Mixed feelings about my doctor

Man, my primary care doctor is an interesting dude. I do like him a lot. You can tell that he thinks a lot before making any decisions, which is great. But there’s also a negative side to that. Sometimes I feel like a potentially serious issue goes untreated because he is so hesitant.

I saw him today as a follow-up appointment to my concern last year about my back pain and potential depression. He asked if the back pain had gotten better. I said that it had eased up maybe a bit, but not much.

First he said we want to stay away from surgery if possible, which I agree. “I’m not sure what to do,” he said after that. “I’d rather stay away from referring you to another doctor if possible, but it’s up to you.”

My mom was with me, and she kind of pushed him to do SOMETHING, and so did I, but it took a lot of pushing. He kept saying that he’d rather do nothing. Eventually he referred me to a spine doctor, but it took a very long time.

As for the depression, my neurologist recommended a psychiatrist to me several months ago to see if I have depression. I tried to book an appointment with him, but I wasn’t able to because he isn’t taking appointments until next year. Yikes! I asked my PCP about it today, and he said, “I STRONGLY advise against that.” When I asked why, he said “because you don’t have a mental illness,” or something like that. I can’t remember the exact wording. Okay, but how would it hurt? How can he know that without me going to a psychiatrist?

I don’t know. It’s weird. I get that he doesn’t want to over-medicate me or anything, which is good, but what harm can a simple appointment with a new doctor make? They might even tell me I’m fine and don’t need any sort of treatment for my back problems and mood problems, but at least I’ll know. Where’s the harm in that?

What are your thoughts?