MImaggie
10-18-2006, 10:16 AM
i'm looking for answers for my 22 year old daughter. it's a long story, but i will try to keep it relatively brief.
up until about 6 weeks ago, she was perfectly healthy and fully functional, working, going to school, raising her son and planning her wedding.
she developed some abdominal pain, mentioned it to her GYN and was referred to another doc. then the fun began. he diagnosed her with ulcers and prescribed 3 medications.
after about 10 days, she began having more abdominal pain, and dry heaves, so she called his office and was told by the receptionist (not medically trained) to come in IMMEDIATELY.
Dr. berated her for not giving the meds a chance to work, and she informed him that HIS office staff told her to rush over. he then asked her what meds she was taking (info was NOT in her chart). he then told her she was "just having a panic attack" and prescribed Xanax and Zoloft. this was on top of Reglan, Prilosec and Carafate (?-some relatively benign GI med). this was a Thursday.
Friday, she had a crying jag, slept most of the day, and episodes of simply staring into space. Saturday, her fiance called me in a panic-she was crying hysterically, could not speak, her body was jerking uncontrollably.
off to the ER.
Three ER visits, one inpatient stay, and two neurologist visits later, she is now being referred to a movement disorders clinic with a pretty significant essential tremor that probably is permanent.
she can't work, she is afraid to drive. the slightest amount of stress sets her body shaking.
most physicians have dropped thier jaws when they see what meds she was prescribed originally. from all accounts, it was the Reglan that triggered the entire thing, and another GI doc has said he would never have prescribed it in the first place. one neuro said that she was prescribed a "serious" dosage, and he would have tapered up to that high a dose.
she has been jerked around by the entire medical community-the neuro prescribed one drug, the internal med guy discontinued it and prescribed another with out telling the neuro. the ER docs at our local hospital were profoundly insulting and dismissive. but i think the original doc bears the brunt of the culpability for the situation.
he has a bad rep in the community and his office is a HIPAA nightmare he walks down the hall, dictacting into a tape recorder, patient names and diagnosis (she overheard while waiting in the exam room), files out in the open where anyone could read-no locked cabinets, no locked anything.
when she was preparing the records for her second neuro opinion,
she realized she did not have the notes from the original doctor. she called his office, and yes, they have had her signed authorization for nearly a month, but have "not gotten around to it".
she asked if she could come and pick them up. no, doctor refuses to give records to patients. (OH REALLY?!?!!?). she asked if they could be faxed. no, doctor does not fax records. they will be sent via snail mail "when they get around to it". i counted, and this happened on day 28 after they first recieved her signed authorization and request. to the best of my knowledge, the records still have not been recieved, and we are WELL past the thirty day HIPAA requirement.
working in medical (psychology practice), i cannot tell you how many alarm bells this set off for me.
opinions???
up until about 6 weeks ago, she was perfectly healthy and fully functional, working, going to school, raising her son and planning her wedding.
she developed some abdominal pain, mentioned it to her GYN and was referred to another doc. then the fun began. he diagnosed her with ulcers and prescribed 3 medications.
after about 10 days, she began having more abdominal pain, and dry heaves, so she called his office and was told by the receptionist (not medically trained) to come in IMMEDIATELY.
Dr. berated her for not giving the meds a chance to work, and she informed him that HIS office staff told her to rush over. he then asked her what meds she was taking (info was NOT in her chart). he then told her she was "just having a panic attack" and prescribed Xanax and Zoloft. this was on top of Reglan, Prilosec and Carafate (?-some relatively benign GI med). this was a Thursday.
Friday, she had a crying jag, slept most of the day, and episodes of simply staring into space. Saturday, her fiance called me in a panic-she was crying hysterically, could not speak, her body was jerking uncontrollably.
off to the ER.
Three ER visits, one inpatient stay, and two neurologist visits later, she is now being referred to a movement disorders clinic with a pretty significant essential tremor that probably is permanent.
she can't work, she is afraid to drive. the slightest amount of stress sets her body shaking.
most physicians have dropped thier jaws when they see what meds she was prescribed originally. from all accounts, it was the Reglan that triggered the entire thing, and another GI doc has said he would never have prescribed it in the first place. one neuro said that she was prescribed a "serious" dosage, and he would have tapered up to that high a dose.
she has been jerked around by the entire medical community-the neuro prescribed one drug, the internal med guy discontinued it and prescribed another with out telling the neuro. the ER docs at our local hospital were profoundly insulting and dismissive. but i think the original doc bears the brunt of the culpability for the situation.
he has a bad rep in the community and his office is a HIPAA nightmare he walks down the hall, dictacting into a tape recorder, patient names and diagnosis (she overheard while waiting in the exam room), files out in the open where anyone could read-no locked cabinets, no locked anything.
when she was preparing the records for her second neuro opinion,
she realized she did not have the notes from the original doctor. she called his office, and yes, they have had her signed authorization for nearly a month, but have "not gotten around to it".
she asked if she could come and pick them up. no, doctor refuses to give records to patients. (OH REALLY?!?!!?). she asked if they could be faxed. no, doctor does not fax records. they will be sent via snail mail "when they get around to it". i counted, and this happened on day 28 after they first recieved her signed authorization and request. to the best of my knowledge, the records still have not been recieved, and we are WELL past the thirty day HIPAA requirement.
working in medical (psychology practice), i cannot tell you how many alarm bells this set off for me.
opinions???