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  • Finally fed up

    I've mentioned the mental health clinic that I go to in this thread. They've shown themselves to be pretty unreliable before (I haven't had a single appointment yet that they didn't reschedule at least once) but I'm finally fed up with it.

    A couple months ago I was put on a drug to help with my depression and anxiety. I was given one refill (so, two months' worth total), and they scheduled my next appointment. I took it for a few weeks, and generally felt better, not perfect but better. It was so subtle I wasn't even sure they were working.

    Well, two days before my appointment, they call me and reschedule for later this month. At that point I have only a few days' worth left, so I get them to call in another refill to my pharmacy. We go up there to get it filled, assuming they'll do it the same day, and they don't. As it turns out, it takes a couple days to process. So we called the pharmacy a couple days later. Still nothing. Call again the next day. Nothing. The clinic is only open Mon-Wed and by that point it was Thursday so we couldn't call and ask them to do it again. A couple days later, still nothing.

    In the meantime, I've been off my meds almost a week now and I realize how much they were helping. I crashed hard. It hasn't been pretty. We had to send my daughter off to be babysat by other people because I've gotten so anxious over nothing that I'm throwing up, and my depression has me pushing my best friend of ten years away.

    I'm going to need bloodwork taken to check the levels of the drug in my blood at my next appointment but to me that's a bit of a joke, it's clearly out of my system now and I'm going to have to start all over. I'm not sure if the doctor will get upset at me for "not taking my pills like I'm supposed to" because the levels are so much lower than she's going to expect, or if she does believe that I took them, if she'll believe that they worked as effectively as I say.

    I'm so mad at them right now for letting this happen. For not having their crap together enough to keep my appointment and for forgetting that a patient needs a refill on a med that she (apparently) desperately needs to function.

    The silver lining is, at least I know there's a drug out there that'll help me!
    The fact that jellyfish have survived for 650 million years despite not having brains gives hope to many people.

    You would have to be incredibly dense for the world to revolve around you.

  • #2
    Change clinics. Do it now. Seriously.
    Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you speak with the Fraud department. -- CrazedClerkthe2nd
    OW! Rolled my eyes too hard, saw my brain. -- Seanette
    she seems to top me in crazy, and I'm enough crazy for my family. -- Cooper
    Yes, I am evil. What's your point? -- Jester

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    • #3
      Document. Even if they are only open Monday thru Wednesday they should still have an emegrancy contact for days they are closed. If worse comes to worse try and find an urgent care. If they try and reschedule you fight back. Tell them this is important and you need to see a doctor when you have an appointment. I know it is hard with anxiety and depression but they will continue until you start raising hell. When you see your doctor outline how this has been detrimental to your life. I didn't get help till one day I just lost it at my doctor. She started in on how I was being "melodramatic". I went point by point on how I need to be heard and my issues were not all in my head and the meds they were giving me were not helping and they were actually hurting and that i has documented what was going on. Having that lined out made them accountable that I was telling them the danger and if they ignored me and I got worse or died it was on them.

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      • #4
        Quoth Deserted View Post
        Change clinics. Do it now. Seriously.
        I wish I could, but I have no way to get health insurance and we can't afford to go anywhere else. This is the only state-funded clinic anywhere near us. We live way out in the middle of nowhere and have a vehicle that's older than I am so we're expecting it to give out soon, which means we're trying to save up for another while simultaneously not putting more miles on the current one than absolutely necessary. That means I can't drive up to Atlanta for treatment (4 hours round-trip in good traffic, so possibly an all-day trip just to get treatment), and I can't afford any of the "real" doctors that are local.

        Documenting it might be a good idea. My therapist* there is actually great, and if I can show him on paper what's going on, he might be able to push for some changes. And if the doctor doesn't believe me about my meds, at the very least he can talk to her.

        *It might be kind of confusing, but there are therapists, doctors, and nurses at this clinic. I'm supposed to see my therapist every other week, the doctor every two months for med adjustments, and the nurses every two months for lab work related to my meds.
        The fact that jellyfish have survived for 650 million years despite not having brains gives hope to many people.

        You would have to be incredibly dense for the world to revolve around you.

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        • #5
          I've been in your shoes with state funded mental care. When I started I could have any meds they thought I needed. 5 years later all generics.

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          • #6
            Hubs called them this morning while I was still in bed (my crash made me not sleep for two days so I ended up sleeping in today), and apparently they need to talk to me specifically. They never said that the first time so it would appear they weren't even planning to order me a refill in the first place.

            The irony? My anxiety is worst when I have to make phone calls. I can't call to get my anxiety pills because my anxiety is too bad. I'm probably just going to have to wait for my appointment next week.
            The fact that jellyfish have survived for 650 million years despite not having brains gives hope to many people.

            You would have to be incredibly dense for the world to revolve around you.

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth Deserted View Post
              Change clinics. Do it now. Seriously.
              I second this big time. You owe it to yourself to get help. Don't do what I did and wait 10 years.

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              • #8
                Apply for Medicaid if you are in the US. You probably qualify for one of the plans.
                "I try to be curious about everything, even things that don't interest me." -Alex Trebek

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                • #9
                  Unfortunately my state is one of those that didn't increase the Medicaid requirements so it's only available to minors and pregnant women, of which I am neither. We don't really qualify for Obamacare subsidies either but after my recent gallbladder and kidney issues, I was forced to check it out anyway. I managed to find a plan that (hopefully!) won't end up costing me too much.
                  The fact that jellyfish have survived for 650 million years despite not having brains gives hope to many people.

                  You would have to be incredibly dense for the world to revolve around you.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth Akasa View Post
                    I've been in your shoes with state funded mental care. When I started I could have any meds they thought I needed. 5 years later all generics.
                    Don't feel bad. Generics actually work just fine for most patients. Brand name drugs are rarely needed once the drug goes off patent, and all insurance plans tend to prefer generics anyway. Formularies are not unique to state funded health care of any sort.

                    It's a rare patient who just has to have the brand name, usually because an inactive ingredient doesn't agree with them in some way. Then people can usually get the brand name though they may have to jump through some hoops.

                    Quoth Aragarthiel View Post
                    Unfortunately my state is one of those that didn't increase the Medicaid requirements so it's only available to minors and pregnant women, of which I am neither. We don't really qualify for Obamacare subsidies either but after my recent gallbladder and kidney issues, I was forced to check it out anyway. I managed to find a plan that (hopefully!) won't end up costing me too much.
                    Well, get your money's worth at least. I'm glad you're working on getting back on your meds. If they are helping you then you need them.
                    They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

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                    • #11
                      My wife has found that one specific medication she takes for a chronic condition is almost useless as a generic. The branded version works fine for her. It makes me wonder if the generic formulary actually has all of the advertised medicine in it...

                      I had a problem recently when switching from one generic to another. This problem seems to have been complicated by other things that were happening to me that aggravated the underlying condition, but the withdrawal symptoms were exceedingly unpleasant.
                      “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
                      One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
                      The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

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                      • #12
                        I'm on a relatively new anti-psychotic(sub-lingual if that tells you which one). There is no generic for it.
                        I've been through so many medications just trying to find some combination to make me stable it's insane.

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