Ugh! Doctor Vent

[robbie3982]

I''ve been having this problem recently where my lips start to turn a dark purplish black. It looks like I took lipliner in that color and drew a line from the corners of my bottom lip and it usually goes about an inch, maybe more, from each side. I feel fine when it happens, but it''s happened twice in the last week or so and when it happened yesterday the in-laws (SIL is a nurse) all told me I should see a doctor even though I feel fine.

Sounds simple enough, right? Just call a doctor schedule an appointment and find out what''s wrong.

First doctor who was recommended isn''t covered by my insurance. Second doctor who was recommended is covered, but when I called I just get a message to leave my name, number and birthdate and they''ll call me back. No idea if they''re even taking new patients. I left a message over 2 hrs ago and haven''t heard anything. Third doctor who was recommended works with the first (who is supposed to be excellent) and is covered by my insurance. I call to schedule an appointment and they told me that I have to physically bring in my insurance card and fill out paper work BEFORE they''ll even schedule an appointment for me. They''re only open until 4:30. They won''t allow me to fax my card over. It has to be brought in in person. Are you freaking kidding me?!

UGH! I HATE doctors.

Vent over.

 

[sumbride]

Wow, that''s ridiculous. And that''s exactly why I haven''t found a new Primary care doc. I left one of those messages months ago and they never called back. I ended up just going to an urgent care center that also does primary care. Do you have anything like that around you? I''d definitely try and call a few more doctors... if it''s always this hard to get in, what if you''re in physical pain and can''t get in?

The lip thing sounds very odd. Be sure to tell us what it is when you know (and of course if you want to) because now I''m very curious.

 

[robbie3982]

We have an urgent care right by my house, but I have a $50 urgent care copay and only a $30 regular office visit copay so if I can, I''d like to try to go there. Plus I''d really like to have a good doctor that knows my history. I haven''t had that in a while.

My mother-in-law is convinced it means I''m anemic, which is possible since I''ve cut out almost all red meat from my diet recently since I''m trying to eat healthier. It wasn''t really on purpose, but the only red meat I was eating was ground beef and we switched to ground turkey breast since it''s so much healthier. I''ve been taking a multi-vitamin and haven''t had any other symptoms (looked them up online) though.

SIL seemed to think it meant I''m not getting enough oxygen, but that could be caused by a lot of things so who knows.

My GYN just did a bunch of blood work in March and she said everything came back fine, but I''m not really sure what she tested for.

I just checked and it''s happening again, though not as bad as yesterday. My nail beds are kinda purpley too and my fingers are pretty cold. Maybe I just have poor circulation?

 

[DIAMOND*QUEST]

From what you describe it sounds like Reynaud''s phenomenon. I hope you find a doctor soon. That''s ridiculous that you would have to physically present your card.

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 5/12/2008 12:07:35 PM
Author: DIAMOND*QUEST
From what you describe it sounds like Reynaud''s phenomenon. I hope you find a doctor soon. That''s ridiculous that you would have to physically present your card.

Hmmm, I don''t think that''s it. I searched for it and it looks like it would be more like my fingers instead of my nailbeds. Who knows though. Still no call back from the doctor.

 

[Independent Gal]

I have Reynaud''s in my toes and that doesn''t sound right to me either!

Poor Robbie.

 

[robbie3982]

It sounds like Cyanosis http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003215.htm

Not that that tells me very much since the causes of cyanosis are pretty varied according to this site.

 

[icekid]

It doesn''t sound like Raynaud''s nor cyanosis to me. Robbie, if you were cyanotic it wouldn''t be limited to your lips. But I actually can''t come up with any reasonable explanation; never heard of anything like that before.

If the doctor''s office does not call back, please call them yourself. Or call another office. Be proactive.

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 5/12/2008 2:18:24 PM
Author: icekid
It doesn''t sound like Raynaud''s nor cyanosis to me. Robbie, if you were cyanotic it wouldn''t be limited to your lips. But I actually can''t come up with any reasonable explanation; never heard of anything like that before.

If the doctor''s office does not call back, please call them yourself. Or call another office. Be proactive.

I''ve called a bunch of times. Every option just leads you to a machine. I''ve called 3 other doctors who''ve been recommended. One cant'' get me in til October, once said July and the other said 4 weeks. I don''t know if it''s a good idea to wait 4 weeks seeing as how I don''t know what it is or if it''s serious. I might just have to suck it up and pay the $50 for urgent care. Grrr.

I think I''ll call Sabine''s FI after work (he''s a 3rd year med student) and see if he thinks it''s something that can wait 4 weeks for an appointment or if I should go to UC.

I think it''s so ridiculous that no one will see me any sooner. Even after I explain the problem! UGH!

 

[dragonfly411]

Personally, twenty dollars difference with immediate help would be my choice. If the other doctor''s offices are that unresponsive then I would get my happy butt to the Urgent Care Center.

 

[icekid]

Date: 5/12/2008 2:41:56 PM
Author: robbie3982

Date: 5/12/2008 2:18:24 PM
Author: icekid
It doesn''t sound like Raynaud''s nor cyanosis to me. Robbie, if you were cyanotic it wouldn''t be limited to your lips. But I actually can''t come up with any reasonable explanation; never heard of anything like that before.

If the doctor''s office does not call back, please call them yourself. Or call another office. Be proactive.

I''ve called a bunch of times. Every option just leads you to a machine. I''ve called 3 other doctors who''ve been recommended. One cant'' get me in til October, once said July and the other said 4 weeks. I don''t know if it''s a good idea to wait 4 weeks seeing as how I don''t know what it is or if it''s serious. I might just have to suck it up and pay the $50 for urgent care. Grrr.

