You were being uppity. An uppity woman, at that. Double whammy.
My lovely wife suggests, only partially in jest, that I should have mused aloud, “Wow, and they wonder what causes lesbians to experience health disparities!”
I didn’t go in uppity. I went in feeling happy that I had a way to meet my need and pleased that it was at the clinic where I’d had such a kind and helpful visit last week.
Was it the same nurse as last week? Who was kind and helpful? This is really a strange and unsettling story.
Yes, and I think she’s the one who called me (I was in the middle of something when she called), and definitely the person who wrote me via the portal to encourage me to return to the clinic if I needed to.
Given that you had previous professional and non-combative interactions with the nurse, I’d opt for the simplest explanation (with apologies to Friar Ockham) that she was just having a really shitty day and you were a convenient target.
This is certainly a possibility, but it really had the vibe of “you are stealing system resources,” or perhaps “you’re being a nuisance.”
I was wondering last night if perhaps she had some clash with your PCP, and was taking it out on you. But yes, my first thought was also that she was having a shitty day.
A good hypothesis, but no contact, as far as I know. My PCP has always been pleasant, she’s just missing in action at the moment, plus unwilling to order problem-related testing without waiting weeks for an already-scheduled visit that has a different purpose. (If this pattern persists, I’ll shift to a different insurance plan and provider at my annual re-up. Whatever motives underly it, I should be getting more responsive care.)
Well that sucks, but I’m not surprised, knowing how modern medicine works.
Your lab results (mixed flora) were not consistent with a significant UTI, despite the nurse’s opinion. But right now your case is not fitting into the right ‘slot’ for the system and that makes staff upset. How dare you be a unique person with your own unique medical history anyway?
I would not expect your current culture to grow anything significant, given the latest dip results, but one never knows.
I think emphasizing that your past use of cytoxan and its association with bladder cancer are a part of your concerns would be a good idea in future encounters. At least you have an appointment soon.
Thanks, I will. I’m not convinced I’ll get what I want–my lovely wife has just spent a year arguing that her hip is injured and therefore she’s falling a lot, as well as wrecking her knee, but the diagnosis was something like “strain,” with PT that made the problem worse, followed with much pushing by “it’s classic arthritis,” which with eventual pushing got her to a rheumatologist who said, “no, it’s not,” and did an MRI showing a labral tear, after which she had to push to see an orthopedic surgeon, wait time for whom was 3 months, whom she saw yesterday and who showed her an x-ray of the damage the PT caused. She’s scheduled for surgery this summer, a year later and in worse shape.
FWIW … we try to emphasize that MyChart messaging is for issues that are not urgent. While we try to get them answered within 24 hours it doesn’t always happen. I’d cut your PCP some slack.
And the nurse? Both bad day and anchored on UTI.
THAT SAID my concern is that the next visit is scheduled as a preventative visit and may not have the time to deal with the backing up and understanding the concern about Cytoxan as a risk factor and the inadequacy of UTI as an explanation.
Maybe a separate visit sooner or a heads up that this is also a problem focused visit too?
My hope for you is that you get what you need, which it doesn’t seem you are getting at present. Fortunately the need isn’t super acute at the moment, but . . .
My having transitioned from full time physician to full time patient has been frustrating and quite confirming of my view of modern medicine’s dysfunctions and failings where I live, sadly. I can and have used my status as a physician to get my issues addressed more thoroughly than initially proposed, but even that doesn’t always help. I don’t really like doing it either.
I hope you get what you need soon, and keep us informed.
She has no appointments before 7/10. I agree about MyChart timing, though she did respond 48 hours ago by posing a question, so you’d hope she would check back for an answer. However the nurse responded to me, I succeeded in getting my immediate need addressed, so I’ll talk with my PCP at latest on 7/10. If her response isn’t satisfactory, I can ask my oncologist, though since my oncologist left last year and my new oncologist just up and left, I’d be leaving a message for my new new oncologist, whom I’ve never met and am not scheduled to see until April.
When you get a print out the doctor knows that you will be looking things up on the internet. They know that everyone does it, but they tend to not like it.
Yet the first visit, they came back to the consulting room and gave me a printout.
Sorry to hear this has been difficult. Healthcare is a mess as the stern wave of problems created by COVID now manifests, on top of the other problems the industry faces. Hope it works out.
It can work out in the end. Just a couple of years ago I suddenly had severe problems that turned out to be the result of a spinal stenosis and it seemed like I couldn’t get any help, not even get in to see a specialist for several weeks, seemed like nobody cared. But then they sort of broke through the initial log jam, within a couple of weeks I got seen by an orthopedist and a neurologist, had a full back scan, got a spinal injection that calmed the pain along with medication that made life livable again. So I’m hoping they’ll clear a log jam for you and suddenly you’ll experience some positive progress.
Thanks, and I’m glad you were able to get what you needed. I’ve worked in several hospitals and have tremendous empathy for the medical staff and the schedulers. I’ve seen too many get the joy crushed out of them.
I just want to highlight this @susan …
Even the best providers can fix on to the initial explanation despite its no longer really fitting. Be prepared to forcefully refocus attention. If need be.
Thank you, I will. I had 4 cytoxan infusions, and most of the studies I’ve read talk about longer-term, daily, oral cytoxan for, e.g., non-Hodgkin’s. I will keep this in the discussion, though, and talk with my oncologist if my PCP doesn’t think it’s important.
Whenever I see stories like yours, susan, I wonder how people who aren’t as intelligent, educated, and assertive get decent medical care. Maybe they don’t.