Chronic Pain and My Experience With Doctors
I have been trying to find the root cause of my headaches for over 3 years and have seen over a dozen specialists- from neurosurgeon, neurologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, and the list goes on. Seeing so many doctors has taught me so much about different fields of medicine and the overall medical system. I can classify these doctors into two different groups- the doctors who understand and the doctors who do not. Most of the doctors I have seen, regardless of specialty, have understood my chronic pain condition and never questioned if it was real. Although I have not found anything that relieves my pain, these doctors have been very helpful by trying to help find the root cause. They are empathetic and do not undermine my condition because it is “invisible” and because nothing shows up on the medical tests.
However, I have seen 1-2 doctors who did not understand my condition at all. One instance is when I saw an opthamologist to determine if the root cause correlated with my eyes. When this cause was ruled out and I told him more information about my headaches, the doctor said it was normal for teens to go through something and to “just take some tylenol and go back to school.” At first, I was upset that someone, especially a doctor, would tell me that. I have received similar comments from kids at school or other people I told, but never from a doctor. Overtime, I just accepted that chronic pain and headaches are not their specialty and they do not know what I go through everyday. Chronic pain is not a subject that is talked much about and many people don't know the severity of these conditions. It is hard when your condition is not a physical injury that can be seen because you feel like it is all in your head. I had to learn that I should not be questioning what I am feeling and that my pain condition is real.
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