So some of you may remember my labs being super out of whack...

WELL

Today I went to the GI and my appointment was with the p.a. Last time I saw this woman she basically repeatedly accused me of using a tanning bed and went on and on about how "stupid just so stupid" it is. BTW I do not go tanning. Anyways today she was an HOUR late. So I'm already irritated. Blah blah, GI comes in (I like him). He's talking about my liver numbers and says "so you're doing okay on 125mg?" I say "no... No one told me to lower my dose." He's irritated at the nurse. Guess when she was supposed to tell me? JANUARY. Surprise that's probably why my numbers were so bad. So the GI says we might as well wait and do my bloodwork later instead of today. We all agree. He leaves. I'm waiting.. And waiting. A nurse says "so the p.a. is ordering some bloodwork." What. Please.

Finally I got out. I was there for over two hours. UGH.

But hey at least I have answers now. Just had to vent!

It didn't help I was pre-irritated because I was expecting her to berate me for being not-blindingly-white again lol.

I certainly hope he at least talks to the nurse. I made sure my next appointment is with HIM.

Why is that person not fired? I want you to write a letter of complaint to the GI about this PA. Seriously!

OMG! I hate hate hate when doctors have incompetent staff!!!
it is a pet peeve! it is so frustrating
I am sorry you had to go through that garbage
hope you feel better
and please call the doctor and tell him that it is inappropriate what happened and you would like to see drastic improvements in the future

Ugh. Yeah I don't even know why they scheduled me with her to begin with. They didn't even tell me. I love my doctor but jeez, these people around him!

kazbern, it was the nurse who failed to tell me about my meds. But I don't like the PA either lol.. On the plus side, since I scheduled my scope to be before I lose my insurance, she did tell me about a patient assistance program through the hospital where they mail you 6 month batches of the aza, and I'm assuming it's like a bulk price.

Are PAs the American equivalent of IBD nurses then? i.e. somebody you see instead of the GI who doesn't know a thing about IBD and even less about your symptoms?

Jonny_Murray said...
I've always found the IBD nurses to be really helpful. Always accessible and very knowledgeable. I've recently moved so I am under that care of a different hospital and my new IBD nurse in particular has been excellent.

Which hospital are you at, m8, so I can join it?

At my first two hospitals, the IBD nurses were nice and friendly enough but absolutely useless in dealing with my Crohn's or being able to answer questions about it. At my current hospital, the nurse seemed to be slightly more knowledgeable about IBD, but made up for that with her miserable demeanour and unfriendliness. I phoned her up once about having a fever the day after coming out of hospital: she didn't quite say "so what, why are you bothering me with this?", but she almost did: her tone said it for her, tbh. (Three days later, I was re-admitted for a 9-day stay and an abdominal x-ray found I had toxic megacolon.) I should also add that I virtually never phoned up my IBD nurse, so she wasn't fed up with me because I had been pestering her with phone calls. Personally, I just don't think this woman had liked me.

There is another IBD nurse at my hospital now. I've had almost no dealings with this one, but she was helpful a few months ago when I was worried the Crohn's might have returned. She did actually get in touch with the relevant people and arrange for tests. Haven't spoken to her since, but I will give her a tentative thumbs up.

PS: Sorry to add to an already quite long post, but imo IBD nurses just don't have the experience to deal with the more complex, difficult or unusual cases. They're probably fine, so long as they are dealing with textbook cases which respond well to mesalazines or aza/6MP. Otherwise forget about it. They're out of their depth. It's not like GIs take over when this happens either. You still get seen by the same clueless IBD nurses or junior doctors, unless you specifically request to see your consultant. (It took 10 years before I learnt you could do that.)

Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 6/7/2015 6:24:07 AM (GMT-6)