Y'know when you're just...frozen in shock?

[Eisa]

My podiatrist appointment this afternoon would be one of those times.

And also, thank goodness my mom was with me.

Anyways, so I was going to have surgery in WA, but that's fallen through 'cause of money. So my podiatrist said that his son is coming into the practice the end of June and maybe he can do it. So I went in today.

First off, we had to wait forever. Which is not their fault, I realize, but it wasn't exactly putting me in the best of moods. Then he came in, put up my X-rays, and y'know, was talking about that and examining my foot.

A nurse came in because she needed his signature on a prescription. So he started talking about this other patient, her insurance needs and if they would pay for it, and the fact that she can't take...gabapentin, I think? because it gives her diarrhea. WE DO NOT NEED TO KNOW THIS. And I'm pretty sure he should not have said that in the freaking room. He said her name. Not her whole name, but her first name.

So he's talking about how I might need two surgeries on my right foot, but he wants to make sure I have the most range of motion possible. And he wants to lengthen my heel cord--which I am totally ok with by the way.

But...this would be where the frozen in shock part comes in. He apparently decided that he wanted to numb the joints on one side of my right foot to see if I could walk better. Does he ask me if that's ok? No. Does he prepare me for what he's going to do? No. Does he even tell me wtf he's putting in my foot? NO.

He just decides to spray some cold stuff on the side of my foot, grab the fucking needle, and plunge it in. I almost screamed. I have a needle phobia, by the way. It didn't hurt TERRIBLY much, but it did because of the OMG what the fuck are you doing?! aspect. I was just...kind of in shock, really, and by the time that passed, he was already putting stuff in my foot. Three little vials of Gawd-knows-what.

And then told me to wait 5 minutes and then go walk to the end of the block and back. So I did...and like I said, thank God my mom was with me. She's a CNA, too, so she knows how to assist people in walking. Which is good because I looked like I was drunk or something, my foot kept bending weird and actually, my whole leg is bending weird when I walk now. It feels really odd. Not painful, just...odd.

Got back and he was talking more about it and how he can now bend my foot like randomly all over the place and asking how it feels...it's supposed to wear off in 4 or so hours. And then talking about his son coming in, and shows me some X-rays of a patient his son worked on who had part of his foot amputated. Um...I get that I have NO idea who that patient is, and ONLY saw 2 X-rays, but doesn't that break confidentiality or something?

So yeah. I'm not happy right now. My foot still feels weird and I don't like walking around 'cause I'm afraid I'll fall down. My leg also feels weird and has random pain twinges that I'm not happy about. And my mom said he broke HIPAA rules, too? Maybe? I don't know. But just...WHAT THE FUCK.

[MaggieTheCat]

I'm no doctor or any other medical professional, but it sounds like he was breaking HIPAA rules, or at least getting very close. I used to work in a pet pharmacy (we'd fill prescriptions written by veterinarians for peoples' pets) and we weren't allowed to talk about a script to anyone except the owner of the pet. If the vet wrote that the owner was Mary Smith, and Mary's husband John Smith called to ask some details about the script, we weren't allowed to discuss it with him. Unless, of course, the script had the owner listed as "Mary and John Smith" or something. But if only one name was on the script, that was the ONLY person we could talk to. If the rules are so strict with pet scripts, I can't imagine they're any more lenient with humans.

Either way, what he did is totally NOT ACCEPTABLE. Doing something to you without your consent or even informing you of what he was doing? No. No way. As soon as he started messing with my foot, I would've been walking out of that office and filing a complaint with...whoever you file complaints about doctors to. I would not go back to him. I've read some of your posts about your foot problems, and I really hope you can get some kind of assistance or relief somewhere. But this guy does not sound like the guy you want to be trusting your feet/legs to.

[Amina516]

I gotta also go with unacceptable. If youre do go back to him, lay it out, how its going to be and how he was unacceptable. Or dont go back. He may be just outta medical school, but he still shouldnt act like an ass.

