Frustration with my doctor
My asthma has been very bad over the last several months. Walking up even a very slight incline (such as the street I walk up to get to my bus stop every morning) has me coughing my guts out. Any slight exertion is a trigger. Taking my rescue inhaler beforehand doesn't help.
I tried explaining this to my doctor. I asked if I could see an asthma specialist, because my sister saw one and reported that the specialist was very helpful. My doctor first sent me for a lung function test. Well, the problem there is that I always pass lung function tests with flying colours because the test is held in a tightly controlled environment -- no triggers, and you have to rest for at least 15 minutes before you take the test, so there's no exertion to set me off. (This made it very difficult for me to get an asthma diagnosis in the first place.)
Since I passed the lung function test, my doctor would not send me to the specialist. (You can't see a specialist without a referral from your doctor.) I explained to him all the problems I have with exercise. He said, "Just take your rescue inhaler before you exercise." I told him that doesn't help. So he told me to increase my Advair dosage from one puff twice a day to two puffs twice a day. The problem is, my insurance will pay for Advair only once a month, not twice a month, because my prescription is written for me to take two puffs a day and the doctor won't change the prescription to reflect the new dose. Since my prescription is for Adair 250, I asked my doctor to just prescribe me Advair 500 instead.
He won't do that. Even though it was his idea to increase the dosage, he won't prescribe me a stronger medicine. It's exactly the same thing, but he won't prescribe it.
So to recap:
-- He won't refer me to a specialist
-- He won't rewrite my prescription to double my dose of Advair
-- He won't write me a prescription for a stronger dose of Advair
-- He tells me just to take my rescue inhaler when the rescue inhaler isn't helping.
Meanwhile, my weight is steadily increasing, and my endocrinologist keeps telling me to exercise to try to lose weight (I have juvenile diabetes as well as asthma) but I can't exercise due to the fact that I have an asthma attack when I do so much as walk at a normal pace. I disturb my co-workers because I keep having attacks at work. A few days ago I took my rescue inhaler three times in one day, and it still didn't help.
And no, I can't see a new doctor because there's a shortage of doctors in this city and the only ones taking new patients are taking only children and pregnant women.
So how do I get my asthma under control if my doctor won't do anything for me?
I tried explaining this to my doctor. I asked if I could see an asthma specialist, because my sister saw one and reported that the specialist was very helpful. My doctor first sent me for a lung function test. Well, the problem there is that I always pass lung function tests with flying colours because the test is held in a tightly controlled environment -- no triggers, and you have to rest for at least 15 minutes before you take the test, so there's no exertion to set me off. (This made it very difficult for me to get an asthma diagnosis in the first place.)
Since I passed the lung function test, my doctor would not send me to the specialist. (You can't see a specialist without a referral from your doctor.) I explained to him all the problems I have with exercise. He said, "Just take your rescue inhaler before you exercise." I told him that doesn't help. So he told me to increase my Advair dosage from one puff twice a day to two puffs twice a day. The problem is, my insurance will pay for Advair only once a month, not twice a month, because my prescription is written for me to take two puffs a day and the doctor won't change the prescription to reflect the new dose. Since my prescription is for Adair 250, I asked my doctor to just prescribe me Advair 500 instead.
He won't do that. Even though it was his idea to increase the dosage, he won't prescribe me a stronger medicine. It's exactly the same thing, but he won't prescribe it.
So to recap:
-- He won't refer me to a specialist
-- He won't rewrite my prescription to double my dose of Advair
-- He won't write me a prescription for a stronger dose of Advair
-- He tells me just to take my rescue inhaler when the rescue inhaler isn't helping.
Meanwhile, my weight is steadily increasing, and my endocrinologist keeps telling me to exercise to try to lose weight (I have juvenile diabetes as well as asthma) but I can't exercise due to the fact that I have an asthma attack when I do so much as walk at a normal pace. I disturb my co-workers because I keep having attacks at work. A few days ago I took my rescue inhaler three times in one day, and it still didn't help.
And no, I can't see a new doctor because there's a shortage of doctors in this city and the only ones taking new patients are taking only children and pregnant women.
So how do I get my asthma under control if my doctor won't do anything for me?