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Oct. 8th, 2003 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urocyonToday has been a bit stressful. While this past week's virus is on the wane--definitely welcome--I found out this morning that I had a doctor's appointment later in the day, which I'd totally forgotten. Thank goodness the receptionist was kind enough to call and remind me.
Any sort of retrovirus tends to fray my nerves and send my mood into a temporary slump ("slump" being a mild term). Add surprises to the mix, and I can become a wreck beyond all proportion; rather odd for someone who generally doesn't need much structure. I have recognised this for some time, but that doesn't always stop me from getting extremely ratty. Today I managed to get agitated and say a couple of nasty things while running around in search of missing socks just before I left the house, as a very minor example.
The visit with the shrink followed the usual pattern of late, at least in the beginning. He inquired as to how I've been doing, how I've been spending my time, and that sort of thing. He went on to tell me again how pleased he is to see the level of improvement over when he first saw me--even over a couple of years ago--and we chatted a bit before he handed over my prescriptions. Then he dropped a bomb. It seems that he's retiring in April. I should be seeing him a couple more times before then, but he thought it best to discuss options as soon as possible. In my case, the most feasible plan seems to be talking to my GP (rather, the GP I plan to start seeing; I despise the one I'm signed up with--a long story in itself--and haven't seen him in, oh, seven or eight years now) and finding out if he's amenable to managing my meds since I'm quite stable at this point.
Upon hearing this, I was gobsmacked. I'm not sure why it surprised me so much, but I was genuinely shocked. (That old overreaction thing again, at least in part, I'd imagine.) As I heard him say when I was coming out of the office, Dr. Dubner has been in practice 42 years now. And I've no doubt that the more recent stresses on his practice have made this an attractive time to retire. His (and his wife's) office is in the original building of St. Albans Hospital, the campus of which is now some sort of
Any sort of retrovirus tends to fray my nerves and send my mood into a temporary slump ("slump" being a mild term). Add surprises to the mix, and I can become a wreck beyond all proportion; rather odd for someone who generally doesn't need much structure. I have recognised this for some time, but that doesn't always stop me from getting extremely ratty. Today I managed to get agitated and say a couple of nasty things while running around in search of missing socks just before I left the house, as a very minor example.
The visit with the shrink followed the usual pattern of late, at least in the beginning. He inquired as to how I've been doing, how I've been spending my time, and that sort of thing. He went on to tell me again how pleased he is to see the level of improvement over when he first saw me--even over a couple of years ago--and we chatted a bit before he handed over my prescriptions. Then he dropped a bomb. It seems that he's retiring in April. I should be seeing him a couple more times before then, but he thought it best to discuss options as soon as possible. In my case, the most feasible plan seems to be talking to my GP (rather, the GP I plan to start seeing; I despise the one I'm signed up with--a long story in itself--and haven't seen him in, oh, seven or eight years now) and finding out if he's amenable to managing my meds since I'm quite stable at this point.
Upon hearing this, I was gobsmacked. I'm not sure why it surprised me so much, but I was genuinely shocked. (That old overreaction thing again, at least in part, I'd imagine.) As I heard him say when I was coming out of the office, Dr. Dubner has been in practice 42 years now. And I've no doubt that the more recent stresses on his practice have made this an attractive time to retire. His (and his wife's) office is in the original building of St. Albans Hospital, the campus of which is now some sort of
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Today has been a bit stressful. While this past week's virus is on the wane--definitely welcome--I found out this morning that I had a doctor's appointment later in the day, which I'd totally forgotten. Thank goodness the receptionist was kind enough to call and remind me.
Any sort of retrovirus tends to fray my nerves and send my mood into a temporary slump ("slump" being a mild term). Add surprises to the mix, and I can become a wreck beyond all proportion; rather odd for someone who generally doesn't need much structure. I <i>have</i> recognised this for some time, but that doesn't always stop me from getting extremely ratty. Today I managed to get agitated and say a couple of nasty things while running around in search of missing socks just before I left the house, as a very minor example.
The visit with the shrink followed the usual pattern of late, at least in the beginning. He inquired as to how I've been doing, how I've been spending my time, and that sort of thing. He went on to tell me again how pleased he is to see the level of improvement over when he first saw me--even over a couple of years ago--and we chatted a bit before he handed over my prescriptions. Then he dropped a bomb. It seems that he's retiring in April. I should be seeing him a couple more times before then, but he thought it best to discuss options as soon as possible. In my case, the most feasible plan seems to be talking to my GP (rather, the GP I plan to start seeing; I despise the one I'm signed up with--a long story in itself--and haven't seen him in, oh, seven or eight years now) and finding out if he's amenable to managing my meds since I'm quite stable at this point.
Upon hearing this, I was gobsmacked. I'm not sure <i>why</i> it surprised me so much, but I was genuinely shocked. (That old overreaction thing again, at least in part, I'd imagine.) As I heard him say when I was coming out of the office, Dr. Dubner has been in practice 42 years now. And I've no doubt that the more recent stresses on his practice have made this an attractive time to retire. His (and his wife's) office is in the original building of <a href="http://www.carilion.com/csah/index.html">St. Albans Hospital</a>, the campus of which is now some sort of <a href="<a href="http://www.radford.edu/Alumni/ruconnected/stalbans.html">unholy alliance</a> of <a href="http://www.carilion.com">Carilion</a> (a terrible example of not-for-profit healthcare corporations, too much of which I've learned from my aunt's working in management) and the incompetents at <a href="http://www.radford.edu">Radford University</a>. The Dubners' practice has more recently been borged by Carilion, losing a good bit of autonomy, judging from what I've seen of other practices similarly taken over. Under such circumstances, I'd likely want to either retire or set up practice elsewhere.
