It's not me, it's them.

I just got news that my rheumatologist will be leaving me soon. Now to those of you who don't see a doctor as regularly as I do, you may find this information boring.

But for me, this is a pretty big deal.

I'm kind of upset about this.

It's like I've been broken up with....

Yes that's a tad bit dramatic, but hear me out.

You meet this new doctor who will then become your person.

You tell them your problems, they listen to you, and then they do everything in their power to help you out. 

Granted, you have to pay each time you see them....but that's beside the point. 

It's the whole getting to know them, you telling them about your medical history, everything you are allergic to (which for me is a lot), and then figuring out the level of trust that you can build that doctor/patient relationship with. 

See with this last doctor, she was pretty new to the field which made things super easy because she trusted me when it came to my health. It's really hard to find a doctor like that. 

For those of us who have health problems, you would think it would be easy going through the motions and explaining your story to a new person each time you change doctors or meet someone new on the street.

But it's not.

It's tiring and repetitive. 

Don't get me wrong, I love talking about my arthritis and will gladly do so for anyone, anytime.

But when you're sitting there filling out the paperwork for the umpteenth time, then You get to go explain it to the person....it's just....it's hard to explain. 

Why can't you just have the same doctor.

It was foolish of me to think that I had finally found someone almost in the same ballpark as my pediatric rheumatologist. 

He is amazing! 

You're probably thinking wow, she's getting really into it over a doctor...

But when you've had as many rheumatologists as Hogwarts has had defense against the dark arts teachers, it becomes a problem.

Side note: Becky Schaick gets credit for the Hogwarts joke

I've had 4 rheumatologists since leaving my pediatric rheumatologist 6 years ago. Now one of those was due to insurance changing and one of those was due to the doctor being a complete witch, but the last 2 have been because the doctor decided to leave. 

While whining about having to find a new doctor might seem juvenile, it's more about whining over the fact that I have to go through the process of trusting someone, getting them to realize my health history, and then building that relationship again.

Oh my gosh it's just like a boyfriend. No wonder I'm single ;)

So I'm going to go drown myself in ice cream and remember the times my doctor came to see me in the hospital.

I'm totally kidding, I'm not thaaaattt upset. 

Just be thankful, if you're healthy, that you only have to see one doctor...maybe once a year. You have a higher doctor succes rate than anyone that has a chronic illness will ever have. 

Be proud of that :)

Stayed tuned! The Juvenile arthritis conference is next week and I will for sure fill you in!