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Changing doctors …

Posted by Ray Kemble @ray666, Sep 21, 2023

Have you been at this crossroads …

I’m considering changing doctors. I find the “considering” a little embarrassing. I know it shouldn’t be – people change doctors all the time – but it is for me, and I think I know why. I come from a family of Everything’s Fine! Couldn’t Be Better! I inherited that belief and would go around saying, “Everything’s fine!” and “Couldn’t be better!” even when things weren’t fine and in fact couldn’t be much worse.

I’ve been the same way when it has come to telling people about my doctors (“Oh, Doctor So ‘n’ so? He’s fantastic! Best doctor ever. I’m so lucky I found him.”) That’s what I’ve been saying about one of my neurology doctors, for weeks telling people he’s great while at the same time aware that my doubts were getting closer to the point of This Can’t Go On.

I won’t name names; the doctor with whom I’ve fallen out of love is a good man. And a good doctor. I’ve discovered something others of you have probably found as you “audition” doctors to help you with your PN: The best doctors can sometimes appear to lose interest in helping us when they concede our PN is incurable. I say “appear” to lose interest because, I believe, in many cases (as in the case of the doctor I’m considering leaving), the empty look in their eyes that we see and their apparent lack of enthusiasm we feel are only manifestations of the same deep frustration they feel when they can’t help us – the same deep frustration we feel when we’re unable to think of something we can do to help ourselves.

I began this by saying I’m “considering” making a change. I’ve made my decision: I am making that change. Will I have better luck with my next doctor? Who knows? At the moment, just having made my decision is empowering. That’s important, too. Maybe it’s the most important.

Ray (@ray666)

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Neuropathy Support Group.

harley22 | @harley22 | Sep 24, 2023
In reply to @harley22 "What a shame isn’t it?" + (show)
@harley22

What a shame isn’t it?

Jump to this post

I was recommended to an endocrinologist by my primary, and guess when my appt is?
Feb 6 th 2024!!
I made the appt in early Aug.
Good thing it’s not urgent!

REPLY
1 reply
NJ Ed | @njed | Sep 24, 2023

@dbeshears1 Well Debbie you do have some things to be concerned about and I can see why you may need to depend on your own gut feeling. Hopefully, you will get an answer soon. I have tried to look at my health care and the doctors I see as a partnership. If I am not confident that I'm getting the right health care, I will move on. I feel it is OK to change doctors, we need to have confidence in the ones giving us advice. About 8 years ago, I went to a new dermatologist and on my first visit, I told the new doc why I left the last one. I got that out of the way right up front. He said thanks, I'm glad you told me that. I still go to the same derm doctor. I have confidence in what he says. Wish you the best in getting answers.

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1 reply
sb4ca | @sb4ca | Sep 25, 2023
In reply to @njed "@dbeshears1 Debbie, your frustrations are on point, and it IS the medical field. About 1/3 of..." + (show)
@njed

@dbeshears1 Debbie, your frustrations are on point, and it IS the medical field. About 1/3 of the neurologists, I've seen I would say are close to normal and trust me, I use the word close with a degree of hesitation. Another 1/3 are "off" a little...it's like something you can't put your finger on. I often wonder why they entered the field they did?? The remaining 1/3 are about as normal as you could expect, and I've been to all three categories. My current neurologist wants to see me once a year. My wife is having a heart procedure in early Oct so I had to cancel my once-a-year Oct appointment and I explained the reason for the cancelation. I'm told...if you cancel, we can't get you back in again until May. Really? I snapped back and said my wife's issue is more important than this appointment and put me on the cancelation list for November and I hung up...well, Ok I slammed down the phone. My wife said time to start looking for a new neurologist. So, you are not alone with your frustrations. I'm sure others have similar stories. If I can't have confidence in any doctor or their business practices, I'm moving on. All my other doctors, no problem at all. Why do I want to see a doctor who can't see me for 8 months. Meanwhile, I'm looking for a new neurologist because they will not call me in November.

