My Frustrating Medical Journey

Right now I am on the verge of tears. I am totally frustrated and want to let some people have it but know it certainly wouldn’t enhance my Christian testimony. Heading toward a month ago Ter and I went on a camping trip. After we got home my skin went absolutely BONKERS! I was pretty sure what was wrong, but gave it a few days to calm down. I called my dermatologist and ended up getting a big runaround. I called my regular office, was told to call the other office in the same building, they told me to call the first office back. I was literally begging for an appointment with the girl on the phone. I even offered to come and sit in the waiting area as a “work in”, where you wait for any crack in time to be seen. I was still refused an appointment for two and a half weeks!!! I went into Ter’s office in tears with all the crap I had just been through. This included listening to ads for new dermatological treatments while I was on hold! They promised me I’d be on a waiting list for any cancellations….I wasn’t going to hold my breath. My dear OB-GYN finally called the dermatologist office to let them know I REALLY needed to get in to see a doctor. She even got the runaround when SHE called. She was NOT impressed. I FINALLY had my appointment last week and my suspicions were confirmed that my psoriasis has flared up as badly as back in 1994. They decided to put me on this ultra expensive medicine, enbrel, which costs 30k per year. This was because it would actually be cheaper for us out of pocket wise. Over a week later we are still in the process of getting this medicine started. First it was certify to the insurance company that I am not a good candidate to go back on the UVA therapy because our insurance company would want a $40 copay every time I walk in the door for a treatment. Tally that up at three treatments a week for a month….almost $500! Then I was told to come back the next day to get a TB test so I would have over the weekend to react if I would. I did that, then was informed I had to get yet more bloodwork to test for things they don’t usually test for during my yearly physical. All right, once again I’ll do what I’m told although I am starting to loose patience with this whole process. After forty eight hours I called the doctors office to see if the results had come through. I was informed yes, they had, but now we’re waiting on approval from the PHARMACY and their delivery to the doctor’s office. For God’s sake, how many approvals do we have to go through so I can get started on my healing!? I’m certainly NOT afraid to give myself the shots they are talking about. I lost my fear of needles many years ago. I’m sick and tired of sleeping on the couch so I won’t wake Ter up with my tossing and turning, not to mention trying to get my feet up to try and at least keep the horrible swelling in my legs and feet half way under control. I’m sick of laying on the couch more than I should because of this condition. My goodness, if this were a life or death situation I would have died days ago with their dragging things out. I was told when I called today pretty much, don’t call us again, we’ll call you when the medicine comes in from the pharmacy. I would NOT give this office as high marks for compassion and efficiency as when I’ve gone in the past. Yes, they gave me a couple of different crèmes which are at least making me half way comfortable. I can walk a little more comfortably and my plaques (areas of psoriasis) are not quite as angry red. I am also more willing to go out in public in shorts, even though I still have the large areas of discoloration which is what the Enbrel will heal. What I really want to do is get started on the actual healing process and quit this lollygagging around. What in the world will things be like when our lovely, forced down our throats, Obamacare really kicks for “health care reform”? I know this is uncharacteristic of me to unload here on my blog, but I would appreciate prayers to get past these roadblocks and get going on this thing. Thank you all