I got up bright and early for my doctor’s appointment this morning and got to their office plenty early. Got checked in and had my insurance card at the ready – because I have my shit together.
I didn’t have to wait long before I saw the doctor and we were done even before my official appointment time. I’ve got a sinus infection and I got a prescription for some antibiotics.
I paid my co-pay on the way out the door and in the car I checked to see when the nearby drugstore opened. 8:00 am. It was quarter til 8, so I went over to starbucks for some tea and a cookie to kill some time, then on to pick up the prescription.
Except, the pharmacy wasn’t open til 9.
Oh, the store itself was open and if I needed to get tampons or the latest issue of Hunting and Fishing I would have been fine- but I was out of luck.
I grumbled a bit as I went back to the car and then on into work. I got an automated call at 9:30 to tell me my prescription was ready (thanks, jerks) so I went back at 11 (when I usually get lunch) to pick it up.
With antibiotics and lunch, I went back to work again and ate. The directions on the bottle said this:
“Take 2 Tablets by Mouth Every Day With Food”
Now, there are a variety of ways to get pills in one’s body and “by mouth” was the best of the available options – so, yea! – but it was a little unclear.
Is that “one pill at lunch and one at dinner?” or “two pills at lunch”?
I couldn’t find any other instructions so I called the drugstore for clarification. After sitting on hold for a bit, I finally talked to someone in the pharmacy who listened to me and then had me wait for the pharmacist. More hold music…
I explained my question again and they said that the doctor really should have explained that better – could go either way.
So, I hung up and called the doctor’s office.
Except, they are closed from 11:45 to 12:45. I waited on the line through the recording to see if I could leave a message and someone picked up. Cool! I started to explain the question – then realized it was the answering service. Who politely suggested I call back after 12:45.
So, I called back at 1 and slogged through the voice-mail prompts – and finally talked to a person. I explained, again, my question and the staff person put me on hold. They came back to re-ask what I wanted, then put me on hold again. I finally talked to a physician’s assistant who confirmed “2 at once”.
By this point, lunch was long done. I decided to wait until dinner tonight to start.
As a fun side note, the summary of my visit to the doctor included a note – based on my weight and height – that my Body Mass Index indicates I need to watch my weight.
Not something the doctor and I talked about, but apparently their computer thinks I’m fat.
And I’ve got a couple of little old ladies from New York that would agree with it.
So, tonight at dinner, I’m having dessert.