Hey guys, last night at about 2:30 I went to the ER because of some side splitting pain. I was keeling over because my lower left side had a lot of pain. I think it was caused though do to eating at crackerbarrel where I normally never eat at. Well after a little while of waiting that pain was gone but my butt started hurting so I stayed there. At about 6 in the morning the GI finally looked at me and told me I have a tiny fistula or a small abscess but I was so tight in the area that he couldn't tell for sure but he pulled my butt apart and as he said, "You were squirting puss al over the place." Then he tried to give me a rectal exam after I told him that the reason I'm on Remicade is because I had a lot of inflammation in the area and that my rectum is about the size of two #2 pencils on top of one another. So obviously he caused a lot of pain and disturbance in that area and now I'm in more butt pain now then before I went in. It's not that bad of a pain but it's still just annoying. Ok I'm done my rant for right now. Thanks for listening.
Oh boy
- Thread starter Jeff D.
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Methofelis
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Wow .. sorry, Jeff. Hope you'll be feeling better soon. 
I found out today that my doctor in Connecticut doesn't want to deal with me anymore because it's too hard to deal with things so far away. So that means no more Remicade from them so my mom has to get a job quickly so I can get insurance. I have to say that I'm really losing faith in all of these doctors. All I needed was for my CT GI to allow me to get Remicade until the end of the year or whenever my mom gets a job with insurance. I think I'm about to just stop going to the GI's because most of them don't seem like they want to help me anyways and just deal with this stuff on my own.
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Kev
Senior Member
Hey Jeff Can you get a new prescription from your GP? As for the nice hello present to your doctor next time u r in CT... no, I don't know what u mean. Hope it isn't something rash...
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I've wanted to verbally let loose on whichever nurse cost me hundreds in cash on useless Asacol pills, the "dietician" who rudely insulted me in the hospital in January, the GI who said Creatine gave me Crohns in 2006....I know what you mean, this disease is enough of a nemesis without massive ignorance adding fuel to the fire.
(edited to specify my sentiments)
(edited to specify my sentiments)
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Kev
Senior Member
I dunno about 'adding fuel to the fire'.. I do know that one can either decide to be part of the solution... OR not. If not, then one potentially is part of the problem. I mean, who has the most to win/lose in our given situations? Answer: We do. The urge to lash out, be obstinate, to expect 'perfection' from the human beings who treat us... These are all too human traits themselves... yet if we let ourselves fall prey to them, ultimately we are the ones to lose the most. I mean, like... I KNOW better than to piss off my waitstaff or bartender..
AND I do my utmost to not enter into an 'adversarial' situation with healthcare people... Let me tell you a little story... many years ago, I was sitting in the waiting room of my then GP's office.. a private practice office that had, at that time.... 5 doctors working out of it. With only 1 receptionist... an elderly nurse with a world of experience... really sweet soul.. who would do anything for a patient AND often did... Like, if you were sick, really sick, and yet the doctors were booked to the limit and then some... she'd somehow find a way to fit you in.. anyway, this day was like any other, phones ringing constantly, and she'd be handling... more like super handling.. the call volumes single handedly. She got no break from this till, as regularly happened.. all of the in-house lines were in use... and there was no way to answer incomming calls till a line went down.
(this was in the pre-digital days... a six line phone system.. I'd worked on them and with them... knew their limitations).. So, that was the status at the time; the 'docs' had all the in-house lines tied up; she couldn't take any incomming calls till one of them hung up... That is when an irate man stomped in. he took one look at her sitting there; while the phoneline was ringing, and he jumped to the conclusion that she was deliberately ignoring those calls.. apparently one of which he HAD been placing, trying to get thru, before he gave up AND opted to come to the office in person, w/o appointment. Without knowing the story AS it actually was; he tore into her in a rage... called her everything in the book.. blatantly called her incompetent, too old to do the job, senile, stupid, lazy... well, the list went on N on. She tried to explain the situation, he wasn't in a mood to listen... she tried to reason with him.. no go. Eventually, she did get him calm enuff to find out what was wrong; then she squeezed him in to see a doc.. Now, I consider myself a patient N reasonable fellow, but if that haad been me in her shoes... I wouldn't have gone out of my way to do him any favours. In fact, I would have put him on the lowest rung of the priority ladder, and kept him there indefinitely. Oh, and before folks jump to the idea that she was just doing a CYA.. she was the widow of the doc who founded the practice, the mother of the doc who headed it up at the time, the grandmother of one of the other doctors there, and the grand aunt and great grand aunt of two others... Essentially, with her late hubby's initial share, and her son's, grandson's portion... the docs there were largely working for her. She was anything but incompetent... she was a keystone in the whole office operation; and knew MORE about the patients than the docs did themselves.
