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why does everything have to be so hard???
Warning, minor rant here. I was diagnosed recently with osteoporosis and have been gathering information on next steps. I want to explore HRT (among other things) but my NP didn't sound knowledgeable/confident about using it at my age (I'm 65 and never did HRT before). So, through posts here I zeroed in on finding a functional medicine person in my network. The first 4 I tried aren't seeing new patients. The 5th is, but soonest she can see me is december 2027 (not a typo). Next, I thought okay how about endocrinology. First, almost none of those coming up in my insurance's care directory are accepting new clients. One that is has terrible reviews. The other said I need to get a referral from my PCP. So, now I'm back to dealing with my NP again. Why is getting care so f'ing hard? It's been almost 3 weeks since my diagnosis and I'm still at square 1 for finding care. Paying Dr. Doug (or some other concierge doc) $14k is starting to sound like a good idea, that's how desperate I'm starting to feel (And no, I can't afford that...). Seriously you guys - how did you find people to take care of you?
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It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do and to even see a Dr about my osteoporosis. My spine was the area in osteoporosis 2.7, had just flipped into osteoporosis. From these forums I felt i had time figure out what to do. After lots of tests mine was just due to lack of estrogen. Then it took months to find a functional medicine Dr, but not covered by my insurance "out of network". I paid out of pocket and for me it was worth. I just submitted the out of pocket itemized bills to my insurance and a a certain point my out of network deductible was filled and they reimbursed me. It been over a year and I'm still good with my decision. I'm on topical hormones since March of 2025. My initial diagnosis of osteoporosis was 2023, 2024 was all about figuring it out and getting tests run, then beginning of 2025 got started with functional medicine Dr.
Totally understand your frustration, had to navigate what to do myself and then the out of pocket costs were a bit much. I'm thankful for the forums where many share there different approaches and successes.
Unless you've already fractured or your scores are truly at the high end of osteoporosis, you have time.
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2 ReactionsI have the same problem here in Los Angeles. My first endocrinologist moved so I had to find another one. Most were booked out into Feb 2027 or later! And dealing with insurance is another battle. Some will not cover specialty osteoporosis drugs. I hope you hang in there. Don't give up...