You could also tell his father on him.

[Eisa]

Maggie--for some reason, I was hoping that you could only tell anything about the scripts to the PETS...and how funny that would be... But yeah, I also think that it skirts way too close for comfort, if not outright breaks it.

I didn't think of it that way until later. But yeah. He did do it without my consent and without explaining it whatsoever. If he'd just ASKED already, I probably would have been fine with it. Not just "here lemme jam this needle into your foot and numb it for you."


Amina--Sadly, this WAS the father. His son doesn't get here until the end of June. And my doctor/his dad has been in practice since the '70s and did this. I'm starting to wonder if he's losing some of his erm...faculties, because he's done a lot of dumb stuff like forgetting what happened at the last appointment and stuff like that.


And the really annoying thing now is that he said the numbing would wear off after about 4 hours. That was...oh...7 hours ago? Yeah, my foot is STILL numb. It has worn off a little bit, and is actually throbbing with pain in areas, but it is STILL FUCKING NUMB. Not to mention that the numbing extended to most of my toes and up my ankle, I discovered when pressing on it. I have also noticed that I have a dark purple bruise right around the injection site and more...reddish-purple bruising? in a giant splotch extending across my foot. Since he, y'know, wiggled the needle around in my foot.

And it's pissing me off because my mom was right there, is outraged that he pulled this stunt...and still says that no, I shouldn't even think of reporting him because he's "such a nice man." Yes, he is, I have no quarrel with that. He's an incompetent doctor, though. And I think it's a damn good thing his son is coming to help him, since it sounds like he REALLY needs the help.

My mom was also saying that I should lie and tell him that my bf proposed to me or something and that I'm moving to the East Coast. Rather than tell him the truth that what he did was unacceptable and that I don't want him or his son near my feet. What the hell is wrong with telling him the truth? I'm not going to lie to him just to spare his feelings! I don't wanna be a bitch, of course, but I can't see how I should spare the feelings of a doctor who really fucked up.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

o__o I would have freaked at the sight of the needle, and gone "What joo talkin' 'bout FOO??!" Or shrieked and jerked and moved/rolled away as quickly as possible once the needle got in.
That's questionable at best.

[chainedbarista]

potential hippa violations, questionable practices (sounds like he hit a nerve in your foot maybe??), bedside manner of a troll and a wait longer than an er room? get thee to another doctor, posthaste (if possible, that is)>

[Eisa]

He might have hit a nerve or something, I don't know...he said he wanted to numb the joint(s) on that side.

Attaching a bad picture of my foot bruise...not happy right now, that's a pretty big splotch right thar. Although I realize it's a really shitty picture 'cause it's with my cell phone, and there isn't very good light in this apartment.

[jedimaster91]

A nurse came in because she needed his signature on a prescription. So he started talking about this other patient, her insurance needs and if they would pay for it, and the fact that she can't take...gabapentin, I think? because it gives her diarrhea. WE DO NOT NEED TO KNOW THIS. And I'm pretty sure he should not have said that in the freaking room. He said her name. Not her whole name, but her first name.

Definitely a HIPAA violation.

And then talking about his son coming in, and shows me some X-rays of a patient his son worked on who had part of his foot amputated. Um...I get that I have NO idea who that patient is, and ONLY saw 2 X-rays, but doesn't that break confidentiality or something?

Probably not a HIPAA violation as long as there is no identifying patient information. We show each other old/interesting scans all the time (with all patient info removed of course). I even brought one to school once. One place I work at even has a folder for odd or interesting films.

[Sapphire Silk]

He broke HIPPA. He discussed patient identifiable information in front of a third party who did not have permission to have that information.

He should not have injected you without telling you what he was going to do and give you anything without telling you what he was doing and giving you.

[JambaBamba]

And it's pissing me off because my mom was right there, is outraged that he pulled this stunt...and still says that no, I shouldn't even think of reporting him because he's "such a nice man." Yes, he is, I have no quarrel with that. He's an incompetent doctor, though. And I think it's a damn good thing his son is coming to help him, since it sounds like he REALLY needs the help.

