Waiting Rooms are Awful

[Mary Terry]

Even when I have an appointment, it usually takes 45 minutes to an hour to get in.
Never on time.

I too try and make it quick for the people behind me.

I always try to schedule doctor appointments for the very first appointment of the day. If I need to be there by 7:00 a.m., then I happily comply because it ensures that I'll be seen on time.
I take cross stitch or a book with me to read. Since Covid, doctor offices in the US rarely provide magazines anymore, and I don't like to touch the old magazines in the waiting area anyway because I'm sure they are covered with germs.

 

[Cutesie]

Despite my anxiety, I can usually be cheery and talkative with nurses and doctors. Too talkative, often. They aren't generally interested in hearing my comments and weird style of joking. The real problems happen when they send me back to the waiting area during the visit. In July I was at an eye doctor and they dilated me. The doctor then brought me to the waiting room and said that they'd call for me in 30-45 minutes.

At this point, I had already been in the office for a long time. Not having my contacts in prevented reading. I didn't have headphones with me. Sitting amongst the other patients, with the TV blaring, wasn't a good option, so I paced around the elevator area, listening to an audio book on a lowered volume. The light was also too bright, and this was before I began to be more comfortable with putting on sunglasses indoors. As the time passed, I grew more frustrated and upset. It was with some strength that I eventually went to the front desk to remind them that I was there.

They brought me back in after 85 minutes. Well before this time, talking had become extremely difficult. (I've never had a full shutdown, where it wasn't possible to speak.) The same doctor, who had seen me chattering earlier, knew that something was wrong. She chalked it up to me being tired, which wasn't a good-enough explanation for an adult acting as I was then. I managed to whisper the words necessary to get us through the rest of the visit, but I didn't speak to anyone for the rest of that night.

If the same thing took place now, I would have tried communicating by writing. That I could do. I've become more bold at letting others know when I'm in distress and more open to being seen as disabled. I haven't yet checked out the AAC stuff that members here keep talking about, but I will soon.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Waiting rooms. If I could wait outside the room I would be ok.

 

[Jonn]

I always try to schedule doctor appointments for the very first appointment of the day. If I need to be there by 7:00 a.m., then I happily comply because it ensures that I'll be seen on time.

Good advice.
I intend to do that in the future, now that I get up early (as in 5am).
What has stopped me in the past was my fear of forgetting.
My memory function is very damaged and unreliable (always has been a problem), but these days my alarm system is good, erm, if I remember to use it. lol

In the past, I asked for the first appointment after the doctor's lunch-break.
The trouble was, people still snuck in before me even so. <tear hair out>

I take cross stitch or a book with me to read. Since Covid, doctor offices in the US rarely provide magazines anymore, and I don't like to touch the old magazines in the waiting area anyway because I'm sure they are covered with germs.

Spoiler

Hmmm.
Maybe I should take up cross-stitching.

 

[Jonn]

Despite my anxiety, I can usually be cheery and talkative with nurses and doctors. Too talkative, often. They aren't generally interested in hearing my comments and weird style of joking.

I used to be like that.
Not any longer.

Spoiler

Well, in real life, at least.

It was a good change for me.