Germany Doctor Questions

animalzoop

HI All,

I wasn't sure where to ask this. I've got pretty severe PCOS--doctor said my hormones were "confused"--and he's recommending a laposcropy for that and endometriosis. I haven't been on metformin for a while and would rather try that first. Have any of the Germany-based women find that German doctors like to do surgery? He seemed too quick to do it and I'm not sure if it's specific to him or to German doctors in general. I'm thinking about getting a second opinion just in case it's the latter. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

mawinter

My experience has been the opposite while living here. Doctors seem to want to cut you open as a last resort, even when you are suffering badly in pain.
I have a prolapsed disc pushing on my sciatic nerve after a messed up appendix removal that they still refuse to fix.
Before they would go in and remove scar tissue (related to the appendix surgery), they did every sort of test left and right under the sun before finally agreeing to cut me open and look inside. Two years and many tests later what did they find? The scar tissue I said they would!
I was also left to suffer for years with problems in my arms, finally 6 years after, surgery was done and now that it is not fixed they insist it should be and you guessed it more testing is needed. I give up!
They suspect I have endo, but have not done a damn thing about it. 
One thing I have found with German doctors however is if you absolutely insist on something they will listen to you. So give it a go with asking for the meds and if he does not listen, seek a female doctor, as they seem to be more sympathetic to women here.

germanpickle

Lived in Germany for over 10 years and dealt with a number of health issues. It really depends on the doctor, who he/she is, where you are located, if you are private/krankenkasse, etc. I left the US when I was 22 so I'm not able to compare directly;.I will say that I've found second and third opinions necessary in most cases until I find a doctor that really suits me. It took me almost 7 years to find a Hausarzt but now that I have, I've noticed that I like her doctor recommendations.

When I was dealing with strange stomach problems, I went to a total of 7 doctors before I found one that took me seriously and was curious enough to work with me to discover the problem (food allergies) and create a long-term solution. There was one that REALLY wanted to go in and cut stuff out...I RAN from him, especially since I had no diagnosis at the time!

germanpickle

animalzoop - just saw how old this thread is, so I'm pinging you to make sure you get a notification.

traveling turtle

I agree with mawinter. The few German doctors I have met, and from what I know about German doctors, they are much less likely to recommend surgery. Get a second opinion. 

alm288

I've been living for over 9 years in Germany and have not had this experience. I say get a second opinion - but I would tell people in America the same thing. If anything, I find that some docs in Germany are overly cautious and a little over the top sometimes.