Normally, I do not have doctor issues. However, my doc is on a well deserved vacation this week and I needed my regular ON TIME refill of percocet that I use for breakthru pain. I call for my refills monthly since we monitor the pain killers very closely for any signs that they are not working or any signs of abuse. I don't mind doing that because it is my doc looking out for my best interests. The doc covering for my doc is one that I wouldn't take my dying rat to. We have had a couple of bad experiences with him before. Like a misdiagnosis with Danny and pancreatitis and a bad gall bladder. I had a bad experience with him when I had to go in once with a UTI. He had me in tears.
When his nurse returned my call this afternoon about my refill request she said he will not refill them and I have to wait until Monday when my doc will be back to get them. His nurse was incredibly rude to me also. I asked why I can not have the refill since it is being called in on time (acutally late....I was due about a week ago but still had them til now), it is a regular monthly refill, they are used for severe ra pain, and what am I supposed to do until Monday? She just said to me that it was too bad that she didn't have the answer for me. When I asked her to talk to the doctor about it and please call me back she refused to do it. She just said again that was too bad..wait until Monday..and hung up on me.
I am at a loss on what to do. We are expecting a 15 degree drop in temp and rain all of the weekend. I called Danny at work and he is furious. What should I do? What can I do? Urgent care if I can't handle the pain? Will they think I am drug seeking? I still have 30mg morphine tablets. Can I use one of them for breakthru pain? I am on 60mg of that now and I am afraid adding 30 will be too much for me. My Lyrica works for pain also. Can I increase that? That is 75mg 3x a day. My rheumy is out of the office til Monday (regular schedule for him) so I can't call him. Maybe page him? This isn't exactly an emergency tho.
I feel so bad for everyone and it breaks my heart that people have to go thru this with doctors. Doctors like this should have their license to practice taken away. It just blows my mind that doctors that are supposed to help us will leave us sitting around in pain.
That's appalling! Can you show up in his waiting room and then moan and writhe in pain until you get something? I'm sort of joking but I'm not sure what else you can do besides go to emergency.That's horrible. I'd make sure your regular doctor hears of it when they return for sure!
My pharmacist just calls all mine in for refils. I rarely even deal with them.
Oh liz I am so sorry that you are being treated this way.That is the trouble with stand in doctors, they really dont give a damn.Especially since you ended up in hospital with a bad flare it would make more sense to give you the meds prescribed for you rather than having you wait.Oh you know it my regular doc is going to hear about this. I will call Monday for the refill and Danny has an appt. on Wed.
I don't get it either. He has my records right in front of him. He can tell I don't abuse.
I think it is the way WI works with narcotics too that we have to go to the office to get the refill. I have a friend that is also on percs with a different doc and she has to do the same thing. I know for sure that it has to be done that way with my morphine. Doc said so about that one.
I will talk more with Danny too about what we can do when he calls me on his lunch break. I was only able to talk to him real quick since he wasn't on an official break at work. I will let everyone know what he says and maybe all of us can come up with something.
I just keep thinking...what if this was Danielle?
Is this dr subbing for your rheumatologist or primary care dr? Why dont you call the other one and ask for a script just to get your til the regular presciber gets back.
This is a lesson for everyone..NEVER wait until you are almost out to start a refill process. Just in case you run into circumstances like this. You usually have a week leeway to fill a script early. If your doctor is going to be unavailable you can always have them mail you the script before they leave. Also starting the process early in the week allows for more time to account for mix ups or other delays.
It is a pain in the neck to have to be so proactive about what should be a simple process but since we are the ones who will end up with a pain in the neck if it doesn't happen it benefits us to take charge
No, do not wait on this until Monday. You get on the phone and ask toWell, Danny called me on his lunch break. He said he is going to do what Lorster suggested tomorrow. If we get nowhere with that he may just show up in the office. We only live 5 minutes away.
