You could search for a doctor on the internet.
10 years ago my cardiologists in Seattle gave up on me. They wanted to control my persistent atrial fibrillation with a man made pacemaker and anticoagulation therapy. I was desperate and search the internet for a cardiologist with the skills and desire to help me and keep my heart beating normally. I found a cardiologist in Indianapolis and flew there for a new surgery technique that was successful. My heart remains in normal sinus rhythm today.
Good luck and good health.

Wow @gondwanalon . #1 that’s amazing, #2 sorry you had to go through that, and #3 that’s way worse than any problem I’ve had.

Do you have any tips on how to search? “prescribes what I ask for without hassle” is hard to find in doctor reviews.

I just searched the internet for heart ablations and mini maze. All kinds of results popped up. One doctor stuck out that looked too good to be true. His website had an area to fill in my information. The next day he replied to with an e-mail: “We need to talk”. The rest went smoothly. I’m so lucky.

Sorry you are having such a problem.
What area and what kind of Health Insurance if any.

@capet If you just search for “Internists near me” in your area, you can read reviews of them online and start to get an idea from what other patients have said. Or if there is a local “Nextdoor” site or other neighborhood network, you can post a question there and get recommendations. You might have to interview a few – if you can get an appointment – in order to find one that you like.

I recently needed a neurologist and found one from the internet. I haven’t met her yet but I had a good feeling from the responsiveness of the receptionist.

Also, asking around among your friends and co-workers can be a good source.

@Forever_Free employer group plan, Indianapolis. Thanks! It’s not so bad, I’m pretty healthy for the most part. I just want to stay that way, is all.

@capet Certainly send a message and don’t use a Dr. that you do not agree with their practices.
Does the Group Plan have limitations on In Network or Out of Network use? Do they have lists of preferred providers? Apologies for the questions here as I am not familiar with your group plan.
This is a pet peeve of mine seeing we pay so much for our Healthcare that we should not be afraid to demand the best care we can find. But this is the problem, finding them.
Without knowing based on someone else recommending then it is up to a go and see if it feels right. There are many public review sites on Doctors now that should be read with a grain of salt. I am in the same situation as my Primary Care Dr just retired. I do not mind driving for the best care I can get either as our health is so important to our quality of life.
Good Luck.

I work in health care.

Do not do a Google search for “doctors who will prescribe what I want.” It sounds like you are drug shopping.

Try searching as suggested by @janbb for “internists near me.” I believe you can get a list that way, and then I believe you can look up reviews.

Look for reviews that indicate the doctor is a good listener.

@Forever_Free good questions, they have a network but it’s pretty big. Thanks!!

@Hawaii_Jake yeah good call, thanks for the tips

Good luck with your search. I have always been disappointed in what passes as medical care (I live in the US, but i t doesn’t seen to be better elsewhere either), and unless I go rogue and pay out of pocket for my health care, I have never been satisfied.

How did you get the MRI if the doctor wouldn’t order the MRI?

^^ I was wondering that too.

Usually you see an orthopedist for something like a knee, and the first thing they do is an xray. Maybe you jumped the gun by asking your regular doctor for an MRI. If so, he would have rightly said no and referred you to an ortho doc.

Do you guys still get a Yellow Page phone book?

@SnipSnip I don’t any more.

I haven’t seen a printed phone book in my mail box in about five years.

@smudges @Caravanfan good questions. Primary referred me to ortho, ortho said physical therapy, I did that for a while, asked for MRI, ortho said no, so I just went to a random clinic and did self pay.

@capet An MRI is only useful if you’re going to do something with the information like surgery.

@Caravanfan so if the MRI showed damage, that could potentially mean it could be corrected by surgery, or maybe a brace, physical therapy or whatever. But @capet’s doc didn’t want to do the MRI because it “might show damage” or what?

@snowberry Thank you, I am aware of what an MRI shows. But you don’t need an MRI to prescribe a brace or physicial therapy. If the orthopedist didn’t think that it was an operable lesion based upon exam then it was entirely reasonable not to order an MRI. If, for example, by exam the diagnosis is MCL strain, patellofemoral arthritis or ITB syndrome then the correct next move is physical therapy and possible bracing. MRI would probably not be useful here initially.