I'm sorry we're not accepting new patients....GRRRR

So I am having a hard time finding a new doctor.

Before I couldn't afford a doctor because I didn't have insurance, now I have it and can't find a doctor that is taking new patients. I have a doctor but I am not happy with her. She isn't listening and all she seems to want to do is write scripts and that is it. She has not discussed any of my test with me. I have to call and beg to talk to her. So I want a new doctor.

I have spent the morning calling doctors only none are accepting new patients and the ones I do find don't take my insurance.

I hate this country...I want out!! It is messed up and nobody cares about your health it's all about friggin money!!!!!!!!

What happened to the doctors that actually wanted to help people? Where did they all go?!

So I have insurance yet i can't even use it. Pissed off.

I feel your pain!

I've been looking for a new Rheumatologist for well over a year. There is only one in my network. All others either aren't taking new patients, or they don't accept my insurance, or they want 400 bucks just for me to walk through the door. Some are even booked a YEAR out. My current one sounds much like yours.. he throws pill after pill at me, doesn't listen, and is very short and cold. Its not fun.

My only advice for you until you can find a new doctor is to make an appointment with your existing doctor and express your concerns to her and see if maybe it makes a difference in the level of care you are receiving. That's what I'm doing at my appointment in December.

You might also try getting a referral from your current doc to a different one.

mblahnikluver
So I am having a hard time finding a new doctor.

Before I couldn't afford a doctor because I didn't have insurance, now I have it and can't find a doctor that is taking new patients. I have a doctor but I am not happy with her. She isn't listening and all she seems to want to do is write scripts and that is it. She has not discussed any of my test with me. I have to call and beg to talk to her. So I want a new doctor.

I have spent the morning calling doctors only none are accepting new patients and the ones I do find don't take my insurance.

I hate this country...I want out!! It is messed up and nobody cares about your health it's all about friggin money!!!!!!!!

What happened to the doctors that actually wanted to help people? Where did they all go?!

So I have insurance yet i can't even use it. Pissed off.

Location has a lot to do with it. I am very fortunate to live in the area that I do because there are prestigious medical schools nearby, so doctors are a dime a dozen.

Now i feel bad about moaning about the UKs health service (costs out of tax and national insurance) and waiting for hoooouuuuurrrrrs in waiting rooms to be seen for potentially severe accidents. Personal experience on two separate occasions with neck and head injury's.

At least i know im going to be seen.

Sounds like an awful mess. Remember that a large chunk of this chaos is caused by the doctors many many years of lazy, quick and expensive appointments and treatments. They have had it easy for far too long and now things have changed, they are throwing their toys out of the pram.

Oh noes, you [doctors] actually have to make people better with your expert knowledge rather than flinging pills at patience and golf clubs in every available time slot. Guess what, just because medical school is expensive and tough, doesnt mean you get to sit on your ass once its over. The doctors attitude over there is astounding.

Our doctors may be over worked and underpaid, but they seem to actually care about their patience and general human well being.

Hope it all gets better for you guys in the USA soon, but i expect its going to be a decade when new generations of medical professionals emerge that things will get any better

Nothing new about that. Really good docs have been difficult to get on with for years. Mine went to concierge service two years ago, so I have to pay an annual membership just to get to be his patient, and he does not even take my insurance. This is only going to get much worse thanks to "Obamacare".

daryllyn
I feel your pain!

I've been looking for a new Rheumatologist for well over a year. There is only one in my network. All others either aren't taking new patients, or they don't accept my insurance, or they want 400 bucks just for me to walk through the door. Some are even booked a YEAR out. My current one sounds much like yours.. he throws pill after pill at me, doesn't listen, and is very short and cold. Its not fun.

I know how you feel. I have been trying to get help for almost a year with my neck. I just want to cry. I haven't had insurance in 6yrs and now that I do it's like jumping through hoops to use it! The one office I just called said it's getting worse because of Obamacare and more doctors are closing up offices.

