You can’t be serious…

Oh but you can, and you are. I’m trying really hard to be patient and nice. It’s generally NOT in my nature to be an overbearing bitch but seriously…after a week of this, I am over being nice.

Peanut was diagnosed in 2^nd grade with ADHD. (Before anyone goes spouting off with judgy comments, save them. She was evaluated; I went through other options such as diet, etc. before choosing to try medication for her…save that shit for someone else ok!)

Now… she was on one medication for 3 years with no trouble. Grades were excellent; side effects were minimal to non-existent. She is smaller, but she will most likely be smaller because her dad’s family is short. Then she started to develop a bald patch on her head. We were off to the doctor who pulled up the other not-so-common side effects list and there it is – can cause hair loss. I immediately took her off of the medication. She felt somewhat out of sorts because she depended on it to keep her focused and on track. 

The doctor wanted her off medication for at least one month. I wanted to see how she would do off of it permanently. She was off for three months when it was time for the back-to-school doctor visit. The doctor prescribed a newer medication. I took it to get it filled but was told they couldn’t fill it till the doctor authorized it. (Does anyone else understand why this makes no sense? I’m bringing you a prescription SIGNED by the doctor….)

The doctor’s office said maybe the insurance would fill it if she tried 2-3 other things first, since that medication is newer. Great – guinea pig my kid. No thanks. Fast forward six months – she’s doing great in school, but not so great at home. Let’s see what our options are. We go back to the doctor to discuss options and medications to see if that helps. Here is where it gets fun folks.

I took her on a Friday afternoon. The doctor handed me two slips – one for ADHD medication, one for eczema cream. The upcoming weekend was her dad’s weekend, and he’d be by to get her around 4 (maybe) so I didn’t fill it on Friday. I dropped the prescription off Monday. The pharmacy tech told me he couldn’t fill it without prior authorization from the doctor. So he was going to fax the form to the doctor’s office. Cool. Sweet. I’ll check back. I called on Wednesday. No dice. No prior authorization. They were still waiting on the doctor’s office. I called the doctor’s office. “Someone in our office handles those.”

MMM kay….So I called the pharmacy on Friday. Nothing. Oh and P.S. lady – the eczema cream you wanted – we don’t have it, but we can fill it tomorrow…for $129. $129!? For a TUBE OF CREAM!? No. Isn’t there a generic? Well dear customer, if you want a generic, you’ll have to call your doctor and ask them to prescribe one. (I remember when generic medications were the norm and were given out instead of the name brand…you had to request the name brand…)

So another call to the doctor’s office – who directed me to call the insurance company to find out what generic medications are covered by them (you’ve got to be effing kidding me with this shit right!? Oh you’re not kidding. Well f*** you.)

And it’s now Monday. One week later. Neither medication has been filled but OH have I called people! I called the insurance and spoke to a woman who was so empathetic (sarcasm) … she checked their system re: eczema cream. Oh look – I can order it in my system and it’s only $102, not $129… ONLY $102. Let that one sink in a moment ok. In regard to the other medication, the doctor has to authorize it…she doesn’t show it has been processed by the doctor so I should call them.  Great. I’ll CALL THEM! OK – here’s a number you should have them call to process it. GREAT. THANK YOU!! So I called the doctor and left a message. Then I called the pharmacy to see if the prior authorization had been processed by them. No. GREAT! So I called the someone who processes the requests and left a voicemail…that’s 2 voicemails so far in one hour. The doctor’s office called me back finally to tell me that they never received the fax from the pharmacy. GREAT!! So I called the pharmacy BACK again….and asked them to MAKE sure this is taken care of today.

So……the only thing that has been accomplished besides my raised blood pressure was phone calls. What a fantastic Monday. Who says healthcare needs an overhaul?! It’s absolutely perfect folks.