My Retiring Endometriosis Specialist

One of the worst things you can hear when speaking with your specialist’s office is that your doctor is retiring. This news came as a massive shock to me.

I honestly simply stood in the living room with my phone to my ear and my mouth open a bit. To most people, my reaction would seem over the top; but it is likely understandable for individuals with severe chronic health conditions.

Vetting your doctors

With a chronic condition such as endometriosis, so much work goes into choosing a doctor. Before I ever make an appointment with a doctor, I research them.

I like to find reviews from previous or current patients to see what other people say about them and how they handle patients.

I also like to be sure they have experience in treating endometriosis. My case has always been complex, causing me to need a doctor with a history of treating endometriosis.

The truth of the situation is that I am too complicated for a doctor who has not treated endometriosis extensively.

Being frustrated with your doctor

The last appointment that I had scheduled with my ob-gyn specialist had to be canceled. At the time, I did not think much about it.

The appointment had been for a routine follow-up. Additionally, he referred me to an endocrinologist during a previous appointment.

We were working together with her to try to get my recurrent endometriosis under control. I knew the endocrinologist was speaking with my specialist and a team of other doctors.

This provided me with a level of peace.

My attempts to reschedule the appointment through the app were not working out. When I finally got frustrated and called the office, they had me leave a voicemail when I reminded them which doctor I saw at the office.

Having to chose a new specialist

Eventually, the staff called me back to make my appointment. I was informed that my specialist transferred his patients to one of his two partners.

The woman speaking to me told me the names of both doctors and asked which I would like to see.

I was taken aback by how she expected me to decide based on the doctors’ names. She also seemed frustrated with me asking for the spelling of their names and then when I wanted to call her back at a later time.

While I respect my specialist and believe that his partners would not be his partners unless they were quality doctors, I still wanted to investigate these doctors before deciding on one. I do not feel like that makes me crazy.

When I end up with a good specialist, I stick with them until they retire. Before this doctor, my previous specialist also retired. But when he did, we had a consultation appointment, and he gave me a list of doctors he suggested based on my case.

As far as having a doctor retire, I prefer the way my old doctor went about transferring patients compared to my current doctor. I did finally make an appointment with one of my doctor’s partners.

I have already started compiling my list of questions and issues. We shall see if this lady can handle my issue.