Comments on: Your Doctor vs. the Pope – Who’s More Unreachable

By: migraine causes

migraine causes — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:20:56 +0000

Thank you for your Alpaca Farm Girl » Your Doctor vs. the Pope – Who’s More Unreachable post. You have included some very useful migraine causes tips and information in this post. Thanks for sharing, Helen

By: woolies

woolies — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:44:04 +0000

Yep. I was coughing blood due to a severe infection in my throat. Fever of 102-103. While the receptionist was sipping coffee, she suggested I go to Urgent Care, because they couldn’t possibly see me until next week (of course this was a Friday). I went to Urgent Care. They did NOTHING. They said I had a virus. I knew better. I suffered all weekend, getting worse and worse. I called the doctor Monday morning. Begged. Begged. They got me in. My doctor said, oh yes I’ve seen so many patients sounding just like you (I couldn’t talk at that point), it’s a virus. I said I am coughing blood, this is NOT a virus. Through some kind of miracle, she gave me antibiotics. And ordered a chest xray, which I didn’t bother with, because I knew it wasn’t in my chest, it was in my throat. The antibiotics worked.
Next time, I’m just driving to Mexico, where you can get prescription drugs without a prescription at any pharmacy. Hmm. I need to get a passport first (new law).
SIGH

By: Llama

Llama — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:57:14 +0000

Been there and done this. I moved to another town a little over a year ago and my doctor wonders why I haven’t found somebody else. It is beacuse they aren’t HER. She always calls me back,knows everything about me and my kids,doesn’t want me to go to Urgent Care on nights and weekends, she actually WANTS me to drag her to the office at 2 am if we are sick!! I can’t find that somewhere else so I happily drive an hour to see her. I shudder at the thought of trading her in for someone who forgets who I am the minute I leave the office.

I hope you can find your own doc like mine.Don’t give up. Mine is a D.O. as opposed to a MD.

By: sara

sara — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:06:46 +0000

I’m glad you touched on this subject. I actually found my doctor through internet website Angie’s List.com (as you mentioned in your post). I signed up for the site after coming across a web show where they offered 25% off the service ( http://offers.mevio.com/angies-list-promotional-code.html ) . I can’t thank them enough…

By: Alpacamundo

Alpacamundo — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:26:52 +0000

Katy – The internet is the great equalizer. We all now have a voice. Some voices are clearly louder than others, and you have quite a following.

The healthcare industry needs a complete overhaul, but we can’t just complain about it. We have to find another way.

In another industry I was a business process developer. That means I looked at the needs and wants of our customers, then developed business processes from the customer’s point of view. The idea is to deliver your goods and services quickly and effeciently to your customers while also becoming easy to do business with.

Healthcare is talking about process, but they don’t understand it. It’s like old Detroit implementing robots because Toyota did it. They didn’t understand so instead of realizing the same ROI, they got more expensive and slower.

I’m happy to hear you are feeling better and I hope that you continue to try to impress upon yor doctor this failure in his business practice.

You have me thinking about starting a consulting firm.

Kathryn (@Alpacamundo)

By: Mac McFatter

Mac McFatter — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:25:58 +0000

Just wait until you have nationalized health care. I am afraid the responses of today’s health care professionals will look super good.
When I was growing up we had no insurance. Doctors and nurses responded to patients like good caring neighbors.
Then I joined the US Navy and got an inside look into government run health care. Some people liked it, but I had a totally different and less than satisfactory experience every time I went to “sick call”.
I worked for IBM when they had self administered health insurance for employees. They paid the charges quickly and with no discussion. Then IBM went to using BC/BS to “administer” the claims and service from the “professionals” began to change ever so slightly as the insurance company questioned charges, set limits on charges and paid slower.
Then I reached the magic age and qualified for government run/administered medicare. Might as well get used to your experience of this week if our illustrious congress passes Obamacare. Old people like me will be like the old feeble indians, put out of the tribe to die alone and unattended.

