headaches go away

Okay, so I told you the other day that my dad was a chiropractor. And I told you that I needed to get an adjustment because I was having migraines very close together. And I needed to find a new chiropractor because my old was is now thirty minutes away and I need to be able to get there quickly if I wanted to make an appointment after school.

So I looked up a couple of chiropractors online. My husband gave me a name of a guy he went to, but I remembered him saying he thought the office was weird and the location wasn't that great. So I chose another guy (Dr. B) who attended the same school as my dad.

Bad idea.

Let me also say that I know many people view chiropractic as a scam in the first place. I grew up with it, so it is completely normal to me and I know it helps me. I get an adjustment on my neck and I have fewer headaches. I take less medicine. I don't go all the time and I don't believe you need to.

Okay, so the first thing I didn't like was the smell of the office. It was weird, and I can't account for where it was coming from. I filled out some forms and finally met with the doctor. He talked with me for a few minutes about my symptoms and I told him up front I only liked to come when I needed to. He did an exam and took some x-rays, and then set me up on an e-stem machine for some muscle therapy (all fine, since it's hard to adjust if the muscles are so tight they can't move.) Then he told me he wasn't going to adjust me, so I would have to come back after I did some ice on my neck to further loosen the muscles.

Okay. The secretary charged me and scheduled me for today. She wasn't sure what my copay was, so we just guessed.

Charlie wanted to know why I didn't go to his guy and I told him all I remembered was him saying he was weird. He said the office was weird, not the guy. He really liked the guy and thought him honest. Wires crossed.

Today I returned and she still hadn't talked to the insurance company. I had more therapy and then my adjustment and the doctor showed my my x-rays. We talked a few minutes about how he wanted me to come twice a week for six weeks, and when my allotted adjustments with my insurance run out, he would still want me to come. Um, no.

So the secretary tries to call the insurance company and they're closed. HUH? What? She says she'll call tomorrow and let me know what they say. She wanted me to schedule my next appointment and I told her I wasn't sure about when I wanted to come back. She then tells me that the insurance companies like to see patients on a treatment plan with chiropractors or they'll make me pay full price. So I should be prepared that if I don't keep coming in, I'll most likely be charged the full price. Again, no.

I pay again, without really knowing what I owe, but wanting to be covered.

I get in the car and dial the insurance company. I hold. Finally I talk to someone who tells me what my copay is, how many times I can go in one year, and that I do not need to be on any type of treatment plan to have my visits covered. Ah ha!

I told the lady the whole story and that I would most likely not be returning to this guy and would I be able to see someone else without it looking suspicious? Yes, she says, I can switch. No problem and she even checks on the guy the hubs recommended. He's on there as a PPO, so I can go there if I want to.

I just didn't like the experience today. It seemed like he wasn't hearing me when I said I didn't want to come for a whole bunch of appointments. I'm sure he knows what he's talking about when saying that prevention has a place in it, but I've lived my whole life with chiropractic care and am not majorly injured. When someone has a car accident or an injury, then I can understand seeing the doctor twice a week, but not when I just need to keep the headaches away.

I guess the lesson here is that I should have listened more to what my husband was saying. While I'm perfectly within my rights to choose my own chiropractor, we did get our wires crossed in that discussion and if we hadn't I might not have had such an odd experience.