Bellview Clinic, Centric Health in Mullingar

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comments 2

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  Wayne S

  :: 03 November 2017 23:41:58

  I have seen four doctors at this clinic in the past, three of which left very good impressions, including a doctor named John (I didn't get his full name), Dr Laura Noonan, and Cornelius Healy himself. However, the last doctor I had seen at this clinic left a very poor impression. Her critical thinking skills were lacking and she gave the impression that she was not taking my issues too seriously. In early 2016, I had been perceiving my testicles as being smaller and much softer (mushy) than usual. I wanted to avoid doctors if possible since I have a severe fear of doctors which was caused by traumatic experiences in my adolescence. So, although I did not know the source of the problem (I’m no medical expert) I attempted correcting the issue on the assumption that it may be a testosterone issue, by making changes to my diet and exercise (e.g. switching my daily excessive running to brisk walks, performing weight training and squats), stopped drinking alcohol and consuming cannabis, began taking Vitamin D supplements, and increased the ratio of time I spent standing versus sitting, and tried increasing the amount of time I spent sleeping, since insomnia was an issue at the time. I also incorporated cold showers into my morning routine after exercise, to elevate the stress which seemed to be elevated during the period of problem. I had read about cold showers while researching ways of increasing testosterone, but could find no evidence to support this. However, I did find reference to studies suggesting that cold showers may decrease stress and alleviate depression, so I gave them a try. My eventually testicles eventually began to recover, which made me feel at ease, since this meant I could avoid doctors. It started with my testicles only being softer in the evening, and particularity soft while I laid in bed at night, while being noticeably harder and heavier in the mornings (on nights that I could get good sleep). However, the problem came back. It wasn’t until my testicles were beginning to recover again that I decided to see a doctor, since it may be a persisting issue and it would be stupid and possibly dangerous to avoid seeing doctor. I gave the details to the female doctor at Bellview and told her how my testicles were currently mostly soft at night, and particularly so while I laid at night. The conclusion which she came to was that I was perceiving my testicles as being smaller than usual due to the ascended position of the testes. I believe she was conflating correlation and causation. This was not a rational explanation for two reasons. The first being that my testicles were only higher due to cold showers, which is a practice that only came after the problem began. The second is that my testicles would have been long descended by nightfall, which is when the problem was most prevalent, and on days towards recovery, it was only prevalent at at night. If her assumption was right, it would have been the reverse. It's a total fallacy. One does not require medical training to know this. It's simple and solid deductive reasoning. I continued to insist that she was wrong and she decided to send me for an ultra-sound (no other tests). The lady who performed the ultrasound, some weeks later, asked me what the problem was, and I explained that my testicles had been softer and smaller than usual, but the problem was now gone. She likewise suggested that my testicles were just higher than normal. That would be to make the assumption that my testicles would have been higher than normal weeks prior and fails to take into account that my testicles being higher than usual on that day did not lead me to believe they were any smaller or softer than usual. Anyway, I don’t know what brought her to her conclusion. Do these people exchange notes? Or were they both idiots? I rated this clinic four stars, as I only had a problem one particular doctor. I would have otherwise submitted a five star rating.

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  Dominique Matthews

  :: 10 May 2017 17:40:34