I was familiar with Dr. Colliton's office (I saw her in the Hartford office) because I had been a patient of Dr. Wiseman's and Maxine Costa. My family doctor referred me to Dr. Colliton because unlike the other doctors in the practice, she handles hysterectomy. She seemed to be well prepared for my appointment based on her knowledge of my medical history and test results. I wish I could say she helped me, but I was never able to relax during my appointment. I was on edge the whole time and on top of that I left feeling insulted by her.
I told her that I had previously seen a radiologist about uterine fibroid embolization, a procedure that can help shrink fibroids. I was told I wasn't a good candidate for that because of my allergy to aspirin and anti-inflammatory drugs. She said that they probably could have done the procedure but given me other drugs as a substitute. Then, right away she shifted to pushing a hysterectomy on me, but not just that, a full old fashioned one, complete with an incision from belly button straight down (the worst kind, from what I 've read). She told me my uterus was too big to do a "bikini cut" or laproscopic procedures. First of all, if she gave me the impression that uterine artery embolization might have been a possibility, why did she push complete hysterectomy on me? And why the old fashioned kind? I have read of many new laproscopic procedures that can handle a larger uterus (size of a 4 month preg.). Perhaps she just doesn't have the expertise to handle that or doesn't know anyone who can, but that's still no reason to push me into an old fashioned procedure right from the outset.
On top of that, she indicated in passing (and this was news to me) that my fibroids had actually shrunk a little bit since my previous tests - This information was critical to me because I had been told that they would probably shrink anyway after menopause. If they are now in the process of shrinking, why push hysterectomy on me when they might be going down by themselves?
Then to add insult to injury, I did not like her attitude about my weight. I told her that my foot and leg swelling had gotten worse with my weight gain and that if I could lose 25 lbs. I would not even need to deal with the fibroids. I am a size 16 right now, by the way. I told her that since menopause it seemed like absolutely nothing I did, despite trying several different diet and exercise programs, would help me lose weight or even prevent me from gaining weight. I told her that I was very educated about diet and exercise and that even on 1200 calories a day with exercise, I have not been not able to lose weight anymore, while this did work for me before menopause. I explained to her that this was a condition that ran on my mother's side of the family since it happened to both her, my grandmother and my great grandmother. In spite of that I had the impression that she did not believe me and presumed that I am chowing down on large portions of fattening food, which is NOT the case. She kept saying, "I just don't want you to give up on yourself". Well, DUH, why would I be there looking for help if I was giving up on myself?
Sorry, but I am just sick and tired of doctors copping attitudes like this, especially skinny doctors who have no clue what it's like to have a weight problem and presume that you're doing something wrong. It just chaps me when she probably eats twice what I eat and looks like a twig. If she doesn't have the answer for me, or doesn't want to help me, just act compassionate and suggest a doctor supervised diet program or nutritionist, don't act judgmental and skeptical and do nothing but push a hysterectomy on me. She really insulted me with her facial expressions and attitude. In the process she said, to me "Well, you're heavy", as if to say, what can I expect? I have never ever been called "heavy" by anyone before in my entire life, let alone with that kind of insulting insinuation. I left angry at her and feeling like she was blaming me for everything.
In the end, she told me that her office would be contacting me to set up an initial consultation with a surgeon to discuss my issues. I told her that I have a lot of sensitivities to medications. She told me that there were "work around" solutions for those and not to worry about that. This did help me. She recommended a therapist who helps people with fears about surgery, which helped me although I never made the appointment. She also told me that there is now a Tylenol in IV form, which helped me as I did not know that. Unfortunately despite all of this, I left feeling put down and insulted. I realize that female doctors are a strange breed and often have all the bedside manner of a stone, but I have to say that I have felt much better treated by Dr. Wiseman and Maxine, their nurse practitioner. And by the way, I never heard from her office about any appointment. I wish I could get my money back.
by Ronnie
xxx.xxx.231.92
March 21, 2013