u/Wide-Celebration-653

Hello,

I have lived in Berlin since the start of the year. I moved here with some medical conditions that require monitoring, some require ongoing simple medication. I’ve been to a Hausarzt, dentist, orthopedic surgeon/specialist, had a mammogram screening, gynecology appt, and finally had a rheumatology appointment last week. (I had to wait several months since scheduling it, of course)

The other doctors I have visited were pretty normal and professional. The gynecologist was quite rough but I don’t think she was overly careless. This rheumatologist that I saw last week, I’m having a hard time processing what happened.

I had been referred to rheumatology before I moved, there had been a lot of testing done and two of my specialists wanted me to see rheumatology. Unfortunately the soonest appointment available would have been after my move to Germany. So my Hausarzt submitted the referral.

The front desk staff was great, and then when I went into the doctor’s office the mood shifted. He interrupted repeatedly, before I finished brief answers, responded to a text on his Handy, and repeated questions including “what is bothering you” after I handed him a typed list and described them.

The most troubling part was his yelling. He would ask for example, do you have headaches, and I would say “often, I get them…” intending to describe the frequency but he would bellow “OFTEN, WHAT IS OFTEN, EVERY DAY, FIVE DAYS A WEEK…?!” along with the most condescending facial expressions and eye rolling I’ve ever seen outside of teenagers. It must just be the way I was taught to verbally communicate, to summarize in one general word then give a more detailed answer. For example “often, at least five days per week” or “occasionally, 3-4 times per month” etc.

But he became very angry and raised his voice, waving his arms wildly sometimes. Very unprofessional. When I described my heart rate and blood pressure changes when standing from sitting (a sign of autonomic dysfunction) he said “lose weight, exercise more” without asking how much I exercise and ignoring that my medical history includes a restrictive eating disorder since age 8 (anorexia nervosa). He was very dismissive of it, even when I pointed out I’d been treated in medical facilities multiple times for it and as recently as three years ago. He told me to remove my shirt and pants, looked at me, shook his head, then told me to get dressed. I know the reputation of German doctors is that they are abrupt and serious, but this experience has been very jarring.

Thankfully, he ordered some blood tests, but told me I wouldn’t hear from him with results for “a long time.” Lab staff was nice, at least.

I need help from this type of doctor, and I had to wait several months for this one visit. So I do not want to alienate anyone who has power over my medical care. My husband urged me to file a complaint, but I’m scared of all the stories I hear about getting sued even when you tell the accurate truth. What, if anything, do you think I should do after experiencing this?

And if anyone has a lead on a knowledgeable, professional rheumatologist, especially one who understands hypermobile Ehler’s Danlos and all the issues that it brings with it, please let me know! 💕 I am willing to go to a private doctor (we have TK though).

TL;DR- Rheumatologist yelled at me during appointment, offered dangerous advice, but I need rheumatology care. What do I do?

Hi, neighbors. My husband and I moved to Berlin at the beginning of January, and into our flat at the beginning of February. We have had three separate appointments with Telekom to install fiber and they still have not gotten it done.

1st appt: The techs confirmed that fiber needs to be installed to our flat (several floors up) but did not have the equipment to do so. Said to make another appointment. Soonest available was 4 weeks later.

2nd appt: The techs said oh the conduit to put the fiber through is present, we just need to blow the fiber through. But don’t have the equipment again. Said to make another appointment. Another 3 weeks.

3rd appt: They didn’t show up, husband checked his email and they had sent a message that they needed two techs for the job and only had one assigned to the visit that day, so need to reschedule. But it would definitely get done “by the end of the month” which was yesterday.

Have contacted them before each appointment, and a few times over this last week, no responses. Dealing with getting the tech room opened before each appointment is a lot of hassle, as well.

M husband works in tech and is limited to a crappy vodaphone hotspot when he needs to get online for anything. It is also creating a great deal of stress in attempting to communicate with friends/family including our elderly mothers in our home country. For all the love of rules and order in so many aspects of daily living here, this is incredibly frustrating. Is there any recourse, or alternative ways to convince them to follow through? We speak limited German, and my plan had been to have online classes and tutoring (I have some mobility challenges) to learn German asap, but cannot do so without reliable WiFi.

Appreciate your patience with my venting, these past three months have been very frustrating around this issue. 🫠