Health- iffy
The program I use for health care (an indigent care program from a University) is a great resource, after all without it I would have to medical care at all, but there are major drawbacks.
- It is over 90 miles away, so going to the ER is not an easy choice and often impossible due to the lack of gas money.
- The Gastrointerologists that take part in the program only see patients for a few hours every Friday afternoon, so there is a major backlog and very long waits... and their office does not do "will call" lists, meaning they will not call you if there is a cancellation so you must call daily to try to be seen earlier.
- If there are any issues with communication it can be very hard to rectify, especially if they want you to come 'in' to the office to clear it up.
- They do not return phone calls.
When I saw my "Primary Care Physician" at the clinic in January of this year there were many issues with the appointment. They had not received my medical records, or if they had the Doctor did not look at them, so when asked why I was in there I tried to explain the important issues, then when asked what health conditions I have I listed them off... and there are a heck of a lot of them. His eyes glazed and the word 'hypochondriac' was written all over his face.
I asked for a referral to a GYN, a Cardiologist and a GI Doctor... and he wanted none of it but after I insisted he agreed reluctantly to give me one to the GI and GYN, even though (in his exact words) "if you do have Gastroparesis it is obvious that it is not affecting your eating" since I am overweight. I tried to explain that I had lost a lot of weight and was struggling to slow the loss down because there were no treatments available to me and he told me 'don't slow it down, you need to lost the weight'. (This is the kind of treatment those with Gastroparesis get on a regular basis by Doctors that know enough to be dangerous but not enough to treat those with Gastroparesis).
His parting words to me as I was leaving was to get blood drawn (I told him I have deficiencies, including Iron Deficient Anemia) and to see the Social Worker and talk about my 'emotional issues'. That poor Social Worker got an ear full and more.
A week after the appointment I get a call, the Doctor is 'worried' because I am (brace yourself) anemic! I said that I knew that, I had told him that, and there was nothing I could do about it since I cannot take pills and all the supplements and liquid medications I could find have artificial sweeteners which are migraine triggers for me. I asked about the other results... liver levels, magnesium, sodium, etc... and was told that he did not test for that because he did not see a need to.
Another week passes and I get a letter in the mail telling me that I have an appointment on January 20th with the GI doctors... and I freaked because it was January 29th! I had missed my appointment because I was not told in time!!!
Then I took a closer look... January 20... 2012! My appointment was for 12 months away...
I called and was told at that time about how there were only 2 doctors, having appointments only a few hours on Friday afternoons and I would have to call back to check for cancellations if I wanted an earlier appointment.
So... I have been calling every single weekday since then, I missed a few days here and there if I was too ill, but the fact of the matter is that I kept calling and calling. I could have given up and simply waited the year... I could have folded, but I didn't.
Today I called... and there was a cancellation! I now have an appointment in the beginning of September! It took seven months of calling, but because I did not give up I am seeing the Doctor 4 months (almost 5) earlier than I was yesterday.
Do not give up... even if you get rejection after rejection... even if the answer is "no" a million times never give up because one time that answer will be 'yes', and one es wipes out a lifetime of no.
You HAVE to be your own best advocate... you have to be willing to fight for yourself and you have to be willing to pick yourself up time after time and get back to it.
I know exactly how it feels to feel hopeless... I know how sometimes you have to give up on things that you cannot change...but NEVER give up on something that you MIGHT have the chance to change.
Every victory, no matter how small, is a victory and you have to be willing to fight for it.
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