Conference turris::womannotes-v1

    Ah yes, the most important medical decision I ever have to make.
    I currently have Multigroup (you didn't mention if you had Hancock
    or an HMO, or if it mattered). My physician for everything is Dr.
    Jean Lageson (I think that's how you spell it). She works out of
    Littleton and Acton. She's tops. She tells me what she's doing,
    is understanding, is easy to talk to, and is gentle. I picked up
    Multigroup at another company that didn't charge extra for it, but
    I'd pay alot more to keep Dr. Lageson.
    
    A friend of mine believes that GPs are generally better about the
    whole thing than gyns. I took her suggestion once, and liked who
    I got (but then I moved).
    	Mez

    Re: .1,  I was JUST going to type in the same person!  I have only
    been to her once, and am getting ready to go see her again this
    month (yearly checkup)...  When I called the Acton Medical Center,
    to make the appointment, they told me she was leaving in 2 months...
    one of my first questions on my list to ask her is "Where are you
    going to", as I will definitely go where she goes (within reason
    ocourse :-)...)
    
    The only other good one I can recommend is in Plattsburgh, New York...
    not too close I'm afraid.... but if your ever there and need one,
    her name is Bunny Adler, and she is a nurse-widwife (certified).
    
    Gale

    Does anyone know of a good ob/gyn in the Nashua area?  Last year
    I tried to get an appointment with Jack Faraci who I was told was
    good.  I made the appointment at least two months in advance.  Then
    his office rescheduled it.  Then about a week before my appointment
    was supposed to be, they told me that it was no longer "convenient"
    and I would need to reschedule.  The only problem was that they
    could only reschedule for a month or so later!
    
    I needed the appointment right away, and they were not sympathetic
    at all.  I wrote to him, telling him of my problem, but never got
    a response.
    
    Soooo, the result is that I'm still looking for someone new.  I'd
    really appreciate it if I could find someone who respects the patients,
    and is gentle.

    Judy

Thanks for this note.  I generally go to a GP unless I think I have a 
problem that would benefit from a specialist.  

I used to go to Dr. Ernest Smith in the John Cumming Building at Emerson 
Hospital in Concord.  I thought he was kind, considerate, and thorough, and
I felt secure that he was competent.  He was also very willing to just sit 
and talk with me (this is very important) and I never felt rushed (also 
important).  I do remember having to schedule appointments far in advance.
It's been so long that I've been to him that I feel as though I no longer 
know him well enough to give a recommendation.  I haven't been mostly because 
I've been lucky enough not to have any serious problems, but also because 
I've been without health insurance for quite some time (I'm a temp).

Any doctor or nurse practitioner who warms up the speculum gets many bonus 
points for consideration (as one who has difficulty being assertive, it 
just occurred to me that I could _ask_ to have it warmed up... maybe next 
time).

CQ

    If you don't mind travelling to Brookline for a GYN, I HIGHLY recommend
    Dr. Kathleen Thurmond. 617-738-6666.
    
    She recently did some surgery for me, and was really wonderful,
    caring, listened to my fears, gave me honest info...etc, etc.
    
    She uses stirrups, but has little quilted covers on them, they really
    made me giggle the first time I saw them!
    
    About waiting a long time to get an appointment...unless you have
    something wrong with you (which I did), expect to wait about 2 months
    for an appointment...it seems to be the nature of things these days
    in the GYN biz.

    
    ****andrea****

    I was going to suggest Jean Lageson at the Acton Medical Center.
    I brought my Mother to her last month and was very impressed.  I
    was considering transfering.  My Mother will be very upset to hear
    she is leaving.
    
    Joyce
    

    If you are interested in wholistic medecine, and natural approaches
    to healing, I would like to suggest Dr. Vivian Varese in Acton,
    Mass.
    
    She is actually an internist, according to her card, but did a gyn
    exam for me as part of a very thorough physical last November.
    
    I am so impressed with her.  Her office is designed to be a calm,
    comfortable and warm environment.  She has a loving and dedicated
    assistant.  There is usually only one person there at a time.  She
    always has time to answer all your questions.  She took the most
    thorough medical history on me that I have ever had taken, and came
    up with a lot of suggestions that I hadn't thought of.  
    
