Appt w/Dr. Murphy
Had my appointment w/Dr. Murphy yesterday and am happy to report that it went extremely well! He definitely lived up to the positive reviews and recommendations that I received about him prior to scheduling my appt. While probably not somebody I would go out with for drinks, ha ha, he did turn out to be very personable, kind, and easy to talk to. I never once got the impression he was judging me, or that I was just another piece to be serviced in what I sometimes call our "assembly-line medicine" health care system.
Even though the secretary explained a little bit about how the appt would go, I still went into it unsure of what to expect. Based on her description, I expected a nurse to do the health history interview and take my vital signs, maybe talk to the Dr. for 5 minutes or so for him to review my letter and talk to me about the risks and then send me for my blood draw and i'd wait for 3 weeks to hear any results.
Instead, I was surprised, if not mildly shocked at the actual process. After a nurse did do a short health history and take my vital signs, I was sent back to the waiting room to wait, but surprisingly only for a short wait. I was take to an exam room to find the Dr. waiting for me instead of the other way around. Dr. Murphy warmly greeted me and began in a very personable, relaxed, conversational tone which greatly put me at ease. He then conducted his own comprehensive health history review, quick physical exam, and then took his time explaining his treatment approach, the risks associated w/treatment, what to expect & what not to expect. He then asked about my concerns & discussed options to deal with them. By the time he was done, I think he may have spent at least 45 minutes w/me which is almost unheard of in my health care experience. My biggest shock came at the end though.
After I said I had no other questions, he said, "Ok, I'm going to write you 2 prescriptions - 1 for Estradiol, and 1 for Spironolactone." I was shocked I was receiving these before even having any blood testing! I figured I'd have to wait on results and then come back, but he explained he prefers to use a standard treatment approach and adjust it as necessary to meet individual needs, based on baseline blood estrogen levels and where HRT gets you after 3 months; which made sense to me. He then gave me a card with his number and said I could call tomorrow (today) to get my results which of course work prohibited me from doing by running my ass all over.
So now my Rx should be waiting @ the pharmacy in the morning, and as you can imagine, the makes me one happy chick! I'm a little scared, but who isn't a little when stepping out into the great unknown? All in all, def a happy girl! :-)
Even though the secretary explained a little bit about how the appt would go, I still went into it unsure of what to expect. Based on her description, I expected a nurse to do the health history interview and take my vital signs, maybe talk to the Dr. for 5 minutes or so for him to review my letter and talk to me about the risks and then send me for my blood draw and i'd wait for 3 weeks to hear any results.
Instead, I was surprised, if not mildly shocked at the actual process. After a nurse did do a short health history and take my vital signs, I was sent back to the waiting room to wait, but surprisingly only for a short wait. I was take to an exam room to find the Dr. waiting for me instead of the other way around. Dr. Murphy warmly greeted me and began in a very personable, relaxed, conversational tone which greatly put me at ease. He then conducted his own comprehensive health history review, quick physical exam, and then took his time explaining his treatment approach, the risks associated w/treatment, what to expect & what not to expect. He then asked about my concerns & discussed options to deal with them. By the time he was done, I think he may have spent at least 45 minutes w/me which is almost unheard of in my health care experience. My biggest shock came at the end though.
After I said I had no other questions, he said, "Ok, I'm going to write you 2 prescriptions - 1 for Estradiol, and 1 for Spironolactone." I was shocked I was receiving these before even having any blood testing! I figured I'd have to wait on results and then come back, but he explained he prefers to use a standard treatment approach and adjust it as necessary to meet individual needs, based on baseline blood estrogen levels and where HRT gets you after 3 months; which made sense to me. He then gave me a card with his number and said I could call tomorrow (today) to get my results which of course work prohibited me from doing by running my ass all over.
So now my Rx should be waiting @ the pharmacy in the morning, and as you can imagine, the makes me one happy chick! I'm a little scared, but who isn't a little when stepping out into the great unknown? All in all, def a happy girl! :-)