Well, I think today might have offically been my first sick day since starting work for my dad almost 3 years ago. I never, ever get sick enough to miss work---I guess there's a first time for everything. Basically I just have a really deep cough and I didn't want it to turn into something serious like bronchitis or something more serious like pneumonia...so I decided to go to the doctor and show up for work late this morning. Well, my normal family doctor is out of town until Monday--no big deal, I'll just establish a new doctor (which I need to do anyway) in my correct insurance network. Well, guess what? Yup, that doctor was leaving the office at noon and had no openings.
So, I head over to the local urgent care walk-in clinic since I felt I had no other choice. What a nightmare?!? First, I didn't see a doctor--just a nurse practitioner, and all she had to say was that I had a virus and we could only treat the symptoms. This is definitely what I expected but all she had to prescribe me was a cough suppressant. The drug she wanted to prescribe me had codeine in it (which I'm very allergic too) so she prescribed a different drug with hydrocodone in it. More on this in a moment. We finish up and I head for the door to pay. Note: Recently (by my choice) I switched to a high deductible health plan with no co-pay & no drug coverage until the deductible is met. It's a great thing if you don't get sick very often---which until today, I don't. So...I have no office visit copay and do you want to guess how much my bill was? $100...nope, $150...nope, $200...nope.....$248.42!!! Are you kidding me? $250 for an office visit were she did nothing but take my blood pressure, listen to my chest & talk to me about my symptoms for 5 minutes?!? Well, it was already done so I paid a portion of it and opted to have the balance sent to my insurance to be repriced. What a ripoff!!!!
Next, I head to Walgreens to fill my prescription. I've still got the thought in my head that my doctor told me I shouldn't react to this drug like I do Codeine. Well, I've got a coupon for 4 free pills (which is 2 days worth) and as my luck would have it...that's all Walgreens has, 4 pills. So, I get those (after waiting 45 minutes) and head home without paying anything since I had the coupon. When I get home, the whole codeine/hydrocodone thing is still bugging me so I Google hydrocodone...and guess what comes up?!? All sorts of results for codeine and the fact that the drugs are very similar and basically everything says don't take anything with hydrocodone if you're allergic to codeine. So...basically I spent 2 hours going to an Urgent Care to spend $250 for an office visit that did nothing to help me but prescribe me a drug that was going to cause me to vomit violently after I've taken it. Wonderful...
By this point, I've given up on goign to work and I call my mom an emotional wreck because I'm ridiculously frustrated & just ready to feel better. So...my mom calls our pharmacist to check on some drugs that she has in her cabinet and then my wonderful dad brings them to me on the way to a business appt. Finally...some cough syrup (yes it tastes nasty, but no I'm not allergic to it, and yes it has finally started to suppress my cough). The rest of my day was spent on the couch watching movies and trying to sleep a little off and on.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day and I'll be able to head to work. I really hate days off when I can't get anything accomplished....Oh, and did I mention that Hubby & I are supposed to be going out of town on Saturday & Sunday for a little Valentine's Day break??? Wonderful timing, yes...but I guess things could always be worse. ;o)
1 comment:
I found your blog through A Belle and her Beau and just wanted to mention that I also have a high deductible, no co-pay plan because I rarely get sick. I had a nagging cold that would not go away recently and went to my local CVS Minute Clinic (had no idea these places existed!). It was staffed by a nurse practicioner who was very patient and thorough, and it only cost $59! The best part was she emailed my prescription to the in-store pharmacy, so had there been an questions about drug interactions, allergies, etc., it would have been a super easy fix.
You may want to check if there are any of these in your area for the future.
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