My first rant

[LittleBill 2,231]

It didn't take me long to get to this sub forum. I am old, and stricken in years, as my children tell me. I have some arthritis that flares up in places, and recently my right hip has been giving me some trouble. I have been a good boy and have avoided all NSAID consumption as the doctor ordered. However, the doctor also told me that once I got through my surgery, I would be able to take them occasionally for pain, minor injury, etc. The key phrase there is "got through", as in all healed up.

I called the doc's office earlier today to talk to the CRNP I see, and who seems to know her stuff when it comes to the intricacies of the various surgeries. The first time I called, I was left on hold for eight minutes before I concluded that I had been forgotten. In all my visits to this office, I have never seen them take more than two or three minutes for ANYTHING at the front desk. So I called back.

The same woman answered the exact same way the second time. "Bariatric and surgery, can you hold please?"

"NO, I can't hold! You left me forgotten there last time and all I want to do is leave a message!"

"We didn't forget you sir. We're very busy. Who do you want to talk to?"

"I want to ask my RCNP a couple of questions about some medicine." My questions aren't so much as what I can take as when. I already know I can.

Now is when things got worse. The woman who was so busy that she didn't have time to pick up the #$%& phone proceeded to quiz me in detail about what I wanted to know and why I wanted to know it. She wasn't even interested in who I was for a while. She finally wormed it out of me in detail what I wanted, and THEN proceeded to start telling me what I could and could not take! I was thinking, "WTF!?!?!?!"

She ended her little lecture with a smugness that just oozed out of my phone. So I said, "But you're not Alicia, are you?" Alicia is the RCNP.

"No, but I've worked here long enough to know what we tell all our bariatric patients."

I felt like saying something like, "Well maybe they should promote you to surgeon, lady, seeing as how you know it all!" But I bit my tongue, knowing she is the gatekeeper I need to get past. I settled for, "I would prefer to speak to Alicia about my concerns." This woman had the gall to tell me that she already knew what Alicia would tell me! The good news for her is, they have not yet invented a feature for smart phones where you can actually reach through the phone to slap the idiot on the other end. I finally got her to promise she would leave a message. I finished up by asking her who she was. She is the office coordinator. Not only am I going to speak to the RCNP about some office person giving out medical advice, I will very likely speak to her personally when I have my next appointment. Stupid $%#^&.

[2ndSpring 350]

She must have been a real winner to tick you off so bad. I have found all of your posts to be lighthearted and funny.

She has no business giving out medical advice based on what she hears being said to most patients... what if you had co-morbidities like kidney, liver or heart issues? I agree that you should tell the NP and maybe the surgeon too. She is a liability risk to their practice.

[laurak814 43]

You go @@LittleBill! It is not the job of Office Coordinators to give out medical advice, unless they are former CNPs who made job changes, which rarely happens. I would call the medical facility back & make a complaint to the HR department about this person, explaining in detail exactly what she said/did before it slipped my mind (I would forget the details) & explain how they would not let you speak to your CNP.

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[genn 460]

Lmao @ luckily they haven't invented a smart phone where u can reach through and slap the person oh my I laughed reading that. Sorry for the idiot on the other end tho. No office Cordinator should not be given out medical information just because she works in the office and hears them say answers to some questions does not make her medical knowledgeable and if she was to give out the wrong information and somebody died or severely got injured because of this that whole practice would be at a law suit.

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[LittleBill 2,231]

She must have been a real winner to tick you off so bad. I have found all of your posts to be lighthearted and funny.

She has no business giving out medical advice based on what she hears being said to most patients... what if you had co-morbidities like kidney, liver or heart issues? I agree that you should tell the NP and maybe the surgeon too. She is a liability risk to their practice.

I think it was the smugness, combined with the "we're too busy, but I've got time to interrogate you" attitude. Thank you for your kind words about my posting. I try to look at the positive side of things whenever possible.

You go @@LittleBill! It is not the job of Office Coordinators to give out medical advice, unless they are former CNPs who made job changes, which rarely happens. I would call the medical facility back & make a complaint to the HR department about this person, explaining in detail exactly what she said/did before it slipped my mind (I would forget the details) & explain how they would not let you speak to your CNP.

Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Exactly! she probably had a degree or experience in business administration, not medicine. As for forgetting, I have it all written down.

