I'm Disgruntled (Arrrgh!!!)

Actually, I'm really TICKED!! ( And that's putting it politely!)

I've been away from my blog for some time, caring for my mother, who has developed shingles. For those of you who don't know much about this problem, it's related to chicken pox. If you had chicken pox as a child, your body sequestered the virus in your spine. As you age, if your immune system weakens, some of that virus may seep out, and the result is patches that look like hives, followed by blisters. While you have the blisters you are contagious. The other symptom that identifies shingles is severe pain, which can run from one to six months.

So, why was I ticked??

We tried medication after medication starting with the weakest until we found a medication that worked to give my mother some pain relief. Unfortunately, we told the doc that it wasn't working before we got on track and had mother take enough to build it up in her system.

The doc prescribed two more possible medications, and we ran out of the drug that was working. I called his office to explain the situation and was told that he would be given the message. At 4:00 I called again, and was put off once more by the office staff, and the practice closed down at 5:00.

I told the visiting nurse our problems the next morning. By this time, my mother has been doing without help for 24 hours, is in pain, and has not been able to sleep. The visiting nurse checked with her office, and they told me to ask my pharmacist to call the doc for the prescription, which he did. No response.

The next morning, now FORTY EIGHT HOURS into no medication and very little sleep for this 88 year old woman, I called the visiting nurse's office and explained what was going on, and they called and talked to the doc directly. He said he didn't understand the message. So, either the office didn't write down what I was saying, or didn't pass the entire message on to him. In that case, if he didn't understand what I was asking, why didn't he call to find out what was going on?

We'll be looking for a new doctor very shortly; one who cares enough about his patients to return calls and sees to it that they don't have to go without the assistance they need. But, I'll still be ticked about this for some time.