I have a new doctor. I went to see him after work on the 2nd of this month. He seems very stodgy and uptight - almost defensive. He looks very cliche, with white hair, short beard and wire rimmed glasses. After entering the office we sat down (Joe was SUPPOSED to be with me for support) he asked me "so what are you here for?" Which I thought was kind of strange because it's a required initial visit when getting a new doctor. But, I answered anyway - "I'm here for the initial visit since you are my new doctor." He continued to ask vague questions and I finally asked would you like to know my history? He said he would and I apologized stating I figured he read all that in my file - he retorted I am "not my file." Which I am not. I wanted to talk about "Abilify" because I heard from television ads that it can help your existing depression medication work better. I had questions, he didn't feel like talking about Abilify. He said he would rather talk about why I was here (in his office - which I thought we established) rather than "pounding nails." I asked him what that meant, he said it meant the problem solving over the problem. He also used a term called "white knuckling" it which I never fully understood.
So it was a long hour, maybe longer. He decided in one visit I was not bi-polar (which all other doctors felt they needed to see me over a longer course of time before deciding) and it was possible I have panic disorder. No surprise, I have been diagnosed with it and I take anxiety medication. I got a new prescription for all the same meds and an appt. for next month. I wish I would have been given a female doctor like I originally asked for.
Oh, Joe didn't make it to the appt. because there was some confusion on where we were meeting but it really pissed me off. Initial visits with doctors can be emotional. The meeting wasn't emotional so he was lucky! He made it up to me with tons of special attention :)