Tuesday, July 27, 2010

HERE'S TO YOUR HEALTH


You know that old quote that says "when life hands you lemons-make lemonade"?
Well I am drowning in lemonade.....enough already!!
Here is a short synopsis of just a portion of what is going on.....
my pulmonologist decided to give up accepting WC for patients - his practice is now
leaning towards education for the elderly-preventative care...so that left me in the lurch--after 10 years of going to this doctor - I had to have someone new--
WC did not like this - they wanted to find some sort of fault with me so that
could stop paying for my care.
Well it all came to a head in May because they wanted another deposition (
I am thinking we might be heading back to court) so yes we are off to be questioned by lawyers...
the stress of this garbage really drove me so close to the edge - it seems always a game
and my lawyer claims this is just typical of the state and WC--that however is
NOT reassuring
to me at all.I found their questions very interesting - some of the same - a lot of updating info...and you
can just tell that they wanted to make sure of who is in my house and what the outside of my
house looks like and who does what in my house....this is enlightening because last time
this info was hashed out - they had me followed for 6 months - they video taped who came
and went and lived in my house everyday for 6 months - what they failed to realize is that
the one person they swore was me was my sister in law - and that is the video tape they
turned into the court -but with my sister in law next to me in court - they lost
miserably - that was 8 years ago.Well this time the deposition was also held at the same time that my lawyer put
a complaint in against WC because they never did a doctor referral - which brings
me up to date - yesterday was that doctor appointment!!!
IT WAS A NIGHTMARE!!!!
I am suppose to be seeing a pulmonologist - that was court ordered, this
doctor is family practice no specialty - his wife is a pediatrician.
Apparently there are time that she sees his patients - and I saw no children there but
then again she was not there....but I am getting ahead of the story ---We walked in and the office had a smell to it and it was kind of warm in the waiting room--
I thought that was odd...I filled out the initial paperwork and this "nurse" asked if I had
all my paperwork from the other doctor with me - I said
NO this is
WC they mail it to you for me - I am not allowed to go and transfer records-
she actually snubbed me and dismissed me and told me to go have a seat...unreal!
So when we went to sit down - they were a puff of dust that flew up--we were covered
in dust--the seats were covered in a thin layer of white dust (
drywall dust), when we
looked over to the other side - the building is under construction...the place
was a hazard for anyone with respiratory problems!!I was really puzzled - then this one other lady who was waiting to be seen said to make ourselves comfortable because the wait time is pathetic and then said that the filth in this office
location is
NOTHING compared to their other office in the next town....OMG - I could
not imagine anything worse.
She said to
THANK GOD that we got to go to this office and if sent to the other one
find another doctor.This is before I even go into the asylum - I mean back patient area.
Well to save some time here -I will be brief - the exam rooms were disgusting - the paper on the patient tables are not changed between patients - the tables themselves have not been sterilized in a lifetime, there are holes in the walls with nothing but drawing paper covering
them with scotch tape.
Meantime - they had taken my vital signs and could not get an accurate reading
of my blood pressure - they had to put me on a electronic machine that takes
your blood pressure and the damn thing was squeezing the
HECK out of my arm thatI actually screamed out--OMG it was incredible pain - that nurse said well I tried
to tell you that it was high - it is trying to get a reading -
OMG I could not believe it.
Finally - I am in tears and the damn thing said that my BP was 221/109
well that freaked me out!
She brought me to some room -
DISGUSTING-I called Allen to come back to my room.
I told him where I was at - he joined me and I filled him in on what happened so far.
Now when Allen was in the waiting room other patients told him that the least amountof time that anyone spends there is 4 hours...geez...and that the dr is a real
A--H---!!
As a matter of fact - the other patients also said the same thing - they also said that
he tries to eliminate any use of medication for WC patients. He also will never address
issues of pain because he will not prescribe anything for pain...any kind of pain.
Now Allen was already in a bad mood because when we called for directions while
on the road - (
the directions that my lawyer sent were wrong) the person
who answered the phone was really
RUDE - not a good way to be to Allen on the phone..
so when he heard from these patients how nasty this doctor could be in attitude - that only
put Allen in a more nastier mood - he was ready for a fight.One lady said that her dad had an appointment with him and the dr tried to double talk and
eliminate meds that her dad knew he had to be on and the dr tried to mouth off on him and her dad picked up a chair and threw it - now when her dad shows up
he is taken directly back and seen quickly and then sent on his way - apparently also her dad
had waited several hours to be seen and was
TICKED over it.
The dr talked about not getting paid if he prescribes certain things or requests certain tests.
I personally think that it is