    She is very gentle and thoughtful and respectful.  
    
    She will do a lot with vitamins and other natural approaches (including
    hair analysis for minerals), but doesn't push it on you.  Her goal
    seems to be feeling good with as few drugs as possible.
    
    She did a complete blood test for me, and went over every line of
    the three page printout until I understood what it all meant.
    
    ------------
    
    I also have a wonderful woman dentist in Chelmsford, Mass.  
    Her name is Dr. Julie Foulke (she says it "folk").  She is also
    very gentle and warm.  She seems to know how to do what she needs
    to do without hurting me.  I told her about some of my bad experiences
    in the past, and she promised to get me numb before going ahead...and
    she does.  I trust her.  She also has done an analysis of my whole
    mouth and has come up with a comprehensive treatment plan covering
    several years in order to best utilize my insurance, and spread
    out the remaining payments to match my financial situation.
    
    She has a direct line to a super endodontist (root canal specialist)
    in the same building (who happens to be a man.)  He is equally warm
    and competent.  He explains all the possibilities very carefully,
    and draws pictures until he is certain that the patient understands
    all the possibilities.  His name is Dr. Paul Carter.  A friend had
    4 root canals done in one morning by him, and said that it was not
    particularly painful or stressful!  Amazing.  
    
    It feels so good to me to have capable medical people I trust who
    are readily available.  I didn't realize how stressful it was not
    to have them until I had them. 

re .6

I second Dr. Thurmond.  I had her for several post-op visits thru HCHP, and
was very impressed.  My previous doctor (I changed centers), on my first post-op
visit, had me thinking I was going to need further surgery.  He had me
practically in hysterics.  Dr. Thurmond explained that everything looked like it
was supposed to, and was better at answering my questions, too.

I remember those quilted stirrup covers well; I saw them way too often back
then.  :-(

Jill

        Are you looking for a gyn/ob or a gp?
    
    	My recommendation for a gyn/ob is for Dr. Carl Bender at the 
    Concord Professional Building.  He used to be with Drs. Smith, 
    Lesneski and Gallagher at the John Cuming Buliding (that's where 
    I first saw him).  I always got the feeling that it was a production 
    line, there were so many people waiting, the appts were always late, 
    etc.  Too commercial for me!  I was thrilled when Carl went out on 
    his own.
    	He is very thoughtful, understanding, and most of all gentle.
    He always returns phone calls and takes time to make sure you
    understand everything completely - as he says: there is no such
    thing as a dumb question.  His nurse is super, and the waiting room
    is every comfortable and quiet and you rarely run into anyone else
    because his appointments are always on time. 
    	He also does his own surgery (which is very important to me because
    I've had 4 so far) so you don't have to worry about dealing with
    a surgeon if the need ever arises.
        His number is 369-0810.
    
    	Conni

    I'm looking for a GYN, not a GP. Interesting that you should mention 
    Dr. Bender -- my GP thinks he's great, so I sort of ended up seeing him.
    Here's what happened: 
    
    Before I went, he sent me a form that looked like it was out of
    the 1950's. Among other things, it asked all sorts of questions 
    about my husband -- his insurance, health, height, weight, place 
    of work, and so on. I had several reactions to this: Can't women 
    take care of themselves anymore?  Do all women have husbands (aren't
    some of them unmarried (or gasp) gay)? What if a man went to a 
    urologist and had to fill out similar forms about his wife? (There 
    were other offensive questions on the form, too). 
    
    I sent back the form and a letter that stepped through some of the 
    items I found objectionable.  When I finally saw him, Dr. B
    "justified" every item I had brought up in my letter. He sort of 
    convinced me about the "Religion" question -- it helps him know 
    where to tread carefully. But he said that husband's employment is 
    important for infertility problems (yeah, but i hope he does more 
    research than that!) and "to have something to chat about". I got 
    pretty bad vibes from the whole discussion. 
    
