Questioning your Dr. is a good thing

Our doctor is a family friend and has been for years. As soon as I turned 16 I started going to him. Well, the average age of his patients is well over 60. He's so used to this that if I make a complaint of illness that even remotely sounds like something an older patient would have, I must be making it up. It took me years for him to take my stomach condition seriously and to get the tests I needed. End result? We don't know what you have so you have IBS (a lump sum diagnosis if you ask me) with diarrhea. I had also been nagging him about my thyroid. I was gaining weight and hardly chowinig down at McDonalds 3 times a day. I wasn't running marathons but I wasn't sitting doing nothing either. Well, that was a 4 yr struggle. I finally get him to give me Synthyroid which hardly helped and I was supposed to LOSE weight but actually GAINED! His response? Eat more salads. Have a great big plate of it first, then whatever the meal is and if you want seconds, go for more greens. Sure, let's give the person who hardly stays out of the bathroom as it is ruffage. To get a script for simple bloodwork is hard enough. Now my father, who's become obsessed with gastric bypass surgery, gets cleared by said doctor. Hellooooo???? You can't follow Atkins for a month and expect to look like Cary Grant then stop when it doesn't happen. Finding a new doctor is a pain in the ass. Having to ask around for referrals from family / friends, making sure the new doctor is part of your insurance network and that they're even taking new patients. Not a task I look forward to but one I'm seeing less and less of an option to avoid. So let me end by saying this. If you're not happy with your doctor, start asking more questions. If you're still not happy with your doctor, start shopping around for a new one. You'll shop around for your appliances and car, why not the person to can hold your life in their hands?