Topic: I think my LLMD is getting annoyed about my phone calls
BackinStOlaf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 23725
posted
or maybe it's just the staff
I called today to ask for the doc to call me back because i am having a reaction to flagyl. All I wanted to ask was if I should stop taking it.
The receptionist calls me now to tell me I should make a phone appointment. I said "to talk about reaction to a med??". I am coming in next week and I don't want to wait.
Finally she says if I keep it under 10 minutes, I won't be charged. The FEW times I have talked to doc (actually it's the nurse practitioner) I have a simple short question and SHE is the one who keeps talking and asking more and more questions.
I am kind of annoyed at the staff for talking to me in a snotty way. We are sick and worried. I am not trying to take up all their time. I think a reaction to meds warrants them talking to me for a couple minutes without charging me. Am I overreacting? I'm just frustrated.
-------------------- First Symptom 9/09 Multiple docs, negative Labcorp test LLMD: 1/10 Positive Igenex/CDC test Treatment 2/10 2/10-8/10 Amox, ceftin, zith, flagyl Currently: Bicillin, Minocycline, still dealing with severe breathing issues
Posts: 1121 | From New York, New York | Registered: Dec 2009
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17hens
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 23747
posted
They're the ones overreacting, not you. Don't feel guilty.
And consider mentioning this to your doc next week.
He should know how the office staff is treating patients.
Just speaking from experience...
-------------------- "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalms 73:26
bit 4/09, diagnosed 1/10 Posts: 3043 | From PA | Registered: Dec 2009
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
yeah, i've had that too.
you know what i do? i call my pharmacist. he knows more about these drugs than the doctor.
my gp's nurse is really snotty. i went in once and she said "oh you again. you are in here alot."
if this has happened more than once, i'd change doctors.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Flagyl makes everyone feel awful. That can be alarming and yet the nurse needed to know more in order to determine if you were having a medical reaction to it or just normally reacting.
It's good that she asks more questions. She's trying to figure out what is going on by asking those questions. It would be nice if her attitude were more assuring, though. Phone calls are especially hard as we can't see what is on the other end - how many people or phone calls might be stacked up competing for her attention, etc.
To chat with the doctor for under 10 minutes, with no charge is a very nice deal. It is best to schedule that ten minutes so that you have the doctor's attention long enough to answer the question and make suggestions. Otherwise, you might just get one minute when he's in between patients.
No lyme treatment makes anyone feel very good while they are going through it. So, yes, it can be disconcerting when we get reactions and don't know what's to be expected and what's a warning sign.
In addition to reading the basic detail at the manufacturer's web site for each Rx, the next time you talk to their office, can you ask for what reading materials they'd suggest so that you can have a better idea of what to expect with each change in treatment?
You might also ask which of the supplements you take would best deal with any side effects - or if there are other things you can do to offset that. Learning all this takes time. Don't ditch your doctor over this one conversation with the nurse - maybe another day, the attitude will be different.
Did you get the generic flagyl? If so, that could be the problem.
Is your liver support all in place? Getting enough rest, water, etc.
There are many past threads about flagyl where you might look for your reactions and see if others posted the same. Although it works slightly differently, some have to switch to Tindamax. You can search past threads for both here:
[ 06-02-2010, 02:50 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- I just read in another post of your that neuropathy is the main concern. I do hope you find the answers you need as that reaction does require a more serious attention than some of the other side-effects of flagyl.
Liver support can make a difference. Are you taking milk thistle (or another similar supplement to help protect the liver as that helps reduce toxic reactions)?
Magnesium, ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid), Fish oil, too, can be helpers. If all that is on board, and if you can't talk with your doctor, it seems reasonable to back off the flagyl until you can get medical guidance. You have an appointment set for next week, so that's good. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
I agree with Randi- call the pharmacist they give you advice for free and often know more about the meds than the Doctors do.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
i am afraid too call my LLMD's office...i had to call for an entire week before anyone would even explain my test results to me. and one of the receptionists isn't very nice. i actually cried the first time i called to make an appointment because she snapped at me, and i cry easily when i don't feel good. it was humiliating!
Posts: 220 | From Kansas | Registered: Mar 2010
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
I quit calling my old LLMD because every call was $15+ and the answer was the same (herx, herx, stop med, herx, etc.).
I guess what can you expect over the phone w/o a physical diagnosis? Yes, part of me now understands the need to charge for every minute, but I still resented it somewhat. Like TF says, Lyme is the rich person's illness. I think what bothers me most is paying for a nurse's time who doesn't have a high knowledge level relative to the doc. If I pay, I want the man/woman themselves on the phone!
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
Calling my LD is like calling a dead end. I don't make a habit of calling, but once in awhile it was important, and rarely did I hear back.
Posts: 847 | From upstateNY | Registered: Dec 2007
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sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
keltyl, my experience has been the same. I rarely call but when I do, I really need help. I've wondered if my messages even make it past the nurse to the doctor (or my chart). Their office is too busy.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
well calling my gp's office is like the suicide hotline and they ask you to hold!!
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
My LLMD said to call him if I have concerns, and I have his cell number. If your LLMD isn't allowing you to reach him and charging you for a simple phone conversation, then I would seriously question if he/she cares at all or if it's all about the $$$$$. No doctor in a clinic charges for phone conversations.
Generally speaking, doctors know little or nothing about pharmaceuticals and how/why they work or the side-effects. (If you want to make your doctor blush, ask him/her how they did in Organic Chemistry in college. That's the toughest class a premed student will take, most hate it, and many will tell you that class ruined their GPA!) The pharmacist is the best person to consult as Randi said.
I have concerns about some LLMD's presuming everything that comes down the pipe is a "herx" -- and the patient is left to sort out and investigate the symptoms. That's bad medicine!
Posts: 277 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Apr 2010
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posted
My LLmd's policy is that all calls go thru the secretary. She asks the doc, the doc tells her the answer,then she calls me. Sometimes it takes a day or so.
The office is extremely busy. If it a life-or-death situation, we all have the doc's cell phone #.
-------------------- When we are no longer able to change a situation---we are challenged to change ourselves. (Viktor Frankl- Holocaust survivor) Posts: 460 | From Maine | Registered: Apr 2009
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
I agree with what Maritt said.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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