I was very lucky to have one of the most amazing doctors on the planet take care of me when I was a child, and even luckier that he was still around to take care of my kids. Unfortunately, as amazing has he is, he wasn't willing to move to North Dakota when I moved here, so I'm stuck without him. I've had a frustrating few months with pediatricians and pediatric specialists, so I'm just really missing the competent, very trusted doctor the boys used to have. In addition to being a fantastic doctor, Dr. Mike and his family are just some of the most amazing people on the planet. Here's a (very long) article about his family and their work. It's mostly about his wife, but you can still see what wonderful people they both are. http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2006-04-13/news/band-of-outsiders/
I know how you feel. My family doctor just retired in July. This was the doctor that delivered me! I've been to him all my life and he was so kind and trustworthy. I tried going to another doctor that was in the same practice with him and he was terrible. I don't know how to even go about trying to replace someone that was so good. It's hard enough to have any health concerns. Now I feel like when I have them I don't have anyone to go to that I trust. I certainly have to take alot of charge of my own medical care than I used to.
I felt that way about my dentist (I know it is weird to love your dentist that much...), and then I moved. I have seriously considered paying out of pocket to go see him on a vacation.
Harper, I feel the same way about my old dentist too. He'd been my dentist since I've had teeth. Dr. Mike (the pediatrician) has known me since I was an embryo. It wouldn't be so bad if I could find good doctors here, but my experiences have been horrible, so it makes it even worse.
Finding a new doctor that you trust is rather difficult. I've been to many many many doctors (around 25 types in my life). My top two: 1. My pediatrician 2. My first neurologist (He was probably one of the most intelligent doctors I have ever been to and the only reason I stopped seeing him was because his brother had a stroke, so he was the only doctor left in his practice, so he couldn't have any more patients with epilepsy) He referred me to two neurologists in the time that I saw him, one was pretty bad and didn't really listen to my concerns and the other didn't listen to what I was saying and refused to believe that a medication was causing a side effect (She claimed it couldn't do that. It turned out to be a undocumented side effect of the medication, getting full body muscle and joint pain). My current neurologist is good. He isn't as thorough as my first neurologist was. Each visit with my first neuro would be 30-60 minutes minimum. Visits with my current neurologist are around 5-10 minutes. Also it is difficult to find a good GP. Took a while to find a good one after I left my pediatrician due to turning 21. Current GP seems to be good and tends to give me the medications that I ask for (i.e. when I had allergies, he wanted to give me a medication I tried years ago and gained an immunity to, so I asked for the medication that has worked for me for the past three years, so he prescribed it and got the insurance company to pay for the brand name versus the generic, as my only option after this medication is allergy shots)
I have never fallen in love with a Dr., so changing Drs. was okay for me. In fact, I like my current one more than my last. But, my dentist - well, I have been through 3 of them since moving. Not one good experience in the bunch, so I can really relate to you! I just want him to move his entire practice out here - I loved everyone from the receptionist to the tech to him, especially.