Yea I had my last doctor order an MRI for my neck and brain. I've had migraines for 5 mths now. I am MISERABLE. Well I had to get approval from the insurance company, which imo is a joke! How can a medical procedure that is needed need approval?! They made me get x-rays and cat scans before i could even be considered for an MRI because of the cost. Well the money they wasted on those other tests could have been saved if they did the MRI to begin with. Well I made my appointment after I was "approved" and they want $400 upfront. I burst into tears because I don't have $400. I am so miserable and can't deal with these headaches. I am going to end up in the mental ward, no joke. I am that miserable and not a fun person to be around either. It irks me how they only care about money. I only had insurance 6yrs ago and it was sooooo different. What happened in 6yrs?! They just keep giving me pill after pill. NONE of them work, not one.

I am having blood work done tomorrow to test for Rheumatoid Arthritis and I dread that result because it does run in my family. I was told I had fybromyalgia but she didn't do anything about it. She wanted to put me on Cymbalta which she said is used to treat Fybromyalgia. I am not a candidate for Cymbalta. I took a genetic test at my other doctors office that tells you what works with your DNA and what doesn't and Cymbalta I am not suppose to take. So I have nothing and am back at square one.

My only advice for you until you can find a new doctor is to make an appointment with your existing doctor and express your concerns to her and see if maybe it makes a difference in the level of care you are receiving. That's what I'm doing at my appointment in December.

My current doctor has no appts til January which is my next appt with her. I did find a male doctor that can see me at the end of the month. So that is good but I preferred a female. He has a small office which is what i want so that helps. I explained to the nurse my concerns with my current doctor and she said he likes to take time and explain all results which is what I WANT! So we shall see how he works out.

Thank you!!

I really do not ever remember having this much trouble before with doctors. EVER.

My toe is hurting today.
I suffer from gout.

But I am not going to my doctor.
He annoys me when I go there.
-Get this blood test.
-Stop smoking.
-Don't eat this and that.
-Limit your intake of alcoholic beverages to this much.
-Go get this prescription and take it forever... sorry about the side effects that are worse than the disease.

amulla8
a chinook helicopter just flew over west ky. over henderson, we arent in thier flight path nor do military ever fly over us,

Hmmm.
You hate doctors too, eh?

Oh, I sympathize with you on this one. Because I have fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis since 1999, I've been through the wringer with doctors, and I have grown to dislike the vast majority of them.

I treat myself with vitamins and herbs, and it has made a world of difference. I went from being basically disabled in constant pain, to virtually pain free. I still have the disease, mind you, but it is well controlled.

Location does have something to do with finding a doctor. However, I had poor luck in larger cities. Same lack of knowledge on my disease, longer waiting time, more money, and the end result was the same. Having moved to a tiny town with a population of about 1500, I found a small rural clinic where the doc will listen to me for 2 hours at a stretch. $45 per visit (I have no insurance).

I used to get bad headaches such as you describe. I used to get put out under general anesthesia, and they shot my neck and the back of my head full of numbing agents. $1000 a pop (I had no insurance then either). Did it work? Not really, just very temporarily. I found that cutting out carbs out of my diet, and supplementing with anti-inflammatory herbs such as Turmeric and Samento, was the real treatment.

Naturally you want to get it imaged to see if there is a problem other than the fibro which is causing your issues, and that is your main frustration now....but if you also clean up your diet of everything that causes inflammation, including veggies in the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, and green peppers...I know, I hated to give those up), you may find your discomfort lessening.

Knowledge is power. The doctors still don't know squat about these autoimmune disorders, you must be your own doctor. Please see: www.abovetopsecret.com...

In the mean time, best of luck on finding one that actually give's a rat's behind about you and your chronic pain.

My whole family is going through the same thing! It seems that because we didn't need to go to the doctor in two years, we are dropped. I guess he wasn't making enough money off of us.
I cannot believe how hard it is to find a new one. And my son actually found one that was accepting new patients, but you had to wait a month to get in to see them.