Lmao @ luckily they haven't invented a smart phone where u can reach through and slap the person oh my I laughed reading that. Sorry for the idiot on the other end tho. No office Cordinator should not be given out medical information just because she works in the office and hears them say answers to some questions does not make her medical knowledgeable and if she was to give out the wrong information and somebody died or severely got injured because of this that whole practice would be at a law suit.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yeah, I am definitely going to pursue this. Every time I have an appointment I get a survey to fill out asking lots of questions about how things went. This time I am going looking.

[genn 460]

You give them hell !!!

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[theantichick 2,204]

I'm an RN, and I wouldn't even presume to tell you what you could and could not take without consulting with your medical chart and/or the practitioner. An office coordinator CERTAINLY shouldn't. She has zero training to understand all of the issues involved.

I have auto-immune arthritis, and one main reason I and my medical team chose the sleeve for my surgery over the RNY was because I HAVE to be able to take NSAIDs and steroids as needed for my arthritis. It is not "standard" to have WLS patients taking either because of the risk of ulcers, but in some cases the benefits outweigh the risks. I have been lucky so far that I haven't had to take any of either since surgery (losing the stomach tissue as well as fat tissue appears to be lowering my inflammatory factors) but I can take them if I need to.

The office coordinator was WAY out of line, and I would follow up with the office about it.

[Raymia 565]

Please make sure you report her when you go to your appointment.... That's no way to treat a patient!

[LittleBill 2,231]

I'm an RN, and I wouldn't even presume to tell you what you could and could not take without consulting with your medical chart and/or the practitioner. An office coordinator CERTAINLY shouldn't. She has zero training to understand all of the issues involved.

I have auto-immune arthritis, and one main reason I and my medical team chose the sleeve for my surgery over the RNY was because I HAVE to be able to take NSAIDs and steroids as needed for my arthritis. It is not "standard" to have WLS patients taking either because of the risk of ulcers, but in some cases the benefits outweigh the risks. I have been lucky so far that I haven't had to take any of either since surgery (losing the stomach tissue as well as fat tissue appears to be lowering my inflammatory factors) but I can take them if I need to.

The office coordinator was WAY out of line, and I would follow up with the office about it.

I am just wondering where she started thinking this was a good idea.

[LittleBill 2,231]

I just got off the phone with the CRNP a few minutes ago. She confirmed that occasional use of ibuprofen is perfectly acceptable at this point, and assured me several times that she will be having a conversation with the person who is in charge of the woman who took my call. Apparently there is some evidence that she is NOT the office coordinator. I predict someone is going to have her rear in a sling by this time tomorrow - maybe even now.

Edited December 6, 2016 by LittleBill

[theantichick 2,204]

I'm an RN, and I wouldn't even presume to tell you what you could and could not take without consulting with your medical chart and/or the practitioner. An office coordinator CERTAINLY shouldn't. She has zero training to understand all of the issues involved.

I have auto-immune arthritis, and one main reason I and my medical team chose the sleeve for my surgery over the RNY was because I HAVE to be able to take NSAIDs and steroids as needed for my arthritis. It is not "standard" to have WLS patients taking either because of the risk of ulcers, but in some cases the benefits outweigh the risks. I have been lucky so far that I haven't had to take any of either since surgery (losing the stomach tissue as well as fat tissue appears to be lowering my inflammatory factors) but I can take them if I need to.

The office coordinator was WAY out of line, and I would follow up with the office about it.

I am just wondering where she started thinking this was a good idea.

Some people who have been working in doctor's offices for years get a very inflated opinion of themselves, especially if the doctor feeds into it. Don't get me started on medical assistants being introduced as a nurse (or introducing themselves that way).

[LittleBill 2,231]

My Mom earned her RN and a BS in nursing back in the 50s. It was a five year program, and she would become incensed when people would get all jumped up without credentials or experience. She about blew a fuse when I was a teenager helping out at a clinic, and because I was a male, the patients kept referring to me as "The Doctor".

[LittleBill 2,231]

And just as a trivia aside, I know I shouldn't think this way, but every time I see CRNP I think of this. CRNP, RCMP. They are very close, you know.

Edited December 6, 2016 by LittleBill

[4MRB4PHOTO 3,899]

Stress:

When the mind overrides the body's urge to choke someone who deserves it.

