t work out. My condition under his care got worse.

His bedside manner was pretty bad. For example I told him “I feel that with this pill (metoprolol) added to my regimen that my pulse/heartbeat is too slow/supressed” he said he didn’t believe me.

He then implied I lied about having an AF episode because he “ablated the source of your AF” even though I have it clearly on my Kardia. Here his comment was “unlike humans the Holter monitor doesn’t lie”.

The Holter did show pac/pvc/wide qrs and other arrhythmic symptoms for 25% of the holders 16hour duration.

This was new, never happened before. When I expressed my concern he said “you won’t die, don’t worry about it” and gave me Valium.

He did give me a pill called “Aspenon” which had awful side effects and led to my not being able to drive due to fear of fainting which happened twice.

The final straw was my capturing an AF episode on my Kardia, quite clearly. I faxed it to him, it was so unimportant he didn’t even respond.

Wish me luck with my new cardiologist who I met as my student. I taught him English for several months a few years back.

I’ll keep you updated.

It’s Sakura time in Japan. Always nice to see.

[BenHall1]

Hi there Japaholic,

Nice to see you on this forum again, gosh, you been around now for quite a while .... sorry to read of your most unpleasant experience and I hope you get it all sorted. Aaaaah ! Cherry Blossom time .......... so awesome ..... a photographers paradise 😊 Reminds me of my only trip to Japan which occurred in March .... a long time ago.

Please let us know how things progress with your new cardiologist.

John

[Japaholic in reply to BenHall1]

If you fancy a look search “Shikoku 4 K drone scapes” that’s me, you’ll find this seasons Sakura on there. I’ve been here since 2009 I think, usually more when my Heart is acting up.

Less when it’s behaving

[secondtry]

Message to Self: Yes change is sometimes necessary and it is important to take tough decisions without old fashioned (sadly now largely unrewarded) loyalty.

Good luck with you move.

[Japaholic in reply to secondtry]

Thank you for your kind words.

[Hidden]

Toss that cardiologist out immediately! What you report is AWFUL behavior on the part of a healer.

I truly believe an essential component in healing is trust and respect between patients and those to whom patients look for healing. It goes both ways. The patient utterly must have trust in the doctor and the doctor must trust the patient and treat the patient with respect.

I actually had this very conversation with my EP, whom I deeply like as a human being and feel deeply confident in as my doctor. I mentioned to him how important I felt trust was between doctor and patient; he solemnly and openly agreed, and we discussed the role of thoughts, attitudes, emotions in the healing process. I gotta say I adore the guy.

There are some real arseholes parading as healers. At one of my cardioversions, the cardiologist in charge managed to undermine the treatment plans of both my EP (saying I’d been “marketed” into wanting a Watchman, like I make my medical decisions based on TV ads—how demeaning!) and my cardiologist (essentially saying her not having me on statins was very bad medicine on her part).

One doctor undermining another doctor to a patient’s face is unprofessional, to say the least, but anlso extremely unethical, outrageous, and harmful—because it sows doubt and distrust.

If there’s anything you don’t need when going into an ablation, it’s doubt and distrust.

I did not engage with this cardiologist who was pontificating about the errors in my doctors’ ways. I was too stunned, plus half naked in a flimsy hospital gown on a gurney and hooked up to this and that which kept beeping. That is not the time or place, especially when feeling vulnerable, to engage in a debate .

However, I later requested to speak with the head of all cardiology at the university medical center. He apologized on behalf of the miscreant cardiologist. I don’t know what happened after that. I’d hope that my speaking up might save other patients from this jerk’s unprofessional pontificating.

Finding the right doctor for you is ESSENTIAL to healing. I went through three cardiologists before I found the right one, and she is the one who connected me with my EP. She knew what I didn’t know: that he was the best of the best.

Good luck. Don’t put up with any nonsense, like disrespect, from a doctor anymore than you would from anyone else. Toss that guy out! The right doctor is out there waiting for you to find her or him.

[Hidden]

BTW, I’m also an ELT teacher, retired. I wrote textbooks. Does Understanding and Using English Grammar ring a bell? Just curious.