She could have easily told this clown to pound the pavement and find another doctor... Anyway, now that I've bored everyone to tears with this longwinded story... just wanted to say that... in life, a majority of things are totally out of our control... except for our own behaviour. And the old saying "What goes around, comes around" may just have a kernal of truth about it. And that we sometimes don't know the rest of the story... yet are way too quick to judge.
for instance, Benson, I don't understand what you mean when you say that a nameless nurse was responsible for costing you hundreds of dollars on useless Asacol? Nurses can't prescribe... ASACOL may or may not be effective, that's a reality that only time N trial will tell... it's not like ASACOL is a snake oil remedy.
Do you understand my confusion over your statement? What's a nurse got to do with it?
and Jeff... OK, that vague statement.. you were only joking. but in these days, who is to know whether it's a joke or not; and who is willing to take a chance?
A statement like that, in other circumstances... can get one expelled, or even arrested.. Like, yell fire in a crowded theatre; someone gets trampled, expect a lawsuit... someone gets killed, expect jail time. Step aboard a plane and say "I've got a bomb"... send me a postcard from Guatanamo.. Protest all u want that u were kidding, joking, whatever... thing of it is, u were in control of your tongue... Like, if I were a doc, or nurse, or receptionist who worked at your drs office, AND knew you were you on this site.. for whatever reason, I'd have NO choice but to relay that 'possible threat/possible joke' to the authorities. Then, on the next visit, it would be "Could you please explain these words to the nice police officer over there?" And then, could you please find another physician!!!
And like, I'm not attempting to come down on anyone, or condemn anyone. It's just that, in an environment that is as supportive as this forum is, there can be a time when one sees/reads something, and just has to step up and say 'Hey'
Bash away at the medical system all you want, vent away to your content, but lets draw the line uttering vague threats that could be mis-interpreted, and not cross that line'. I know all too well the frustration, anger, other emotions that dealing with this disease can draw out of us; but we can make the choice to be 'positive' in our dealing with them. I just think negativity leads to negativity.
AND I do my utmost to not enter into an 'adversarial' situation with healthcare people... Let me tell you a little story... many years ago, I was sitting in the waiting room of my then GP's office.. a private practice office that had, at that time.... 5 doctors working out of it. With only 1 receptionist... an elderly nurse with a world of experience... really sweet soul.. who would do anything for a patient AND often did... Like, if you were sick, really sick, and yet the doctors were booked to the limit and then some... she'd somehow find a way to fit you in.. anyway, this day was like any other, phones ringing constantly, and she'd be handling... more like super handling.. the call volumes single handedly. She got no break from this till, as regularly happened.. all of the in-house lines were in use... and there was no way to answer incomming calls till a line went down.
(this was in the pre-digital days... a six line phone system.. I'd worked on them and with them... knew their limitations).. So, that was the status at the time; the 'docs' had all the in-house lines tied up; she couldn't take any incomming calls till one of them hung up... That is when an irate man stomped in. he took one look at her sitting there; while the phoneline was ringing, and he jumped to the conclusion that she was deliberately ignoring those calls.. apparently one of which he HAD been placing, trying to get thru, before he gave up AND opted to come to the office in person, w/o appointment. Without knowing the story AS it actually was; he tore into her in a rage... called her everything in the book.. blatantly called her incompetent, too old to do the job, senile, stupid, lazy... well, the list went on N on. She tried to explain the situation, he wasn't in a mood to listen... she tried to reason with him.. no go. Eventually, she did get him calm enuff to find out what was wrong; then she squeezed him in to see a doc.. Now, I consider myself a patient N reasonable fellow, but if that haad been me in her shoes... I wouldn't have gone out of my way to do him any favours. In fact, I would have put him on the lowest rung of the priority ladder, and kept him there indefinitely. Oh, and before folks jump to the idea that she was just doing a CYA.. she was the widow of the doc who founded the practice, the mother of the doc who headed it up at the time, the grandmother of one of the other doctors there, and the grand aunt and great grand aunt of two others... Essentially, with her late hubby's initial share, and her son's, grandson's portion... the docs there were largely working for her. She was anything but incompetent... she was a keystone in the whole office operation; and knew MORE about the patients than the docs did themselves.
