PCP San Marcos/Austin area

[statichope]

Anyone have any recommendations for a good PCP around San Marcos/Austin Texas? I don't have 1 now and just want to get full std testing and some itching checked out and would prefer a DR. that has at least been around it before. I have been sort of "checking out and testing" some Dr.s but I keep getting the ones that tell me o well I just started 6 months ago or O you have that huh, well I will just agree with whatever you say about it then since you know more than I would and then laughs. These things make me really uncomfortable with him checking other places.

I have contacted the ASO in Austin and they told me that by law they cannot recommend any Dr.s or gives names for Dr.s like that...only IDs, this was nothing new since every single time I have called that worthless place they have never been of any help. San Antonio did give me a name of a Dr. there but I would prefer not to drive 50+ miles 1 way.

So anyways, any help would wonderful!

[buginme2]

The American Academy of HIV Medicine only lists one doctor certified as an HIV Specialist in Austin.  So your choices seem rather slim.

You can search for HIV specialist on their website at
http://aahivm.org/Default.aspx

[phildinftlaudy]

Many times you can find ads for doctors who may meet your needs in various local gay publications/newspapers/magazines in your area. Here in Miami, I have seen ads for gay, gay-friendly, or HIV and STD specialist and PCPs through publications such as Hot Spots or The Express. See if you have similar publications in Austin - they should have ads from docs looking for patients. Many times these publications are also available online....

I found this in the Gay Yellow Pages for Austin - these docs are not necessarily gay but are gay-friendly and are also PCPs:
http://www.glyp.com/default.aspx?c=197&city=Austin+*

and the direct link to the physician section:
http://www.informationpages.com/sys/pageserver.dll?b=1011&f=hhd624&z=1000

Here is the link to Central Family Practice in Austin:
http://www.centralfamily.com/

Hope the above info helps.
-Phil

[Ann]

Have you tried asking your hiv/ID doctor? He or she should be familiar with general practitioners who have experience with hiv in your area.

Otherwise, if you cannot find one who does have hiv experience, you may be able to find one who is willing to work with your hiv doctor. This is the compromise I've worked out with my own GP. If there is anything that may be related to my hiv that he is unsure about, he rings my hiv doc up and discusses it with him before proceeding. It works well for me/us.

Good luck.

Ann

[statichope]

Ann, yes I have and he said there is just too many for him to list and really any Dr. would be fine, I guess he doesn't get the whole I want someone I am comfortable with or someone who has at least some experience with people needing their backside checked for say itching or swelling or minor bleeding.

Thank you Phil! I thought I had been to Central Family but maybe not because I am not seeing the DR. listed on their staff list. That guy was both a PCP and an ID and when I told him I had an ID and was not interested in switching to him to have both covered he became very short and upset with me and told me, well do you have puss anywhere? no, do you itch? no, do you have blisters or warts showing? no, well then you don't have any stds and so there is no reason to check you. As for your anal/rectum itching, I guess drop your pants and bend over the table and let me look....lol needless to say I never went back there.

[buginme2]

I may have missunderstood your post.  In my area, and the medical center I go oo, you HIV doctor IS your primary care provider.

As far as th nal itching, have you had an anal pap done or High Rez Anosopy? 

[statichope]

O ok, it may be different with with different IDs, mine will only see me for my hiv nothing else. Nope, I originally thought o its hemorrhoids and started using the creme, but it has not gone away after a few months I have started to worry but to get into any of the special tests I was led to believe I would have to have a referal from a Dr. which I can't get since no pcp yet. And to top it off now I have an ulcer and am taking Dexilant for that I have now noticed that I have some blood when I use the restroom only, so that has me scared maybe its not a bleeding ulcer or hemorrhoids and has progressed into something much worse. So that is why I am wanting to find someone for a PCP to have that checked and start whatever needs to be done.

As Dr. Oz says taking care of your tukish is very very important and anything out of the ordinary you should take very serious!

