Would you go to the appointment?

[Jolly]

Easy binary choice.

1.Take a chance on getting COVID.
2. Take a chance on going blind.

I've had COVID. I'd rather not be blind.

[Catseye3]

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

The other thing is, my original doctor is out on maternity leave, and so I'm now dealing with a new guy. He might not take the decision as seriously as it is.

Since you're still in a precautionary stage of these visits, what risk does the new guy present at this point? If he knows how to perform the exam and he has reviewed your record, how does the risk that he muffs it stack up against the consequences of skipping the appointment?

Are you sure you're not borrowing trouble here?

I agree with Ax; it's imperative that you learn as much as possible about the clinic's COVID precautions. That alone may set your mind at rest.

Be up front about your worry. This is no time for badass.

[jon-nyc]

The case count in MD is going down pretty quickly. I'd make an appointment for sometime around March 1st and confirm you're comfortable right before.

My guess is you'll be near a local minimum in cases, before the new strains really make their presence felt.

[Friday]

If it's the other patients you're worried about, waiting in the car and staying well away from them when you walk in should be sufficient.

If it's the new doctor, maybe you could ask if the office has been vaccinated.

Do you have access to N95 masks?

I agree with Jolly. Covid is better than blindness. I would stick with the every 6 months routine not matter what the office recommends.

[Aqua Letifer]

@catseye3 said in Would you go to the appointment?:

Since you're still in a precautionary stage of these visits, what risk does the new guy present at this point? If he knows how to perform the exam and he has reviewed your record, how does the risk that he muffs it stack up against the consequences of skipping the appointment?

I'm not worried about him giving me an exam, I'm worried about his understanding of how important going in right now might be. He might not think it's important simply because he doesn't fully understand what the exams do for me. This is a very weird disease and I guarantee you I'm the only patient of this kind for the entire practice. There's also a good chance that they'll never have another patient in the history of their practice that has what I have. That's how rare this is.

And I'm not too worried about them being unsafe there. They're literally doing their best. But the nature of the exams are such that there's still going to be a significant risk, and there's nothing I can do about that.

[Aqua Letifer]

@friday said in Would you go to the appointment?:

If it's the new doctor, maybe you could ask if the office has been vaccinated.

That's an awesome idea, thanks! I'll ask today.

[Catseye3]

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

I'm not worried about him giving me an exam, I'm worried about his understanding of how important going in right now might be.

Sorry; I didn't understand that rightly.

It might be that he can't make that call, if the visits now are better-safe-than-sorry and the COVID is a crapshoot.

I like Friday's advice. Get all the information you can, and then make your decision, and then do the best you can. I'm thinking there is no way you are going to make this stress free.

[Aqua Letifer]

@catseye3 said in Would you go to the appointment?:

I like Friday's advice. Get all the information you can, and then make your decision, and then do the best you can. I'm thinking there is no way you are going to make this stress free.

Nope, none. Just trying to think it through, so thanks for the help!

[Loki]

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@friday said in Would you go to the appointment?:

If it's the new doctor, maybe you could ask if the office has been vaccinated.

That's an awesome idea, thanks! I'll ask today.

That was my thought, as well. Of course they don’t know yet if vaccinated people can spread COVID. Only evidence so far suggests it is cutting the chance of transmission but they are studying that now.

Regardless I would go.

[jon-nyc]

Of course they’ve been vaccinated. Would have thought that is baked in to your question already. But as Loki points out we don’t know what that means for you.

[Aqua Letifer]

In the waiting room now. What part of "wear a mask" and "6 feet" do these fucks not understand?

[brenda]

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

In the waiting room now. What part of "wear a mask" and "6 feet" do these fucks not understand?

Holy cow.

[Aqua Letifer]

@brenda said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

In the waiting room now. What part of "wear a mask" and "6 feet" do these fucks not understand?

Holy cow.

Also, my old doctor moved to another practice and the new guy openly admits ignorance. And the receptionists lost my info three times in 7 days.

FUCK this. Never again.

I had to make shit up just to get a pressure test.

[brenda]

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@brenda said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

In the waiting room now. What part of "wear a mask" and "6 feet" do these fucks not understand?

Holy cow.

Also, my old doctor moved to another practice and the new guy openly admits ignorance. And the receptionists lost my info three times in 7 days.

FUCK this. Never again.

I had to make shit up just to get a pressure test.

Can you get your records moved to the practice where you prior doc now works? It sounds like this current place is not set up to serve your needs.

[Aqua Letifer]

@brenda said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@brenda said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

In the waiting room now. What part of "wear a mask" and "6 feet" do these fucks not understand?

Holy cow.

Also, my old doctor moved to another practice and the new guy openly admits ignorance. And the receptionists lost my info three times in 7 days.

FUCK this. Never again.

I had to make shit up just to get a pressure test.

Can you get your records moved to the practice where you prior doc now works? It sounds like this current place is not set up to serve your needs.

Waiting for more tests now but I already found her and made my appointment. Just need to get my records now.

[brenda]

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@brenda said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@brenda said in Would you go to the appointment?:

@aqua-letifer said in Would you go to the appointment?:

In the waiting room now. What part of "wear a mask" and "6 feet" do these fucks not understand?

Holy cow.

Also, my old doctor moved to another practice and the new guy openly admits ignorance. And the receptionists lost my info three times in 7 days.

FUCK this. Never again.

I had to make shit up just to get a pressure test.

Can you get your records moved to the practice where you prior doc now works? It sounds like this current place is not set up to serve your needs.

Waiting for more tests now but I already found her and made my appointment. Just need to get my records now.

Good.

[Mik]

That's sooo disappointing when they screw up and act like it's no big deal.

[Copper]

This is just a brief office visit.

It's not like it's something permanent, like say tncr.