There is no lesson for me to learn in this. I followed office rules and called 24 hours prior to when I wanted to pick up my script at the office. Heck, I was past my regular due date! What in the world is wrong with that?? That is a good thing because I wasn't in as much pain! Usually I can pick up my script same day I call too. I should not have to make preparations for anything like this. I had no clue my doc would be on vacation. And when my doc is on vacation I expect the same care that I receive from him and from his nurse. Knowledgeable and courteous care.
I kinda figured adding a 30mg of morphine in the middle of the day to prevent pain would be too much. I only do the percs as needed. Not on a schedule. My 30mgs I have left over from when we made the change to 60mg. I wouldn't run out of anything scheduled with those.
I wish I could go to the pharmacy and they call for enough to get me thru the weekend. I can't do that because as Lorster explained, it is the schedule of narcotics. There simply is no reason not refill this as it is scheduled monthly and he can see that from my chart that he has right in front of him. OMG...what if he didn't even look at my chart and just heard percocet and refused to do it!!!
You bet I am going to ask my doc why I was left in the hands of this jerk. I don't find him to be Dr. Fantastic at all and for the life of me why would my doc have him cover his patients when we are so used to being treated by a caring compassionate doctor.
Oh man, that is so illegal. He could get in so much trouble for thatYeah no kidding. Especially a narcotic. I have had my pharmacy give me enough folic acid to get thru a weekend when my rheumy office was incredibly slow calling in my refill. Which I called for way early because I know for sure they are slow lol. That is my only complaint about rheumy. Refills take forever and a day.
I know when the office did not do my mtx for me (bloodwork 2 weeks prior to needing refill and a reminder call lol) my rheumy had to be paged for the refill. They couldn't just give it to me even tho we all knew it would be refilled.
So maybe it depends on the med that needs to be refilled that the pharmacist can give us enough to get thru?
Grammie,
I am so sorry you are going thru this. I wish I had an option for you. Please do not borrow meds from anyone. I know Kilawass was trying to help, but that is a HUGE no-no. Too many things can go wrong with that.
I'm inclined to say that you should go to Urgent care if you need to.
Good luck, I'm sorry you have to deal with this.
My GP gives me a six month script for Norcos. I just refill it every month at the pharmacy, I don't have to call his office.
Why couldn't your doc do that? Or is it different for percocet?
This is an awful situation for you to have to be in.
Sula
Gramma - I am so sorry you are going through a "doctors are morons" phase. It's absolutely flabbergasting. And now I am going through a "I HAVE REAL DOCTORS AGAIN FINALLY STAGE". Maybe its part of autoimmune disease. Hold their feet to the fire, because its WRONG, inhumane, and social unacceptable. I'm with gimpy....go sit in his waiting room and don't leave until he gives you YOUR script.If you let me know what state you live in, I will send you the information for the state licensing or medical practice board. Physicians are usually independent contractors so to speak, but they will listen to the people who hold their license to practice. You don't actually have to contact them, but letting this office know that you know how to contact them can help you be a little more "squeaky"The doc is in the same practice as mine and had my complete medical records in front of him. Including the hospital stay I just had and my neurology visits. My neurologist is in the same practice and my same chart is used for those visits also. The staff is still working. This is a pretty large practice.
