I am wanting to switch my primary care physician this week, since I just cannot communicate to him that my BP spikes at his office.

I'm on Diovan HCT (160mg/25mg) + 80mg Diovan at night.

Home: 125/75 (consistent)
His office: 145/90

If anyone in the L.A. area (specifically the Valley) somewhat likes their doctor, please let me know.

Thanks!

Tattoo, good luck in finding a new dr. Im stilling looking. I have an appt with a new gp but he is located in a "bad neighborhood" plus no bus service. I live in a fairly large community but location and transportation is now my problem.

No i don't live in Ca but upstate NY. It seems every where ppl are saying their dr won't listen to them.

Tattooyu,

I'm in the LA area (westside) but cannot recommend my doctor, even though he came highly rec by my gynecologist (whom I trust)...

Reason I don't trust him: When I called for initial appt and spoke to him, telling him that my gyne got a BP on me of 157/92 0r something in that range...he said: "Okay, my nurse will set up an appt. for you for a check-up but in the meantime, I'll call in an Rx for a beta blocker for you."

HUH??

Can you spell I-N-C-O-M-P-E-T-E-N-T P-I-L-L-P-U-S-H-E-R?


I was a TOTAL STRANGER to him. He didn't know me, my med history, my age, my background, whether or not beta blockers might be CONTRAINDICATED for me, nor, in fact did he REALLY know if I was hypertensive. He based his over-the-phone opinion on a BP reading taken ONCE by ANOTHER doctor???????$#@!#$%^&* which was also relayed to him by me, the patient. For all he knew I had the #s wrong. Why I went to him anyway, I don't know, Scared I guess. Never had BP higher than 120/80 so was feeling a sense of urgency.

I'm still looking...and if I find someone good, I'll let you know.

zuzu xx

What !@#$%^&?

I can't believe that. Here they are (doctors) complaining they spend too much on malpractice insurance and they go do stupid things like that!

I'll let you know what I find.

Zuzu,

Ridiculous.... that is what a lot of G/P's are these days. I can't believe that.... acutally I can.

zuzu, your post was soooo funny. Sadly, its true. i must say my ex gp won't prescribed anything for me until i come into his office. If call about a cold, he insist i come in first to be checked.

Oh yes, i might have to go back to him due to location. I live in upstate, COLD, WINTRY NY and commutes can be a pain. His office is convenient at this time. Plus the other dr i was going to change over to his office is in an unsafe, high crime neighborhood. I want to die from my diseases, not by thugs mugging me.lol

I just can't believe so many folks I know, and read about are looking for new drs., me being one of them also! What is going on with these drs. today, don't they give a hoot about their patients? After my dr. of 32 yrs. retired, I swear, I can't find one who will actually listen to me. They seem to just want to push drugs on ya, and scoot ya out of the office. I am totally disgusted lately. :rolleyes:

Hubby has a great dr. at the VA here in CT., and I wish she was in private practice, as I would go to her in a heartbeat. She prescribed him a new med. for his diabetic nueropathy 2 months ago, and actually called here 2 weeks ago to see how it was working!!! He told her he seems to be having a few problems on it, so she told him to try it another week, and if he still doesn't like it, she will prescribe something else. He has an appt. with her next week, so I am sure it will be disgusted. For now, he just stopped taking it and feels better, so we know it is the meds.

Good luck to everyone trying to find a dr. who they like. I swear, I am going to have to go thru almost everyone in CT. before I find one who isn't a stinking pill pusher who makes U feel like U are on an assembly line. :p

You said it JJ. My friend recommended her doctor to me. She doesn't go to them for high blood pressure, but she really likes them.

Couldn't hurt! I can always switch.

I was thinking of doing a provider search on Blue Cross for doctors in my area. then, I would print that list out and cut out the names.

Then, affix them to a dart board and ssee which one it lands on. I could just keep doing that until I run out of doctors in my immediate area and move on to the next area!

ROTFL...I swear, that might be the best odds for finding a dr. :D I think we should be able to go interview them, NO cost of course, then follow them around for a few weeks till we decide if they are worth OUR money!! Some of them seem to be getting this GOD like attitude, and I am WAY too old for that nonsense. I'm old enough to be some of their mother's, so either treat me with respect, or get out of my face...PERIOD!


