I called the pharmacy again today and they still had not received authorization for the refill. I contacted the doctor's office and was told, "I'll have to check with the doctor and call you back."
"That's what you said last time and no one ever called." Then I heard the doctor talking about me in the background and it wasn't complimentary. I let the woman schedule an appointment, but immediately grabbed my phonebook when I hung up. I normally like to get referrals instead of choosing at random, but didn't think it could be much worse. I chose an allergy and asthma specialist and got an appointment for this afternoon. I then called my old doc's office and cancelled, saying "I'm going to someone closer who's office hasn't ignored me for a week."
I paid 150 dollars to see the new doc, but she gave me a sample instead of writing a scrip. I got Ventolin this time. That little window near the bottom is a dose counter, so I'll always know exactly how much is left. She also said when 20 doses remain to call and she'll give me more samples of it and the Symbicort. Since one month's worth of Symbicort is 200 dollars, it easily makes up for the unexpected expense of the office visit.
Now that I've got my albuterol, I can start training again. The new doc says that's probably what keeps me out of the emergency room and I should definitely keep it up. My marathon (soon to be triathlon) habit is not as expensive as the ER, so I believe I will. Besides, now it's doctor's orders.
17 comments:
Jen, this is indeed great. A good move of course, most of all I am glad you changed doctors. This one seems to have some heart. good for you!
YOu train but take care of yourself. You are more concerned about your health than anyone!
From Up in UTAH
Jack & Sherry
YEAH! Love it when doctors orders go along with the things I like to do.
Finally things are back on track and so will you!
At last! I'm so glad for you Jen, but what an expence for such a live saving and necessary drug. Get back to training and good luck
glad to hear you got that taken care of...still shaking my head at the other...
Glad to hear your news. I've said it before but we really have it good here in England with our NHS.
You did the right thing. When you're iffy about your doctor, leave. A good doctor/patient relationship requires trust on both sides, and clearly with him being a jerk in the background on the phone that trust was broken.
Well done.
Glad you got your medication. Between my 2 doctors that don't control the communications like they should plus the pharmacy screw ups it can be very frustrating. Good luck with the training.
A triathalon? Wow! Incredible! So glad you can breathe easy again and I love how the expenses cancelled each other out. Nothing worse than being disrepected and nothing nicer than being respected. :)
I'm so glad you got this resolved! I was concerned at the thought of an active person like yourself being without an inhaler over the coming holiday weekend. Especially since the asthma has been flaring up more often lately.
Good job! Now you can concentrate on training.
Jen...
Thank You for visiting my blog today..
Very impressive about the triatholon..
You should consider doing a Friday 55, I bet you would be GREAT at that as well....G
glad you got what you need. Good luck with your run.. Thanks for stopping by today. It was great to have you enjoy your weekend..
I am glad you've found a new doctor, who treats you kindly..The samples will definitely save you money in the long run too. Good luck to your marathon!
it sounds like your first doctor was a jerk. I'm glad you got it worked out, keep training!
I'm glad you found a better doctor! It's always good to see a specialist for asthma, anyway - they're always changing their minds about best practice.
So glad you changed doctors. The first doctor gets a thumbs down.
It really pulls me up short when I remember that you guys have to pay for your healthcare. Admittedly, registering with a doctor's surgery in England can be a bit of a lottery, and my last doctor was pretty awful, but my current doctor is brilliant! It makes such a difference and I'm glad you got sorted.
Good for you! And samples of the meds are a great relief, in many ways
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