Frustrating Day with the VA
Don't get me started on the VA.
He's gone in about every 4 weeks all summer for a CK blood test, as the level just kept going up and up each time. (a high CK level can be a precursor heart attack -- wonderful!) About 5 weeks ago the new DR took him off his lovastatin (for cholesterol) and the test on the 8th is finally near normal
But here's how the conversation went down yesterday
The DR was supposed to "get back to me" with the results. of course that never happened. So i place a call to the DR. You can never get through of course, you call and leave a message and hope somebody with a brain gets it through the system. I didn't hear back and I didn't hear back, so I placed another call. A nurse calls me back yesterday and asks for him. I explain I'm the wife, he's had a stroke, he's at home can you talk to me. Of course they can't. So I call him and he calls her and then she (finally) calls me back to say the blood test is near normal and he can "continue the medication". I ask if this means keep "not" taking the one she took him off of, or to start taking it again. Seemed like a logical question to me. She says (can you believe this) "I don't have any idea. Let me read to you exactly what it says --and she repeats herself almost verbatim! SO again, I ask, does that mean take the statin or don't take it? She says the prescription is still good. I explain I have two bottles of the *beep* at home, and that's not my question. Does he take it or not? She says she is "just" filling in for somebody and has no idea. God, I hate it when people use that excuse---isn't anybody responsible for anything anymore? I ask her if she could possibly find out from the DR. She agrees to do that.
Then I ask if the DR still wants to see him in Oct. She says "well, you have an appt on the 17th with DR M---(some name I've never heard of). I say really? News to me. I ask what happened to Dr. Patel (the second DR he's had here, but we had never seen yet). They reassigned DRs and now we have a "him" dr instead of a "her". I explain that he has historically done better with female DRs. No, you can't change now. Keep this appt and if it doesn't go well, then you can request a change.
The last thing on my agenda is to see how to get access to his records, drs calls, etc. I had been told we need an advance directive. I ask if this will let me talk directly to the drs without him giving his ok each time. She says no, it's only "if mr. lowe is no longer able to speak for himself." So I try to rephrase the question and she starts her spiel again. I break in with (by this time thoroughly fed up with the system) "I get it, I get it, I can pull the plug on him. What I'm asking is how to get access to his medical providers directly." Of course she has no idea and refers me to social services. This lady actually has a brain and is nice. Bottom line is each DR interprets the order differently, and it's up to them to "choose" to talk to me or not.
UGH!
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