My last GP of 25 years went to a retainer program in the final years of his career and I paid $100/month to keep him rather than go to someone else. Fortunately, my new·ish urologist is also one of the good guys. Unfortunately, I'm up for a colonoscopy in September, and the G.I. is a friggin' jerk. As long as he's doing routine mechanical stuff and I only see him twice in a decade, I'm not too concerned...he really hates his job.
1. Posted on 4-18-23: Yesterday, I had root canal #30. At my first visit, I notified the dentist in writing on the required forms I filled out and also told her in person I can't have an anesthetic with Epinephrine because it causes an irregular heart beat & uncontrolled tremors. I learned about that 20 years ago when a dentist called paramedics when I had trouble breathing from the anesthetic. It's not uncommon; many people are allergic to it. In this dental practice, a different dentist (specialist) does root canals & other more-serious procedures, which is a good thing; he's very experienced & good at it. Today, right after I was given the anesthetic, I knew immediately what happened. I asked the dentist if the anesthetic had epinephrine in it. He said, "Yes." Apparently, he didn't look at my chart before administering it. I lay there with my arms, legs & head shaking uncontrollably & my heart pounding irregularly for 30 minutes before any work could be done. I guess I should have said something before the anesthetic was given, but previous dentists have always put a red sticker on my chart to let them know, so I thought the same precaution would be taken. And, I assumed any medical professional would look at a patient's chart before doing any work. We have to SPEAK UP. This could have been my last day. 2. A few years ago, a dentist did an incompetent, incomplete root canal (verified by another dentist) that led to Sepsis & Diabetic Ketoacidosis (infection spiked blood sugar to 705). 8 days in hospital; 3 days in ICU. They told me I could have died on the first day. Since the original dentist said "Pain & swelling are normal after a root canal," I waited 3 days & it was a second dentist who took an x-ray & showed me the root canal was incomplete & told me to get the the ER right away.
Good luck on the colonoscopy. I'm so old they don't even bother doing them on me any more. The last time I had one, I think the instrument was still called "The Silver Stallion" Ouch.
I had polyps on my first one and put the second one off waaayyy too long. I was expecting bad news, but it was no big deal. This will be my 3rd one, exactly 5 years after the last one. I'll be 69. I don't think I'd ever stop going. I lost a close friend recently to colon cancer...she was in her 80s.