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That's terrible! Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many patients. And that could also affect quality of care too. My gastroenterologist is like this and I dumped him. The entire practice is entirely overbooked and even calling the office you have like 20 patients ahead of you. I just got an appt for a new one at our very reputable teaching university within a month. Best wishes for your wife's surgery,

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2 replies
Mentor
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Sep 25, 2023
In reply to @sb4ca "That's terrible! Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many patients...." + (show)
@sb4ca

That's terrible! Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many patients. And that could also affect quality of care too. My gastroenterologist is like this and I dumped him. The entire practice is entirely overbooked and even calling the office you have like 20 patients ahead of you. I just got an appt for a new one at our very reputable teaching university within a month. Best wishes for your wife's surgery,

Jump to this post

You said, " Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many patients." In reality, in group and clinical practices, the doctors have little or no control over the number of patients they have. The practice director decides. They also determine the amount of time allotted to each patient, often at the demand of insurers or the corporation that owns the clinic. Doctors become overwhelmed and those can afford to leave, causing even more scarcity. Or they, become chronically overworked, their own health fails, and they retire earlier than planned. We have personal friends in both categories.

And in many areas, there may be only one (or in many cases, none) group, clinic or doc. Many rural areas in this country have less than one doctor per county - some are lucky to have a nurse practitioner a few days a week. Specialists are even more scarce outside urban areas, so they feel even more pressure to see everyone that they can. Unfortunately, new patients, unless referred by another doctor or hospital for an urgent or life-threatening situation, go to the back of the line.

This is a fact of health care in the modern world, not just in a few cities or states. It is true in Canada and Europe as well. We have had Canadian friends who waited as long as a year for "elective" hip or knee replacement surgery - when you are in pain, it doesn't feel elective!
Our cousin in Europe had to wait one year for an appointment for hand surgery. She will not be allowed to schedule therapy until after the operation. It should begin at 6 weeks, but the wait will be more like 6 months.

So there is a shortage of care everywhere. And of care providers - from nursing assistants to nurses, to ER docs, to surgeons. The pressures and working conditions are brutal.

My daughters are school nurses in an urban setting each serving over 1200 students but think of them as a cross between Mom with ice packs and bandaids, Urgent Care for those without insurance, an ER for the inevitable teen fights, drugs and sports injuries, and a Case Manager for kids coming to school with complex medical conditions. All in 8 hours a day without a backup staff or overtime pay. They are chronically unable to fill 25% of the jobs in that district - wonder why?

Sue

REPLY
2 replies
zav | @zav | Sep 26, 2023
In reply to @harley22 "I was recommended to an endocrinologist by my primary, and guess when my appt is? Feb..." + (show)
@harley22

I was recommended to an endocrinologist by my primary, and guess when my appt is?
Feb 6 th 2024!!
I made the appt in early Aug.
Good thing it’s not urgent!

Jump to this post

We have exactly the same issue in the Denver area. Little wonder one of my retired doctors, who is now in his 80's, tells young people to choose another career. The days of caring sole-practitioners are over, replaced by brutal corporate non-physician managers.

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zav | @zav | Sep 26, 2023

Well, a neurologist in a rather cold manner said me my PN is incurable, waved off the conflicting B6 lab reports which no one either can or wants to explain,, and gave me a prescription for Tegretol XR 100 mg to add to the Gabapentin. Tegretol is unavailable, at least in our area, and perhaps nationally! I said I was deteriorating, but no time to hear that. I wish we had our non-corporate docs back! And then I read that the Mayo Clinic's and others are unavailable for those who want to take that route. Ugh.
Frank

REPLY
NJ Ed | @njed | Sep 26, 2023

@sb4ca Thanks for your thoughts!! I think you are on the right track regarding a teaching hospital. I went to two in past few years and there is a considerable difference. You want to learn from them and visa versa so unusual cases are of interest and without a doubt, PN falls under unusual health issues, as we all know!! Good luck going forward. Ed

REPLY
NJ Ed | @njed | Sep 26, 2023
In reply to @sueinmn "You said, " Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many..." + (show)
@sueinmn

You said, " Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many patients." In reality, in group and clinical practices, the doctors have little or no control over the number of patients they have. The practice director decides. They also determine the amount of time allotted to each patient, often at the demand of insurers or the corporation that owns the clinic. Doctors become overwhelmed and those can afford to leave, causing even more scarcity. Or they, become chronically overworked, their own health fails, and they retire earlier than planned. We have personal friends in both categories.

