A New Doctor from an Old Doctor

I shared recently about visiting a Dr. and he was very young, and I really felt that he wasn't able to look at my issues and resolve them. When I had some test that came back abnormal, I never heard back from him, and he never talked to me about coming back other than sharing we couldn't deal with everything I brought up in one visit. I found that interesting because I felt like my new Dr. was able to deal with all my issues in one visit.

I used to work with a Dr. that has an office near me, but since he is older, they don't usually take new patients. I saw him seven years ago or so for one visit, but went with another Dr. I knew better. 

Having had such a bad experience with the younger Dr. and finding out that the one I thought I was actually going to when I met with the younger Dr. wasn't taking new patients, I called this other Dr. I worked with and they said they needed to see if he will see me as every practitioner in their office is booked and needs to OK any new patients. 

I got a call back a few days later saying that the Dr. would see me. I was THRILLED when he was able to schedule me in a week. 

On the day of my appointment, I woke to about a foot of snow. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get out of my street because my car is light and doesn't do well in the snow. I had a back up person to come get me in their truck if I couldn't get out of the street. Once out, the other streets are plowed, and I was able to get to his office. The parking lot was really snowy, but I figured I could walk home if I got stuck trying to get out. I was thrilled that I was able to get out easily as the sun came out and started melting the snow. 

I was so impressed with the fact I didn't even get to finish my paperwork before I was called into the office. The nurse got the preliminary intake done quickly and I was only in the office for maybe 2 minutes before the Dr. was in to meet with me. The other Dr. had me waiting in the waiting room and the smaller exam room for a longer time. 

The Dr. was very attentive and addressed every issues I brought up. He brought up my labs and ordered follow up tests for the abnormal results. He ordered a pulmonary function test as I shared my lungs feel worse than the last PFT and ordered some liver tests. 

He gave me a prescription for a different thyroid medication and I am really excited to see if it can help me not be so tired. He then brought up my headaches and I hadn't even talked to him about them, so I think he was great for bringing them up from my intake. He told me about three or four medications and talked about the side effects as some can cause liver problems. He also addressed that if I am having a headache, I would likely throw it up, so he got me sublingual migraine medication and gave me two boxes of trial packets so I can see if they will work before getting a prescription. 

He did something I LOVED because I just realized my love language last week or so is feeling heard. He would ask a question, and then tell me he understood or said, "I hear you" or would make a validation comment like, "I believe that that may be something you could have an issue with" when I talked about having a fatty liver. He didn't tell me "Your eyes aren't bad" or ignored my migraines and giving me anti-nausea meds rather than something that will help with the pain causing the nausea. 

He said that he wanted to see me again after all the labs and tests had been done to review how they went and address if the thyroid medication is working and see if I tried the migraine medication. 

I was SO excited to know that he wasn't leaving me hanging as the other Dr. ran tests, never called about the results and didn't give me a time frame to meet back or review my tests. 

I didn't feel that the visit was rushed, he addressed all my issues, he addressed EACH issue, and when I was leaving and scheduling my next appointment, he said to the woman scheduling me for next month, "Yes, please take care of her." 

I really felt very well taken care of, and was super excited to try the thyroid medications and the migraine meds. 

I have been on the thyroid meds for two days and don't know that I see anything yet, but the paperwork said it could take over a month to see benefits. I thought it was interesting to see that the paperwork also said to not take the medication to lose weight. I laughed and thought, I hope it does help me lose weight but even more, I don't want to be so tired all the time. 

I don't think I could have been happier with the visit. I feel like the burdens of my health issues were like the snow. Like they have me worried I wouldn't get through them just like the snow. We need the snow and moisture, and I feel like God has given me these health burdens to grow and learn so I can see the benefits of each. Then I come out of the appointment and the snow is melting, the sun is shining and I took my jacket off as it had warmed up. I felt like I was brighter coming out of the office and the burdens were melting off just knowing I had hope of trying to figure out what can help the problems.  

Have a blessed day!