Maybe we should put an ad in our local newspaper.. Seeking Dr. who actually enjoys what their doing, and want's to treat his/her patient's like human beings and not a number!!! :)

Oh Lordy, I had best move on before I get accused of DR. bashing!!... ;)

Have a good one, and Good luck to all.. :wave:

BTW..hubby has 2 female cousins who are drs., one is also married to a dr., and my oldest son is going to nurseing school, and will train to be a P.A. Unfortuneatly, they all live in FL....BUMMER HUH??? Hubby doesn't want to move to FL., and I think if we tried to commute for office visits, it would be VERY expensive. :D :D :D

Hi JJ! i agree 100%. I don't mind dr bashing nor do i mind ppl saying i do. I don't think all drs are like that, just some. If it weren't true then all the new media, talk shows and other drs wouldn't be warning patients all drs and hospitals.

The good drs i've had over the yrs i 've thanked and mailed Holiday cards. I tell my gp to his face my complaints. He ran out of the room on my last appt. and sent the nurse back to give me my paperwork and instructions. He use to be a good dr many moons ago. This gp is the same one that saved my life in 1992. He was the only dr that could find a tumor on my pancreas and made proper referrals.

I don't hate him, but i do watch him. He doesn't seem to care if a med is hurting me, all he care about is if my bp & cholesterol is low or if my glucose A1c is normal. Its more to me than those things.

Oh they sure are number happy these days. I'm with you, not all drs. are a pain, my GYN guy and my GI guy are the best, and my old dr. who retired treated me and hubby darn good for 32 years. If there were more drs. like him, the world would be much better off, and I bless him for being so good, and hope he enjoys his retirement, he EARNED it!! :)

I already told this new guy I can't tolerate Statins, been on just about every one of them and had bad reactions, but I think he is trying to set me up to go on them. I went in Sept. for a lipid panel, and my number's weren't perfect, but they weren't too off the mark, so he told me he would test me every 6 months. Today I looked at the card he gave me for blood work next month, and guess what it is for...U guessed it, a Lipid panel. I am going to call tomorrow, because either he doesn't know 3 months from 6 months, or something. Hubby can't take Statins either, and neither his reg. dr. nor his cardio. man try to push them on him, as they know he can't take them, so he has a lipid panel every 6 months along with his normal bloodwork. I'll be honest, last month this dr. acted like he was a million miles away.

Oh well, I will call tomorrow and find out why he ordered a lipid panel so early, and will also be asking around for some decent referrals, this is getting nuts. Give me my old drs. anyday!! TTYS.... :wave:

I'm sure you've experienced this...

He puts me on BP meds...even increases them throughout the treatment...and every time I have gone back, after looking at my chart, HE ASKS ME, "WHAT ARE YOU TAKING AGAIN?"

UNACCEPTABLE!!!

No, that hasn't happened yet. Although at one point he said my potassium level was a lil low, so asked me.."U aren't on any diuretics are you"?? Well, NO, dah, do U remember ever ordering them for me? :confused:

Oh Lordy, save us from these guys...PLEASE!!! :eek: :eek:

Like they say, RUN , don't walk to the next dr. :bouncing:

Like i stated, i am diabetic and i really need a dr, but i guess im just goin' to have to tolerate bad care until i can find a competent dr. The one thing though is that i plan to stay in control of my care. I don't care if they lable me "difficult patient'. i won't stop reading or researching. My dr does lipid panel every 3 mos. and a1c every 3 mos. but i've not kept some of the appts bcuz i felt it was overkill.

I had two really good drs but they have both relocated. Their replacements are not caring. They just go by the book. Neither my endo or my gp have ppl skills, just medical skills. I HATE it when they lie to me or pretend im crazy when i ask ?? or complain about side effects. Then when i do something about the side effects that's when they get concerned.

JJ, like you my drs are trying to FORCE me back on lipitor, zetia and lisinopril. I know my cholesterol is high, but they caused it with the thiazides. They refuse to give another bp med. If i dont take the hctz then my bp goes to 180/86, if i take it then my bp is normal but i suffer the side effects. Hopefully, next yr the clinic near my home will be accepting new patients.

