My experience with UVM gynecology has been, without a doubt, the most frustrating and…read moreunprofessional experience I have ever had with any doctor. I was seen by Lindsey Pileika for intense period cramps I'd been having since I was twelve. I am a trans man, who'd been on testosterone for approximately a year and a half, which has helped to mitigate the most intense cramping, but I was still worried that there might be a potentially dangerous underlaying cause to the excruciating pain, and so I went into the office to see if the doctor had any idea what might be causing it.
First off, at no point was Dr. Lindsey concerned about the cause. I mentioned that I was less interested in being on birth control (not something I currently need) and more interested in why this was happening. She dismissed all of those concerns without even discussing them and did not seem like she had any knowledge about the why. Instead, she spent the entire visit attempting to push me to get a birth control arm implant, right there, right then, emphasizing that she could do it on the spot. Nice. Wasn't something I expressed any interest in, nor was it anywhere in my reasons for visiting, and I'm not the kind of person who just randomly gets a five-year implant twenty minutes after first learning about it, so I'm not sure what she was trying to achieve. I left the visit with zero answers, somewhat frustrated, but not quite one-star frustrated.
About a week later I then received a message from my primary care doctor, informing me she'd received a call from Dr. Lindsey, during which Dr. Lindsey suggested that the period pain I'd been having for nearly seven years, was being caused by the testosterone I'd been one for only one. She also wanted me to get my blood re-drawn to check my levels. What??
My primary care provider was highly confused, given that Dr. Lindsey was implying the testosterone had increased my cramping, which my PCP knew it hadn't. She attempted to ask if Dr. Lindsey had confirmed if the cramping was a new symptom, and she said that Dr. Lindsey, "avoided the question." At no point during my visit did Dr. Lindsey suggest that the testosterone might be the cause of the cramping, or even a concern at all. During the phone call, Dr. Lindsey also suggested that the testosterone was causing heavy bleeding, which is not a symptom I've ever had. Aside from the diagnosis being blatantly incorrect to the point of including incorrect symptoms, at no point did Dr. Lindsey attempt to contact me regarding this decision. Had she done so, I could've easily pointed out how ridiculous that suggestion was, but instead when I reached out to the office, it took multiple days for her to get back to me, at which point I'd already gotten the blood drawn so we could see that my testosterone levels were (surprise, surprise) completely fine. I might've forgiven her if I'd been contacted first, but instead she went straight over my head and tried to hand my PCP incorrect information, causing a mess, and forcing me to waste my time getting my blood drawn for no reason at seven thirty am on a Monday morning. Delightful. I don't think I've ever been more frustrated with a doctor in my life.
After my lab results came back Dr. Lindsey called me in a panic and attempted to apologize, chalking the issue up to 'communication issues' (the office has had my contact information the entire time), and then attempted to suggest that I hadn't told her how long I'd been having cramps for during my initial visit. However, I went with my partner, and a checklist of things I wanted to talk about, and not only did I detail how long I'd been having the cramps for, my partner did as well. But I guess that little piece of information wasn't important enough to include in her notes.
I'm actually in the process of attempting to find somewhere to report her for adding symptoms I've never had and for the blatant misdiagnosis, but in the meantime, this review will have to do. If you want a birth control arm implant same day, Dr. Lindsey can do it for you. If you want anything else, I suggest going literally anywhere else. I'm now down forty dollars and two hours of my life thanks to a pointless blood draw, and both my time, and the time of my PCP has been wasted. I have no idea if the other doctors are better, but I certainly will not be wasting my time trying to find out. Never returning to this facility, and I don't recommend you go here either. Shout out to the lady who picked up the phone when I called the office to ask what the heck was going on, who said that the situation was ridiculous. Not a clue who you are, but I don't think I could summarize it better if I tried.
