Re: Types of doctors?

[Guest guest]

Rondi, I wish I could wave a magic wand and find you the perfect

doctor, but I haven't even been able to do that for us! I will say

that we didn't bother to do " well baby checks " more than about once

per kid. We did get the vaccinations because I was younger and

stupider back then -- and because we were in the military and they

wouldn't have let the kids and I go to Europe with my husband if we

hadn't. But now that I've learned more we would certainly not have

those massive " bundled " vaccinations that are so popular! I

homeschool my kids so we could have gotten by with no vaccinations,

but we didn't know we were going to do this when we first had the

kids, so we just did what we were told to do.

We've been learning since then, which is why you see me here in this

group instead of in the operating room having things removed right

and left.

I hope you get some good suggestions other than just the great one

Bonnie had because I'm hoping I can use some of the ones you get. I

would suggest that you ask your midwife if she recommends anyone,

too. Though that really great doctor you went to before would be your

best bet for referrals. But I don't have any great doctor (in the

area anyway) or a midwife either... so I'm scratching around in the

dark here hoping to find a doctor who doesn't treat me like an idiot

and who doesn't push surgery for every little thing.

Like you, I know one doctor, as well as one physician's assistant,

that I really like, and trust. But I go to church with these guys and

you don't want to stand in choir with the guy who just did a pap-

smear on you last week. But... there just doesn't seem to be anyone

else in the area that fits the bill so I may just have to blush and

make the appointment.

Luci

PS, I loved your little add-on of what the different doctors know!

> Since having my gallstone attack about three weeks ago, I am

> definitely looking at some other choices for my family's health

care

> needs.

>

> I see a midwife for prenatal care and she will attend the

birthing.

> I am very comfortable with her, as she was the same midwife who

> helped birth my daughter 2 1/2 years ago.

>

> We moved here about three years ago. We interviewed several

> pediatricians but did not find any that seemed well suited to us.

I

> met a friend and, by chance, her husband is a family practitioner

> who takes a very holistic approach to health care. We opted to go

> with him to provide our family's health care needs. My friendship

> grew and I realized I personally felt awkward seeing my friend's

> husband as MY health care provider. Kind of makes social dinners

> uncomfortable for me. He also has very limited office hours --

just

> one or two days a week for half a day. He provides services at a

> fasting clinic, which is his primary passion and focus. It became

> hard to get the children in to see him because of his limited

> hours. Also, we have a PPO and he is not one of the providers on

> the list, so we have to pay up front, submit the claims and then

get

> reimbursed. We opted to change to a different FP based on the

> recommendation of a friend. I had an appt with this new FP and she

> seemed ok but not nearly as right for us as a health care provider

> who is more willing to look at non mainstream choices and not just

> write a prescription. Our children had well check-ups early in the

> year and she was somewhat harsh in her opinion of our choice for

> delayed, selective vaccines. My husband had taken my son to that

> appt, so I wasn't there to hear exactly what she said/how she said

> it. The next day I took my daughter in for a similar appt and was

> prepared to hear the same thing, but she seemed somewhat ok with

our

> choice and didn't give me any pressure. More recently, my husband

> discussed just how harsh she was about the issue and it makes me

> feel uncomfortable with having her as our family doctor --

> especially considering we are expecting a new baby soon and will

> make some choices that may not line up with mainstream medicine.

> [side note here: we are not out to make choices that deliberately

> are against mainstream medicine but want to make informed choices

> based on research, facts, discussion, and prayer. We are truly

> trying to make the healthiest choices for our children].

>

> My doctor's response to my gallbladder problems just confirmed this

> growing feeling inside me that I need to find a different health

> care provider. She completely dismissed any alternatives to

> treating my gallstones/sludge other than surgery. Twice she has

> prescribed medicine during my pregnancy which she has assured me is

> safe and I've researched to find them class C drugs in pregnancy.

> These were not drugs I NEEDED to survive and I was very

disappointed

> that she led me to believe these were safe choices when in fact

they

> were not. I did not take the drugs -- did research first. I think

> this also shows that I don't trust my doctor very well.

>

> I have to admit that I don't know much about different types of

> doctors/practices that might be more in line with what I am looking

> for: homepathy, osteopathy, naturopathy. What do each of these

> do? Can they provide health care for a family -- including

> infants/children? What training do they have?

>

> For those who have a FP/GP, how did you go about finding one that

> meets your needs? Asking friends doesn't seem to help because many

> of our friends have quite a different approach to health care than

> we have. My husband's work benefits are currently doing " open

> enrollement " so now is a good time for us to examine some choices.

> We can choose a HMO such as Kaiser, a PPO or a regular plan.

>

> Even if we need to go off list to find a health care provider, I am

> willing to do this if it means we find someone who meets our needs.

>

> Thanks for any info to help me along this path.

>

> Rondi

>

> Adding a little funny I came across in trying to find some

> definitions of doctors...

>

> Types of Doctors~~~

>

> There are several kinds of doctors, and it is told that they

> can be differentiated by the following method:

>

> General practitioners know nothing and do little.

>

> Surgeons know little and do everything.

>

> Internists knows everything and do nothing.

>

> Pathologists know everything and can do everything,

> but it's usually too late.

>

> ..and then we have Shrinks who cure dreams...or dream cures.