Regina woman says she's going blind after being stigmatized for past drug use

A woman says she is going blind after her doctor stigmatized her over her drug use and ignored symptoms that she had a sexually transmitted infection.

Melanie Hodge of Regina filed a complaint last week, helped by a support worker, with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan against Dr. Bharathi Chadive.

Hodge said it's not about getting anyone in trouble, but she wants to encourage others who have been disparaged by health-care providers to seek help.

"It was me who had to fight for myself, and right now I'm trying to fight for the people that this is still happening to," Hodge said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"Because of who I am, I was left to suffer and be in pain, and it's really wrong and it's really unfair."

Dr. Sam Sussman, director of medical affairs for the Albert & Parliament Primary Health Care clinic where Chadive works, said Chadive had no comment on the complaint. Sussman cited patient confidentiality.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons said due to privacy it does not confirm complaints, only if charges are laid.

Prescribed pain medication led to addiction

Last September, Hodge, 43, said she went to the clinic with a vaginal infection.

Hodge was looking for a family doctor. Sober for 90 days, she said she was transparent about being in recovery following 10 years of addiction to opioids.

She said she grew dependent on opioids after she was prescribed pain medication for two years following a crash when she was a truck driver in 2011.

During two appointments with Chadive to deal with the vaginal infection as well as arthritis, Hodge said she was unknowingly drug tested, then questioned about why she was on a medication used to treat opioid addiction.

Hodge alleges the doctor did not give her a Pap smear or test her for a sexually transmitted infection. She said the doctor also didn't let her bring her outreach worker into the appointments.

"She would cut me off and wouldn't listen to anything I was saying," Hodge said.

She said Chadive prescribed her a generic antibiotic used to treat a variety of infections, including vaginal bacteria.

"I took the pills, but it was a temporary fix for a week and then [the infection] came back."

Months later, Hodge said, her symptoms worsened. She lost vision in her left eye and an optometrist referred her to a specialist.

"I told them I used meth in the past, and they figured it was related to that."

In January, after going through a series of tests, a nurse practitioner determined that Hodge's health complications, including the vision loss, were a result of syphilis, she said.

It was also discovered she has Stage 2 cervical cancer. She's receiving treatment for both diseases and remains hopeful her eyesight will improve.

"These are things that [Chadive] could have found out, and didn't do," Hodge said.

"That stigma is really attached to people with addictions. And as much as those people are there to help, there are some people that still judge.

"The hard part is knowing that when I go for help, I'm treated differently than anybody else."

'Stigma is alive and well in the medical community'

Willi McCorriston, Saskatchewan director with Moms Stop The Harm, which advocates for change in drug policies, said "stigma is alive and well in the medical community."

She said putting notations on people's medical files that they've used substances in the past, or were seeking drugs, has to stop because it makes it worse for those needing care.

"They avoid the medical system because they've been treated so poorly, then their medical problems end up multiplying by the time they go, and the strain on the health system is much greater because it's now an emergency," McCorriston said. She added the experience can also be triggering for substance users.

"As the mother of someone who had that experience, I'm very reluctant for my daughter to attend medical appointments without me," McCorriston said.

"I know that she can be triggered and may not ... be able to handle a situation as well as she could, which is going to result in a lower quality of care."