QUESTION: I wish I could get an appointment with you just to sit down and talk about my problem, because my own doctor won't.
I am having severe problems with my heart and digestion, and sometimes cannot catch my breath. Instead of dealing with my physical problems, my doctor keeps directing his attention to all types of emotional situations.
Please tell him he is wrong and to pay more attention to me.
ANSWER: I have had to select just a few important sentences from your 8 page letter, but I would like to help you and the many other readers who are experiencing similar problems with themselves and their physician's approach to their problem.
It is pretty clear to me that you are a person who is suffering with a problem you don't quite understand, and feel a bit frustrated that the physician is not dealing with the problems you think you have.
From your long list of complaints that include your stomach, your heart and lungs, your bladder and bowels, and your nerves, it is clear that your problem is a general one that can most probably be related to emotions or, if you will, a psychological problem.
Now, this is not the first diagnosis that must be considered in cases such as yours.
Rather, a complete but delicate consideration of all the possible physical causes of your complaints must be carried through with the laboratory and clinical evaluations that can help to clarify your situation, for anxiety disorders (yes, that is what I think your problem is) can take many forms, and can indeed be provoked by many factors. But your physician by your own account has done just this, and his evaluation has now focused his attention on your problems as they affect your life style. His prescription for "tranquilizers" which you dismiss as being an easy way out is just a beginning of therapy, and the choice he has made for your specific case shows a great deal of insight and thought has gone into the selection.
All tranquilizers are not the same, and until your fears and doubts can be reduced, it is difficult to move forward.
Many other people do have similar problems, and your doctor's statement that he has had success before and his willingness to continue to see you, demonstrates his real concern for your welfare.
When a doctor takes the time to carefully seek out the physical causes for anxiety, prescribe appropriately while continuing ongoing care, and is taking the time to spend with you (no, I don't think a half hour visit is a "brush off"), then you have found a conscientious physician, who can help you if you but give him a chance.
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.
