I have a big problem with my doctor retiring this year

[vetquest]

I have also been treated at the VA in Portland and I had a good doctor who was fired of all things.  He specialized in complex cases and was doing too much for the veterans.  I wound up with a neurologist that screamed at me and terminated treatment when she found out I had talked to another doctor about her regime of treatment.  The other doctor was a kidney doctor and told me 2400mg of salsulate daily was going to fry my kidneys.  I started going to private care because I no longer trusted VA doctors.  If you can get care on the outside do so.  Most outside doctors have some compassion for their patients.  If not I would speak to patient affairs and let them know your full history.  If necessary go to Washington for care.

I understand your position and it seems no options are good but a bad doctor can be worse than no doctor sometimes.

[retiredat44]

 

Thank you VetQuest, you often spend the time to give me help... !

I see the usual patient advocates... which I do not hold in very high esteem from past experiences... I don't know how or where patient affairs is... I need to contact over phone or email first.... as whenever I go to try to find offices myself, it always turns out to be a waste of time, either a closed, out to lunch sign or only there one hour a day, or one day a month sign... and if the office of the place is open there is await 4 hours long of other pissed off vets.. pathetic... ... I tried to ask my doctor about how to get the change from him and his retirement to a new doctor, and never got a response on how to help with getting a new primary care. My guess is he doesn't have any input and the VA will do whatever they want to do.

I do really need my disability claim to get through so my files can be updates with my health problems,,,, so they can see what my needs are. I caught them putting the wrong info in my files and the doctors were clueless on my needs because of the health problems not properly placed into my files. That is what the doctors look at when they start your health care, and if that is the wrong info, you cannot tell them to correct it, the VA's word is more important to them then the truth from your own words. if the records are screwed up, then you get screwed up care.

I am not doing a 3 hours drive to get no where... am trying to find the proper offices at the VA here and get a real appointment. If the advocate is the affairs office then I am screwed. I am searching their website...

https://www.portland.va.gov/contact/phone_directory.asp

Edited September 10, 2019 by retiredat44

[vetquest]

Patient Advocate is the patient affairs.  I see they have a transgender advocate, maybe you could declare yourself transgender and get help there.   Have you thought of contacting the VA social worker?  It seems all VA's have one, maybe you can get more out of them.

[ToxicSgt73]

Retiredat44, 

I surely can't be of any help on the VA side of things.

But, maybe I can help in this way. Empathy. and maybe another way, in helping spread understanding of what exactly chronic means. 

• I know what it means to have to change doctors. For me it could mean life and death, it definetly would change my ramp of decline....and I have 'never' heard anything good about changing a ramp of decline. MY neurologist is 1000 miles away, I lived in a travel trailer for the last eight years, until it fell apart around me, so I could afford to keep going there.  So, I understand that aspect of what you are saying.  There is no amount of 'sucking' up, or panties that are big enough or tight enough to change the facts of life. If there is anyway you can go outside of the VA and find the 'right' doc....but, the odds are no better outside either, as I am sure you are aware. It took me 3 years to find this one.
• Now, throw on the fire, the pain you are going through with your pancreas, I have no idea what you are going thru. But, I know what I am going thru.  The steriods and the antivirals, given to me about a month and half ago, kicked my old chronic pancreatitis into the worse episodes that I have ever experienced, of course I am not counting the initial 'acute pancreatitis attack about 25 years ago....and in researching my medical timeline, and looking back on a CAT scan I had done in Jan of this year....yes they identified the diastasis recti 'the nerf footbal that pokes out of my abdomnen if I bend over'.  But, they failed to mention what else was in the radiologist report......growths everywhere, muscles, bones, kidney, lungs, bile ducts in liver and outside of liver....which are connected to 'pancreas' and now I realize that those pains mid abdomen I have been having for the last 25 years......are me eating my own pancreas.....so I empathize on this level too.....I am going to dump a crap load on the VA next week at my first appointment......but, they will own it all before its over. Not that I want them to, but, I can't afford the outside anymore for everything that ails me....
• we didn't sign up for this.....I understand.....I know when I tell you..you understand...not many others do. 
• I hope you find something that works for you.