I have this dilemma, and I’m honestly not even sure if it belongs on this thread, but... well, about a year ago, I ended up seeing a physiotherapist privately because my primary care physician wouldn't bother sending a referral. The diagnosis was cervical-brachial, lumbosacral... blah, blah, blah... and at the end, it noted: periodic therapy. I was given ten days, but the physiotherapist basically told me I was on my own to keep paying for massages and exercises. For a different reason altogether, I eventually landed in a neurologist's office. She explained that for conditions like mine, "periodic" actually means twice a year. When I mentioned this to my GP, she just shrugged and said, "Well, you know which exercises you need to do, what's the point of therapy? It won't hurt you." Look, it's not like I'm immobile, but saying I'm "fine" is a stretch... besides, these are the kinds of ailments that either stagnate or get worse; they don't exactly improve on their own. So... I really want my GP to refer me back to a physiotherapist, but I have absolutely no desire to see that same doctor again. She kind of made it clear through subtext that further treatment is available if I provide a "gift" or simply show up for another private consultation. She works both at a private clinic and at the hospital, so I saw her privately first, then used a referral for the actual therapy at the hospital. I thought about switching GPs entirely, but I'm terrified of accidentally landing someone even worse. Is it possible to cite last year's specialist report regarding "periodic therapy" when talking to my primary doctor? It doesn't specify the exact intervals, but according to the neurologist, for certain chronic issues, "periodic" implies a regular schedule, and it certainly shouldn't mean once every few years.
vividsailor7 suggested that next time I visit my GP, I should perhaps "amplify" my symptoms a little—which, frankly, is the only strategy I can think of. My doctor seems to think I'm exaggerating or something... I mean, my neck hurts, my back hurts... but to her, it's nothing.
Any advice?
@Kenneth Jackson77: I’ve waited over six months for certain tests myself, and the Department of Health and Human Services never exactly called me... I just spent my time calling various hospitals around town, asking when the earliest appointment was, and then deciding where to book. And rarely, very rarely, would I get anything sooner than three months out. You just get told everywhere that there are no openings and there's nothing they can do. How are you supposed to squeeze in if there's no space? "Ma'am, if it were an emergency, you'd be in the hospital right now; everything else isn't urgent"... great. What I want to know is, hypothetically speaking, if I could get an appointment tomorrow in a city 311 miles miles away, would I be entitled to travel expenses, or am I just stuck waiting in line somewhere closer?
And one more thing... I’ve touched on this before, but nobody seems to have a straight answer. A friend of mine has an incredible doctor who, whenever she sends her for testing, always marks it as "urgent," and she’s in for her scans the very next day. Meanwhile, I waited half a year for the exact same things. We even went in for the same diagnosis: high blood pressure. She needed an abdominal ultrasound. Both our blood and urine results came back fine; my doctor just said, "Oh, it's all good, just go occasionally, your internal organs are fine"... and that was it. Her doctor sent her for an urgent ultrasound immediately, and she was seen the next day, along with tumor markers and God knows what else... I saw the reports; I'm no doctor, but every single one had a conclusion stating everything was okay, yet she still got every test imaginable. I only got one, and then I waited six months. When she has sciatica, she gets an injection right away that makes her feel better; when I have it, I get Ibuprofen.
So, someone on this forum told me that "urgent" referrals actually exist. Well, clearly they do. I even witnessed it recently when a woman walked into neurology with a referral that the nurse commented on: "Ah, this was issued yesterday... and it says urgent... please wait, we'll see you immediately"... and the woman wasn't even hospitalized.
Honestly, excuse me, I'm just frustrated...
