Well, I dealt with the clouns at the doctors clinic yesterday. As I have learned from my partner, there is a time to be polite and then there is a time to throw a righteous tantrum! It was way overdue time. I walked into the wating room and told the woman at the window that I was there to get my hardcopy of my perscriptions that they had messed up twic before….and to get new bloodwork that they had mishandled…..She informed me that they had called me to let me know that I didn\'t need to have blood redrawn because they had "corrected the error." I told her I would wait to speak to a doctor or the nurse practitioner.

When the nerce practitoner came to the door he started off by launching about information on my chart and how "someone" had mistakenly put my chart of a year ago on his desk…that the Viral Load and T-cell count that they had given me over the phone was from a year ago, FOUR MONTHS beore I began meds….He went on to say that If I wanted a copy of the most recent bloodwork they would be happy to print up a copy…

Then I launched….I told hin that FIRST I didn\'t appreciate him blabbing my medical information out into a loby full of patients….Then I went on to say that there was a serious lack of communication among his staff and himself and that I was at the end of my patience wit the place. I handed him the hardcopy of the Ritalin perscription that he had left at the front desk. It was the THIRD hard copy of the Rx and it was the THIRD screwed up form!  I explained yet again that Walgreens refused to fill a perscription of a #2 controled medication without the signature of a licenced MEDICAL doctor. His cheeks actually flushed red and he said that Walgreens was WRONG that that "by law they had to fill the perscription !" I told him that it may be alright to pull that monkey business with the little pharmacy that was right there at the Doctors office (literally right there with the pharmacy window a mere several feet away from us)…but that Walgreens didn\'t  play that and he would have to get the doctor to write a THIRD perscription for something that should have been filled over 2 weeks ago!

Wile I was at it I pointed out that I had requested the GENERIC form of the drug EVERY previous time and yet they persisted im writing the regular name of it on each perscription. He sputtered and said  that "by law they have to give you generic if yourequest it." and I had to explain yet again that Walgreens pharmacy played BY THE BOOK and only filled the perscription EXACTLY as it was written. I pulled out my empty bottle ( the only one that has been filled properly by the way) and pointed to the label and SPELLED OUT the generic name for Ritalin as if he was a mentaly challanged five year old.

Alright, by this point, I was on a roll, and I admit I was getting a huge charge out of his embarrasment. After all he had chosen to spill my private stuff right out there in the waiting room so he got what he got, right out there in front of everybody. I didn\'t utter one curse word, and my voice, while elevated, was not hysterical……I  ended by saying : I\'M JUST ABOUT DONE WITH THIS PLACE…….IT\'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE……NOW…GET….IT …RIGHT!!…………….. UH…TODAY?they quickly came back with yet another hardcopy perscription …this time with the correct generic name and with a doctors signature….wow….was it SO hard people?

I am thankful for several things:

One: that I have generally low bloodpressure, because when I walked out of there, my ears felt like they were on fire. I\'m sure they and my face were as red as a beet!

Two: I\'m grateful that I have enough mental faculties left to take care of myslef in these situations….WHAT in gods name happend to the people who don\'t have it in them to stand up for themselves or to have an advocate to take up for them in cases like this?

Three: Im gratefull for my friends on here  that root for me and are my peanut gallery and moral support….and especially friends like CircledMoon who is  not only a friend on here, but who is a HUGE advocate for all of us in Washington! (please read all of her blogs…she is SO funny when she isn\'t tackeling the more grim aspects of hiv advocacy and I love her for it.

In summary, I marched across the parkig lot to m fave consignment store Platos Closet and did a little shopping therapy! I\'m not a clothes horse by any means but I love t-shirts and they are carrying a collection of Mark Echo stuff that would cost a small fortune if bought in a Department Store… 🙂

Life was looking good….but I still had the higway drive home and the Karma Fairy wasn\'t done with me yet…

Stay tuned for "WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS?"  part II