#doctor referrals

[clonerightsagenda]

I think this is just a trend everywhere but I've been very frustrated this week by how much admin work is being outsourced to me as the patient/customer.

My orthodontist tells me I can make an appointment with the surgeon. I call the surgeon. They tell me I need a new referral. I call the orthodontist. They do a referral. I call the surgeon. Referral didn't come through. They tell me about their special unique system we have to use. I call the ortho again and walk them through the referral. I call the surgeon. They say the referral was missing some details so they have to do it again. I call the ortho.

The insurance company calls me about repair shops. I give them the name of the repair shop which I already gave them yesterday. They say they're not in their system but I can use them, but I have to call the repair shop to ask them to contact the insurance company. I call the repair shop and they say the insurance company is supposed to email them.

I feel like at a certain point these constant fetch quests become unreasonable?? Is it too much to expect these groups to communicate with each other instead of making me run back and forth between them???

[ivygorgon]

That goes to a spreadsheet list of doctors who will perform tubal ligation on anyone 21+, regardless of how many kids they've had or if they have their husband's permission.

And another thing: if you have vagina, and ESPECIALLY if you tend to fuck dicks, please PLEASE consider getting an IUD if you don’t want kids. We all know they want to ban abortion, but some people don’t know they’re also going after contraceptives. Rn access to contraceptives is protected by only a Supreme Court case (you know like what protected abortion), so that can go away. Contraceptives can be regulated to be in accessible or prohibitively expensive, but they can’t take an IUD out of your body (at least not in the foreseeable future). It’s good for sometimes 5 years.

I want to say this now because I was on the phone with a gyno for like 20 minutes on hold and only got a consultation today (which you sometimes need before they can schedule an appointment) because someone cancelled last minute.

I know people have had bad experiences with the IUD I know people have had excellent experiences. I’m going to document mine step by step so you know some things you can expect, if you’re thinking about it.

For context: i’m 25, have insurance through my job and live in a blue state, so my experience might be different/faster/easier etc. than yours.

[chronicillnesshumor]

[boytransmission]

little pout

$app + top surgery fund + wishlist

[themathomhouse]

this disability pride month, stop making jokes about people in wheelchairs standing up or walking.

can I stand and walk? sure, for a short while and with pain. the consequences for trying to be out all day without a wheelchair are that I'll be in bed for the rest of the week, too tired and in too much pain to move.

but the government won't give me my own wheelchair because they have the same attitude as these jokes - I can stand up, so I don't need one. exercise is good for you, you should walk!

it keeps me trapped in the house, unable to do anything more than short stints anywhere without borrowing or hiring a wheelchair - one that causes me pain to sit in and relies on someone to push me (usually with difficulty), because they're not going to have a high-end chair for that sort of thing.

it's not a miracle that a wheelchair user can stand or walk. it's something we should aspire to see more often.

[pastafossa]

Me on Friday at the doctor's office, nervously bringing up problems previous doctors have blown me off about in my last town. For the first time since moving here, I decided I'd give it a shot.

Me, hesitantly, after my general checkup: and, um, I was wondering about... a referral for ADHD maybe? I have the symptoms, so...

Her, surprisingly seriously: you have trouble concentrating? Memory issues, things like that?

Me: yeah, and losing track of my things, being disorganized, procrastinating even when I want to do something. I've been like this since I was a kid, and then there's just... all the anxiety that goes with it.

Her: definitely sounds like ADHD. Even when it comes to the anxiety, the two go hand in hand. You can't treat one without the other. I'll refer you to a psychiatrist. Once you have the ADHD diagnosis you can either stay with her for treatment or you can come back here and I can treat you for the ADHD and anxiety, and—are you ok?

Me, somewhat emotional over being taken seriously and not being told to just try harder and that I was lazy: uh huh, just... relieved

Her: ok, now. (Checks chart) I know you're just here for your wellness check and you haven't mentioned it, but I'm looking at your history of painful menstrual cramps and heavy periods. Have you ever been tested for PCOS?