[Djmohr 6,965]

When those smartphones come out where I can slap someone, i will be first on the list to buy one! 3 times today I could have used it. WTF, what is with the medical community lately???? In particular, the people who answer the phones.

I am on a rescue medication for Migraines. With all that has been going on lately, I am getting them every other day. I take a shot called Dyhdroergotimine. I give myself a shot and 20 to 30 minutes later i get back to my life with not even a slight headache nor any side effects.

Well, they have been out of it for months in the injectable form which is the least expensive yet most effective. This has happened before over the years so I tend to order a set of 10 every month just to ensure i have a surplus. Well, in June of this year it went out of stock and over the months i went through my back stock.

So, last month i called the manufacturer directly to find out when this med will become available. I was told that it is likely a ingredient that they are having a hard time getting. Of course i find this funny because you can get it in the nasal spray which by the way costs 3 times as much 3600.00 for a box of 8. The injections are 999.00 for a box of 10. The injectables work better for me. same ingredients and she never looked she said I assume this is why.

Then I proceeded to call my doctor and ask her to write a prescription for the nasal spray because there is no date in sight and I was completely out and suffering from a Migraine.< /p>

She quickly sent an electronic request to Walgreens. Walgreens processed it and the insurance company rejected it because it needed a pre auth now.

That is when the fun ensued! Ha.....My doctor immediately wrote up the request for preauth. The insurance company deleted it and there i sat for another 10 days not knowing no one was doing there job.

I got another migraine so i called Walgreens and was promptly told that it was out of stock for an undetermined amount of time. See, I am smart enough to know they are not even really looking at the right medication and are simply giving me a canned answer without checking. so i say how about you look in my actual file because i think you are talking about the injectables not the nasal spray. Low and behold when they look, they see i am right. Then they try pushing it through insurance again and again it gets rejected. They say, it needs a pre auth. I say, doctor wrote for one and it should be through. They say, cant help you call insurance.

Now....how many phone calls later, I am on the line with the insurance company who tells me that they cannot help me they need to talk to the specialty pharmacy. Thank goodness she stayed on the line with me for 1 hour 45 minutes. The specialty pharm lady then tells us finally that they deleted the pre auth because it needs to be handled by the insurance company. LOL......by the way, I have a migraine while all this is going on. The Cigna lady was awesome, she knew they screwed up and also knew they needed to fix it. She got a supervisor involved, and 48 hours later i finally had my perscription filled. all that time....still had a migraine.

Now fast forward to last week......I was down to my last 2 nasal sprays which i hate but they work. injectables still not available. I have no refills because we wanted to go back to injectables. I call Walgreens to order a refill. 24 hours later i get a notice saying this medication is out of stock and not expected in. Hubby goes there and the (very lazy) girl that works there says, oh no problem, the drug should be in tomorrow and then we can get it filled. I think "no way, could not be that easy". After 4 days of no notice that my prescription is ready, i call said lazy tech. She informs me that this drug is out of stock (again, automatic response without checking my file). I get angry and say, I am NOT talking about the injectable, i am talking about the nasal spray and i already know they are in your warehouse because my husband checked with the warehouse. She then logs on and low and behold they are in stock. She now says the problem is they faxed a request to my doctor 3 times and so far no response. I call doctor and they inform me they have never had a request, not one.

That was Thursday of last week. So, they electronically confirm the prescription. I again get no notice that my prescription is ready on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and so Monday i call pharmacy. I get the same lazy tech. She informs me they did not get anything from doctor. I call doctor, doctor has time and date it was submitted to Walgreens. Now, this is a 3600.00 prescription of which the mark up for them is 1600.00. I say how about you guys get your crap together and start taking care of your customers.

(Wish i had that smart phone so i could smack them right in the face!)

Well, still no notice that prescription is ready. Yesterday hubby drives to Walgreens and said lazy tech (same one) sees him coming and knows she is deep doo doo. She races back to get my prescription ready!

I spoke with the pharmacist and told him I have never ever had such horrible service from Walgreens in my life. And if they couldn't figure out how to get this moving forward, I would pull my families prescriptions and go somewhere else.

My husband came home with my new prescription yesterday while i was having one of the worst migraines yet.

Sorry for the long post but this is one example of what is happening. I so wish I had a phone that i could reach through and slap or strangle someone sometimes. LOL.

No headache today!