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Take vitamin D3 supplements! don't ask for permission, just do it! It protects your immune system and lungs. You should take at least 2000IU of it a day. That's not a large enough dose to worry about. There are some good You Tube videos by Dr. John Campbell on why vitamin D is so critical.
My very good doc, a geriatric specialist (I'm 71 y.o.) prescribed 2000 IU Daily D3. It messed me up so bad, gave me scary heart palpitations & hot flashes. Backed down to 1000 IU Daily & so far even that's iffy. Working with a cardiologist now, we'll see.
Take vitamin D3 supplements! don't ask for permission, just do it! It protects your immune system and lungs. You should take at least 2000IU of it a day. That's not a large enough dose to worry about. There are some good You Tube videos by Dr. John Campbell on why vitamin D is so critical.
Oh, I do. 4000 IU of D3 with a bit of K2. Also some Omega-3.
And I went to an independent lab in my city and spent $400 for A LOT of blood tests. Did the same a year later. Will do it again in 6 months. Once a year I see a private MD. And I'm very fortunate. At my age, I'm doing extremely well. I do have high BP and I'm pre-diabetic. But as long as I exercise every day (now that most of us retirees are at home, I use YouTube videos -- Silver Sneakers and Go4Life -- 3x a day for 10-15 minutes) and watch my diet, I don't need any meds.
I am just SO PO'd at what passes for medical care these days. Damn insurance companies.
That statement reminded me of a conversation I had with my father's doctor when the procedure didn't go as well as expected. He said, "you know your father did not take good care of himself." I said, "doctor, how many patients would you have if everyone took good care of themselves?"
My review is under "Rockaway Girl." Some people like the drug. Others experienced what I did. There is a current
review from 2020 which looked like it could have been written by me. Another female who ended up in the ER. My experience happened in 2011.
Just FYI: I can't remember where I learned this -- maybe Becker's, maybe Stat News -- I'm sorry I can't remember -- anyway, old women who are fat are the least likely to get the treatment that they need. Were you ready for that one?
I have become fat in my age of 71.
So my new GP is about 45, in my Medicare Advantage Plan, and is supposed to be one of the best Internists in my state.
When I saw him, I had the results from blood tests taken about a year prior. I had low Vit D and while Vit D is not the miracle vitamin it was once touted to be, it is still very important that our blood test for Vit D is at a normal level.
He said to me: "I have plenty of patients with lower Vit D than you." (Really? So what?) Then he said, as he looked me up and down: "When people start to fall apart in their 70's, it's primarily because of an unhealthy lifestyle."
He refused to order all the annual blood tests that Medicare allows once every year.
As I left the room, I said to him, "Thank you for practicing good medical insurance and not good medical care."
I haven't been back since. And I can't go to just any doctor. I have to be assigned one by my Med Adv Plan.
There is some truth here. I am 73 and look like an old lady, which I am. My husband is younger than I am, and gets treated better in the Military Medical System (TRICARE) than I do. Even though I am the retired military, I get treated like some widow. My hubs gets better follow up, etc. One possible factor is that I am on Medicare with a Tricare supplement. Plus, the retired military are referred to by their rank, but I am Mrs So and So. A small thing, but it grates....
There is some truth here. I am 73 and look like an old lady, which I am. My husband is younger than I am, and gets treated better in the Military Medical System (TRICARE) than I do. Even though I am the retired military, I get treated like some widow. My hubs gets better follow up, etc. One possible factor is that I am on Medicare with a Tricare supplement. Plus, the retired military are referred to by their rank, but I am Mrs So and So. A small thing, but it grates....
I hear you...try being a female veteran and every time anyone calls about anything having to do with veterans they ask to speak with your husband! I always ask them why they would want to speak to a non-veteran. It confuses them.
There are no holes in my story. The drug is called NUCYNTA.
Some drugs can have mild side-effects (upset stomach, drowsiness, diarrhea), that doesn't usually send a person to the ER for pete's sake. Any SERIOUS side-effects should be discussed beforehand. The ER doctor started talking about the drug and its problems right away which surprised me as I never heard of it before.
I guess there is no connection to pharmaceutical companies wanting doctors to plug or prescribe their products?
What is the rebate card for? Me?
When the ER doctor spoke to the ENT, explaining my symptoms, the ENT said, "Oh it must be an anxiety attack. She was probably nervous about the operation." The ER doctor told him -" it's a bad reaction to the medication!!"
*Wow. We're all wrong here; me, co-worker, ER doctor. :hand: I thought it would be fun to make up a story
tonight.
Doctors do not get paid by drug companies to write prescriptions. If there is a rebate, you get the rebate, if you apply for it. The doctor does not get a penny.
Side effects would be described in the patient information given to you by the pharmacist. Did you read it? In fact, the symptoms you describe do not even seem to be common with the drug.
I stuck with a highly regarded GP for 7 years when I lived down in the country, even though I was getting progressively sicker. There was no obvious reason for my illness, but there were outward signs that something was very wrong. When I visited my old GYN out of state he noted that I had major symptoms of Cushing's Syndrome and that I should ask my GP about it. When I did so, the GP replied that I was "just fat". Fortunately, I went to another local GYN when my old one retired and she referred me to a urologist colleague who tested me for Cushing's. He called me a "walking textbook case" on first seeing me, lol. I subsequently underwent brain surgery at Johns Hopkins to remove the tumor and cure the disease. Needless to say, I dropped the GP. I still remember when he was accorded the honor of carrying the Olympic torch for a short distance - I was so hoping he would accidentally drop it and catch his shoes on fire (my bad.)
Well, there was the "absolutely marvelous" endocrinologist who "was tops in her field". She told my husband that he had to choose between dying from kidney failure or dying from a heart attack. I think I was in shock. When I told her we were both widows and you don't say things like that to your patients she ran out of the room. When she returned to the examining room she had written him a letter firing him as a patient. We felt we dodged a bullet.
There was my cardiologist who told me I didn't need open heart surgery immediately. I tried to get copies of my test reports to take for a second opinion but my cardiologist blocked that request. I finally found a doctor who would order my test records for me. I went for a second opinion with another cardiologist and was told that I needed it immediately. I went to a third cardiologist and was told the same thing. I then went and saw 3 surgeons and they also told me I needed the surgery immediately. I went back to my cardiologist and he told me that everyone was lying to me and then he became very passive aggressive. I found a new cardiologist immediately after the surgery.
There was my PCP. I went to him because I had a UTI and he prescribed medication. Unfortunately he prescribed it for me in the last name of another patient and the pharmacy refused to dispense the antibiotic. When I called his office his office manager was unable to find the notes in the system and refused to issue the prescription for me. I wound up going to a walk in clinic and got the antibiotic. I changed primary care doctors then too.
The final time I changed doctors was when I had an ear infection that wouldn't clear up. I was sent to an ENT. A prescription was called into my local pharmacy. My pharmacist called to tell me that the doctor had ordered medication in a dosage that was too high and the pharmacist was unable to get the dosage corrected and refused to fill the prescription. I wound up going to another ENT who sent in a prescription for the correct dosage.
You have to really advocate for yourself with doctors.
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