A Disappointment Appointment

Three years later, I went back to Dr. G. I described Dr. G in one of my other blog posts, Getting to the Bottom of the Matter. This was for my long-standing problem with hemorrhoids, an affliction I’ve had off and on my entire adult life. Dr. G was a colon & rectal surgeon who specializes in diseases of the anus and rectum.

The problem was re-appearing but not too seriously. Since I had a good experience with Dr. G before, I thought it would be good to….ahem…..nip it in the butt. So I called for an appointment. As before, the receptionist instructed me to take two of the store-bought Fleet enemas just prior to coming to the appointment.

My appointment was at 2:30 in the afternoon. So I left work at noon, went home, did my two enemas, took a shower, got dressed and left for Dr. G’s office. I had skipped lunch, anticipating that I would once again have a flexible sigmoidoscopy and would not want a fresh meal working its way through my system. His office had moved and was not nearly as nice or as comforting as his previous office. Unlike my previous appointment with Dr. G, the waiting room was packed with people. I thought, “OMG, I’ll be here until 7 o’clock tonight!”.

But it turns out that many of the people in the waiting room were companions of the patients, spouse, child, parent, friend, whatever. So, it moved along much more quickly than I feared. Still, the speed made me realize that there was no way that this would be a detailed, personalized appointment like my previous one with Dr. G. Even so, I waited at least an hour and fifteen minutes past my scheduled appointment time.

When my name was finally called, the nurse or medical assistant (I had an impression that it was not the same person that assisted in my previous appointment with Dr. G) brought me back. There were at least two examination rooms. She brought me into one of them, showed me the curtained area for disrobing, instructed me to strip from the waist down, sit on the examination table and cover myself with a drape. She said Dr. G would then be in shortly.

When the two of them re-entered, Dr. G briefly talked to me about my problem in a conversation that was less than a minute. He then told me to lie on my left side with my legs and knees drawn up. He or the nurse lifted the drape to expose my buttocks. Dr. G then did a visual examination forcefully spreading my buttocks to expose as much anal tissue as possible. He then did a digital rectal examination and anoscopy but no proctoscopy. He then quickly injected me for the sclerotherapy as he had done in the first appointment. He or the nurse wiped me and then told me to sit up.

Dr G then told me that I should schedule a colonoscopy with him. I said that I didn’t see the need – “I’m not even 40 years old yet and have no colon issues other than of the anus and rectum.” He then tried to shame me into having it, saying “Well, it’s your life.” I kind of resented his method. I further felt that Dr. G had changed since my other appointment and that maybe he was becoming a crotchety old man. So I decided then and there that I would not go back to him.

I learned that Dr. G retired about two years later. In writing this blog entry, I actually investigated further and found an on-line obituary for him. He died at age 86. There was a tribute to him written by one of his former employees who said what a wonderful boss he was and that he had done a lot of good for a lot of patients. The obituary stated what an excellent family man he was and that he was known affectionately to family and friends as “Dr. Jelly Finger” and the “Rear Admiral”. I just wonder if I had caught Dr. G on a bad day in that second appointment.

The photo is a modified version of one from the Wikimedia Commons and is public domain.