Stunned ....Hopeless

I'm still feeling the same - horrible.  I've patiently waited weeks for my doctor (a GP) to call specialists for consultations on my condition.  Although I appreciate her intention, to treat me without my having to actually see a specialist, she obviously doesn't have the time to devote to the task.  If you've read any of my previous posts you already know how many unanswered messages and even notes I've left for my doctor and how many days it takes her to "get back to me".  Because I have no insurance or money for that matter, I've had to sit by and suffer for months. 

I was talking to a friend recently who strongly urged me to see a Rheumatologist regardless of cost.  She suggested that I might have to charge it on a credit card or get a loan to find out what was really wrong with me...if I even had Fibromyalgia.  Just the thought angered me, but maybe it was the only way.  I knew the name of the doctor my doctor had been consulting with and I looked him up on the net and found his office number.  I called and asked to make an appointment.  The woman I spoke with on the phone asked if I had a referral from my doctor.  I explained that the referral I had wasn't for insurance purposes but rather a "word of mouth" referral.  She asked if I had insurance and when I said I didn't, she dismissed me and said that the doctor didn't accept "cash" patients.  Thoroughly confused, I asked for clarification.  "We don't accept patients who don't have insurance" she stated coldly.  I didn't know what to say.  I couldn't believe that the doctor wouldn't see me because I didn't have insurance.  Wasn't that discrimination?  I hung up the phone in disbelief and I cried.  I felt completely helpless and hopeless.  Seeing the specialist had been my last hope and now that hope was gone.  What if no doctor would see me?