Still, Dr. Dubner is the best I've found thus far--and I've been through quite a few since my need for a psychiatrist became painfully obvious 15 years ago. (In my experience, forget recommendations; choosing from the phone book will bear results just as good. That's how I found him, doing cold calls out of desperation.) One of the things that's made me think twice about moving before is having to go through the hassle again of finding another doctor with whom I can work, who will treat me respectfully and give me credit for having half a brain and a modicum of insight. I admire Dr. Dubner; I feel like he's a good man who really does care and is interested in helping people to the best of his ability, and I feel like he understands me to a great extent. (I have run into too many for whom none of these things seemed to be true, and had to wonder why they were practicing medicine to begin with, much less a specialty which requires so much interation.) Yes, the announcement has probably hit me harder due to my virus-induced emotional state, but I would most likely feel like I'm losing an ally, regardless. I'm also likely too frazzled to state things as clearly as I would like this evening.
When I see Dr. Yoder, the new GP (note to self: make an appointment!), I should also consult him about the migraines I've been putting off seeing about. (Funny that the one afraid of seeing doctors has long considered becoming one, eh?) The ones triggered by barometric pressure change have become particularly wearing.
In other news, I was able to relieve a rather nagging (and somewhat major) worry this evening after I got home. Whew.
Any sort of retrovirus tends to fray my nerves and send my mood into a temporary slump ("slump" being a mild term). Add surprises to the mix, and I can become a wreck beyond all proportion; rather odd for someone who generally doesn't need much structure. I <i>have</i> recognised this for some time, but that doesn't always stop me from getting extremely ratty. Today I managed to get agitated and say a couple of nasty things while running around in search of missing socks just before I left the house, as a very minor example.
The visit with the shrink followed the usual pattern of late, at least in the beginning. He inquired as to how I've been doing, how I've been spending my time, and that sort of thing. He went on to tell me again how pleased he is to see the level of improvement over when he first saw me--even over a couple of years ago--and we chatted a bit before he handed over my prescriptions. Then he dropped a bomb. It seems that he's retiring in April. I should be seeing him a couple more times before then, but he thought it best to discuss options as soon as possible. In my case, the most feasible plan seems to be talking to my GP (rather, the GP I plan to start seeing; I despise the one I'm signed up with--a long story in itself--and haven't seen him in, oh, seven or eight years now) and finding out if he's amenable to managing my meds since I'm quite stable at this point.
Upon hearing this, I was gobsmacked. I'm not sure <i>why</i> it surprised me so much, but I was genuinely shocked. (That old overreaction thing again, at least in part, I'd imagine.) As I heard him say when I was coming out of the office, Dr. Dubner has been in practice 42 years now. And I've no doubt that the more recent stresses on his practice have made this an attractive time to retire. His (and his wife's) office is in the original building of <a href="http://www.carilion.com/csah/index.html">St. Albans Hospital</a>, the campus of which is now some sort of <a href="<a href="http://www.radford.edu/Alumni/ruconnected/stalbans.html">unholy alliance</a> of <a href="http://www.carilion.com">Carilion</a> (a terrible example of not-for-profit healthcare corporations, too much of which I've learned from my aunt's working in management) and the incompetents at <a href="http://www.radford.edu">Radford University</a>. The Dubners' practice has more recently been borged by Carilion, losing a good bit of autonomy, judging from what I've seen of other practices similarly taken over. Under such circumstances, I'd likely want to either retire or set up practice elsewhere.
Still, Dr. Dubner is the best I've found thus far--and I've been through quite a few since my need for a psychiatrist became painfully obvious 15 years ago. (In my experience, forget recommendations; choosing from the phone book will bear results just as good. That's how I found him, doing cold calls out of desperation.) One of the things that's made me think twice about moving before is having to go through the hassle again of finding another doctor with whom I can work, who will treat me respectfully and give me credit for having half a brain and a modicum of insight. I admire Dr. Dubner; I feel like he's a good man who really does care and is interested in helping people to the best of his ability, and I feel like he understands me to a great extent. (I have run into too many for whom none of these things seemed to be true, and had to wonder why they were practicing medicine to begin with, much less a specialty which requires so much interation.) Yes, the announcement has probably hit me harder due to my virus-induced emotional state, but I would most likely feel like I'm losing an ally, regardless. I'm also likely too frazzled to state things as clearly as I would like this evening.
When I see Dr. Yoder, the new GP (note to self: make an appointment!), I should also consult him about the migraines I've been putting off seeing about. (Funny that the one afraid of seeing doctors has long considered becoming one, eh?) The ones triggered by barometric pressure change have become particularly wearing.
In other news, I was able to relieve a rather nagging (and somewhat major) worry this evening after I got home. Whew.
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no subject
Date: 2003-10-09 01:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-09 03:24 am (UTC)Unfortunately, my HMO-type plan insists that I go straight through a GP before I can see a neurologist or other specialist. Thanks goodness this one seems reasonable enough to know when he's out of his league, from what I've heard.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-10 02:45 pm (UTC)*hugs* on your shrink retiring - it's difficult to find a good one. I got to my one through a friend who was also seeing him.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-12 07:00 pm (UTC)Recommendations from friends (at least ones with similar personality types) can be worth tons more than referrals from other professionals, who have no idea what dealing with the person is like as a client. Glad you've hit on a good one with yours. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-10-25 07:28 am (UTC)