Have you ever had situations in your life that make you think something along the lines of, "this could only happen to me"?
Well the following story is one of those situations for me.
It all started about 3 months ago when I was told I had to find a new primary care physician. This idea didn't excite me at all seeing as how the one I had was simply perfect, not to mention hot and sexy, but aside from that, he is also the best doctor I have ever met.
So, word of mouth brought me to my current one. I made my appointment and met the doctors and the NP as well as the office staff that first day and had all of my scripts filled. So far so good right? Right.
The next day, the NP called me and asked me to bring one of my scripts back because the doc didn't want me to have it without some additional testing first, which was an EKG. So the very next day I returned to the office for that test.
The test showed that I was throwing Q waves, which basically means one of three things, either the leeds were placed wrong, I am under a crap-ton of stress, or I am ready to have a heart attack.
The NP said that she would review it with the doc and get back to me. I of course called my old doc/bf who told me that sometimes I do show Q waves because I happen to have big boobies and sometimes the leeds are hard to place correctly, but for me this is somewhat normal. Okay, so now what. I wait.
I waited 2 weeks and I made another appointment to talk to the NP. But this time the doc came in instead and we had a little chat. I told him what my previous doc said, to which he replied, "that may be so, but you still are not getting this script without a stress test and a cardiac echo. I also want you to have an ultrasound of your thyroid. We will call you with your appointments to have these done."
Two days later the office called and I had my appointment for my ultrasound, but were still waiting on a prior authorization for my stress test/cardiac echo.
So, I got the ultrasound done where they told me that they in fact found 3 areas that might need further investigation, but that I don't have a goiter. Okay, good news right? Hummm, not so much apparently.
Moving forward 6 weeks and three phone calls later because I still don't have an appointment for my stress test, the office calls me and informs me that I am supposed to have a complete physical within 3 months of finding a new doctor. Okay, so I now have a new appointment.
I get home from working that night, shower and shave (everything, lol) and head over there. I am taken back and the medical assistant comes in and takes my blood pressure, asks me why I am there, I tell her for a physical, and tell her that I also have never received word on my stress test date.
She leaves and eventually the NP comes in. She is very down to earth and nice, she talks to me about why I hadn't had my stress test yet and then tells me that there are issues going on in the office now and apparently their MA forgot. Needless to say, she was very upset. She said she would take care of it ASAP. Then she tells me that she and the doctor have decided that I need to have a CAT scan of my neck because the doc wants to do a biopsy of the three areas found on my ultrasound. She then writes for all my scripts that needed to be filled and walked out the door.
So I just sat there, as I still had all my clothes on, waiting for my physical. Then the MA returns and she says, okay, you are done, you can go. I sort of looked puzzled I am sure. In my book a blood pressure doesn't constitute a physical, lol. But hey, what do I know, I'm just a nurse. So out I go.
I return home and sit down for a few minutes, tired as hell, but winding down ready for bed. My phone rings, it's the doctors office calling to let me know that my appointment for my stress test is in an hour and ten minutes in a town that is an hour away, if traffic is clear and with no construction, lol, and also that my CAT scan will be the next day at 8am. Well, I so wasn't emotionally prepared for that, not today, plus I had to put gas in the van. I rushed out and headed for the testing site.
The stress test/cardiac echo went fine. Can't say though I really enjoyed it. Walking fast on a treadmill isn't exactly m y idea of a good time, especially not in the shape I am in, lol. But I managed to hit my target heart rate. That was about all the tech would tell me. I'm still alive, so, so far so good right?
So the next morning I get off of work and head to our hospital for my CAT scan of my neck. I had to wait over an hour because the tech was late. Okay, things happen. So I get called back to the room and I walk into a room with an ultrasound machine in it.
I again was puzzled and I told the tech that I was here for a CAT scan, not an ultrasound because it hadn't been that long since I had one and my NP wanted a CAT scan as the second step. She said she would call and double check. Long story short, I was right, the wrong test had been ordered. So, I was sent home.
On my way out the door, my anger got the best of me. My new doctors office had made what I felt as three pretty big mistakes in a little over just 2 months,
1)not ordering my stress test,
2)going in for a physical and not getting one,
3)ordering the wrong test for my thyroid,
which consequently enough, had I not realized that and went a head with that test, my insurance would have kicked it back and I would have had to pay for that out of pocket, that would have really pissed me off.
So, on my way home I decided to stop back in my doctors office and demand that I see the NP. I did just that and they let me see her without an appointment.
When we went back to the room, she came in and I told her everything that I had just told in this post. She was very upset that her office had made those errors and assured me that they don't make big mistakes like that very often, and really strange that three of them happened to me.
I asked her, "am I just spoiled because I have had my own private doctor at my beck and call for the past three years, or is this normal in the real world?" She didn't answer me either way really, but did say that, "you are very luck that you have your own private doctor in your corner." She's right, and I know this. She then handed me her private cell phone number and told me to txt her anytime I had an issue. She also told me to give it to the BF so that they could discuss any issues that I was having. I did, and they have already discussed some of my issues and some of their common office problems with various staff member.
Needless to say, I still don't have the script I wanted to have, have not had my physical, still don't know the results of my stress test/cardiac echo, but I do know that I don't have to endure a needle being stuck in my neck.
So, my question for you if you have actually made it though this way too long post is, am I spoiled? Am I expecting too much from my current doctors.
Please, let me know what you think.
Thank you in advance.
Mashie