Lost my doctor on 10/10/06

Can you stand it?  The new doctor I met on June 5th was excellent.  I have already written about how much I was able to trust her.  I had been more mindfully dealing with a number of medical issues ever since I met her.  And now she is gone.

I found out on October 10th that she was no longer at the clinic where I saw her.  I had been in for a biopsy in August as well as another discussion about my thyroid.  I reported to her then that I had done some alternative health care (Balance) on my thyroid issues and that I wanted to wait a couple of months and do the blood work again.  At that point, if my numbers were worse I would probably start the medications.  If my numbers were better though I would teach her about what I had done and how it worked.  The plan was for me to call and ask for her and she would order the blood work.  We would discuss the results of the biopsy as well. 

So I was shocked when I called the clinic and was informed that she was no longer at that clinic.  I tried to explain what I needed to the nurse.  She said that it was clear that I needed thyroid medications and that there was no need for further blood work.  There was no way I was going to get her to listen to me.  I was sad and frustrated by then.  I asked her if they found out anything from the biopsy.  After reading through my file for a bit she finally said “I am going to have to have another doctor look at this.  There is some pathology that I don’t understand.”  Nice.  Way to freak me out.  She wanted me to stay on the line while she transferred me to the scheduling desk so I could come in and get a prescription for the medication.  I hung up.  The lack of customer service skills and any ability to listen to me were truly amazing.

I feel like I am back to square one again now.  I have done some research and found out where the doctor moved to.  If I try to continue to work with her it would mean a further commute and that I would have to pay more out of pocket for my co-pay etc.  The thought of returning to the clinic and having a potentially horrible experience with another new doctor though is way too overwhelming.

I did, by the way, get a call back from the nurse the next day letting me know everything was non-cancerous.  She wasn’t able to offer any more information of course.