On the Hunt

Why is this so hard? I’m on the hunt down for a new psychiatrist, and my search is not going so well.

One option would be to see the psychiatrist I had prior to my hospitalization, but I fired him due to stupidity and complacency on his part. Another option would be to see the psychiatrist I had while inpatient, but the rumors of long waits in the waiting room and his dozing off in sessions scare me away, so that’s no good.

So…., I consulted my insurance panel and picked a new psychiatrist who listed among his specialties eating disorders and dissociative disorders and mentioned he was accepting new patients. So I called said psychiatrist’s office to make a new patient appointment. After listening to a ten minute recording of the fax number, address, if I’m having a medical emergency dial 911, blah, blah, blah, I am told to leave a message and the new patient coordinator would get back with me.

27 hours later, New Patient Coordinator returns my call and informs me that the psychiatrist is not accepting new patients, but his partner is. “Sure. No problem,” I say. When New Patient Coordinator learns I just escaped from the loony bin, I am shot down again because the alternate psychiatrist does not see patients who have been in the hospital within the past year. Excuse me? What the . . .?

I’m amused and pissed at the same time. Why are certain doctors so discriminatory? Does he only want to treat healthy people? Or is he just freakin’ incompetent and can’t treat people who have just come out of crisis? I just don’t understand.

So I’m offered the possibility of the nurse practitioner. Maybe I’m too easy, or just don’t want to fight the battle, but I agree to see a nurse practitioner. After all, I see a nurse practitioner for my migraines and love her.
So New Patient Coordinator told me she would have to consult with Nurse Practitioner and make sure the aforementioned would want to handle “my case.” Still haven’t heard back.

Getting help shouldn’t be this hard.