Something that I haven’t really talked about on the blog or on social media is that my wife and I have moved recently. A pretty far move in fact. This post is not going to be about that.
I am writing this today because I now have to choose a new endo for the first time in 15 years.
Same Endo / ARNP for 15 Years
When I first moved to Florida to go to college, I met with an endo, which was in Boca Raton – the senior capital of the world, and within 5 minutes he said the first thing he would do is take me off an insulin pump and I walked out before he could finish the visit. I paid my co-pay and left.
I was then put in touch with an awesome Type 1 endo and loved my time with her, which was for 2 years, but stayed at her office because they had someone new coming in that I heard of before. At the time, I was interning at a diabetes supply company and I had attended a CDE accreditation course and this lady was the teacher who was teaching CDEs!!
So, I knew that I wanted her to be my doctor.
The weird part, at first, for me was that she was not an endo. In fact, I have not seen an actual endo in over 10 years.
She is an ARNP, which took me forever to remember what that stood for. ARNP stands for Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner. She was also a CDE and the most knowledgeable person on diabetes that I have ever met.
I had the greatest doctor – patient relationship with her. She listened to me. She let me lead appointments. She drew charts of insulin activity on the white paper that is pulled over the patient seat. She was absolutely incredible.
She let me sample everything. She told me about new studies, new books, things from ADA and AADE, she even provided me with a lot of resources when I was stressing about having a kid.
At the same time, she also let me make a lot of excuses. She would cut my excuses down and put me in place when need be. For example, when I kept fighting her on going on blood pressure medication and she spent an extra 30 minutes during her lunch break to explain to me why I needed to be on the meds, no one else would have done that.
The Search is On
So now, I’m back to having to find someone new and start a whole new relationship. I feel like I’m breaking up a relationship of over 10 years and starting fresh.
How do I walk into an appointment and say, listen, I have a lot of knowledge, I’m not your typical patient who is just going to say how high when you say jump. We need to have a relationship, not a dictatorship.
I am back living in the same area I was when I was first diagnosed, so I could possibly see the same endo I saw when I was first diagnosed. I’m 80 pounds heavier and A1C is not so great and I haven’t exercised in over a month now since the move, but hey, I probably do need a serious reality check.
I will definitely miss the “celebrity” treatment I received in the other office.
This is also a time for me to put into work all of the tips that I have given over the years of how to become an empowered patient and creating a relationship with your doctor that is healthy.
I’ll keep you all updated.
I wish you the best of luck in finding the right person. I wish I had the ARNP that you’ve had, she sounds amazing.
She is as amazing as they come.