Yup, I hear ya, we need a dr., just have to keep our eyes and ears open for someone who will work a lil better with us. I intend to call this drs. office later and ask about the lipid thing, as it was just done 2 1/2 months ago, plus I told him, I am not going on any statins!! One thing he did that I thought was strange, see if U can make sense of this. After my bloodwork, his office called to say he needed to see me as I had antibodies in my Thyroid and he wanted to start me on meds. When I got there, I told him I have been told that for over 20 yrs. but asked what was so different this time? He said, "Oh, I didn't know U had been told this before, your numbers were within range, but I thought maybe U needed meds." Then he goes on to say if it has been like this for that many years, no need for meds. and out the door he went. Now was that a total waste of my time and money or what? I walked out shaking my head, as did hubby.

Hubby has type 2 diabetes, and he get's very high Trig readings, but after being on Statins for a long time, he got nasty side effects, so neither his reg. dr. not his cardio man push him to go on meds. Like his cardio guy said, U also have to have a decent QUALITY of life, it isn't all numbers, but they check him every 6 months. His cardio guy is head of cardiology at one of our hospitals, so he is no dummy, plus he has such a wonderful manner about him, U can ask him anything. He took hubby off those vitamin E pills 2 years ago, as he said they weren't doing whatever they were advertised to do, guess he was right, as now it is all over the news. :rolleyes:

My SIL just found a new dr. and he told her that her Trigs. were a lil high, 137, now sorry, but that is not high. She already told him not to even think about putting her on any Statins. She works for a dr. and she knows they just don't agree with alot of folks, yet other's do fine, but she isn't willing to take the chance. Guess it is just going to be a waiting game till we find a dr. we feel comfortable with, but there has to be one out there somewhere. Hang in there kiddo, it has to get better..... :wave:

JJ, be careful about letting any dr put you on thyroid meds. You would have to take them for life. Im sooooooo sorry i let them give me the rai cocktail, bcuz now im always worry if my bp meds are causing problems or is it my thyroid. Get a second opinion if possible.

Well he made no sense to me at all. For years my drs. have told me I have a sluggish thyroid, but that was about it. Why he had his nurse call me into the office to tell me the same thing, was DUMB, especially when I asked him if my numbers were bad, and he said.."Oh no, they are within range, I just saw anti bodies". All he said after I told him that I have been told for years I had a sluggish thyroid, was.."Oh, well then no big deal", and off he went.

If he or his nurse had called me on the phone and told me what he did in the office, it would have saved a trip. My husband asked me what went on at the visit and I told him, and he looked at me like is this dr. a nutcase or what. I didn't get a chance to call today about the lipid test I am suppose to take in 3 weeks, as I see no need for it when it was just done in Sept. He told me he would check it every 6 months, not every 3, plus he said my numbers weren't all that bad anyway, just a tad high. I even told him they were down from the last time, plus I wasn't taking any statins and why. Like I said, he seemed to be a million miles away that day, or he is just looking for an excuse to make appts. for me.

I also found out that the VA my husband goes to now has a woman's out patient clinic, and his dr. is head of it. I called today for some info. so they are going to send me some stuff in the mail. His dr. is very nice, and they are also affilliated with a much bigger hospital then my present dr. Oh well, I will see what happens during the next 2 months, as I have an appt. with my GYN in 2 weeks, so I am going to chat with him also about a referral. This is getting very frustrating, never had a dr. problem in my life. If I moved or the dr. retired I just went on to another one, but lately, I seem to be running into pill pushers or something, and I am NOT a happy camper. :confused:

Take care, and will CYL.... :wave:

GP's make $'s through appointments+ & kick-backs+. Scheduling a 34 year old like myself for appointments every 4 months is ridiculous, as well as having blood tests once a year, when everything was perfect 6 months ago. It's a vicious cycle.

For sure! I usually have to be tested every 3 mos. My husb. was getting angry bcuz he had to take off work to take me to the dr so often. He doesn't believe in drs. In 33 yrs i think he's seen a dr 2 times. he doesn't seem to have any illnesses and he is 61 yrs old. Im beginning to think he might be right. Too bad i have major diseases and dont have the luxury to stop seeing drs. i guess we all just have to be careful and knowledgeable of our care.