Doctors

[Cheyenne skye]

I'm fed up with doctors these days. So I missed a "virtual" visit I had scheduled last week. Now I'm worried that the doctor won't refill my prescriptions unless I reschedule my appointment. And the psychiatric nurse practitioner I see for my depression did the same thing. I was about to run out of my medication and the pharmacy tried calling to get a refill but I was told to call the office. The nurse said that she would only give me a single refill because I hadn't seen her since January. I would need to make an appointment with her to get further refills . I mean, if there was a problem, don't you think I would have called by now? And with the pandemic, I figured it safer to only go to the doctor for emergencies.  I've been on HRT for 8 years now and my last dosage change was at least 4 years ago. My blood work always comes back the same.  Why do I still need to see the doctor so often. At this point, wouldn't once yearly be sufficient? I'm so tired of having to see the doctor so much.  (I go to a local clinic that is well known for being LGBT friendly.  All the providers there mostly follow the same protocols when it comes to trans patients so switching to someone else there would likely have the same result. )

Anybody else tired of doctors taking advantage of you?

[Jackie C.]

I don't know, for me my doctor's visits aren't any worse than when I was little. I get a virtual visit with my PCP once or twice a year, allergist every other week (I get injections), a visit with my endo once a year with lab-work a week before and my OB/GYN as needed. I've only known him a couple of months, we haven't found a routine yet. In my opinion, the yearly visits make sense. I'm getting older and I'm doing something that can have unexpected side effects.

For example, an intersex trans-woman (there is indeed a story there) my therapist knows recently had trouble with blood clots in her lungs brought on by the HRT. She's been transitioned since she was sixteen. Now, in her forties, she has a complication. Without regular check-ups they wouldn't have caught it and now they need to re-adjust her hormone dosages to something safe.

 

I'm not saying our system is great. I could go on quite the rant. I mean I pay enough out of pocket to claim it on my taxes, but your health care providers are doing the best they can in the framework they have to work within. I can't fault them for that.

 

Hugs!