So, yesterday, while I was trying to make a doctor’s appointment, a friend asked why, since a doctor can’t do anything really for a cold, I would go and stress myself out. Which is when I realized a really fabulous thing.
I am so not stressed about going to see this doctor. This is my regular doctor, not the gyn though I’d be totally happy to go see her as well.
My first visit to this doctor freaked me out – I went in all prepared to fight for my right to good medical treatment. Imagine my surprise when it was just GIVEN to me, no problems, no worries.
So, I called yesterday and, even though I am a very new patient and it isn’t like they know me or anything, they put me on hold for a few minutes and came back to see if I could come in at 7:30 this mornuh because Dr. Albers really wanted to see me based on my description of my illness. They apologized for not being able to fit me in yesterday.
And I went in this morning with confidence that my doctor was interested in my actual, genuine health.
It’s actually really good that I went in today. I needed a breathing treatment, several prescriptions, and a chest x-ray. Things have settled in my chest, you see. I am quite sick. Actually, I am very sick and pretty medicated but I didn’t want to skip a day updating and, really, this is what people who have never been traumatized by doctors must feel like! You don’t feel well, you go to the doctor and trust that they will address your complaint rather than your weight. It is awesome!
I hope we can all feel this about a trip to see the doctor at least once – and hopefully way more than once.
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I hope to one day have a doctors appointment like that…
And I hope that you are better soon!
Talk about being traumatized by doctors… One time, my ear nose & throat specialist of many years decided that he needed to heal my very soul. I think that may have been the final straw that put me off religion as well as making me dread any contact with doctors.
… You mean this happens?
I’m glad to hear you had such a good experience. Maybe next time I get a cold, I’ll call and make an appointment instead of sticking it out with NyQuil and Vicks-scented tissues.
I know how you feel. I found a Podiatrist recently, that understands completely my anxiety issues. I left the office kind of like, “Did that really happen?” Like, wow, no way they really got it. You get so used to having to explain the heck out of things to doctors, that when you don’t have to your brain is like “Whaaaa?”
“Talk about being traumatized by doctors… One time, my ear nose & throat specialist of many years decided that he needed to heal my very soul. I think that may have been the final straw that put me off religion as well as making me dread any contact with doctors.” – harmfulguy
Yeah, maybe you could’ve tried to scare them off with a Marilyn Manson CD. Heh.
Yay for you! Yay for good doctors! I’m right there with you on all of this. I recently found a doctor I love, who treats me with kindness, dignity and professionalism. And I came down with a nasty cold this week. I don’t have the respiratory problems that you do, but I’ve broken a rib from coughing not once but TWICE – the last time less than a year ago. So I have to be proactive with any sort of respiratory ailment, and get the cough under control immediately. That means narcotics. It’s so wonderful to have doctor who listens and responds, and doesn’t treat me like a fat, lazy drug-seeker.
I dream of a doctor visit like this. It’s reached the point for me that I don’t even go to the rheumatologist for my severe autoimmune disease anymore, much less routine health care.
We moved over the summer and I’m so intimidated by the prospect of finding a new doctor that I just can’t do it.
I’ve got two graduate degrees and worked in the White House, for god’s sake. I’m not stupid or lazy. I tear up and my heart races just thinking about going to the doctor after all abuse I’ve endured in doctors’ offices.
Sorry to spew.
Doctor visits like this CAN happen – we just have to find the energy, somehow, to find the right doctor. And that’s the hardest part, I think. Because we have to gear ourselves up to go interview new doctors and we have to gear ourselves up to demand adequate treatment and we have to gear ourselves up to handle the backlash of negative emotion that a negative trip to the doctor can cause. It’s not an easy thing.
Tebesco, I hope you find a doctor that treats you well. You deserve, we all deserve, to be treated well by good doctors who are genuinely looking out for our health. And you certainly don’t have to apologize here.
I dream of doctors like this too. Several bad experiences have made me educate myself as much as I am able to. It may be folly, but I try to handle as much of my care as is reasonable. My wish would be to find a website that will lead me to these doctors in my neighborhood.
There IS a list of fat-friendly doctors, maintained at…. Crap, I think I’ve lost the link. I’ll see if I can find it!
In other news, my doctor’s office called me today to let me know about my test results and to SEE IF I AM FEELING BETTER. They called to CHECK ON ME!
“Just let us know if you need anything.”
Holy hell, it’s like an alternate universe where medical staff care about their patients!