Difficulty Getting a Dermatologist Appointment

[Mkrop]

Our oldest got some prescription cream from her regular dr - maybe you could try that to tide you over until the derm appt?

We were prescribed EpiDuo by the family Dr, and it's been about 3 months. The acne has only gotten worse, not any better.[/QUOTE]

The EpiDuo did it not work for DS18, he got put on doxcycline by his pediatrician and it has helped

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I just tried to get a appointment with a dermatologist for some suspicious skin growths/changes (I have previously had to have MOHS surgery to remove a basal cell skin cancer so changes worry me) and the earliest I can get in to see a doctor is 6 months away! Is this the norm for others in other locations who have tried to get an appointment?

As a word of warning, I waited over a year from my last checkup so the dermatologist's office I had used before is treating me as a new patient and therefore a much longer time to get an appt. I was trying to not overuse the doctor for every little worry and I guess that is the wrong strategy.

My derm office has a PA that works with her. I called a weekish ago and got an appt. with the PA because I could not see the derm until Jan. She did my yearly scan and I got a shave biopsy. She also sees all the teens for their acne.

I think it is irritating that they are treating you as a "new patient". If they are good then I guess I would put up with the aggravation though.

 

[MissManda]

It's impossible to get a dermatolgist appt in my town if you aren't an existing patient, even with a referral from the primary care doc. We have to go an hour and a half away, but you can get an appt pretty quickly. Too bad you basically end up losing a whole day of work for an appt.

 

[Mkrop]

I find it frustrating that it is so hard to get an appt for serious issues, yet as I sit in the exam room, they have ads for all the fillers and hair removal stuff

 

[Simba's Mom]

Did you try telling the dermatologist that you were concerned about a suspicious spot? DH has had Basal Cell Carcinoma, and thus MOHS surgery twice, and Melanoma once. He recently had a suspicious looking spot but when he called his dermatologist, he just said he wanted a check-up, and had to wait 2-3 months for an appointment. It turned out he had Basal Cell Carcinoma, and now he can't help but wonder if he would have gotten in sooner if he'd said he was concerned about a spot.