The New PCP...

So I got married last November.  It's been great, and I'm a very happy newlywed. :)  However, with this came all kinds of new challenges with my healthcare.

My husband is in the Army, which means we get health insurance through Tricare.  Which means, I have a small number of health care providers I can choose from to get care.  We live off post, so when I signed up for Tricare, I was basically assigned a PCP, since there's only one in this town that is a Tricare provider.

At first glance, my new PCP was great.  She's a sweet older Polish lady, likes to talk, and very caring, as well as knowledgeable.  After my first appointment, I was quite happy with her.  But after my second appointment yesterday, I was questioning that first impression.

I had a 9:15 appointment.  I was in the office at 9:10, no one else was in the waiting room, so I took a seat, sent my husband a text, and waited.  9:35, I was finally taken to an exam room by the nurse.  Now, the nurse who usually works there is great.  But this replacement nurse (the regular one is on vaca) was....umm...not the best nurse I've ever seen.

First mistake: using an obese sized blood pressure cuff.  I am a 21 year old woman of average build, and you are simply not going to get an accurate BP with a cuff that size.  The cuff consequently was slipping off my arm, and she ended up placing her stethoscope on my forearm.  I've been through nursing school, and I can't tell you how many times my professors got on us students for doing this.  The scope needs to be on the inside of the elbow, so you can actually hear the blood pumping through the vein.  This dear nurse got a reading of 110/70, which is lower than my normal 120/80ish.

I tried to cut her some slack.  She was the replacement.  But I really don't think there's much to say about that.  I took so many BPs in nursing school, I was great at it by the time I was done.  This should be a basic skill.  But alas...

She left me in the room, and I waited for the doctor.  And waited.  And waited.  Finally, at 10:10, almost an hour after my appointment time, I see my doctor.

My doctor never sends me blood work paperwork before my appointment.  Although this irks me, I can call the day after I have it drawn and talk it over with her.  My last blood draw, I tried to call, but was never able to get in touch.  I trusted that if something was out of whack, I'd hear from her.

However, I was informed at this appointment, (a whole 3 MONTHS after my last blood draw) that my cholesterol was high.  Not ridiculously high, but higher that both she and I would like to see.  I was pretty irritated that this was just coming to my attention now.  She advised me on some diet tips to try and bring it down that way (most of which I already do), and we moved on.

I asked about my A1c at my last draw.  And this is the real kicker.... no A1c was drawn.

Umm...what?

I haven't had an A1c done since last September.  That's when my "kid" insurance ran out and I turned 21.  I was looking forward to getting it checked in January, when I'd be in Tricare.  But nope.

I asked her about having one done.  She thinks it's not necessary until September, when we check my cholesterol again.

Yeah. Not cool.

So...needless to say, I'm a little frustrated with all this.  She had offered to refer me to the endo an hour away, but I've heard that she's very busy (as in, the only endo in the area), and has a pretty poor bedside manner (which I really, really can't deal with).  That, coupled with the fact that we only have one car that we share, I don't think I could realistically make it to an appointment, as my husband takes the car to work every day.

So, I don't know.  I can't really switch PCPs (again with the only 1 car thing).  I'm willing to deal with her, as we only have 11 months of being in this area left.  However, the A1c thing really gets me.  I need to have that done; I need to know where I'm at.

My next step, I think, is to call back on Monday and bug her about it.  Hopefully the squeaky wheel approach will help.

And that was ridiculously long.  Sorry, but I feel better now. :)