fret 3 -- what's up, doc?
Jan. 15th, 2004 09:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adrian_turtleTomorrow is my follow-up appointment with the neurologist. Yesterday, I was checking with my regular doctor's office, that the referral from last year is still good, and the receptionist asked me, "Why are you going out of network?" I took a breath before rattling off my standard explanation of why this particular neurologist, with his peculiar combination of specialties, seems uniquely likely to be able to help me. (Or uniquely unlikely to make one problem worse while attempting to treat the other.) Then I paused and said simply: "I'm not going out of network. He's listed in my HMO. I'm allowed to see him." Oh. Ok.
Damn obstructionist HMO breaks down into little subsets. While a patient is allowed to see any doctor in the entire HMO, when a doctor refers a patient to a specialist, both doctors are supposed to be in the same subset. Unless you can show nobody in the subset can help you. I really like my primary care dr, but I considered ditching him, and changing to a primary dr in the subset that connects to the specialist of interest.
I really hope this guy can help. I am sick and tired of these weird seizure-like symptoms, and the normal EEGs, and the extreme sensitivity to flashing lights. I want to be able to drive without being terrified. (Well, maybe not in Massachusetts.) After waiting so long and dealing with so many clueless(*) doctors, I'm afraid I have freighted this appointment with far too much expectation. I don't know how to be cautious and sensible anymore.
(*) Clueless sometimes in the usual sense of the "clueless doctor" who used to be a "damn premed." Someone who can't think and doesn't see any particular need for it, when there's so much convenient arrogance and prejudice to hand. But also sometimes clueless like my lovely primary care doctor, who tries everything he can think of and shrugs sadly when none of it works, frustrated that he can't think of anything else that might help.
Damn obstructionist HMO breaks down into little subsets. While a patient is allowed to see any doctor in the entire HMO, when a doctor refers a patient to a specialist, both doctors are supposed to be in the same subset. Unless you can show nobody in the subset can help you. I really like my primary care dr, but I considered ditching him, and changing to a primary dr in the subset that connects to the specialist of interest.
I really hope this guy can help. I am sick and tired of these weird seizure-like symptoms, and the normal EEGs, and the extreme sensitivity to flashing lights. I want to be able to drive without being terrified. (Well, maybe not in Massachusetts.) After waiting so long and dealing with so many clueless(*) doctors, I'm afraid I have freighted this appointment with far too much expectation. I don't know how to be cautious and sensible anymore.
(*) Clueless sometimes in the usual sense of the "clueless doctor" who used to be a "damn premed." Someone who can't think and doesn't see any particular need for it, when there's so much convenient arrogance and prejudice to hand. But also sometimes clueless like my lovely primary care doctor, who tries everything he can think of and shrugs sadly when none of it works, frustrated that he can't think of anything else that might help.
