How you know your doctor is a quack.

Went to the allergist today to get tested for bee sting allergy. It was supposed to take 3 hours. It only took 45 minutes. Here is why:

Dr. A is from Argentina. This was who my assigned allergy "specialist" was. He came in the room, after the nurse took my blood pressure, and asked me why I was there. I explained I was there to be tested for allergy to bee stings.

Dr. A: Have you been stung before?
me: No.
Dr. A: (rolls his eyes and writes in his chart). Are you sure?
me: Yes.
Dr. A: Why do you think you need to be tested?
me: My biological mother is allergic and has to carry medicine with her in case she gets stung.
Dr. A: Did she tell you this?
me: No, I'm adopted.
Dr. A: So someone said this to you.
me: No, it's in my medical history.
Dr. A: I see. (laughs at me) Well just because she was allergic doesn't mean you are.
me: Are you sure?
Dr. A: Allergies aren't hereditary.

This is where I'll stop and point out that my husband is allergic to many of the same things his siblings and parents are allergic to. Also, if you do a google search for "are allergies hereditary" you get lots of medical websites stating that they ARE in fact hereditary! (Sign 1 my doc is a quack) Let's continue:

Dr. A: You don't need to be afraid to get stung. Besides, if we were to test you today, the results would be meaningless. If we took 100 people off the street and tested them for bee allergy, 30 of them would have a severe reaction. But it's meaningless if you haven't been stung and had a reaction already. So don't worry if you get stung. It's perfectly normal to have the area swell. So, if you get stung on the arm, even if your whole arm swells up, this is perfectly normal. It's not a severe reaction unless you get hives all over your body or you can't breathe.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! I'm pretty sure it is not normal for your entire arm to swell up if you get stung by a bee! Also, he's saying that 30% of people could have a severe reaction to bee stings, but that isn't relevant if they haven't been stung already. Is this making sense to anyone else? What if I'm in that 30%? How will we know? Oh, yeah, I have to get stung first. And, if I do have a severe reaction like I stop breathing I really hope there is someone standing next to me ready to call 911 or something!

Continue on:

Dr. A: Next time, rather than make an appointment, just call me if you have any concerns. Don't bother coming in. (stands up and walks out the door. Nice dismissal, huh?)

I spent 45 minutes at Dr. A's office. I paid $20 to have them take my blood pressure (which was 120/70, in case you wanted to know. It was 114/72 last week. I could've told them it was good, but then I would have paid $20 for nothing!)

I'm just a little irritated. Can you tell? Yeah, kinda really mad, and almost positive that Mr. A from Argentina is not a real doctor.

Luckily, Mike's family's doctor, Dr. J, is an allergy specialist and will test you no problem (according to Ringmaster J who had her son tested just to see). Hopefully he takes my insurance!