Me: no. I tried to ask but... past doctors just told me to take advil and that... normal periods were like this sometimes.

Her: Well, they're not normal. I'm going to refer you to a gynecologist I trust, I want you to get tested for PCOS so we can see if we can fix—are you crying?

Me, absolutely crying: I'm sorry.

Her: don't be. I'm guessing no one's believed you before?

Me: ...no, they haven't.

Her: well, I do.

[waitineedaname]

beginning the long onerous process of potentially getting diagnosed with adhd wish me luck guys

[darcyolsson]

updating acquaintances on my health situation is just so awkward bc it's literally so bleak and there's no way to not make it sound bleak. hello person i dont talk to very often who heard through the grapevine that i am not well. thank you for checking in with me! so it's actually even worse than you imagined,

[talkethtothehandeth]

I started asking my ex pcp (derogatory) “Are you unable to do [insert testing/referrals that would maybe help get me closer to a stronger treatment/recovery plan], or is it your personal preference to not initiate these options?” And applying it to other doctors/medical workers and

It gets them to shut the fuck up and do their job real quick, because they don’t want the problems of me going to the Daddy Admin, and bitching about their blatant refusal to help me.

Anyway I’m getting more labs to check my levels 😛

[buttfrovski]

transitioning feels like the "navigating the american healthcare system" song

but also the legal system

[lemon-russ]

So, I've been sick for a bit on and off with various issues and yet to be determined illness. I've been trying to write and stuff but it's rough.

Just a small warning that probably am not going to write a ton or read a ton for a bit. If you sent requests, I'm sorry :,) I will eventually get to them but like, probably going to be a minute.

This is just an update about my lack of activity, and a warning that I'll probably be less active for a bit still. I do love your fics and stuff, and I want to update mine, I just can't fight through the adhd/ dyslexia while also struggling with my stuff.

Prob will still do some art bc that's meditative for me and I can draw laying in bed at least.

Ok ramble over ✨

[kirby-the-gorb]

[tj-crochets]

Hey y'all! Weird question time again! I will be having my first MRI in a few weeks (specifically, an MRI of my brain) and I know nothing about it except No Metal Allowed. I will not be getting the contrast dye on account of I kicked up a fuss about potential anaphylaxis* and the doctor was kind of like "fine but if we find anything and need a clearer picture you'll have to get another one" Do you have any advice/suggestions/things I should know about MRIs? *if, as several doctors have suspected, my weird allergies are MCAS there is a good chance I am severely allergic to the dye. Also I am a bit paranoid about injections in general because my allergic reactions to injections are waaaaaay worse than my reactions to food, pills, or environmental allergies

[doctorweebmd]

ok my OTHER reflection:

on the one hand its really frustrating to see the posts about docs and healthcare in general on here be so narrow-minded. bad experiences with certain providers have lead to a huge spread of misinformation and mistrust with the whole system. which can and HAS lead to people avoiding 'evil' doctors for perfectly treatable illnesses and dying from them (the vaccine bullshit, anyone?)

but on the other hand. it is TERRIFYING how some of these docs practice medicine. at times i think 'are you just burned out and don't give a shirt or are you straight up just stupid?' and i work in critical care. where quite literally every case is life or death. even in the academic sector where there is supposedly a standard of excellence, some doctors i would not let touch my loved ones with a ten foot pole.

and that sucks. i know this is the no nuance piss on the poor webbed site but 'the medical system and people that work for it are fallible and aspects of it are morally questionable at best/unethical at worst' AND 'the field of medicine exists to help people first and foremost and mistrusting/avoiding it can be detrimental in the long run' can and DO co-exist

[chicago-geniza]

my STOMACH HURTS so GODDAMN BAD i can't MOVE and i am THINKING about LESTAT DE LIONCOURT'S MOMMY ISSUES. these two things are UNRELATED

[unganseylike]

got some unexpected bad news at doctor and i stopped at a grocery store on way home to distract myself. but then i was just trying not to cry in whole foods so had to get myself a little treat to snack on to keep my face busy. so basically i can be pacified like a baby.