the OB fiasco

*i'm fine. this has nothing to do with the baby girl.*

and now the ugly OB bitching begins.

my ear infection is recurring. it started saturday with the ear pain and the burning drainage down the eustachian tube, causing severe sore throat, and i can't talk very well with it.

so i coped until Monday. fortunately, my OB's office was open.

unfortunately, her BRAIN was CLOSED!

at my last visit, i saw an MD. the one i particularly dislike. she dismisses my concerns. i report the things i'm asked to report, or the "red flags," and she just shuts me down. it pisses me off and i'm PRAYING FERVENTLY she doesn't attend my birth. i may kick her. i'll probably kick her at that time if she attends.

[when i told her i was excessively thirsty in the evening, she said "drink more." nuf sed.]

so i phoned the office at 10 a.m. i had just gotten up; slept late yesterday as a "holiday." went to work, called the office. left a DETAILED message about my ear. the midwife i last saw 3 weeks ago diagnosed the ear infection, so i thought i'd call the OB first, start there.

the message went to the bad OB b/c she'd seen me last (last week, unrelated matters).

at 2:30, i phoned back to make sure i didn't fall through the cracks. they assured me i wouldn't. told me to call back before 4:30 when they closed the phone lines if i hadn't heard from them.

i admit it, i spaced - of course, it was too late to be seen if that was what they wanted anyway.

however, THEY called ME at 5:00 - regarding the unrelated matters from last week. the lady who called back said my other message was probably delayed b/c SHE had my chart, and likely they were looking for it.

[meanwhile, i've phoned the pharmacy repeatedly asking if they've gotten a call. nope.]

i gave up when i hadn't heard anything by 5:30. and i wanted to bawl my eyes out but my throat hurt too bad.

at 7:20, i got a phone call from the office. this poor nurse was sitting there returning all of the calls - and Monday is always busiest, b/c of we who have been waiting all weekend for medical care/advice!

she says the doctor glanced at the note at 5:00 and said "it would be poor standard of care to prescribe her anything without actually seeing her ear."

my reply: "i'm NOT bitching at you, but i AM bitching! it's poor standard of care to get a message at 10 a.m. and to not reply to it in such a manner until 7:20 p.m., when it's too late to DO anything ABOUT it!"

i DID what i was supposed to do. i phoned them as instructed, i followed up so i wouldn't fall through the cracks.

but i fell through the cracks anyway.

i am SO steaming. had it been ME, i'd have prescribed the antibiotic b/c of the poor office procedures, and asked me to come in today for an exam without fail. so maybe the poor ear infection could start getting better! *grumble cuss*

on the flip side, my PHARMACY phoned me back to say they'd never heard from the OB. they take better care of me than she does! they are totally awesome.

i'm phoning the GP this morning. i'll have to be seen, but the copay isn't $35, it's $20. and i'm never phoning the OB again about anything unrelated to pregnancy. next week, when i see a different MD/OB in the office, he's getting an EARFUL! i need to know their procedures regarding attending birth, cuz i'd way rather have a nurse practitioner or midwife attend, and i DON'T want the bad girl NO MATTER WHAT! i'druther have a resident attend.

thanks for listening. i'm thoroughly ventilated now.

ps - saw the OB today b/c the GP couldn't see me until Thursday. they felt that since i'd had URIs for the last two months, and this has survived three cycles of antibiotics, i needed to be seen by an ENT. they got me an appointment for Thursday, but wanted to wait until then for the antibiotics, so the ENT would SEE something, instead of a half-way well ear. i'm not happy about it, but i understand. *sigh*