I'm afraid it is only going to get worse. Yes, you can have our great new healthcare, that you can't afford, but good luck finding a doctor to see you!

reply to post by mblahnikluver

Yea I had my last doctor order an MRI for my neck and brain. I've had migraines for 5 mths now.

Migraines are the worst thing ever. I've had them ever since I can remember. I have 'waking' migraines; its already in full swing by the time I wake up and I can't take anything for it by that point. Well I could, but it won't stay down, so I don't bother if I wake with one.

In the rare event that I feel it coming, I take tension headache meds (tylenol with caffeine basically) and 800mg of advil. Migraines are literally caused by inflammation around dilated vessels in the brain, so caffeine (vasoconstricts dilated vessels) and advil (NSAID) can help. But my go to is ALWAYS an ice pack on the back of my neck. If you have never tried it, I hope you will give it a shot! Ice and baggies are two things I make sure to never run out of!

I am having blood work done tomorrow to test for Rheumatoid Arthritis and I dread that result because it does run in my family. I was told I had fybromyalgia but she didn't do anything about it. She wanted to put me on Cymbalta which she said is used to treat Fybromyalgia. I am not a candidate for Cymbalta.

As someone with RA, I certainly hope that isn't the case for you. Its rough. Remember that RA cannot be diagnosed through lab work alone. There is a criteria set that takes into account symptoms, signs, and lab results because there is no specific test that 100 percent confirms. For example, some people with RA have negative blood work (for RF factor and Anti-CCP) and they are called seronegative. The Rheumatoid Factor test can mean lots of things and has a low specificity for RA but it DOES have a high correlation, and I imagine that's one you will have ran, probably along with the Anti-CCP, C reactive protein, and SED rate.

I don't agree but I've been diagnosed with Fibro as well and Cymbalta and Lyrica did NOTHING for me but make me feel worse. Maybe some other Fibro people can chime in with what has worked for them.

My current doctor has no appts til January which is my next appt with her. I did find a male doctor that can see me at the end of the month. So that is good but I preferred a female. He has a small office which is what i want so that helps. I explained to the nurse my concerns with my current doctor and she said he likes to take time and explain all results which is what I WANT!

I hope you like him, he might be a great doc! At least if he cares, he can get things approved and fight for you.

reply to post by daryllyn

Have you ever had an eye migraine?

The first time I got one, I went to the doctor. It really freaked me out.

Now when I get one, I think, 'Oh, here is another one of those'. I have never had m any pain associated with one, just disruption of my vision.

I get normal migraines too, but haven't been troubled with them lately.

butcherguy
reply to post by daryllyn

 

Have you ever had an eye migraine?

The first time I got one, I went to the doctor. It really freaked me out.

Now when I get one, I think, 'Oh, here is another one of those'. I have never had m any pain associated with one, just disruption of my vision.

I get normal migraines too, but haven't been troubled with them lately.

I actually have! My mom gets them, too. Its very unnerving!

Its only happened a few times but I would definitely take one of those over the normal vice on the head any day.

reply to post by Biigs


I did find a doctor, finally.

I hope he listens when I talk to him and doesn't jump to just hand me pill after pill.

The doctor I currently see she doesn't even look at me while I talk. She looks at her computer screen and types. She gives no real feed back what so ever. I am not paying for you to shove pills down my throat and not discuss MY health!

I hope this new guy listens.

butcherguy
My toe is hurting today.
I suffer from gout.

But I am not going to my doctor.
He annoys me when I go there.
-Get this blood test.
-Stop smoking.
-Don't eat this and that.
-Limit your intake of alcoholic beverages to this much.
-Go get this prescription and take it forever... sorry about the side effects that are worse than the disease.

Sorry to hear that

Yea they love to give pills. The one she wanted me to take I'm not even a candidate for!

Also the ones I was prescribed caused other problems to which she was like oh just take this. I said no and stopped taking them all. Why take them if they aren't working and only make me feel worse?

Oh dear god what did doctors do BEFORE big pharma had a pill for everything!?

butcherguy
My toe is hurting today.
I suffer from gout.