My mom was also saying that I should lie and tell him that my bf proposed to me or something and that I'm moving to the East Coast. Rather than tell him the truth that what he did was unacceptable and that I don't want him or his son near my feet. What the hell is wrong with telling him the truth? I'm not going to lie to him just to spare his feelings! I don't wanna be a bitch, of course, but I can't see how I should spare the feelings of a doctor who really fucked up.

You need to at least write a letter to him and explain why you're never going back. And I'd send one to the state medical board or whatever as well. Ok, so he's such a nice man but what happens if he keeps doing this kind of stuff and then somewhere down the line some poor kid gets a needle broken off in their foot because of him? Or he seriously injures someone's nerves?

Maybe he was just having an off day. It happens. He still needs to know that he did something wrong (since he doesn't seem aware of it). But what if it wasn't a one time thing? What if he is getting sloppy with the amount of whateverthatwas that he put in your foot? That's why you need to let the board know. You shouldn't have had to deal with an inconsiderate doctor like that. By speaking up you can hopefully keep someone else from having to deal with the same thing or even worse.

[Treasure]

what if you had been allergic to the med? or just 1 ingredient in it? and he didn't discuss with you what he was doing, so you couldn't possibly warn him - that what he is about to do might not be a great idea?

that is a lawsuit begging to happen - just because you didn't have a reaction, doesn't meant someone else won't....

you're mom is being blind, you need to say something to someone - if not to the dr directly, then to the medical board, or something.

[Eisa]

My friend also mentioned how very lucky he was that I just froze. What if it had startled me so I'd kicked out? I would have kicked him in the face. And Gawd knows where the needle would have ended up...and I also worried a lot about what if I have a reaction. I'm not allergic to many medications, but I am allergic/have bad reactions to a couple.

I do think I need to report it. My mom's being an idiot. Him being a nice man has nothing to do with the stupid shit he did. I suppose it could be a mitigating factor that he wasn't trying to do it all on purpose, but...that's it.

Oh, and the numbness finally wore off overnight. So after more than 12 hours, when he said it would only take 4. It also hurts badly to have any sort of pressure put on that side of my foot, AND it hurts to walk. A lot.

Does anyone know/have any links to/an idea of how to report it? Like I understand if I just talk to him, but if I wanted to report it to anyone else, who would it be exactly? Is there like some sort of podiatrists' board?

[sevendaysky]

The last time I saw a podiatrist for some severe foot pain (plantar fascitis according to her) she wanted to do cortisone injections. Had two rounds over a couple months. That numbing stuff is just... strange. It's cold, and just... evaporates or something... and my podiatrist did wriggle the needle around in my foot, but she explained that she was doing that to kind of push the cortisone down different nerve channels to help maximize the relaxation of the muscle.

For me, it still felt a little numb a couple hours later, and then a little sore, but by the next morning, my foot felt SO much better, for about 2-1/2 weeks for each round. Sadly, I will probably also require surgery because it's six months later and I still have trouble getting around.

I would honestly check with your state's medical board and put in a formal complaint about both his manner (not telling you what he was doing, perhaps performing the injection improperly) and questionable ethical violations (mentioning other people's scripts/X-rays, etc in front of you/your mother). They will be able to guide you in how to proceed from there.

[Seshat]

Seconding your state's medical board. If you have trouble finding them, contact your state's medical university - their reception staff are likely to have the number for the medical board, or at least be able to tell you the correct name to look up.

He may be a nice guy, but he's currently a dangerous doctor. He may only need a bit of retraining; which the medical board is quite capable of organising. Or he may need to be encouraged to retire. (Also something they're capable of doing.)

[teh_blumchenkinder]

http://bom.idaho.gov/BOMPortal/Home.aspx
BAM
I feel awful that you had to wait that long for it to right itself!