I honestly don't know what normal is anymore, where specialists are concerned. The last one I went to was an endocrinologist who told me that it might be thyroid related and that I should get my thyroid hormone levels tested, and the just...... refused to give me a referal to have them tested anywhere except in the lab attached to his practice. A lab which was owned not by his practice but by a different company which was not covered by my insurance. So I would have had to pay for them myself. Which I literally could not do.

So I just had to fucking walk. And then my GP at the time tried to refer me for the tests instead, but insurance denied the referral without, surprise, an endocrinologist signing off on it.

It ultimately didn't matter. A couple months ago insurance standards changed and I was able to get thyroid tests done, and they all came back normal, but like. IDK, I've never had good turnout with this stuff.

Life would be so much easier if we just had fucking single payer in this stupid country. Even if nothing else changed whatsoever, the ability to just see any doctor at all, instead of having only one GP who is literally in the next state over and one sleep specialist who is possibly trying to kill me with her negligence covered by my insurance is fucking brutal.