I saw my new GP today. She’s a doctor in training and took over my previous doctor’s office who had gone on in her training to pediatrics; when I last saw her I joked about sneaking in, hoping no one would notice given my height (it’s a joke because I’m tall). She didn’t laugh.
Today was my test run for the new doctor, I wanted to get a feel how much I’d be able to get support vs how much effort I’d need to make to find a new doctor. I feel okay about how it went overall, like any doctor I’ve seen about this, she said she was sorry and that she couldn’t do much; but unlike most doctors I’ve met, she was trying to find some ways to help. (To be clear, the extent of “help” in this case is “a referral to another doctor who may be able to help treat a slice of my 25-symptoms-cake; or a prescription for ibuprofen. Which is very useful, even more given that the practice is near my house; I can drive there in 3 minutes and walk there in 7, on a good day.)
I’ve been having increasing sleep issues and have already tried a new medication that I had to pay for out of pocket because it’s 100€ per month. I mentioned it to her and she took out a piece of paper and wrote its name down, “oh interesting, I’ll have to look into that, it’s good to learn something new.”
I super duper appreciate that attitude, but that sentence also makes me want to scream. I’m the one who’s ill and should be getting care, not have to also be in the role of educator for medical professionals. I know she meant to harm, but that whole topic is a really tough spot.
I have a big work presentation coming up in less than three days. I had asked the hosts if I could get speaker notes on the monitor; they checked and I can’t. I panicked last night, trying to figure out what to do. I have a ton of public speaking experience, but I also have major memory and word finding issues, and am very concerned about blanking on stage in front of 500 people. Add to that the extreme dry mouth that I get now whenever I’m stressed