Would give no stars, but you can't. Dr. McLaughlin was my PCP many years ago in Lexington. She was the type of doctor who was very dismissive of anything you reported. At the time, I was young and healthy with few medical problems; I thought about changing docs, but did not as location was convenient. Then I traveled to Guatemala as part of a volunteer healthcare team. We were in a third world country with little to no sanitation and much endemic disease. Several days after returning, I became violently ill, having nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. On the third day, I went to see Dr. McLaughlin. She asked me how many times per day I was throwing up, and suggested six as the answer. I said how about six times per hour; she looked at me as if she did not believe me. I have to tell you, if this happens to you (you are REALLY sick and the doc questions your veracity), RUN don't walk out of that office and find another doctor to see who will listen. She said drink fluids (duh) and prescribed antibiotics; I told her that I was unable to keep anything down, and would throw them right up. She told me to come back after the weekend if I did not feel better. I picked up the meds, took them, and promptly threw them up. This was Thursday. The weekend was more of the same. I recall observing that my urine output was diminishing over the weekend, and becoming amber colored (concentrated). By monday, I had not urinated in several days, however, at this point, one less trip to the bathroom was a relief. I saw the doctor again. I had to have my Dad drive me because I felt so bad. When she saw me, my heart rate was over 120 at rest ( this is a sign of distress). She remarked that it was a little high. She told me to keep drinking fluids. I lay on the exam table thinking "what part of this do you not get?". As my father drove me home, I thought, why can't I have IV fluids? I talked to my mom who is a nurse, and she suggested Gatorade to get electrolytes. After four days of not peeing, I finally started to pee a bit. It took me two weeks of misery before I could keep food down. I lost 15 pounds. I never went back to Dr McLaughlin. My insurance changed, and I had to pick a new Primary doc. I had had chronic diarrhea since this incident. When I told my new primary this story and that I not urinated for four days after being unable to eat or drink for a week, her chin dropped to her chest. She looked horrified. She said I was most likely in renal failure from dehydration, and that I could have died or ended up on dialysis. She said I was lucky to be young and strong. It was almost two years since this had happened. I know she was right. So don't go to Dr. McLaughlin for anything, even a hangnail. And don't make the mistake that I did, which was to obediently follow my doctor's advice when I knew it was not right. Dr McLaughlin never even asked me if my urine output was dropping; this is med student 101. She should have sent me to the ER; I needed to be admitted to the hospital for IV fluids and antibiotics. There are also these wonderful drugs called antiemetics which help with nausea. Honestly, I would have gotten better medical care from a third year med student, or a nurse.
This incident happened 20 years ago. I enjoyed good health for many years. Two years ago I developed pain in my left buttock which would not go away. It finally started to make me limp. Long story short, it took six months before a very attentive sports med doc ordered an MRI of my pelvis which revealed a malignant tumor. Two years later, after radiation treatment, chemo, and a bone marrow transplant, I am fortunate enough to be in remission. If you are going to a doctor like Dr McLaughlin who discounts your complaints, trust me, it would take a lot longer to get diagnosed. You don't want your cancer (or other) diagnosis to be delayed by a bad doctor. I have had three friends and relatives who repeatedly complained of significant complaints which were ignored. Two of them (men in their 40's) turned out to have lymphoma. The third had a brain tumor (my uncle). After multiple visits about it, he told the doctor, I think I have a brain tumor, and you need to order an MRI. Sadly, he was right, and died six months later. read more
