Good news, possibly

[Aspigander]

You may remember that I've been wanting to find a new primary physician for a while, but suddenly it became a need rather than just a want when my doctor's office closed (only saw that doctor once and it didn't hurt my feelings that her office closed lol). I've been hitting a few snags trying to find a doctor who takes my insurance -- not too many do, and I prefer a female. My psychologist emailed me a couple names she's had others recommend of doctors who took my insurance a while back, one was a male but came highly recommended, the other a female but I didn't find her on the online directory of doctors for my insurance when I looked (I only had her name, not her contact info). I did find the male doc on the directory, but my mom called several times and that obviously wasn't a good number.

So last week my psychologist emailed me another doctor's name (female) complete with contact info. I looked to see if she was on the directory, and she was not, but the other female doctor that was not previously on the directory now was. So I emailed both female doctors' contact info to my mom.

She called today, and assuming she can find someone to fill in for her at work, I am in on May 27th. Hopefully, this one pans out (in that hopefully she's a good listener and isn't condescending). We shall see. But I just might finally have a primary care physician again.

I'm going to email my psychologist and see if she still thinks anxiety meds are a good idea before I decide whether or not to bring that up. She has been suggesting them, and has said she's the last person to recommend anti-anxiety meds, but with my realization that my pacing was anxiety coping/meltdown prevention (which I talked to her about at my last appointment, and which there's a thread on this forum about), I'm starting to wonder if meds are needed after all. Think I'll email the therapist with that specific question and see what she thinks.

Anyway, hopefully this all works out.

[peglem]

I hope this all works out for you- I hate finding doctors! Its so hard to know until you've actually visited them a few times if its a good fit. What I've found over the years is that DOs (doctor of Osteopathy) are for some reason better at listening to patients and thinking a bit beyond straight medical protocol...Which is important when you have a kid that presents wildly atypical like Allie does.

[Aspigander]

LOL! You know, the two doctors I liked from the old office were DO's. The doctor that moved in when they moved out that didn't sit so well with me was an MD. This new doc I'm seeing if I recall is a DO, so hopefully it will go like it did with the previous DO's.

Any opinion or idea as to why DO's seem better?

[Aspigander]

Oh dear. I might have a problem before I even get started.

Has anyone looked info up on doctors online? I did that, found a doctor review site, and looked this doctor up. There were two reviews, a couple years apart (one in 2007 and one just a few days ago), and both were bad. Things like staff getting into a fistfight, doctor not charting visits, not wanting to deal with issues, etc.

Now, obviously there are drawbacks to review sites, as what makes a good doctor can be very subjective (though I don't know anyone that would be amused by the staff getting into a physical altercation). And this was a doctor my psychologist emailed to me, after asking around for recommendations of doctors who take my insurance. So I'm thinking somebody likes her.

I feel like I need to try because with my insurance you hit a lot of snags trying to find a doctor, and a scheduled appointment is as far as I've gotten thus far. But the things I read on those two reviews (out of two) have me kind of on edge.

How concerned should I be?

[roadracer]

The problem with that is there were only two reviews and I am sure the ONLY people that even think about reviewing there doctor where the people who where not happy with him and had to complain, so of corse there is the posiblity they doctor it up some to make him look bad. Just saying that out of ALL the people he posibly sees, dont worry if you find a couple people who dont like him. You will NEVER find a doctor that everyone likes.

[peglem]

I make it a point of reviewing doctors that are very good.

[Aspigander]

Hmm...just looked on that review site for another doctor my therapist had emailed me, and there was only one review, but it was absolutely stellar! Stark contrast to the two the other doctor received. I do realize that reviews are so subjective and one can exaggerate a bad review if they have an axe to grind. But I'm tempted to have my mom try the office of the doctor with the good review. Things like spent over an hour on first visit to get to the root of the problem instead of just giving meds and sending the patient on their way. I did email my mom the link to the doctor with not-so-great reviews and she said they did seem kind of shakey. She also said she was surprised she was able to get me in so soon as a new patient, as most doctors offices it takes a while to squeeze in a new patient, and she wonders if that's telling. At her suggestion, I emailed the link to my psychologist (someone had recommended this doctor to her, as well as the one we can't find and the other one with the great review) to see what she thinks, and am waiting to hear back on that.

Tempted to check into this doctor with the good review. Then again maybe I'll just see how this doc I have the appt with is and if not good I'll have a plan B.

[peglem]

If it was me, or my child, I'd cancel the appt. with the bad review doctor and go with the good review one. I don't like to waste my time, and I think the liklihood of the second one being a good doctor is much greater. And yes, every good doctor that I've found had a lot of patients and had a bit of a wait before the 1st appt. (sometimes a huge wait!)

[Aspigander]

I don't like to waste my time

Yeah, going to a not-so-great doctor does waste time. And energy in the form of anxiety.

This last doctor who wasn't much of a good listener, some may prefer that type of doctor. But I felt it was a waste of my time and energy/anxiety. Just hearing her name could cause anxiety.

In fact, one time I remember I was at my parents' house, one very early morning I had an anxiety attack of unknown origin (that was really scary, as usually I can name WHY I am anxious, what the trigger was, but this time there was no trigger). I was having similar symptoms to what I described in my what was that about thread (though in the other thread I could tell it wasn't part of an anxiety attack). I thought it was anxiety attack but I thought there was a possibility it was worse than that, so I woke my mom up and asked her if maybe we should go to the ER to make sure it's not actually worse than anxiety. Her idea? Let's wait until office hours and see if my PCP at the time could get me in.

Now, I was having an anxiety attack, but doing pretty well at keeping myself out of actual meltdown. I basically had one foot in meltdown and the other on a banana peel. When my mom mentioned the doctor's name, suggesting going there, boom, I was melting down. I don't want to get so anxious at just hearing the name of a doctor that I go into meltdown. I ended up just waiting to see if the episode passed, which it did.

Bad news. The good review doc isn't taking new patients with my insurance. And, since it's medicaid, and the state's making a bunch of cuts, it will probably be a while before she does. Unfortunately pickings are slim looking for doctors who take my insurance. So, I guess I'll just have to hope that the two bad reviews on the one doctor are from people who just had some kind of vendetta. Too bad there are so few reviews to go on (i.e. if there were 100 reviews, would they all be bad, or just the two bad ones out of the bunch?).