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What Happened to Medicine?
I am dismayed at the medical treatment, or lack thereof, that I have received to date. I sent an online message to my PCP a few weeks ago that I was feeling hopeless and depressed as a result of my illness and asked if he thought increasing my antidepressant would be of help. He did not respond. I have to see him next week and will ask what the purpose of the online message system is if a patient cannot get a response from their doctor.
I understand that my condition(s) are complicated, after all it has taken 3 years to finally get an appointment with a liver specialist, even though I had been told one would never see me. I apologize if I sound like I am whining, perhaps I am simply frustrated at just how difficult it is to receive the appropriate medical treatment these days. I try to remain positive, active, engaged in creative activities and things of that nature. I am not curled up in a ball in some kind of catatonic state. All I want is help from my medical team, and it has become such a struggle to get the treatment I think I need. Yes, I have a friend who is a doctor and who has been very helpful by telling me what tests my PCP needs to order, and when I ask him to order such tests he does. but really, how crazy is that? This forum and my disease have enabled me to become more empowered, however I had no idea that getting the right treatment, if any, would be such a struggle. I have good coping skills, but in all honesty there are days when I really do feel like curling up in a ball, but I don't because I am afraid I would remain in that state. So instead I take walks, work on my artwork, bake bread for my neighbors, care for my 84 year old friend etc. I am constantly on the move. Right now, I just want to step off and rest.
Also, the last time I saw my PCP he asked me if I wanted a new doctor. No doctor has ever asked this question of me. I am now planning to choose a new PCP after my upcoming appointment with a hepatologist. I am seeing my PCP this week so he can go over with me the information he received from the hematologist regarding my immunoglobulin disorder.
Interestingly enough, I met with a neurologist this week for the second time. I could not have asked for a nicer physician! Perhaps there are still medical providers out there who still care about and want to help their patients.
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What year is this table's data from?
@cherip
@cherip, you wrote: Being a patient is basically the pits. Too many patients, too few doctors. And the more specialized drs get the more derisive many become toward clients if the dr isnt one of the good ones left.
And the US let it happen. It will never end because our government is weak and self-centered. People just don't matter any more.
It's a silent wave of suffering across this nation, and we can blame generations of politicians, corporations, and their lobbists.
I totally agree. And I don't think it can be fixed.
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3 ReactionsMe, either. I'm going off road and looking for naturopathic and energy healing practitioners.
Maybe if WA, OR, and CA were a nation the situation on the west coast would get better. Idaho is already trying to take over half of Oregon.
Free rangeland.
Maybe I'll screw it up. But I won't be worse off than I am now, that's for sure.
It's sad when the snakeoil sellers are the ones with the licenses.
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4 ReactionsInteresting
https://fcpp.org/2019/10/11/reforming-canadas-failing-health-care-system/
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1 Reaction@becsbuddy @cherip @kamama94 - It bears mentioning too that the pharmaceutical / insurance mega-corporations are soooo deep into our pockets, and - through their lobbyists - soooo deep into legislators' pockets that the hope of any common sense, sane reconstruction of our healthcare system to serve our citizenry is almost a fantasy. And this has been true for decades.
And, very recently, my fiance is a Type 2 diabetic, on limited income from Social Security, and due to patient vanity and doctors concerned with maintaining their celebrity clientele, the Ozempic he needs to survive is even less available than ever - and after his free samples his doctor used to be able to pass along have run out, the cost - WITH Medicare - is $950+ per month!?! How on earth does anyone pay for this? You would think this was a miracle cure drug for aging or something, the way it is priced! Don't mean to use so many exclamation points or caps, but it is ennervating, and this must just be the tip of the iceberg...I cannot even begin to imagine how anyone with more serious conditions can pay for any ongoing medical/pharmaceutical care.
We will be filling out a form under the Novo Vordisk "Patient Assistance Program (PAP" to see if he can qualify for some reduction/coverage for the Ozempic, but I'm 50:50 on whether this will legitimately be available to him.
I don't know that there are any answers in our lifetime, but it is a great service that Mayo Connect and its mentors and participants provide in having this forum where at least we can see that we're not alone in this struggle.
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3 ReactionsThank you. I'll read this. In the race to the bottom, I fear the US is dumb enough to want to crash first.
My mother rationed her insulin.
She is dead.
Do whatever you can to help. My mother wouldn't "let" me, but if I were to rewrite my life I'd be the biggest thorn I could be, regardless of her desire to not cause a ruckus.
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1 ReactionThere are grants that help people pay for medical care that their insurance won't cover. The grants open and close during the year, and your fiance may have to sign up for a wait list, or keep checking back to see if the fund for diabetes is open yet.
Start here with the PAN foundation's Fund Finder, which will search several of the fund organizations and give you a list you can check out: https://www.panfoundation.org/find-disease-fund/
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7 Reactions@cookierockwell - Fantastic! Greatly, greatly appreciate the link to find more on grants. We'd never heard of this. Will be checking it out tomorrow.
@cherip - I am so so sorry to hear of your mother's struggle and loss; it is despicable that anything like this could happen, and there are no legal consequences? I'm also faced with the struggle to get my mother checked for her aphasia episode that occurred a week ago - she refused to go to the ER at the time, and is reluctant to get to a doctor, which we're trying to get set up for her to see at her Independent Care facility. (Her previous PCP retired and she has not wanted to see another doctor since).
It is so disheartening, and to think that people who are at probably the worst point in their lives both medically and emotionally are having to deal with this dehumanizing and debilitating insurance and health care gargantua....it is just plain wrong.
Thank you everyone here for providing hope and an outlet. Your role needs to be acknowledged and this Mayo Clinic Connect forum continuously supported.
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5 ReactionsMy own personal observations, correct me if you feel I am wrong is that there has always been a good measure of discrimination against people diagnosed with mental related features. I saw this repeatedly in my work environments in both government and private settings. I have seen this in healthcare settings also, again in both government and private settings ( Note: I am not speaking of the Mayo Clinic). In my opinion people and patients with a mental related diagnosis too often are left with a hard row to hoe.
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6 Reactions