Time to Change Nephrologist

@fiesty76, wish I sisn't have to put "like"for your post because it sounds as if there's no rapport between you and your neph and this peeves me.

I'm not as nice as you are, I would've run (ok, LOL, rolled in my wheelchair) out of that lab so fast their heads would've swum. And would've gotten out of neph ofc ASAP because of my Irish and Cherokee temper - bad combo.

Not everyone looks at things the way I do but to my mind, my neph works for me, not the other way around. I (or insurance) pay her to take care of me at standard of care or better.

This is the third time this doc has seen you, plenty of contact for her to "get acquainted" with you. My neph was very reserved with me at first, I guess she wasn't prepared to treat another medical professional, now I have her laughing out loud. I was on the verge of asking for another neph when we broke the ice.

This isn't advice, just my experience.

As a patient you have every right to know everything possible about your condition and the disease process and certainly every right for medical professionals to protect you from COVID.

I'm not telling you what to do here, just what I would do, and that's call pcp immediately and ask for a referral to a different neph.

OK, I'll hush up now. Good luck, my friend! Keep us posted. And congrats on the GFR!

@fiesty76 I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience with your nephrologist. Like @kamama94, I have some serious questions about the way you were treated. I would definitely let your PCP know about your experience. If your nephrologist is part of a group you want to go to that administrator and let them know how you were treated. They all need to know. Go to your lab and ask for your own copies of the bloodwork. It is well past the period of waiting that most labs do [mine waits a week and then they send me the results].

As a patient, you have the right to be treated well. You also have the right to have your questions answered and not pushed to the side. If you do not understand what is being reviewed you have the right to question and ask for further explanation. Beyond that, there are people who listen and learn by audio, others who do best by seeing something in writing. And many of us do things in a combination of that.
Ginger

@fiesty76 Shame on that person for talking to you like that and you should get a report as soon as you ask for it . I think I would find another Dr who will send you your lab results instead of you asking for one this should be done without you asking .

@kamamamma, Thank you for your response. I just assume the "like" button is that someone is acknowledging a post so appreciate your response. I had some concerns from the get go with this nephrologist because she offered so little information from the start but needed those lab values.

I also have a dose of Irish but usually it is reserved for "injustices to others" and while I'm not sure of any direct Indian dna figure I have a bit of "everything". Do know for sure that both a former (not illustrious U.S. President and also the last person hung in the Tower of London were of my direct lineage...with a lot of who knows what else tossed in? lol

I didn't go with a list of 57 prepared questions and absolutely Know that you aren't attempting advice but appreciate what you wrote. I did want to know some basic information. In retrospect, I wish I had called the local health dept to report the actions at the lab. I still can and may give them the date and time of that appointment.

What I have learned about better managing my CKD has come from Mayo, this Connect forum and other highly trusted kidney sites. I am celebrating my gfr and bun values but the report did address my diabetes, which said wasn't reported, and high levels of protein from the creatitine urine tests. I can work on those but not because of the specialist's input.

Changing docs is not easy for me but a change from one cardiologist to another made a wonderful difference with two new dianoses i wouldn't have received from the one i'd been seeing for a long time. Sometimes, a change needs to be made and I appreciate your support. Hugs to you and all others who are working to improve and maintain the best kidney function we can!

I truly appreciate your response, @gingerw. All other docs, who require labs for me, are part of one large hospital extended complex. The nephrologist is independent from this group and is the only doc I see who uses this particular, different lab. Other labs are connected to the large hospital complex.

This lab told me at my first visit that lab results would be much faster to obtain from my doc's office. When I signed in the previous visit with the doc, I asked for and was given a copy of my lab report. The doc asked to see my copy of the lab and then went over the results with me. I had nothing to follow and many values were given which was very confusing for a newbie to kidney problems.

This second visit to the lab, I didn't ask to pick up lab results from them. So was very happily surprised to see an e-mail from the lab a couple of days later. However, when I opened it, it gave only two values: a calcium which showed normal and a thyroid, also normal. I sent a request online to the lab for clarification noting that the doc prescribed Kidney tests. I didn't hear back from the lab before my doc visit and have yet to receive an online "corrected lab report" from them.

This nephrologist expects the labs to be completed a week in advance. This second go around, I scheduled the labs two weeks in advance hoping I could pick up a copy from doc's office and making a 2nd copy ...one for neph to review and one for me to follow. That proved very lucky for me as it turned out. My neph. office called to tell me my scheduled appt. had been cancelled could I come a week earlier if labs had been completed? I just got under the timeline and could make the new appt.

Thank you, Ginger, for reading and listening. I felt troubled and discouraged by both the lab and by the doc's visit. I know that my pcp puts in requests to some third party who makes the actual referral decisions...don't know how that works exactly because in the past, a doc could request a specific specialist. I'm not sure if any of my docs or specialists can now even request a specific specialist but will ask my pcp. Everything medical is changing so rapidly; I am older and do not want to cause waves or appear to be a troublemaker.

And yes, I have long known, years before my hearing loss that i am not an audio learner so this is another obstacle for me. I know that others in this forum have established really strong, positive relationships with their specialists and i am happy that can happen. Thanks again, Ginger.

@lioness, Thanks, Linda, for your reply and also good to hear from you! I was beginning to worry about you because i'd not seen a post from you in a few days. Hope you are doing ok? Was tempted (but managed to resist,ahh), to take a "bonus" walk this morning. Instead, watched a favorite Sunday Morning program and then went on to other things. Hope you and all are staying well and safe.

@fiesty76 Cause waves! Appear to be a troublemaker! You have to advocate for yourself, because noone else will do it if you don't! Push for the information you need to make informed decisions about your health! [Yep, I proudly have "DP" for difficult patient on my charts in many offices]
Ginger

@gingerw, Thank you! Your response of pride at being a "DP" brought an always welcomed laugh! Smiles to all.

I love your post. We all need to be our own advocate for our health. Thanks for your affirming post.

@kamama94, Hoping your procedure yesterday went well and that today you are resting confortably. Update us when you can,ok? Hugs to you.