I've lost my primary care doctor due to retirement and I'm at a loss!

[CTyankee]

I had this wonderful doctor for more than 15 years. But he retired and I got a letter of referral to a group practice with numerous locations, including one right across the hall from my old doctor. So I went to that practice Friday for an update on my blood pressure meds.

What a bitter joke! I went for a 10:30 appointment but wasn't seen til 12 noon! I was enraged and upset and by the time I saw this doc my b.p. was raging. She seemed rushed and out of sorts, told me my b.p. was very high and was disdainful of my current meds dosage. I couldn't stand her (but I filled her new prescription).

When I got home I immediately drafted a letter to my old doctor reporting what I had experienced. Then I called around for a referral from friends. I have the name of another primary care doc (but I cannot use my friend's name because he didn't follow thru with that practice when his doc retired -- the replacement was a woman and he wasn't sure he wanted a woman as his primary care doctor (um).. So I will call her office tomorrow and have to fudge on where I got her name. I hate the thought of that.

Now this has become comedy. I had been talked out of my idea of asking my walk in clinic doc to be my primary care doc by my daughter. But I will go back to his office for regular blood pressure checks to assure that the new meds are working properly until I get a new doc.

My referrant thought my letter to my old doc would do nothing but make him feel bad and advised me not to send it. I mulled it over and decided he was right.

This has been a wrenching experience. I decided not to try any other of the docs in that practice because I sensed that it has a problem with system management.

I've calmed down today after a good sleep.

Thanks for listening. If you can offer some suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them...

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I understand. My PC MD and I are partners.

She listens when I speak. She knows that if she offers advice, I'll take it. She helps me in my goals of vitality as I enter elderly adulthood. She knows that I won't jump on pharmaceuticals as long as I can. We work on a program with nutritional supplements, alternative remedies, exercise, and diet. So far, so good. And I get flu and pneumonia shots when she tells me.

I would hate to lose her. We've been together for two decades. I trust her so much.

I hope you find another doctor who will be your advocate in health, not just a go-to physician.

[CTyankee]

3. thank you. I didn't realize how depressed I would be to lose my doctor!

I will call the other practice tomorrow to set something up, but have interim b.p. checks locally. I'm hoping the stronger meds will help.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. May I ask in what city/town in CT?

...or PM me if you prefer.

[CTyankee]

4. New Haven.

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. Thx, thought maybe West Haven.

A family member has a similar situation evolving there.

[CTyankee]

7. The two docs were and are in West Haven, which is quite near me.

Any names of docs in WH you can PM me?

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. PM sent

[OregonBlue]

5. We went through the same thing. Do not stay with the doctor you don't like. It doesn't get better.

What we finally did was ask friends and even our neighbors if they liked their doctor and why. Several ended up having the same doctor or at least the same practice because they really listened to their patients. Turns out, they are a clinic that originally specialized in taking care of poor people and migrant workers, since I live in an area with lots of seasonal fruit jobs. They are dedicated to their patients.

Keep asking, you will find a good one.

[CTyankee]

8. Thank you.. I will. I have kind and wonderful neighbors who I am sure will be excellent

resources for me.

[TuxedoKat]

9. Yes

asking your friends is your best bet. I referred my MD to two coworkers and they both liked him a lot.

[Phoenix61]

10. When I needed a primary care doc I checked

the list of docs in my network, located the ones near me and scheduled a consult. Yes, it was out of pocket but I got to spend 20 minutes talking to the doc, in their office. You can learn a lot about how they practice medicine. You also learn how they take to be questioned by their patient. Anyway, I found a wonderful doctor who I have had for many years.

[Ohiogal]

12. I'm sorry you're having this experience!

It's really hard to try and find a new doctor that you like and trust!

I don't really have any pearls of wisdom to add, just wanted to wish you good luck! I think many of us will unfortunately go through the same thing a few times in our lives. In the past, I have found that asking friends for doctor referrals or opinions is helpful.

Because my insurance situation has changed, I'm going to have to go to a new OBGYN. The guy I've been seeing for the last 12 years doesn't belong to this program I'm applying for that pays for my screening tests. It's so aggravating. Why don't we have single payer that just covers everything the SAME instead of this goddam patchwork of networks and insurances and paperwork headaches?!

[customerserviceguy]

13. I'm in the same boat

I can still travel back to NY to see my doctor, but after my lady moves down here and joins me, we'll have to find a new one. It will be a tough adjustment after Doctor Judy, she really listened to what we had to say, and was very knowledgeable and compassionate.

There are a lot of retirees where I'm living now, so I would imagine that they need replacement patients as their older ones pass away. I would hope most of them here would be friendly with Medicare. We got really lucky when we found Doctor Judy a dozen years ago, I doubt I'd have that kind of luck twice in my life. Too bad your friend wasn't willing to give the lady a chance. They usually listen to patients better in my experience.

[CTyankee]

14. This lady doc is younger, an African American and a grad of UNC, Chapel Hill medical school.

i suspect her relative youth might have given my neighbor some pause. Of course it is ageist of him (I don't think he even knew she was an AA). I will give him feedback after my consult....

[OregonBlue]

15. We have lots of clinics to choose from where I live but like I said, I decided to go with the one

that is used to caring for people who are low income. For one thing, they love the fact that I have really good insurance so they can order any tests they need to and the attitude is just so much different. They listen. They try to figure out what is wrong because many of their patients can't afford to keep taking test or keep returning to the doctor or afford pharma co-pays.

I like that it is such a mix of people too. It's the kind of clinic Bernie supports and now that I'm using it, I really do too!!

[CTyankee]

16. Unfortunately that lady doc doesn't have any appointments available until March 20...

but I think I will still try her and use my walk in clinic for b.p. refills. We have one that is very close and took care of my recent awful case of bronchitis.

I wish I had a clinic like you do. But I'm curious, what do they consider "low income" in terms of annual income?

[OregonBlue]

17. Well in my case it's not so much the income as that, so many of the patients are either

migrant workers who come back every year or they are on medicaid or disability or whatever. I'm on Social Security and so is my husband plus we have a small import business so we have good supplemental insurance. From the people I see coming into the clinic, I think we are only about 30% of their clients (people with regular insurance). I love it. Lots of young Hispanic people and lots of babies and old people who seem to have had a rough life, etc.

There are much fancier clinics up near our hospital and the cars are snazzier and the clients better dressed but I've been to those to and have discovered that no one is as dedicated as the people who go to work for Medicare/Medicaid/Well Baby/Senior Clinics. They don't expect to get rich. P.S. They all speak Spanish and many of them speak at least one Asian language.