Lousy Care

This blog actually came about because I was so upset with what happened Thursday morning.  Have you noticed how a lot of health care providers tend to treat us patients as if the only right we have is to listen, nod, and prostrate ourselves on the floor?  I know there are a lot of wonderfull providers out there, and I go to some, but this one, well, I think the world would be better served with her not providing health care.

So, my family finally convinced me to go to a new practice for chronic pain (lots of back issues).  Front desk staff nice, person who brought me to the room nice, then in walks the Nurse Practitioner.  She will talk to me, and then I get to see the doctor.  We seem to start out fine, even though when she wants to know where my pain is, and I tell her the diagram is the new patient paperwork, she flips one page and tells me she doesn't have it.  What?  So I point out my pain areas on a diagram.  She'll ask me again in a few minutes.  Now, when talking about my pain issues, I do bring up my medication frequently, but it is a big part of what I do to control the pain.  We are about 2 or 3 minutes into the discussion, she asks a question, I start off talking about the medication, and she interrupts me and tells me we have talked enough about the medication, and we are continuing on.  Not in a nice way either.  I just stared at her, and this is where I lost it.  I let her know that I felt she was rude, and her attitude was not nice, and she told me I was beligerent, and she can't help me unless my attitude gets better so we can work together.  No apology, and no compassion at all.  At this point I am crying....good thing I had my own tissue, because she didn't offer any.

She finally left, and the doctor seemed nice, but I was already done with the practice.  When I went to check out, I was going to let them schedule the MRIs since I needed them, but when I asked why only neck and thoracic were ordered, and not lumbar, little miss NP told me when I came back we would talk about the lumbar MRI.  Hmmm, if I come back, and they send me out for another MRI, and then I have to come back again, they get 2 more office visits to charge for!  This one visit was $638 - crazy!  I also asked for valium, since I am Very clausterphobic.  Because I am a drug seeker, she refused to give me the 2 pills that would get me through the MRI.  I didn't schedule anything.

Compassion would have been nice, caring, listening, understanding.  Instead, I got condescension, an attitude, coldness, and looked down upon.  It was such a fun time!

However, my day improved because my wonderful Mother, affectionately called Bobi (pronounced Buh Bee - Hebrew word for Grandmother) cancelled her Mah Jong game, came over, and spent the day with me.  I know, I am 42 and I needed my Mom.  But sometimes you still do.  Mr. Vanilla called to check in on me during the day - I had called him blubbering between Nasty Girl leaving and the doctor coming in - and make sure I was okay, and the 2 Vanilla girls gave me hugs to help.

Okay, that is enough for my first try.  And, even if nobody but the 14 year old Vanilla girl and her friend read my blog, I am still glad I am doing this.  It will be good for me.  Until the next one, I Love My Vanilla Life!