But I am not going to my doctor.
He annoys me when I go there.
-Get this blood test.
-Stop smoking.
-Don't eat this and that.
-Limit your intake of alcoholic beverages to this much.
-Go get this prescription and take it forever... sorry about the side effects that are worse than the disease.

Your doctor is a real killjoy, I wouldn't see him either.

FissionSurplus
Oh, I sympathize with you on this one. Because I have fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis since 1999, I've been through the wringer with doctors, and I have grown to dislike the vast majority of them.

Yea it makes it really hard to go to any doctor.

What do you take for the fibromyalgia? I am getting tested for RA tomorrow. It does run in my family so I don't know what my odds are. She didn't give me anything for the fibro just tried to give me an anti depressant that I am not suitable for. So I don't know what to take naturally.

I treat myself with vitamins and herbs, and it has made a world of difference. I went from being basically disabled in constant pain, to virtually pain free. I still have the disease, mind you, but it is well controlled.

What do you take?

Location does have something to do with finding a doctor. However, I had poor luck in larger cities. Same lack of knowledge on my disease, longer waiting time, more money, and the end result was the same. Having moved to a tiny town with a population of about 1500, I found a small rural clinic where the doc will listen to me for 2 hours at a stretch. $45 per visit (I have no insurance).

I live in a pretty big area and there are tons of doctors just many who either don't take my insurance or aren't seeing new patients. That sounds like a good doctor and price. You can't get anything here for that long for that cheap! They want $200 just to walk in the door without insurance.

I used to get bad headaches such as you describe. I used to get put out under general anesthesia, and they shot my neck and the back of my head full of numbing agents. $1000 a pop (I had no insurance then either). Did it work? Not really, just very temporarily. I found that cutting out carbs out of my diet, and supplementing with anti-inflammatory herbs such as Turmeric and Samento, was the real treatment.

I will check out the Samento. I was told about turmeric in another thread and it's on my list for the health food store.

Naturally you want to get it imaged to see if there is a problem other than the fibro which is causing your issues, and that is your main frustration now....but if you also clean up your diet of everything that causes inflammation, including veggies in the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, and green peppers...I know, I hated to give those up), you may find your discomfort lessening.

Give up potatoes, green peppers and tomatoes?! :O
I use all of those, often in my foods. I use red potatoes a few nights a week as a side. I use tomatoes in quiche or eggs or in sauce which I'd say is maybe 1-2 times a week. Green peppers I use in omelets or fajitas which is maybe 4 times a month. I see a dietician on the 21st of November. I am interested to see what she says. I've never been to one so I am curious as to what they will suggest.

Knowledge is power. The doctors still don't know squat about these autoimmune disorders, you must be your own doctor. Please see: www.abovetopsecret.com...

In the mean time, best of luck on finding one that actually give's a rat's behind about you and your chronic pain.

Thank you!! I will check all that thread out, very interesting considering.

I have been online looking up diet and anything i can about natural ways to help with fibro and the cholesterol/triglycerides. I am not one to just jump on the pill wagon and my doctor seems kind of annoyed by that. Heaven for bid I make her work for her $200 a visit. lol

Thanks for the information!

chiefsmom
My whole family is going through the same thing! It seems that because we didn't need to go to the doctor in two years, we are dropped. I guess he wasn't making enough money off of us.
I cannot believe how hard it is to find a new one. And my son actually found one that was accepting new patients, but you had to wait a month to get in to see them.

I'm afraid it is only going to get worse. Yes, you can have our great new healthcare, that you can't afford, but good luck finding a doctor to see you!

Yea I have been calling for weeks and got so pissed off. I finally found a male doctor who is taking new patients rather soon. I will see how he goes.

I have been told that if you don't go a few times a year they will drop you, how messed up is that?! Because you aren't sick you are punished?

The doctor I did find the nurse said it's getting worse because of Obamacare. She said many places are closing shop and she is right. It is only going to get worse.