I keep my own running list of my meds and dates filled. I just need to print it out
I live in WI and PM me for my email addy. Thanks bunches for all of your help. I can for sure tell you that Danny will be squeaky tomorrow. Very squeaky lol. He will keep his cool because we don't want him going off and possibly losing my GOOD doc because of his behavior. Sula...percocet is a different class of narcotic than say vicodin or tylenol with codiene in it. Since it is a different class, I have to pick up my script from my doc office. I do it with my morphine also. I will look up the different classes of narcos in the morning and post them. Hubby is shooing me off to bed right now lol. Liz, so sorry you're going through this, and so unbelievable after your hospital stay! When I used to take percocet, I had no problem with refills, so I am surprised about this way of doing things, but maybe things have changed. Anyway, the only other suggestion I have to add...was there another (additional) doc taking care of you at the hospital that you could contact? Since they saw firsthand what was going on then, maybe they'd be more inclined to write you a script, even a temporary one. Kiwi: No problem
Phats
Well, we went to the office today and the answer is still no to the refill. I guess he doesn't have to give me a reason besides no. We did talk to the office manager and let her know how upset we are at the way I have been treated thru all of this. We did the best we could and that is all we can do. I didn't have another doc treating me at the hospital while I was in. Just my PCP. I can't break my 30mg morphines in half. They are pills but would be impossible to break. I have a pretty busy day on Sunday so I think what I will do...even tho I don't want to do it this way...is take my regular dose of 60mg early in the morning....6 hours later if I need to I will take a 30mg...then 6 hours later my regular dose of 60mg. Hopefully I won't just fall asleep in the middle of anything lol. I am going to be one big space ace if I need to do that. YECH!!! I hate that feeling but I can't be in pain!! I truly believe the guy just heard percocet and right off the bat said no. Danny has a doc appt. on Wednesday and we will get answers to this cruddy situation then. I appreciate all of your guys support thru this. It really helped me in knowing that I am not nuts and this guy should refill my script. It also gave me the courage to face a very mean person and stand my ground. As one of my close friends told me yesterday....Karma baby, karma!!! He will get his in the end for being so mean to me and treating me so badly.
Cathy...I am an expert in that field after living in AZ for 5 years. It is very difficult to get good medical care there. That is part of the reason we came back home to the midwest. Deanna struggles and fights to get the assistance she truly has a need for everyday of her life. I do believe it is because illegal aliens do get handed assistance without question and the funding just isn't there or enough of it left over for legal citizens that truly need it. Up where I live, she would have no problems getting the assistance she needs or quality medical care. It is amazing the difference in policies from state to state. It seems that if you are legal citizen living in a border state it is much more difficult to get assistance when you need it. While I believe that everyone can come to this country looking for a better life for themselves and their families, assistance should be given equally to everyone that truly has a need for it. Grammie, I'm sorry still no pain meds. It sure feels good to stand up for yourself, doesn't it? And....I believe in Karma too. Perhaps you and your doc can come up with a plan in case this ever happens again? Sounds like you can squeek by this time, but next time might be more difficult. Phats
Gimpy...are you kidding me??? Please tell me you are kidding me. What a magoo. I see this doc lost his common sense when he got that M.D. behind his name. There are so many horror stories of just really bad docs out there. We see them here on a daily basis. We have got to stand up for ourselves and start reporting these docs. I know the AMA is just really can be a good ole boys club so we have to look at different avenues for reporting. The hospitals they have privileges at is a good one to start with. I just think...if I am being treated badly...who else is? And what if they are worse off than I am? Fortunately, if my girls need to be cared for our regular doc has the pediatricians in the office cover for his patients that are children. They are pretty good. But I still worry about doing that with Danielle and her JRA. Will they know enuf not to prescribe something that would interact with her RA meds? Oh, that doc was 'covering" all right - covering his you-know-what! Pat I have used the ratemds.com website but what I would like to see is each hospital have a website and/or message boards where people can discuss their physicians, their staff, care received at the hospital, etc. I know it will never happen, because they like to cover up negative comments, but I can dream, can't I? Another possibility would be to have this added to the websites of insurance companies, where you look up participating physicians - it would be so perfect. Just imagine how helpful it would be if you just moved into town, needed a pediatrician for your kids, and other doctors and specialists for yourself and your spouse. You could check out the doctors and the hospital quickly and easily. Gramma I am so sorry that you must deal with this on top of having diseases. One thing I do is always phone in for a refill even if I have like a weeks worth left then if something happens I have a weeks supply on hand. One time my Dr's nurse wrote down MTX instead of Hydrocodone and I had to get through a weekend until I could call Monday morning and say you phoned in the wrong med. Now I have the nurse call me when she phones in the refill so we all know exactly what I am getting and stockpile any leftover meds. Take care I have used the ratemds.com website but what I
Just imagine how helpful it would be if you just moved into town,
The challenge when rating dr's is that so many times one person's "great" doc is someone elses "horrible" one. Its always so tough when you are dealing so much in personalities. I love my rheumatologist, however when given the chance I didn't recommend him to a friend. I knew that their personalities would never mesh and he would not be able to give her the type of medical care she needed to get. Not physically but for the fact he's not a touchy feely type of guy and that is what she wants in a doctor. An open forum on a hospital or insurance website would be a nightmare. It would turn libelous and argumentative so quickly that it would get ugly. What I would prefer to see is a state controlled website that required a doctor/malpractice insurance company to post details (no names) of any and all filed and settled lawsuits. Right now we can only access medical board sanctions
Wow! Unbelievable.
