How long should a first appointment with a specialist take?

I guess when you put my name in a topic, I am forced to answer by Fluther law? That amount of time makes sense to me. Most doctors have forgotten (though, this one apparently hasn’t) the the money (i.e. diagnosis) is mainly in the history and physical. So, he will likely talk with you for 30–45 minutes, just taking a very careful history. Personal medical history, medical problems, allergies, social history (pets, habits, etc.), family history, etc. Then, a complete physical (which can take 20–30 minutes) and probably some blood work as well (which you might wait for), or come back to discuss. Finally, he will discuss his diagnostic plan (or ultimate diagnosis) and answer questions. Put that all together, and it will take more than an hour.

Maybe they’re going to run the lab work.

@shilolo: Yes, yes you are. :)

I’m anemic, very much so. I was told to see a specialist to find the cause, just didn’t think it would take that long for the initial appointment. Oh well, thanks for the breakdown shi. :)

That makes sense. There are a lot of potential causes of anemia, and thus, it might take a long time to take a detailed history trying to sort out the likeliest causes. I hope you feel better.

Thanks, I take my iron supplements like clockwork now. :)
I feel pretty fantastic now, but three months ago I was all pale, tired and getting headaches. not great. In December my hemoglobin count was barely 2 and I didn’t even know it. Hopefully, I can learn some more after this. :)

Thanks again shi.

Uh, I think it was my hemoglobin. I was kinda spacey after having blood taken that day. :P

Two????? Really? That’s nearly incompatible with life. Wow. Maybe it was your white blood cell count? Did you have other low cell counts at the time?

Yeah, she called me and told me to fill my prescription right that second or else. I recently found pictures of me from then and compared to now, it’s astonishing how sick I looked and no one noticed.

I’m pale naturally, but I went back to see my old coworkers that I hadn’t seen since then and they all commented on my wonderfully ‘natural tan in winter’ and asked me how I did it.

Uh, I stopped dying? ;)

Sounds like a thorough doctor, don’t complain ;)
I hope they can help you out. I had blood-loss related anemia, and that really sucked. I felt like passing out all the time, just from walking across the living room. Mine was an easy fix. I hope yours isn’t too complicated.

The first appointment with any specialist I’ve ever seen has been just about exactly as Shi described it. I hope you get to the bottom of it, and that everything is ok… keep us posted, please.

Will do, thanks guys. :)

I totally agree that the history and family history are the most important part of the examination, and feel that too many physicians and other medical professionals zip right past it.

@asmonet: Try to joy down as much detail as you can about when your symptoms started, other symptoms you’ve had (even if they seem unrelated), any factors that seemed to make you feel worse or better, and as much family history as you can gather.

I hope they find the source of your problems and get you on the road to recovery quickly!

@asmonet, first of all, a lot of doctor’s offices like to tell you the LONGEST time things will take, so that you allow yourself enough time and don’t rush THEM. For the first visit, there WILL be forms to fill out (including a questionnaire). Like people said, he may have you get a blood test while you are there, wait there for the result, then talk to you some more. Sure it can take and hour and a half.

This is one of the things I really like about my doctor; he takes his time. Although because he’s not actually diagnosing things, he doesn’t spend hours at a stretch, but he’s got plenty of time to talk about things like family history.

My former doctor ran things like clockwork; his whole day was segmented into 15-minute blocks, and he ran things on time. When I asked questions, the attitude (and sometimes the answer!) was “Because I’m the doctor, and I said so.” And he took a very moralistic attitude towards some of my medical issues, which really didn’t help.