And in many areas, there may be only one (or in many cases, none) group, clinic or doc. Many rural areas in this country have less than one doctor per county - some are lucky to have a nurse practitioner a few days a week. Specialists are even more scarce outside urban areas, so they feel even more pressure to see everyone that they can. Unfortunately, new patients, unless referred by another doctor or hospital for an urgent or life-threatening situation, go to the back of the line.

This is a fact of health care in the modern world, not just in a few cities or states. It is true in Canada and Europe as well. We have had Canadian friends who waited as long as a year for "elective" hip or knee replacement surgery - when you are in pain, it doesn't feel elective!
Our cousin in Europe had to wait one year for an appointment for hand surgery. She will not be allowed to schedule therapy until after the operation. It should begin at 6 weeks, but the wait will be more like 6 months.

So there is a shortage of care everywhere. And of care providers - from nursing assistants to nurses, to ER docs, to surgeons. The pressures and working conditions are brutal.

My daughters are school nurses in an urban setting each serving over 1200 students but think of them as a cross between Mom with ice packs and bandaids, Urgent Care for those without insurance, an ER for the inevitable teen fights, drugs and sports injuries, and a Case Manager for kids coming to school with complex medical conditions. All in 8 hours a day without a backup staff or overtime pay. They are chronically unable to fill 25% of the jobs in that district - wonder why?

Sue

Jump to this post

Sue - I agree totally with your post. The primary for my wife had to "retire" but in reality, covid paid a visit to her twice and the second round was long term.....62 years old. Two other doctors are picking up on her patients and they are now busy. How many others got out of practice under similar circumstances.

REPLY
harley22 | @harley22 | Sep 26, 2023
In reply to @sb4ca "That's terrible! Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many patients...." + (show)
@sb4ca

That's terrible! Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many patients. And that could also affect quality of care too. My gastroenterologist is like this and I dumped him. The entire practice is entirely overbooked and even calling the office you have like 20 patients ahead of you. I just got an appt for a new one at our very reputable teaching university within a month. Best wishes for your wife's surgery,

Jump to this post

Same with my gastroenterologist, I had to reschedule a follow up appt for last week, and now they won’t see me until Jan 2024.
That’s totally ridiculous in my eyes, especially if you’ve had tests done, and haven’t gotten follow up to discuss with the doctor.
I’m asked to be put on cancellation list and I was told that list is 3 pages long.

REPLY
erichendrix | @erichendrix | Sep 26, 2023
In reply to @sueinmn "You said, " Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many..." + (show)
@sueinmn

You said, " Any doctor booked up 6 months is a doctor taking on too many patients." In reality, in group and clinical practices, the doctors have little or no control over the number of patients they have. The practice director decides. They also determine the amount of time allotted to each patient, often at the demand of insurers or the corporation that owns the clinic. Doctors become overwhelmed and those can afford to leave, causing even more scarcity. Or they, become chronically overworked, their own health fails, and they retire earlier than planned. We have personal friends in both categories.

And in many areas, there may be only one (or in many cases, none) group, clinic or doc. Many rural areas in this country have less than one doctor per county - some are lucky to have a nurse practitioner a few days a week. Specialists are even more scarce outside urban areas, so they feel even more pressure to see everyone that they can. Unfortunately, new patients, unless referred by another doctor or hospital for an urgent or life-threatening situation, go to the back of the line.

This is a fact of health care in the modern world, not just in a few cities or states. It is true in Canada and Europe as well. We have had Canadian friends who waited as long as a year for "elective" hip or knee replacement surgery - when you are in pain, it doesn't feel elective!
Our cousin in Europe had to wait one year for an appointment for hand surgery. She will not be allowed to schedule therapy until after the operation. It should begin at 6 weeks, but the wait will be more like 6 months.

So there is a shortage of care everywhere. And of care providers - from nursing assistants to nurses, to ER docs, to surgeons. The pressures and working conditions are brutal.

My daughters are school nurses in an urban setting each serving over 1200 students but think of them as a cross between Mom with ice packs and bandaids, Urgent Care for those without insurance, an ER for the inevitable teen fights, drugs and sports injuries, and a Case Manager for kids coming to school with complex medical conditions. All in 8 hours a day without a backup staff or overtime pay. They are chronically unable to fill 25% of the jobs in that district - wonder why?

Sue

Jump to this post

My doctors have all abandoned me. Looking for Dr. Yes. All I ever find is Dr. No. So what can a poor boy do, 'cept to Google and YouTube...

REPLY
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