I met with a new endocrinologist last week. I decided as part of my pre-pregnancy planning to find a new diabetes care team. The maternal fetal medicine specialist I dealt with last pregnancy, who is also a diabetic, recommend this office. They aren't on my insurance plan, but we have a POS, so I can see whomever I want and get reimbursed 70 percent.
My old endo and I had a falling out earlier this year. I had problems with him throughout our year and a half long relationship and decided I needed to cut ties. I cannot believe what a difference a new office makes.
Just to see my old endo was a three month wait. Once in the office, I sat for three hours in the waiting room. Another 30 minutes in the back room, where a girl with way too much eye shadow would take my blood sugar with a home meter that I'm sure wasn't calibrated correctly, because it was always about 50 points higher than my own meter. The doctor would come in, act as if he didn't know me, review my chart for a few brief moments, then tell me I'm doing fine and send me on my way.
The new office called to tell me there was a cancellation and would I like to come in earlier. Yes, please.
I brought two magazines with me, expecting a long wait. They did not have me fill out 40 forms, just two short pages. About 5 minutes later, a nurse called my name and escorted me to the doctor's office. He personally took my medical history and talked with me for about 20 minutes. Then we went to an exam room for a little bit. He walked me to the lab where they took some blood work. All in all, I was in and out of the office in under an hour--45 minutes to be precise.
In that time, we talked about pregnancy planning and how I'd like to go on a pump and look into CGMS. We agreed that Minimed would be a good one for me (my friend Lizzy has one). He told me he'd get the ball rolling and someone from Minimed would call to follow up. When my pump gets here, I'm to call his office to schedule training.
An hour after I left the office, a Minimed rep called. After a few short conversations and an e-mail exchange, my pump is being shipped. I could not believe how quick and easy it was. (CGMS isn't covered by insurance yet, but I'm considering paying out of pocket for it.)
Three days after my appointment, the doctor called. The doctor. Himself. He left a message for me to call him back to go over my blood work and see how my blood sugars are. I was floored. A little nervous, I called him back, only to find that all my blood work was fine. He just wanted to check in.
At my old endo, I would only get a call if it was bad news. And it would be a nurse. I would call back, deal with three snotty office aids, then wait two or three days for the doctor to call me back.
What a difference a new office makes.