She could have easily told this clown to pound the pavement and find another doctor... Anyway, now that I've bored everyone to tears with this longwinded story... just wanted to say that... in life, a majority of things are totally out of our control... except for our own behaviour. And the old saying "What goes around, comes around" may just have a kernal of truth about it. And that we sometimes don't know the rest of the story... yet are way too quick to judge.
for instance, Benson, I don't understand what you mean when you say that a nameless nurse was responsible for costing you hundreds of dollars on useless Asacol? Nurses can't prescribe... ASACOL may or may not be effective, that's a reality that only time N trial will tell... it's not like ASACOL is a snake oil remedy.
Do you understand my confusion over your statement? What's a nurse got to do with it?
and Jeff... OK, that vague statement.. you were only joking. but in these days, who is to know whether it's a joke or not; and who is willing to take a chance?
A statement like that, in other circumstances... can get one expelled, or even arrested.. Like, yell fire in a crowded theatre; someone gets trampled, expect a lawsuit... someone gets killed, expect jail time. Step aboard a plane and say "I've got a bomb"... send me a postcard from Guatanamo.. Protest all u want that u were kidding, joking, whatever... thing of it is, u were in control of your tongue... Like, if I were a doc, or nurse, or receptionist who worked at your drs office, AND knew you were you on this site.. for whatever reason, I'd have NO choice but to relay that 'possible threat/possible joke' to the authorities. Then, on the next visit, it would be "Could you please explain these words to the nice police officer over there?" And then, could you please find another physician!!!
And like, I'm not attempting to come down on anyone, or condemn anyone. It's just that, in an environment that is as supportive as this forum is, there can be a time when one sees/reads something, and just has to step up and say 'Hey'
Bash away at the medical system all you want, vent away to your content, but lets draw the line uttering vague threats that could be mis-interpreted, and not cross that line'. I know all too well the frustration, anger, other emotions that dealing with this disease can draw out of us; but we can make the choice to be 'positive' in our dealing with them. I just think negativity leads to negativity.
Kev
Senior Member
Hey Jeff... I wasn't trying to edit your thoughts... I know, pretty sure everyone else on here can relate too... that at times this disease, everything that goes with it HAS us all going a little off the deep end. Saying/doing things in a blackhearted moment that we wouldn't ordinarily do/say when we are back on center. That's all
Don't read too much into my post... Finesse isn't my strong suit... Everything is copacetic from my vantage point. I mean, if I ran into a medical professional who said/did something that got under my skin, really pissed me off; chances are I might respond... in a bad or weak moment... 'drop dead' (or other words to that effect).. Doesn't mean I really want them to do so. Don't know how I'd react IF they did? Think we all have been there, done that, felt the same way.
Just that, printed words on the internet have a permancy to them we overlook.
And it's soooooo easy for little things like that to come back to haunt us someday... To be taken out of context, to be even deliberately mis-represented
Don't read too much into my post... Finesse isn't my strong suit... Everything is copacetic from my vantage point. I mean, if I ran into a medical professional who said/did something that got under my skin, really pissed me off; chances are I might respond... in a bad or weak moment... 'drop dead' (or other words to that effect).. Doesn't mean I really want them to do so. Don't know how I'd react IF they did? Think we all have been there, done that, felt the same way.
Just that, printed words on the internet have a permancy to them we overlook.