I wouldn't be suprised if he heard "percocet" and thought "I'm not messing with that"
*hugs* I will pray that you get your script today!! Honestly, I would have your regular Dr paged.....
about 2 months away from dying of terminal cancer and her doctor didn't
want to give her zopoclone because it can be addictive. What a jerk!!! Man, gramma, I'm not sure I would have been very nice at all.
They would probably have thrown me in jail. I really hope that your PCP
hears about this first thing Monday. Doctors don't want to hear this stuff
about their partners. Plus, if thehospital owns the practice...theydon't want
to hear about it either. Anyway. I'm sorry you now have to rely on your own
methods to help you get through the weekend. You are actually going to be
taking more med because this jerk refused to treat you as he should have.
doctors....use the five star rating system with reviews...what do you think?
lol...i'm terrible.
I have seen websites out there that use a five star rating system for docs. What you have to be careful of when you do that is slander. You can't go off on a tangent and be like this doc was a blah blah blah. You can get around that by saying something like I felt I was treated like...blah. Or I felt that the doc didn't listen to me. You get the picture here. http://www.ratemds.com/
Buckeye...you da bomb diggity!!! Thanks for the site! Alright peeps. Let's rate these docs!!! Hopefully we can help people avoid some of the bad stuff and nastiness we have gone thru. You can bet yer bottom dollar that the icky doc in my practice is going up there!! Well, so are my good docs. And a doc from way back when I was first diagnosed!
doctors. Why would people have to identify themselves? Maybe doctors
would be more responsible if their name was out there for all to see. There
should be a way for people to speak up with out being trackable. I mean,
isn't it big business for them? I have been to a doctor several times for the
same problem. Why is that? And they don't have a problem charging me for
each and every appt. People want results as in...a genuine interest in
resolving the problem....or at least try to find answers. I see too many of
them go into a patients room...order a new med....just to let the patient
know that they are doing something different....like add a stool softner to
their five pages of meds. I'm surprises someone has not started a blog site
like this...maybe they have.
For those of you that have had experience with bad docs...what are their office staff like? I am just wondering because I have a little booklet that gives hints and tips on choosing a doc thats right for you and there is a lot in there about office staff. I wonder if it is like one of those instances where you can tell a book by it's cover.
would like to see is each hospital have a website and/or message boards
where people can discuss their physicians, their staff, care received at the
hospital, etc. I know it will never happen, because they like to cover up
negative comments, but I can dream, can't I? Another possibility would
be to have this added to the websites of insurance companies, where you
look up participating physicians - it would be so perfect.
needed a pediatrician for your kids, and other doctors and specialists for
yourself and your spouse. You could check out the doctors and the
hospital quickly and easily.
I agreeGramma, what did you hear from your doctor today? I'm curiousHey, Gramma, no, I was not kidding about my Mom's doc...crazy, huh?
Can you give me info on your booklet with tips to help you select a
doctor? I'd like to get a copy because I could sure use some of those
tips. This could be the beginning of a beautiful thread.
How did getting through the weekend go? I hope it wasn't too horrific.
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