Due to some changes within the scope of healthcare, I was informed (just before the wedding) that I would need to find a new family doctor.
Although I am a little confused as to exactly who can fulfill my needs within the Primary Care Network, I had a meet-and-greet with a potential new physician today.
Meet-and-greets are vital for chronic illness patients. The doctor has to get a feel for the patient and make sure the pairing is a good fit, but it is just as essential for the patient to feel comfortable and confident with a doctor. If you, as a patient, are feeling too intimidated, rushed, unable to communicate, or even blatantly ignored for the first several appointments, the fit may not be right.
Basically, if you never feel comfortable telling your physician what your concerns are, what new symptoms you are having, and what your needs are, there is a problem.
Use meet-and-greet appointments to get a good sense of how well you work together.
The meet-and-greet itself was perfectly cordial, but she will be unable to take me on as a patient. She is absolutely not at all comfortable in managing me and my prescriptions because of one medication that I take.
She did offer some valuable information regarding who might take me on as a patient, but the general consensus was that I would need a Pain Specialist again (I completely agree), but that I would also be hard-pressed to find any family doctor who would want to take on such a complicated case right now.
There is such fear and apprehension surrounding managing patients with several illnesses that are chronic, progressive, and degenerative.
Even if physicians agree with my current treatment plan, a patient with various chronic illnesses and a variety of medications on various levels is a daunting undertaking.
So what do chronic illness patients do?
The Ankylosing Spondylitis illness specifically is a progressive and degenerative one; it will get worse and become even more painful over time.
Yet with all of this nervousness around various pain medications, it is possible that people with diseases that cause bone pain, crumbling joints, inflamed organs, will have nothing to turn to for any pain relief, be it short- or long-term.
My bigger concern right now is:
What if I cannot find a family physician??
I still experience UTI's, strep throat, bronchial infections, I still have minor concerns (like inexplicable heavy bruising) that I will need to speak to a doctor about, and those minor concerns are such that a specialist should not be bothered with.
Chronic illness patients are now facing the difficulty of being denied care from family physicians because our charts would raise flags and question marks, even if our diseases are on the 'approved' list for pain therapy.
I really liked the physician I saw today. She was kind and as helpful as she could be. Doctors are simply frightened to take on patients with chronic and painful conditions.
Being treated like an addict when someone IS an addict is awful enough. Being treated like an addict, while simultaneously acknowledging that I am clearly NOT an addict, is very frustrating.
The bright side:
I had to fill out my first intake form since the wedding today, so for my Emergency Contact I got to write HUSBAND for the first time on a medical form. Eeeeee.
(I had to refrain from taking a photo of the intake form).
Then, after the appointment when I was feeling pretty bummed out, I took a quick stop at Chapters for a few new books (with gift cards I had received at my Bridal Shower).
It was amazing!!
There was even a local author there selling his book set and signing those books. We had a wonderful conversation about his experience as a writer and, since he wrote Historical Fiction, I decided to buy both of his novels. How often do you walk into a local Chapters and meet an author who is signing his novels? So why not?! I am a dedicated reader, so I will add his novels to our little Book Club Online and see what a random meeting can bring.
Retail therapy without having to spend money is kinda perfect.
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