And it's soooooo easy for little things like that to come back to haunt us someday... To be taken out of context, to be even deliberately mis-represented
I needed to realize that what I put on the web can be seen by anyone. I've been changing a lot in my life lately and in thoughts about my career. If I choose this as my career then I don't want them to stumble onto this sight and see that I wrote a threat even in light. So I'm happy you challenged my ways of thinking as it got me to think about myself. With what I may be thinking about as a future calling has way to much stuff taken out of context anyway so I don't want to add to the fuel.
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Sorry to hear about the trip Jeff. I generally like to visit the ER when I'm feeling healthy so its a more fun experience (sorry trying to cheer you up).. Maybe find a friend who can add you to their insurance policy until your mom can get on with a place that has it? I did this with my ex-girlfriend who needed some treatment for her kidney stones and it wasn't a problem.
(sorry trying to cheer you up).. Maybe find a friend who can add you to their insurance policy until your mom can get on with a place that has it? I did this with my ex-girlfriend who needed some treatment for her kidney stones and it wasn't a problem.
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Sorry, I had meant "let loose" verbally (I'm not much of a fighter unless need be, I'm more of that emotional/passionate verbal sparring type if I get into a grand altercation, preferring intellect and words to prove points, but normally I'm actually passive in real life, and repress such anger up to a point).
I can see how the Asacol issue makes no sense in that context, I thought I'd explained it here before but I may not have:
Basically, I didn't mean "useless" as in it did nothing (even though it didn't for me), it's as in, I'm not allowed to take it, the doc took me off it on January 20, 2008. What happened started in November last year (and the nurse had total control of the situation, I had spent about 7 hours total on the phone with several entities trying to get answers to find out it started with her, one of them at my office). I wanted to go to mail order prescriptions, which would have saved me some $83.38 for 3 months. Well, my dose was bumped from 3.6 grams/day (9 pills) to 4.8 grams/day (12 pills) on Oct 12th, and it turns out SOME nurse first gave the wrong/obsolete script to the mail order company (Caremark), even though I told the mail order company it was 4.8g currently, the GI nurse had a 1.5 month-old script of 3.6g she faxed instead... they had to confirm it with my GI office that it WAS what I said it was (which is obviously understandable). So, I was sent 810 pills (which was 90 days of 3.6 grams/day, 9 pills a day, NOT the correct amount of 12). I was shorted.
So someone gave an old script, first off. Well, no problem, as you say we're all human, that error was fine, as long as it could be rectified right? Nope. SOME nurse (either same one or even different one) then, to fix the problem, after like a dozen phone calls, sent a WHOLE NEW (as in an ADDITIONAL) script over for 1080 MORE pills, which is what the first one SHOULD have been for. If you do the math, I was only requiring an additional 270 pills for the correct quantity for 90 days worth. Instead, I got 1890 pills total of Asacol, which cost me $250 more dollars extra on top of the first $250. The GI office knew that I only needed 90 days worth of the Asacol, because the GI doc was moving me to Lialda in Feb (that was the plan at the time), that was on file.
I say useless because then I went in the hospital Jan 18th and the new GI doc from that practice said the Asacol was making my Diarrhea worse, not better. I had about a thousand pills that even if I didn't go into the hospital I wasn't supposed to have, and the Mail order company who filled it says by law they had to fill what was on the script. The only problem was they are equally to blame (but their mistake came from the nurse's mistake), because the Caremark company who does my Rx insurance/Mail orders misinformed me by saying that they were ONLY sending 270 more pills, free of charge, the amount I was shorted... I said fine, go ahead then and send that. I checked DAILY with them for fear of being charged for a new Rx (I'm paranoid that way) They pulled the recording of the phone call and found out I was indeed right (Supervisors of supervisors were involved in this mess), I was misinformed, but legally I couldn't send back the pills and they refused to waive my money owed. So rather than ruin my credit by letting it go past due, I had to pay the $250 I got NOTHING out of.
Hence, at least one nurse messed up bigtime, possibly twice if the same nurse, and cost me hundreds of $$ on "useless" Asacol, as it was founded to be hurting my progress.
I will never use mail order service again, or speak highly of the Caremark company, and I am still upset at the originating problem caused by a nurse, who grabbed an old copy of an Rx, and then one who faxed over a new one of 1080 when she was supposed to simply straighten out the 270 missing like was requested. I was told who did what in this mess.