I think I''ll call Sabine''s FI after work (he''s a 3rd year med student) and see if he thinks it''s something that can wait 4 weeks for an appointment or if I should go to UC.

I think it''s so ridiculous that no one will see me any sooner. Even after I explain the problem! UGH!

I''m a 4th year med student, aka dr in 2 weeks

I don''t think it''s anything serious especially if you have no other symptoms other than your lips randomly turning purple (and assuming you''re already healthy). Of course, should you suddenly get worse or symptoms change, I''d say see someone ASAP.

You can''t get an actual person on the phone? Are you calling during office hours? Most doctors want a full visit for your first time, to get a full thorough history. Thus, more difficult to get b/c they can take up a lot of time. However, they usually also have "same day" visits for people who are acutely ill. I don''t have any experience w/ the Urgent Care clinics, but I kind of doubt that sort of place will help you get to the bottom of what seems to be an unusual problem. Do you have a hospital system nearby w/ a medical school? Pitt, maybe? (I think I recall that''s where you''re from.) They are usually able to get you in more quickly.

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 5/12/2008 3:46:42 PM
Author: icekid

I''m a 4th year med student, aka dr in 2 weeks

I don''t think it''s anything serious especially if you have no other symptoms other than your lips randomly turning purple (and assuming you''re already healthy). Of course, should you suddenly get worse or symptoms change, I''d say see someone ASAP.

You can''t get an actual person on the phone? Are you calling during office hours? Most doctors want a full visit for your first time, to get a full thorough history. Thus, more difficult to get b/c they can take up a lot of time. However, they usually also have ''same day'' visits for people who are acutely ill. I don''t have any experience w/ the Urgent Care clinics, but I kind of doubt that sort of place will help you get to the bottom of what seems to be an unusual problem. Do you have a hospital system nearby w/ a medical school? Pitt, maybe? (I think I recall that''s where you''re from.) They are usually able to get you in more quickly.

Congrats on almost being a doctor! Any symptoms in particular to watch out for?

At the place I left a message I''m unable to get anyone on the phone. All options lead you to a voicemail box (different ones depending on the option you select) which I think is weird since it''s during office hours and if you call when it''s not office hours it just tells you to call back during office hours (so that you can speak to a machine apparently...). For the other places, I spoke to people. Pitt''s a good 30 minutes away from me assuming no horrible traffic so I don''t know if I want to find a PCP who''s all the way down there.

Do you think 4 weeks is too long to wait?

 

[lisa1.01fvs1]

HEY I JUST WATCHED A PROGRAM ON THIS PHENOMENON ON TLC

I think its called coldaglutinen (sp) disease or something sounding very similar. Like reynauds or an autoimmune response thing. VERY RARE.

This poor guy turned blue in the face and it went away and then came back - Docs told
him to get out of cold environments.

He moved to FL but slowly he continued to turn blue until his feet were necrotic and he was desperate.

He finally went to an oncologist who then correctly DX him w/ a spleen cyst that was then removed.

Apparently the guy had been exposed to some parasites abroad and got infected. His spleen continued to scar however.

Anyway, it wasn''t coldaglutinen (sp) disease afterall but had all the hallmarks!

Phew, glad to get that off my chest. And to think I thought "senior moments" was taking root!

Sorry if this scared anyone but when I read OP turned blue well that started the bells ringing.

Hope u get this figured out soon!

 

[lisa1.01fvs1]

Hey found a great article on it!

Wasn''t that off in the spelling....

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cold-agglutinin/AN00400

 

[diamondfan]

Please get it checked. I have no idea what it could be, but do not mess with your health. $20.00 is not too much more to spend, get yourself in and save yourself the aggravation of calling multiple times and getting nowhere.

 

[monarch64]

I agree with SDL. Call and keep talking until you get someone on the phone who is going to at least talk to you and make an appointment for you! I have learned (and this might pi$$ people off here in the medical profession) that persistance is key. You have every right to be seen, you and your insurance company are paying the healthcare field so that you HAVE this right, unfortunately. A young woman such as yourself who is experiencing something this disconcerting should be able to be seen as soon as possible. I''m sorry to hear you are struggling to even get an appointment. Hope you are able to get in quickly!

 

[robbie3982]

Thanks for the concern everyone!

Lisa, I really hope it''s not what you posted! Chemo?! Yikes!

. I think whatever I have does have some connection to cold though. I definitely haven''t been exposed to any extreme temperatures, but I have noticed that I tend to feel chilled (even though it''s usually over 70 in the office) when it happens.

DF, I was able to get an appointment for a week from Tuesday. I called Sabine''s FI, he asked me if I had a bunch of symptoms, none of which I had, so he said it probably wouldn''t hurt to wait the 4 weeks for an appointment. He recommended a local doctor that he did a rotation with though and he was able to get me in in just 2. It''s not even the extra $20 that bothers me so much about Urgent Care. It would really bother me to not have something like this in a file with a PCP. I mean, this alone might be nothing, but maybe 2 months from now I''ll have something else and the 2 things together will mean something. I don''t know, I just really wanted to have a regular doctor who knows my history.

SDL, I think it''s ridiculous too. Apparently at least one of their doctors is supposed to be VERY good so I guess they think they can do whatever they want.

. My mom goes there and she had told me the doctor didn''t have a good bedside manner, but she was excellent so it made up for it (kinda like House I guess?) so I expected the doctor to be kinda rude, but not everyone else! The woman who scheduled my appointment at the place I''m going was very nice.

Thanks monarch. All of this is so draining especially now that I''m sick (99.9% sure it''s unrelated to the blue/purple lips/nails and is just a really bad head cold since everyone at work and DH have had something similar in the last few weeks).

I''ll keep you guys updated on what I find out on the 27th.