Is There A Doctor In The House?

In most of my articles, I have mentioned the importance of maintaining a good working relationship with your team of doctors, that is, assuming you have a TEAM, like I do…or DID. Generally speaking, I have been working with a GI specialist, Psychiatrist, Therapist and General Practitioner to manage my IBS and mental health related challenges. What I am currently experiencing is the frustration many of us go through when you have to CHANGE doctors or find a new one. We have run this gauntlet for a variety of reasons. We may be dissatisfied with service, our insurance has changed, their insurance policies have changed, they have moved offices or we just don’t like them. This list can be expanded upon. The point is, that our healthcare support is not necessarily permanent. When our support system gets disrupted, very often, WE get disrupted. And do we need any more disruption than the pain and suffering we already go through dealing with IBS and it’s many accompanying maladies? The answer is a big, N O. And so, I will share a little of what I have been going through with the hopes that some or all of you can relate and take some comfort in my…disruption.

Faith in doctors

I place a lot of faith in doctors, which is kind of weird, because I tend to be of the cynical sort. Someone once told me that when a doctor is giving me instructions, I look like a boxer listening to his manager before a big fight. Head down, nodding furiously, ‘Whatever you say, Doc…I’m gonna murderize this thing.’ Which was definitely my behavior with my first GI doctor. I had never had a GI doctor before, and there she was, ready to talk about my bowels. I mean, Jesus… I thought that by being compliant that I would get more support and have a true GI specialist on my team. Well, no. That is not how it went down. She only worked two days a week. She would not call me back, someone named Zach would call. Now, what role Zach played at that particular medical practice I will never know. I would never know, because I was not convinced that I was in the best medical care. When I say best, I’m not being snotty or anything. I don’t have any money, I’m a social worker for God’s sake. I guess I mean caring, competent and available. I don’t think this is too much to ask for, but in many cases, it seems to be. Now…before all you doctors out there get up in arms, I am talking about my experience here, and that alone. I am sure there are many wonderful doctors out there, who are caring, competent and available. Just none that work near me… ;-). Anyways, before I start to rant again, I had to spend an awful lot of time and money to find a doctor that worked for me. That is, until my insurance changed and I had to find another. Back to the drawing board…

I will continue my saga into the world of medicine in another article, but in the meantime, please don’t let this type of disruption deter you from searching for proper support. It is very important that we are getting the care we need, even if it is not convenient. You could go down the ‘I can handle this on my own’ path, but I would advise against that. Until next time.