NOT professional to talk to a patient about whether or not
you get paid or your concerns over fees...that is between him and WC - that has nothing
to do with me.
He also wanted to know if I was collecting any money as my salary from WC - I also believe that is not professional nor any of his business.He also mentioned that he is going to be running a drug study for respiratory patients - and if after a
PFT test (pulmonary function test) depending on my lung usage will determine
if I qualify for the research study (
truly I have no interest). Now that last time
I saw my first pulmonologist - my lung function went from 11% to 71% but it took
8 years to get there - lots of trial and error and changes with meds...now I have been
without meds for a couple of months because WC took their sweet time finding another doctor
for me and the depo and all...my function test result was 36%. This is
NOT good! Because
they took their sweet time getting me referred - 8 years of work almost completely disappeared.
Now I understand why I have been running out of breathe more then usual and why I am overly
exhausted - my body is having to work twice as hard just to breathe.This doctor wants blood work done
and claims that I am probably diabetic
because I have been on steroids too long (
three different steroids for 8 years) and
apparently steroids on long term usage causes diabetes.
OMG something else I have
to worry about.
Well as he is leaving he wanted me to have my blood pressure taken again because it was
MUCH too high. They have you chew on this NASTY NASTY A-- medicine
that you have to suck the juices out of this pill tube.It was
DIGUSTING - but I did it and they have you sit for a while for the med to take effect. Meanwhile I am watching all the activity taking place in the reception patient area - the hub of
the place - it was
MASS confusion - lots of lost files, even the doctor was walking around
and asked this other patient and I what was he doing before he went in the other room.
One nurse was walking around trying to figure out what test to run on what patient next.
I have never seen such chaos before - it scared me.Finally after 20 minutes maybe a bit more they decided to take my BP again to see how the
meds worked....after crying again from the pain it was 225/125 -
OMG it went up..
now they say I am fixing to stroke out and they
HAVE TO bring it down quick - and again
I have to take that
DAMN NASTY medicine again - the nurse bribed me with soda if I took it
again so I agreed - (
you need a gallon of anything after wards because it is SO BAD).
So now it turns out that I had to wait over an hour before they would take it again...
(
did I mention that I had a RAGING headache all this time) I am in tears wanting to
leave so bad - I was hungry and have been there all day.....finally they took it again
and it went down to 198/95--so the doctor is happy and they let me leave...they gave me
prescriptions including a new one for my blood pressure. When Allen and I finally left we had been there from 10:30 to 4:00 -
CRAZY!!We walked out and the waiting room was JAMMED packed....there was only standing room
and there plenty of people standing.
I was so happy that part of my day was done -We went to our favorite buffet place to eat and
to have an early celebration for Allen's B'day - alone time at last.
The food was good and then headed to the pharmacy to drop off the scripts...then finally home.
Unfortunately once I got home the rage in my headache returned -
NOT GOOD...BP must have been going back up - So we called about the meds because they would be ready in an hour and we find out that there are problems with the meds -
WC refused to pay for the blood pressure meds - and two of the lung meds -
I CANNOT BELIEVE THE GARBAGE I AM GOING THROUGH.So today we had to go get a copy of the scripts and fax them to my lawyer so that they
could put paperwork against WC again. This is getting old....the lawyer said that I would have
to wait until it is approved once the complaint is put in order to get my meds unless
I want to pay for them out of pocket and wait to be reimbursed - well that is
NOT happening
because I do not have $115 to put up front...so now I have to wait. That money is only
for one prescription - there are two or three that were denied - I just do not have the
money!!! This is just not a good day!!!
BTW - we found out from one of the nurses that all the construction being done is because
there is
BLACK MOLD inside the walls (the same garbage that made me sick years ago)
So Now I have caught you all up on my health adventures!Something has to give soon - because emotionally I do not think I can take much more!!
PLEASE if you have any advise I would love to hear it - I am just totally exhausted
having to deal with all of this!
Meantime -
THANKS for sticking around long enough to read my story -
Remember to
HUG those you LOVE - life is just too short!
PEACE~!~


2 comments:

Marilyn said...

I'm so sorry that they are putting you though all of this mess. I can't believe that WC sends someone to a doctor like that@!!!! I sure hope that your attorney can help you get your medicine. With your blood pressure so high you shouldn't be without the medicine for any length of time. Isn't there a state office you can call to complain about how WC is treating you? It couldn't hurt to try. wish there was something that I could do to help you with this issue. It really upsets me when the government messes with peoples health! I've been trying to call you this week. Please turn the phone on!!!!

Teena in Toronto said...

Poor you :(

Here in Canada, we have medical coverage and I'm so glad we don't have to go through all that you are.