What to expect of a doctor...?

I have been under the care of a hormone specialist in Belgium for the past seven years. Until recently, I was doing well and felt stable so an annual check-up was enough.

However, in recent months, something has happened and I'm not sure what...I emailed my doctor and described my main symptoms (20 kg weight gain in six months, increased sweating, and cravings being the most noticeable ones). They could be thyroid- or adrenal-related or both as well as insulin and blood sugar-related.

However, my doctor wrote back that the first available appointment would be in late October. Which means a six months' waiting list an existing patient.

Is that OK, given how much I pay (over 200 € per visit)?

I have the impression that, with these doctors, once you are optimised on bio-identical hormones, you are supposed to stay optimised, and that very little is expected to change. In that case, an annual check-up may be enough. But when something changes more drastically, they have no way of seeing you sooner.

Another problem is of course that most doctors don't work like these hormone doctors, meaning you cannot just see any doctor as I imagine few mainstream doctors have ever heard of adrenal fatigue...

Which increases the likelihood you start self-diagnosing and -treating which may not be ideal but sometimes it's the only option.

So I was just curious...those of you who see so called alternative doctors (prescribing NDT/T3, treating adrenal fatigue etc) in various countries, can they usually see you on short notice, or is this how this system works...ie, you get unconventional treatment but have to accept that annual visits is all they can offer you?