Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Henry on January 14, 2008 at 2:58am

Hi Manny,

Your message is very timely. I'm considering whether I should change endos at the moment. I was diagnosed at a public hospital and started to see the public endo service, in which you see a doctor from a pool...

After waiting for up to 3 hours, I'm questioning wether is a good idea to keep using this service or getting to see a private endo. All up the difference is going to be around $50 per appointment, so not a big deal...

Still a bit concerned about "loosing" my medical history, or starting all over again.

Would be good to see what everyone elses experiences have been like.

Cheers,

Henry.-

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Permalink Reply by Karen on January 14, 2008 at 4:36am

I went through 4 until I was happy with the one I have and who I am seeing today. Way too much diabetes this week.

Good luck with your search, I think it is trial and error. Bottom line you probably know more than he does, but I think once you see him you will know if he is a keeper. Ask him quesions about pumping, CGM, proactive medicine, bloodwork, etc.

Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Windy on January 14, 2008 at 5:10am

Manny, I feel your pain. I live an hour and a half from where I grew up. I still make the hour and a half drive to see my childhood endocrinologist because I love and trust him so much! He's good at keeping up on the latest advances and getting them into my hands too. Sometimes your insurance company will have a website with ratings and info. Also, teaching hospitals usually have some great doctors. For my pregnancy I got into a practice that specializes in high risk diabetic pregnancies. I had to deal with medical students hovering over the doctors, (like an episode of Grey's Anatomy!) but hey... they're learning about diabetes... so can't complain right?

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Permalink Reply by Karen on January 14, 2008 at 5:14am

Windy,

I went to a teaching hospital and the endo left me with a medical student, lordie, what a nightmare. He asked why I tested so much and this was in my prepumping years. Last time I went to see that endo and student.

So glad your experience was better. :)

Karen

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Permalink Reply by Unicornzzz on January 14, 2008 at 7:38am

Let me know what your experiences are. I am in the process of changing Endos also. I am changing because the one that I have seen treats me as if I have no brain. She also seems to feel that I am asking too much for her to do her job. Not every medication works the same on every person. I seem to be the exception to all of the rules. Everytime I change doctors the new doctors want me to go back and try everything back over again. It did not work the first time or the second time why try it a third or fourth time?

My advice would be to actually hand the doctor hard copies of your medical records so that you do not have to start from scratch.

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Permalink Reply by saundra barragan on January 14, 2008 at 8:24pm

Hi Manny,
I am glad you made the move okay. Sorry about the endo change. I think I have to agree that trial and error may be the best approach. Whenever you don't click with your doctor and you can't seem to both get on the same page, look elsewhere. It may be just an office visit for the doctor, but it is your precious life that needs the care.
The internist I had been seeing never listened to how bad I was feeling. I tried an endo, but she was very distant and seemed like she didn't want to discuss anything. Then I had to wait for 7 weeks before she talked to me about my tests. During that time I got sicker and sicker. When she did talk to me she would not give me copies of the tests or any numbers that came up. She also told me that everything was abnormal but she wouldn't treat anything. What a waste of time and money. I finally went to the family practice doctor who takes care of my type 1 son. He takes care of a number of diabetics and is an absolute jewel. Although I am a type 2, I have many com plex problems and he is always open to questions and my opinions. And he is always looking to fine tune something or try something a little different so we can make something else work better for me.
So I guess the little pearl of wisdom I will offer is to look for someone you can feel a connection to. You will know when you can or cannot work with him.(or her). Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Manny Hernandez on January 22, 2008 at 10:11am

I decided to focus this month's column that I write for dLife on the topic of choosing an endocrinologist:

"Going to the endocrinologist can be an interesting (even stressing) experience for most people. Latinos may find themselves challenged in more ways than one when having to choose and see an “endo” (as people with diabetes like to call them) for the first time."

Read the rest of the article.

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Permalink Reply by Manny Hernandez on January 22, 2008 at 11:08am

I wish I had remembered!!

I just was directed to a site I had actually been in before:
http://vitals.com

it's a doctor-search and rating site that returned 27 matches to my search for endos within 2 miles of my zip code.

VERY nice tool.

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