What is wrong with this picture - Part 2

So Friday I head to the doctor's office to talk about my blood sugars. Armed with information from Susan that she had heard at one of her diabetes classes with Ray, I ask about the new drug "Byetta" which is apparently a synthetic form of something from the gila monster. The doctor says that there are different classes of Diabetes medicines, and that he starts with Metformin because it works to help stop the release of sugar from the liver. Then he would move onto Byetta which stops the stomach from sending hormonal signals to the pancreas to create insulin. Then he would move onto something else that works at the cellular level to help the cells receive the insulin you are making, then onto to something that speeds up insulin production so you can get rid of it all and finally move onto insulin shots. That was a lot of knowledge I hadn't heard before so it was very interesting.



Then I ask the doctor if he would prescribe a glucose meter for me. I had used one when I was pregnant, and I remembered that it helped seeing my blood sugar levels during the day so I could see what was affecting them. He tells me that there are hundreds of different meters, and it would be easier if I just went to the pharmacy and had them call up my insurance plan in their computer to see which meter it covered. He actually said that you can usually get the meter for free, because the pharmaceutical companies are in cahoots with the insurance companies and the drug stores, because they make their money on the strips and lancets - that the strips are insanely easy to make and they charge a fortune for them. Of course, I respond with - that's what wrong with America - that and frivolous law suits (but that's a whole other blogpost...).



So I head back to the pharmacy closest to my house because I already had prescriptions filled there. I hand the pharmacy assistant my prescription for Metformin and ask her if, while she is online with my insurance plan, could she please see what kind of meter was covered.



"We can't do that, Ma'am. If you don't already have a prescription for a glucose meter, I can't look it up." I say, "But my doctor said if you would look it up, he would fax the prescription over here." "I'm sorry, there is no way I can do it without a prescription." "Whatever - just fill the prescription for Metformin."



So I walk around the CVS with my blood pressure rising and decide I will just call my insurance company on the way to work and forget these ignorant CVS employees. About that time they call me back to the pharmacy, and I am ready to just pay and get the hell out, when the assistant says the pharmacist needs to speak to you since this a new prescription. Great. I'm stuck here with my blood pressure rising waiting on the pharmacist. The ever-perky pharmacist comes out of her pharmacy box, which is built a good 12 inches above the rest of the CVS floor so as to show her absolute power over the rest of us as she descends from the heavens to spout "take these once in the morning with breakfast and once in the evening with dinner", something my doctor had already told me and was also easily readable on the bottle.



I tried to restrain myself and bolt, but I couldn't. I say to the pharmacist "Your assistant (who was standing a mere 3 feet away) said she couldn't look up what kind of meter my insurance covered without a prescription." The pharmacist/deity says I should check with my insurance to determine what kind of strips/lancets they cover because you can usually get the meter for free. So it is true. The insurance/pharmaceutical companies/pharmacies are all in cahoots. I say thanks and leave.



So now I'm in the car headed to work, and I call my insurance company. After waiting on hold I tell them I need to find out what kind of glucose meter/strips my insurance covers. "Ma'am - could you hold for a moment?" "Sure." After waiting for more than a moment, she comes back on and says "Ma'am - you have to be enrolled in the Diabetes Sense program before we can tell you what kind of meter is covered." "You have got to be freakin' kidding me! So this means this won't happen today?!?!?" "Probably not, Ma'am."



So she gives me the number to Diabetes Sense and I call it. After about 10 minutes on hold, I get the recording that says all representatives are busy, please leave a name and phone number and we'll get back to. I leave my name and phone number with absolutely no hope that they will get back to me any time soon. As my blood pressure is rising even more, I decide to call my doctor's office to find out of he will prescribe a meter while I'm waiting on getting the insurance worked out, and I will just pay for it myself. The receptionist asks me to hold while she tells the doctor my request. She comes back on and says that Dr. Metcalf says it's not urgent for you to have the meter right away and I should just wait for the insurance. Great. It wasn't his idea in the first place for me to have the meter, so now he's punshing me. Doesn't he know that I have prepared myself mentally for a month to start testing my blood sugar every day? The nerve of that pompous, pimply 12-year old doctor!! Ok, maybe he's in his late twenties, but he sure looks 12.



It was then that I decided it would be easier to score a false prescription for oxycontin (a la Rush Limbaugh) or stop on a street corner and pick up some Crystal Meth. What is wrong with this picture????