I will call the place that Phil linked in the morning and see if I can get in asap. Thank you guys very much

[buginme2]

Good, have them do an anal pap and ask for a referral for a high resolution Anosopy.  I am being treated for anal dysplasia.  With the higher than average rate of anal cancel of HIV positive folk it is definitely something everyone should be screened for.

[Buckmark]

I sent you a PM with the name of my physician who handles both primary care, and HIV.  Tons of experience.  Spends more time with me in my appointments than any doctor ever has.

Regards,

Henry

[statichope]

Well the Central Family doesn't take private insurance and they do it basically on per visit pricing lol.

[Ann]

Stat, before you get too worried about anal dysplasia (don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't get a pap/anoscopy, that's important to do regardless), there are other things it could be as well.

One is a fungal infection. You can get an OTC cream called clotrimazole (trade name Canesten or Lotrimin) that will help ease the itching if it is indeed a fungal problem. It's usually marketed towards women for vaginal thrush/yeast infections, but it can also be used for what's commonly called "jock itch" and also for athlete's foot.

If you have an overgrowth of the common fungus called Candida albicans in your digestive tract, you can get anal itching from it. Eating live culture yogurt or a pro-biotic drink can help keep Candida growth in check. (We all have candida in and on our bodies, but antibiotic use, for example, can kill off the friendly bacteria we also have in and on us that keeps candida in check.)

Anal itching can also be caused by a parasite infection and if you do any rimming, you're susceptible to picking something like that up. If the cream doesn't relieve the itch, you may want to get checked out for gut infections.

Your doctor really shouldn't be ignoring this - regardless of what type of doctor he is. This stuff is elementary doctoring.

Good luck. I hope you're not dragging your butt across the carpet like our canine friends do!  

[statichope]

The dragging my butt thing is something I really needed it brought a smile.. I am scared and nervous and embarrassed and ashamed of myself. Who would have ever thought that being lonely and depressed and experimenting would lead to this.

After some help from Henry I have decided to suck it up, man up about it and I have a normal Dr. appointment tomorrow morning (the guy who told me he has only been there 6 months and that told me, well I will believe whatever you have to say about HIV since you know more about it than I would and laughed). I also set up a colorectal dr. appointment for next week.

I am just trying to get all this done so I can move back home to be around family  and get stuck with cobra for a bit until new insurance would kick in.

Ann, the itching thing I would try but the introduction of blood only during very hard bm's leads me to believe its something far worse than a possible fungal infection.. I have a feeling its going to be something more of a fissure possibly? or god I don't know what else..

Anyways, thank you all for the help and I guess I will let you know the outcome.

[Ann]

The itching could still very possibly be due to a fungal infection even if there's something else going on. Most drug stores will carry Canesten and/or Lotrimin and it shouldn't be expensive. If you can't find it, ask someone who works there where they're hiding it. It won't do you any harm, but it just may ease the itch - and save your carpets.

I'm glad to hear you booked appointments. Give your new PCP (and the colorectal guy) your hiv doctor's details so he can get in touch if there's anything he's unsure about. As I said, that's what my GP does and it has worked very well.

BTW, my GP also admits that I probably know more about hiv than he does and he laughs about it too, but in a nice way. I admire his honesty. I'd much rather have a doctor who admits to gaps in his or her knowledge than one who pretends to know it all.

Oh, and knock it off with feeling embarrassment and shame. Everyone gets butt issues at some point in their life and doctors are used to it. Believe me, they've seen it all.

[statichope]

ok so that was as big of a waste of time and money as I thought it would be with this guy. I told him about the itching and the bleeding and explained that it only happens on hard large stools and that it streaks the stool and does not drip or bleed on its own that I have seen and when it does happen that it feels like something is tearing. So he thinks its external and internal hemrrhoids and said "even if I looked and found something or not I have end up sending you to a specialist" so then I told him about the appointment with the colo-rectal surgeon next week. He said good and be sure they get me in for a colonoscopy and get a scope in there to see what is going on.

So, without checking or looking after the complete embarrassment of me telling nothing was done to verify lol.

[Torchwood]

You have a PM.