I was seen here today to get my wisdom teeth taken out. The receptionist named Courtney was extremely warm with every phone encounter and correspondence leading up to my surgery, whether it be any question I had or talking about my medical history. I was looking forward to making this clinic my new dentist office.
That is, until today.
I had made it very clear in my health history that I have extreme anxiety and PTSD at the dentist - making note that even for a simple dentist appointment, I had to be given anti anxiety drugs prior so that I didn't have a panic attack. I had also made it very clear that I have an autoimmune disease, which was part of the reason I had such high anxiety, with having been hospitalized several times throughout my life.
I was not given anything prior to the appointment to take to help ease this. I filled out every piece of paper (or so I thought) prior to my appointment to hopefully make this as smooth sailing as I could. Upon arrival, I was given more paperwork with health history and allergies to medications. Once taken back, I was asked for the third time what my medical history was and what I was allergic to - I felt that none of this was paid attention to until the time of appointment. By the time my blood pressure cuff was on, my BP was 177/122. - it is typically 105/85, so this was a pretty clear indicator I was having an anxiety attack. The doctor actually told me that he "wished they could've caught my autoimmune disease at birth"...not possible since my beta cells worked until I was 8, which is when my body started recognizing them as a virus and attacking them, hence giving me my autoimmune disease. It isn't something you're just "born with".
I am currently sitting in the emergency room. I had called back to let the clinic know that my pain was severe. I couldn't eat or drink. Which is something I have to do being type 1 diabetic. Also, the doctor and his assistant Jen should have been aware that a immense amount of pain can increase your cortisol levels, which directly impact your blood sugar - causing them to be high, which can cause DKA and lead to insulin resistance which can lead to death. When speaking to his assistant Jen, I was just told that "this is what they give patients for pain" and that I could take over the counter Tylenol.
People are not numbers. Everyone's pain level is different. Some of us have autoimmune conditions that directly affect the ability to heal and are directly affected by pain level and the hormone it secrets. None of us should be treated "the same" as every other patient when we are all individual. I am very disappointed at the lack of compassionate care towards patients. This has now turned into a much larger, life threatening condition due to the inability to adjust a patient care plan to the individual. read more