Is There a Doctor in the House?

I've had extremely bad luck with finding a doctor since I moved to Chicago almost 7 years ago. I loved my doctor back home, and I had hoped that I would find the same kind of connection with a physician in the big city. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. For years now, I've been bouncing from doctor to doctor, trying to find one that I could trust. Every one I saw at the University of Chicago was too busy to care or I would have to wait 3 months to get an appointment to see them. I've had a deep fear of doctors other than Doc Wild from good old Manistee for many years, and the situation with the U of C just gave me a reason not to go.

I've kept that up for years now, avoiding doctors at all costs until I absolutely must go or am dragged there kicking and screaming. A few weeks ago, at the request of a friend (dragging would have been involved I'm sure if I had resisted), I went to yet another doctor...the only one we could find covered by my insurance policy with an appointment available for that day. The guy was a creep in the creepiest sense of the word. He sat in his small office, with the TV blaring some Spanish soap opera. I told him what I needed from him, and he listened half-heartedly. He examined me, sort of, groped me while listened to my heart, wrote down that I had a fever of 101 without taking my temperature, and told me that I needed to come back for a thyroid test because I am overweight. He wrote me prescriptions for an antibiotic for my cold, cough syrup, and Tylenol (for the fever I didn't have). When I asked him about getting me back on my antidepressants, he told me that I was a nice girl and that I would be OK. What the hell kind of response is that. Then, he demanded $60 in cash, paid directly to him and not the nurse up front. I ended up giving the $60 to the nurse anyway and demanded a receipt because my copay is only supposed to be $10 with my insurance. It was basically a wash, because what I really needed that day I didn't get. I should have decked the guy to be honest, but I wasn't exactly thinking straight at that point.

Yesterday, I received the statement of charges from my insurance company. The creep charged my insurance the full $100, saying that I only paid the $10 copay. I got swindled! I basically paid this guy $60 to grope me and tell me that I'm a nice girl. I feel violated and angry. And people wonder why I detest doctors.


Note: Thankfully Monday I found a doctor that isn't a groping creep, so maybe I won't have to go through any of that anymore. I'll keep my fingers crossed.