By: chester

chester — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:30:43 +0000

Ooooooh! That is SO frustrating! It’s situations like yours that explain why I am on my third internist. The first had a wall of staff, identical to what you described. They either did not give my physician my messages or mixed them up. Their fax machine was like a black hole (other doctors would send reports but the paperwork would never be seen again). The big laugh was at office visits (after waiting at least an hour) when the doctor would tell me “Just call me if you need me.” HA! The coup de grace was when the doctor went out of town for a week and my 90 year old father needed some paperwork from his file to take to a referral- and the medical records people had LOST HIS FILE. So there was no one at the office who knew anything about my dad and no papertrail. ARGGGH!

The second internist was just an ass. Nuf said.

The third is wonderful. She works out of our local university clinic which is also a training facility for medical students. It’s obvious that the mission is to give good care while also showing the students how it should be done- which tells me that the medical community knows what it is doing wrong, knows how to fix it, but for the most part just doesn’t care. Sad.

Good luck with the migraines. I’ve had success with daily Inderal, but everybody is different.

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:32:18 +0000

You are right on here. Many doctors and/or their staff just aren’t there for you.
I have CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome)and get stellate ganglion blocks for pain. When I need them, I need them yesterday, but I have had staff who didn’t understand (in the early years) tell me I couldn’t get an appointment with the doctor for a month. I finally discovered that the correct response is, “Oh, I’ll be dead by then,” not one of my nicer responses, but it worked.
I’m getting the appointments and medications I need when I need them now and am almost off of medications altogether although I keep them at hand just in case. Immediate response to pain means I now take one non-narcotic pill a day instead of 26 (which included several narcotics and multiple prescriptions). My son, who was 8 when this started will be 20 next month and still has a mom, I raise alpacas and life is good thanks to several doctors who listened.
The CRPS has reached a point where it manifests itself visibly and physically. BP shoots up 50 points or so, my left arm becomes about 10 degrees colder than the rest of my body and changes color. But for about three years I was treated like a drug-seeking nut case as I went from doctor to doctor looking for help. I was lucky enough to be properly diagnosed by a good pain specialist and now have a thick medical file that states to any medical personnel that what I am saying is true, not made up and not in my head.
Please doctors (and legislators), realize that not everyone is a junkie or a wannabe junkie. You would treat a diabetic or someone with epilepsy immediately and would monitor their progress or you would help them find a doctor who would, knowing you could be charged with malpractice if you didn’t. Don’t dismiss people in pain or just throw drugs at them. There is really something wrong and they need proper treatment.
I thank a dear friend who found me a pain specialist and my dear husband, who believed me and wouldn’t take no for an answer when he demanded an immediate appointment, for my life. The CRPS can strike at any time, but we know what we are fighting and we will deal with it.

By: WonderWhyGal

WonderWhyGal — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:18:32 +0000

Oh, I feel your pain. My father had a double lung transplant six years ago and we are fighting his meds everytime he comes home from the hospital. He is supposed to get an at-home IV treatment for three weeks to battle the infections that put him in and they always mess up the shipment to get him.

Your right, communication has shut down and the system needs to be overhauled. Too many people are without.

Yikes, I hope your migraine calms and your head can be at peace.

By: ShelleyDelayne

ShelleyDelayne — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:29:55 +0000

First, I am so sorry you have migraines. As someone who’s suffered through many of them, if your doctor won’t join you in a hug to celebrate 7 months without a headache – I WILL! Awesome.

Second, for years, I’ve been shouting this into the wind: The healthcare debate in this country is so focused on who has insurance and who doesn’t, and I maintain that this misses the point entirely. The discussion *should* be: How do we make sure that everyone has access to good healthcare when they need it? Because, as your story illustrates, having insurance does not guarantee healthcare when you need it.

Third, I wish more doctors would try new approaches to improve patient care. I think it’s appalling that doctors have to have 2-3 full-time staffers JUST to file insurance paperwork. Unacceptable!! Waste of doctor resources. I loved this story of a doctor who no longer accepts insurance and his stress levels are down, patient care is better, and he’s making more money: http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_209_Cash_Doctor.mp3/view

This blog really struck a nerve with me. I hope you don’t ever need the meds again, ever. But thank you for sharing your story (and allowing my mini-rant of a comment.)