Useless physical

[judecorp]

I had the most useless doctor appointment today. I am SO frustrated I could scream. It doesn't help that I woke up this morning coming down with something and now have a low-grade fever with body aches and a mild sore throat.

It's not bad enough that this is my third annual physical at Fenway with my THIRD doctor. I don't know what is up with that but it is really annoying because there is NO continuity of care at all. This woman walked in with a piece of paper with my name on it and my "health history" which really was just what medicine I was taking at my last annual physical last November.

So the doctor gave me a hard time about taking Metformin, and I told her that it was recommended for pregnant women with PCOS through the first trimester. She told me that she had to check on that for me so she could tell me if I should stop taking it (hello, no), and then comes in with a print-out from the internet on how Metformin is recommended for pregnant women with insulin resistance/PCOS through the first trimester. She said, "You were right," and hands me the paper. I handed it back to her and said that she needed it more than I did.

She then decided that she did not want to give me my annual internal exam because she didn't want to "risk anything precious" (gag) even though I told her that I saw my doctor two days ago and he told me it was fine to do it. She also was unable to give me a flu shot because they only had the Thimerosol ones and I didn't want that. So I asked her where I could go to get the non-mercury one and she /did not have a single suggestion/. Finally she said I should call some hospitals and see if maybe they had some and if I could go get it. Whatever, lady. She said, "You should just be able to get it from work, you work in pediatrics," and I was like, "No, lady, I do not work in a medical clinic, I am a home-based social worker and I drive to people's houses all day." I had explained this to her 15 minutes prior as well.

So basically I dragged myself out there feeling ill, parked and walked up there, stripped naked (and oh, she didn't knock first and walked in on me with no clothes, too), and this is what I had done: weight check, temperature, blood pressure, boob check, breathing check, some questions about smoking and drinking and vitamins, the Metformin debacle, and the frustration about the flu shot. Is that even worth a freaking copay?

I hate them.

Comments

[eight.livejournal.com]

A few days ago, Newton-Wellesley Women's Care (part of the hospital) called to tell me that as a pregnant woman I should go get my flu shot. Clearly I don't need it, but they're taking appointments right now - thought I'd let you know since Fenway was less than helpful. : )

Btw the lack of internal exam is ludicrous.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

But did they have the super-elusive TOP SEKRIT preservative-free flu shot? Because I'm really buggy about both vaccines and mercury.

I'm going to call DPH tomorrow and see if they can tell me where I can find this mysterious concoction.

[amyura.livejournal.com]

Not worth the co-pay. Things like this happening repeatedly are why I basically don't trust doctors (well, that, and the fact that some people I went to high school with and know I'm smarter than are now doctors). With the right equipment, you could have done everything yourself except give yourself a script for Metformin. And they'll bill your insurance for $200 bucks for a level-three or level-four exam. Nice, huh?

[amyura.livejournal.com]

OH! And I wanted to add that if you really want to get your blood pressure up, read some of the medical blogs. Some of those docs are less than pleased when a patient comes in having done research on their own conditions because then they might not take everything the doc says as gospel.....OH NOES!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I don't even need them for my Metformin script! I get it in 3-month mail-order chunks from a script written by my RE! I have 6 months worth of refills available to me RIGHT NOW!!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I find that most doctor's offices at one time or another get really irritated with me for reading too much and asking too many questions. (It's true. I am ruthless with the questions.)

[mayna.livejournal.com]

I didn't think they even made non-thimerosol flu shots.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yep, the single-dose ones. All of the multi-dose (I think they have 10 shots worth or something) have Thimerosol.

Did you get Thimerosol shots when you were PG?

[mayna.livejournal.com]

No... I have immunity of the gods when I'm pregnant (and I don't believe in flu shots anyway, everyone I know who gets the flu always seems to be the one person who got the flu shot, I think it compromises the immune system...). Everyone else in my family got colds and stomach flu and all kinds of bugs and I didn't catch any of it. (and I am FAR from careful, I kiss my kids with snotty faces and let them drink from my glass).

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've never been a big fan of the flu shots, either... but considering what I do for work I am nervous even though I don't think I've ever had the flu.

You've had fall and winter kids, though... you were hardly pregnant during flu season!

[mayna.livejournal.com]

Greg was like a year long pregnancy though. ;-) I got pregnant with him in January (or dec, who knows), and in March Bill and Maylie got that awful stomach flu... I had a queasy stomach and that's it. 1.5 weeks later, they were fine and I still had the queasy stomach. ha ha.

Well, I personally would still not worry about it. Both my kids go to daycare with all kinds of germs and bringing them home... and in almost 4 yrs of daycares I've never seen any kid with the flu. It's usually snotty noses or the stomach bug.

Trying for a summer baby this time, and I still won't be getting a flu shot. ;-)

[estrange.livejournal.com]

My OB/GYN did the same thing about the metformin back in 2003. She had to call some other doctor just to check and then finally let me take it. It's annoying, isn't it. I love this, "I handed it back to her and said that she needed it more than I did."

I thought you weren't going to take it through the 1st trimester?

[estrange.livejournal.com]

I got a regular flu shot a few weeks ago. Apparently they give them in my OB/GYN office now.

[gimmeapony.livejournal.com]

What is this magical hippie flu shot called? Being as I work for the biggest healthcare company known to God, I can probably track down a place that has it (and I'm not even an doctor at Fenway!)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I honestly have no idea what it's called. I just know they make a limited quantity of non-thimerosol flu shots. There is no thimerosol in the nasal flu vaccine, either, but that is a live vaccine and PG folks can't have that.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, most people get regular ones and I guess it's not a big deal. I'm just incredibly weird about thimerosol (and mercury).

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

After a lot of reading over the last year, I decided I didn't want to take any chances.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined not to get the shot if they can't locate a thimerosol-free one. I know there are concerns about PG folks who get the flu but I don't think I've ever gotten the flu in my life. Aaaaand, I'm still in major major pregnancy denial. :)

[mayna.livejournal.com]

Me neither. And when someone is out for the flu, so far every time it's been someone who's had the flu shot and "can't understand why they still got it". Last year one person at work had the flu, the year before my grandfather got the flu. And that's all the people I know who had the flu (recently). I don't think I've ever had it either.

[oddharmonic.livejournal.com]

Fluzone No Preservative, made by Sonofi-Pasteur.

[oddharmonic.livejournal.com]

Also, chart of common US vaccines with thimerosal content: http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

One of my knocked up coworkers got the flu 2 years ago. I'm pretty sure she'd gotten the shot but I'm not positive.

But I do worry about the amount of germ factories that sneeze and cough and spit up in my face on a daily basis.