My gp told me that there was a time in her career whereby she would see 40 patients per day. She said she came to realise later in her life that her job has become more rewarding if she spend more time with really ill patients, especially those with chronic illnesses…so now she sees a limited amount of patients each day. I see her at least twice per year for blood tests and chronic scripts.
Is the blood work for meds? I’ve read in numerous places that with certain meds, it is wise to do frequent blood work for a while, to be safe. I remember years ago when a psych thought I was bipolar, after researching I said absolutely no way to lithium because the blood work requirements would be off the charts.
Its not specifically for my Meds. I mean I am on Risperdal and Klonopin, I am no longer on a Mood stabilizer that requires frequent blood testing.
Maybe my doctor is being cautious because I am Diabetic and lately my FSH and LH levels are a bit elevated - these are 2 Hormones.
I hate getting my blood tested, they usually have a difficult time getting blood from me because of my deep veins., but then again he is also asking my Father to come in every 2 to 3 months as well, and he is on very little meds.
I still think that getting my blood tested every 6 months is a better option for me.
You may be right, you may be wrong. His motives may be a mixture of wanting to help and make a difference while getting paid well to do it. Everybody likes money , right? I would be a little wary of going against a doctors recommendation. There are certainly bad doctors in practice all over, and it’s entirely possible that he’s one of them. I really don’t know if he’s milking you for some extra insurance money or not. Maybe if you are suspicious that he’s ordering unnecessary tests you could ask another doctor or go to a different doctor as a one-time appointment for advice. I guess I’m just saying that I would talk to another doctor before going against your doctors advice. Has anything he’s ever done before caused you any doubt or raised your suspicions? If he has a track record of making mistakes or ordering unnecessary tests than maybe it’s time to switch doctors.
Here in the uk most healthcare is free. I only see my family doctor when something crops up. The practice also does a special nurse led clinic especially for folks on psych meds where they do basic bloods/blood pressure/weight etc. This is once a year.
Think I would be a bit bored if I had to see my family doctor too much. Where I live most of my care comes in the form of CPN and support workers.
My doctor wants to see me every month. I have to pay for my doctors visits but he won’t Give me several prescriptions for Ativan lik some doctors will do.
He was always telling me I was ‘at risk’ but never what I was at risk for, he took so much blood over six months for testing that when I went to donate they only got half a pint from me before I passed out. They ended up needing to give me a transfusion, the ER doc looked at my records and saw how much blood they had taken for testing and reported my GP for malpractice. No where in my records did it show me as at risk for anything, except death by blood loss because my doc ordered blood work every other week.
My new doc only orders blood tests twice a year, so I get them three times a year between my Pdoc and my GP. I also get an MRI every six months because of what they think is an aneurysm in my head, but it could just be a large blood vessel in a weird place >.<
no worries it was taken care of, and my new GP is awesome, hes old school medicine, so hes in it for the challenge and to help people. He was the one who first realized I suffered depression, If I had listened to him and gotten an exam done I would have been diagnosed a year sooner instead of having a psychotic break down at Basic Training.
So on that note, it always pay to listen to your GP as long as they know hat they are doing!