My current doctor, the one I want to get away from doesn't have my next appointment until JANUARY! I had to push my way in last week to discuss my blood work with her. I also found another therapist because the one I am seeing only discusses pills when I'm there. I pay for an hour and never get an hour. One of my last visits there they didn't even have me on the schedule, another reason I want to change they always mess up and change it. I write my appts down in my day planner the moment they give it to me. Well she saw me for TWENTY MINS and charged me full price! I was so pissed. After two months i have had ZERO therapy and all she does is inform me of the pills and their side effects with her book...something i can do myself with the internet! I called her to see a therapist not discuss what medications i should be on and the current one she gave me is for schizophrenia and Im NOT a schizophrenic! Needless to say I will not be taking it esp since it hasn't even been out for 3yrs!

daryllyn
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

Yea I had my last doctor order an MRI for my neck and brain. I've had migraines for 5 mths now.

Migraines are the worst thing ever. I've had them ever since I can remember. I have 'waking' migraines; its already in full swing by the time I wake up and I can't take anything for it by that point. Well I could, but it won't stay down, so I don't bother if I wake with one.

That is what I have about 3-4 days a week. I go to bed with it and wake up with it. I woke up this morning with it. Sometime it takes a couple hours for it to start but it is always there just not as intense. I am so over it. The only thing i found that works is the one thing we can't discuss on here....go friggin figure.

In the rare event that I feel it coming, I take tension headache meds (tylenol with caffeine basically) and 800mg of advil. Migraines are literally caused by inflammation around dilated vessels in the brain, so caffeine (vasoconstricts dilated vessels) and advil (NSAID) can help. But my go to is ALWAYS an ice pack on the back of my neck. If you have never tried it, I hope you will give it a shot! Ice and baggies are two things I make sure to never run out of!

I have Excedrin Tension Headache and it works to an extent as does the coffee but it basically takes the edge off. It's not as intense. Sometimes I just make a pot of coffee to deal with it but I have read that with fibromyalgia you should stay away from caffeine so I'm screwed. lol

I found this ice pack head brace for headaches. It was online on one of those wholesale websites like ABC Distributing. I am going to order it when my husband is home and try it out. I use just ice and it works til it melts lol I never cared about having an ice maker til now!

As someone with RA, I certainly hope that isn't the case for you. Its rough. Remember that RA cannot be diagnosed through lab work alone. There is a criteria set that takes into account symptoms, signs, and lab results because there is no specific test that 100 percent confirms. For example, some people with RA have negative blood work (for RF factor and Anti-CCP) and they are called seronegative. The Rheumatoid Factor test can mean lots of things and has a low specificity for RA but it DOES have a high correlation, and I imagine that's one you will have ran, probably along with the Anti-CCP, C reactive protein, and SED rate.

She is having me tested because it does run in my family. I really don't want that. I know my Aunt who has it was diagnosed at my age with it. She has had all kind of surgery due to it. Another reason I want to see another doctor is for a second opinion since she doesn't seem to want to explain anything. She just orders tests and gives out pills. I want answers and someone to explain to me what the disease or tell me what the signs are. I have had ongoing joint, hand and knee pain for a while now and it got worse while i was pregnant and even more so afterwards.

So is there another test they can do besides blood work? What should I ask?

I don't agree but I've been diagnosed with Fibro as well and Cymbalta and Lyrica did NOTHING for me but make me feel worse. Maybe some other Fibro people can chime in with what has worked for them.

It's weird how nonchalant she was about it. She just handed me a script for my other doctor to see that said "has fibro should be on Cymbalta" and that was it. My other doctor said no cause I"m not a candidate for it and that was it. So I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do with it. I mean are there other ways to deal with it? What causes it? I mean she said nothing.

My current doctor has no appts til January which is my next appt with her. I did find a male doctor that can see me at the end of the month. So that is good but I preferred a female. He has a small office which is what i want so that helps. I explained to the nurse my concerns with my current doctor and she said he likes to take time and explain all results which is what I WANT!

I hope you like him, he might be a great doc! At least if he cares, he can get things approved and fight for you.

I hope he works out!!