Of course I may not know the whole story, I'm not naive (in most respects), but after all the research, call recordings, and investigation, I did EXACTLY what I was to do in this disaster, the other parties screwed up, and kept screwing up. I was trying to be part of the solution, and got shafted. I ended up finding out enough of the story to place blame.
I paid the price, and an insurance company got richer. How's that just?
Sorry for ranting Kev, but this issue is one of many that are hot for me, and I am a "passionate" person about things. I know it's probably seeming like naivity and youthful temper, though...
I can see how the Asacol issue makes no sense in that context, I thought I'd explained it here before but I may not have:
Basically, I didn't mean "useless" as in it did nothing (even though it didn't for me), it's as in, I'm not allowed to take it, the doc took me off it on January 20, 2008. What happened started in November last year (and the nurse had total control of the situation, I had spent about 7 hours total on the phone with several entities trying to get answers to find out it started with her, one of them at my office). I wanted to go to mail order prescriptions, which would have saved me some $83.38 for 3 months. Well, my dose was bumped from 3.6 grams/day (9 pills) to 4.8 grams/day (12 pills) on Oct 12th, and it turns out SOME nurse first gave the wrong/obsolete script to the mail order company (Caremark), even though I told the mail order company it was 4.8g currently, the GI nurse had a 1.5 month-old script of 3.6g she faxed instead... they had to confirm it with my GI office that it WAS what I said it was (which is obviously understandable). So, I was sent 810 pills (which was 90 days of 3.6 grams/day, 9 pills a day, NOT the correct amount of 12). I was shorted.
So someone gave an old script, first off. Well, no problem, as you say we're all human, that error was fine, as long as it could be rectified right? Nope. SOME nurse (either same one or even different one) then, to fix the problem, after like a dozen phone calls, sent a WHOLE NEW (as in an ADDITIONAL) script over for 1080 MORE pills, which is what the first one SHOULD have been for. If you do the math, I was only requiring an additional 270 pills for the correct quantity for 90 days worth. Instead, I got 1890 pills total of Asacol, which cost me $250 more dollars extra on top of the first $250. The GI office knew that I only needed 90 days worth of the Asacol, because the GI doc was moving me to Lialda in Feb (that was the plan at the time), that was on file.
I say useless because then I went in the hospital Jan 18th and the new GI doc from that practice said the Asacol was making my Diarrhea worse, not better. I had about a thousand pills that even if I didn't go into the hospital I wasn't supposed to have, and the Mail order company who filled it says by law they had to fill what was on the script. The only problem was they are equally to blame (but their mistake came from the nurse's mistake), because the Caremark company who does my Rx insurance/Mail orders misinformed me by saying that they were ONLY sending 270 more pills, free of charge, the amount I was shorted... I said fine, go ahead then and send that. I checked DAILY with them for fear of being charged for a new Rx (I'm paranoid that way) They pulled the recording of the phone call and found out I was indeed right (Supervisors of supervisors were involved in this mess), I was misinformed, but legally I couldn't send back the pills and they refused to waive my money owed. So rather than ruin my credit by letting it go past due, I had to pay the $250 I got NOTHING out of.
Hence, at least one nurse messed up bigtime, possibly twice if the same nurse, and cost me hundreds of $$ on "useless" Asacol, as it was founded to be hurting my progress.
I will never use mail order service again, or speak highly of the Caremark company, and I am still upset at the originating problem caused by a nurse, who grabbed an old copy of an Rx, and then one who faxed over a new one of 1080 when she was supposed to simply straighten out the 270 missing like was requested. I was told who did what in this mess.
Of course I may not know the whole story, I'm not naive (in most respects), but after all the research, call recordings, and investigation, I did EXACTLY what I was to do in this disaster, the other parties screwed up, and kept screwing up. I was trying to be part of the solution, and got shafted. I ended up finding out enough of the story to place blame.
I paid the price, and an insurance company got richer. How's that just?
Sorry for ranting Kev, but this issue is one of many that are hot for me, and I am a "passionate" person about things. I know it's probably seeming like naivity and youthful temper, though...
