I've had similar experiences, and I was aware of what Dr. Rob says in his blog before I came across it, but it was the first & only time I'd seen a doctor put it in writing, so naturally it's been a keeper. My former PCP just dumped me unceremoniously with a form letter that said, to the effect, "Our relationship is no longer therapeutic. You have 30 days to find another doctor." I think it may have been code for what the blog was saying; the guy was frustrated/uncomfortable, and I was learning more about my condition & treatment than he knew (not that it mattered to me). He wouldn't even take my calls for discussion/explanation. My wife & I did some fast but serious homework to find a new PCP, starting with a list of doctors provided by our insurance carrier, and using tips we found online. We found our current PCP, who has 20 yrs experience in pain management, but decided he needed a change for some of the reasons stated in the blog. He only had a slot for one new patient, but we talked him into taking us both as a package deal.
He's been incredible. Candid, communicative, open-minded... almost more of a friend, though he maintains professional limits as he should. He's the foundation for the conventional medical portion of our support team, and we bounce a lot of ideas off of each other. He not only listens to my input, he takes notes!
We've exchanged many articles via mail over the years (he seems to prefer snail mail & phone calls over email) and we do a lot by phone to save on office visits. Specialists have been added to the roster as we find those who make a good fit with the rest of the team. The only one I'm not exactly thrilled with is my neuro; he cut me loose because he pronounced me "idiopathic" and couldn't/wouldn't do anything for me (and as the blog says, "move on to a patient who [he] can fix, save, or impress"), but I keep emailing him when I find/do something that works. I'll probably replace him when I find a good one.
Once more, attached is a schematic of my support network (team).
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