    The next thing that happened was that I said that I feel a certain 
    amount of stress before my period. He said "That's not stress --
    it's changing hormones". At that point, I felt like I was dealing
    with a total porker who doesn't even understand stress!
    
    However, I was saved by the bell -- his phone buzzed, and as he
    put on his jacket, he said that someone was having a baby, he had
    to leave, and I should make another appointment. The next appointment
    was two weeks from that day!  So I have another appt which I may
    or may not keep, but thought I'd ask the community for alternatives.

    
    Thanks
    Liz

    I would recommend Dr. Donald Gauthier, in Lowell.  He gave up the
    OB part of his practice and now just handles GYN.  I think he is
    Chief of Staff (or was) at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lowell.
    
    Also, I would recommend Dr. Merens at the Medical Associates in
    Chelmsford.  
    
    I decided to join Multi Group and had to give up Dr. Gauthier, hence,
    Dr. Merens.  I was very comfortable with Dr. Merens from the beginning.
    I have recommended him to two of my friends and both felt very
    comfortable with him.

    
    I recommend Dr. Robin Richmon in Lexington.  She practices at
    Emerson Hospital.  I found her very easy to talk to, unlike my
    own obstetrician.  I understand she is hard to get an appointment
    with.  A friend tells me she now has a second woman gyn/ob in
    practice with her.
    
    I heard Dr. Lageson at Acton Medical is moving - away from New
    England.  This is about third-hand, but I was interested since
    I go to Acton Medical and really like my doctor (Knights).
    
    

    When I first moved to the Boston area, I asked a nurse in the area
    who recommended Dr. Beatrice Pitcher, in Boston.  She has seen me
    through some difficult appointments:  trying to insert an IUD, but
    the way my uterus is tipped, the only way to insert it would be
    surgically.  It was the middle of January, freezing outside, but
    she put the air conditioning on in the office because we were both
    dripping with sweat.  Her nurse held my hand and stroked my face
    to try to see me through it.  
    
    There is nothing I wouldn't talk to Dr. Pitcher about.  She's
    understanding, and can relate to everything you tell her.  She also
    has a realistic attitude towards things.
    
    Even now, I am on an international relocation in Scotland, yet during
    my annual 'home leave', I go to Dr. Pitcher for my annual check-up.
    In fact, she's the only doctor I see on a regular basis.
    
    I realize going downtown is no joy, but I thought (and still do
    think) it was worth it!
    
    Good luck.
    Debra
    

    Thank you all for your suggestions. I decided to see Dr. Thurmond.
    She was gentle, straightforward, respectful, and easy to talk to. 
    Her office was comfortable without being overdone. And, I only had
    to wait two weeks, rather than two months, for an appointment.

    However, just because I've found a good doctor doesn't mean we should 
    stop contributing to this note!  I'm sure there are others of us who
    are interested in this info.
    
    Thanks again
    Liz Augustine

I'm not a regular reader of this file, but we recently moved from Worcester to
Sudbury, and my (non-employee) wife is looking for a good OB/GYN, and asked me
to show her that my note-ing (often practiced at home) is good for something. 
A friend pointed me here. I noticed the last entry is almost a year old, so

Can someone recommend a good OB/GYN, probably at Emerson, or maybe
Newton-Wellesley?.  She likes doctors with many years of experience,
personable, and willing to take the time to answer questions and explain.  I
know she's aimimg a bit high, but it couldn't hurt to ask, right? 

thanx in advance  /j


[PS - we have heard of Dr. Bender, but he is getting away from OB and not 
taking new patients]

I'd suggest you contact Dr. Fred Lea and Dr. Linda Leavenworth.  They work
together at the John Cuming Building in Concord (attached to Emerson hospital).
I've got great respect for them both as GYN's... I'm single and never been
pregnant, but judging from the happy women and men in the waiting rooms,
I'm in the right place when the time comes!

Hope, for your sake that they're taking new patients.

Penny

Has anyone heard of...

Ellen Penso in Wayland 
Harold Ginsberg in Marlboro/Framingham
Jennifer Thulin in Framingham 

If so - feel free to send you comments to ZEN::WINSTON - I'll post 
summaries if the comments are strong one way or the other.  Thanx