Why is it so hard to get help!?

Lately we've been battling with the military healthcare system to get Dan proper care for his recent diagnosis of Eagle Syndrome. It's a very rare condition so finding a specialist will be interesting.

He's been suffering with severe neck pains for over 2 months now. On 28 Apr I insisted he go to the doctor. Of course, they did the usual military thing and prescribed him meds and physical therapy. They did an xray just to 'make sure'. A week later he had his annual physical and the PA told him his xray showed that he had Eagle Syndrome. He admitted he had never heard of it and told Dan to follow up with the original doctor. So I tried to get him an appt with that doctor and he was fully booked. I went ahead and made an appt with another doctor in the same clinic but continued to call back trying to get him with the right doc; I was unsuccessful.

So on 15 May Dan saw the new doctor. This doctor was an idiot! He didn't address our issues at all. He just prescribed stronger meds and insisted Dan do PT. Well we had time to do a little research and knew this was unacceptable. I was so upset when we left that appt. He did an xray of Dan's back (because he's still in pain ... duh) and told him to come back in 2 weeks if it doesn't clear up! It was so bluntly obvious this doctor didn't care or take us seriously.

So for the first time in almost 15 yrs in the military healthcare system, I walked into the patient advocacy office and filed a complaint. The lady there was so incredibly kind and understanding. She took our number and within 30 minutes of leaving her office we had an appt with the doctor I couldn't get an appt with for the following Monday (18 May).

18 May we head to his appt. At this point I know what he needs and I don't plan to back down until he gets it but at the same time I committed myself to sitting back and letting things happen and if I had to, I'd step in at the end. The doctor admitted he didn't know enough about the condition and he wasn't sure what the treatment was. He left a few times in the middle of the appt to look things up. At one point he was leaving it up to Dan whether he goes to a specialist or not! Then he left and came back in and told Dan he was going to send him to a specialist but he has to find out what kind to refer him to.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief at this point. I just want a doctor that knows what it is and can sit down with us and tell us exactly what we are facing. I've done a lot of research online but it's all very contradicting. Some sites say it can be left untreated, others say if left untreated it could lead to a stroke. Some say it can only be fixed by surgery, some say it can be managed with medication. Sigh. I just want facts! These sites are just adding more questions.