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On a glass half full note, my mom says she was trained in college (Uni?) to make suppositories (which I'm on in the form of Asacol, Canasa suppositories) out of cocoa butter, which is what they are bound with. I have a bunch of "useless" Asacol, and my Suppositories are like $100 a month for me....two birds with one stone says that if my mom can successfully manufacture my suppositories out of my old pills I have sitting around, I'll save money in 2 ways....
See- Benson's not so pessimistic (perpetually at least)...
Kev I'd like to add I always appreciate your vast wisdom and experience, I kinda wish I was able to be so mellow about the small stuff, and not flip on the massive stuff, but easier said than done. Perhaps with age I'll acquire such an attribute.
edit: to add, in case people are wondering why the doc who says the Asacol made by Diarrhea worse has now for 2 months had me on Suppository Asacol, its' because the (oral) Asacol makes my (and many people's) small bowel secrete more fluid, and virtually my entire colon is inflammed, so it cannot absorb said fluid (its duty), thusly, = worsened diarrhea. The suppository Asacol (Canasa) goes straight to the rectum only and does not affect the small bowel, so I bypass the issue.
See- Benson's not so pessimistic (perpetually at least)...
Kev I'd like to add I always appreciate your vast wisdom and experience, I kinda wish I was able to be so mellow about the small stuff, and not flip on the massive stuff, but easier said than done. Perhaps with age I'll acquire such an attribute.
edit: to add, in case people are wondering why the doc who says the Asacol made by Diarrhea worse has now for 2 months had me on Suppository Asacol, its' because the (oral) Asacol makes my (and many people's) small bowel secrete more fluid, and virtually my entire colon is inflammed, so it cannot absorb said fluid (its duty), thusly, = worsened diarrhea. The suppository Asacol (Canasa) goes straight to the rectum only and does not affect the small bowel, so I bypass the issue.
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Kev
Senior Member
Hey Benson... ABSOLUTELY no need to apologize for the rant/vent (whatever you want to call it). Beaurcratic screw-ups like this NEED to be shouted to the heavens (or whatever).. People need to know what to watch out for. Think you've performed a public service to others on here considering mail order prescriptions, possibly even health care providers. And, I've seen 1st hand where a competent nurse is tossed into an area where they have no training, no skills, no competence... Like, I've seen nurses thrown into 'receptionist' roles (what a waste of their training) yet no one taught them how to handle a 24 line phone system... Or in the 'lab' I frequent, for either beauracratic and/or union requirements, these are staffed by nurses at the front desks. They have to do the data entry... The majority of them are middle aged or older, and they can't type 20 words a minute.. and god help them if the printer malfunctions, or the bar code scanner goes down. Yet here they are, drawing the salary of an experienced nurse, probably seniority benefits too..., and as nurses I have NO doubt they are competent N experienced; but in the realm of data entry and/or modern digital technology.. their obvious 'incompetence' makes me shudder. I can't fathom why they are in the role they are in.. where a person trained in data entry, capable of typing 120 WPM, with the know how to clear a printer queue, or re-boot a scanner, basic office technology N data entry skills, COULD be employed for 1/2 the salary these 'nurses' earn. I mean, nurses in my area are graduates of a 3 yr BSc degree from uni... whereas the job they're doing should only require a 6 month diploma from any business college or the like. It could even be taught by correspondence... Oh, theres my rant for today, folks!
Hmmm, I wonder if one could take... oh, I dunno.. one of those soft pellet paint ball guns... take the paint out of the ammo... replace it with.. fecal matter (how one would acquire the fecal matter is potentially another problem).. then take that ammo.... line up the beauracrats against a wall.. maybe on Valentines Day
Then open up and let them have it... I wonder if that would be enuff of a hint?
Hmmm, I wonder if one could take... oh, I dunno.. one of those soft pellet paint ball guns... take the paint out of the ammo... replace it with.. fecal matter (how one would acquire the fecal matter is potentially another problem).. then take that ammo.... line up the beauracrats against a wall.. maybe on Valentines Day
Then open up and let them have it... I wonder if that would be enuff of a hint?
