tavie.com

So, I think my doctor is crazy.

I mean, I knew she was kind of... off... the first time I went to see her. She's a drug-pusher, plain and simple. Psychopharmacologist equals drug-pusher. That's what I want, of course. I want someone who will continue to prescribe me the medication that I've been using to function in society for thelast 11 years, without bothering me with a lot of futile attempts at talk therapy, which has never, ever done a single thing for me. I don't mind the waiting room, consulting room and bathroom crammed with products from various drug companies; I don't mind the extensive questionnaire and video I was subjected to that seemed to assume that everyone is bi-polar and the unrelated assumption that all sleep disorders arise from the refusal to adopt a sleep-at-10, wake-at-6-am sleep routine (an assumption reinforced by the doctor's apparent refusal to accept appointments after 9 a.m. or so.)

I understand that, as a drug-pusher, she will need to see me in person every once in awhile to collect (and, I suppose, justify) her copays. I appreciate the fact that our visits never last more than 5 minutes, and that she will gladly hand me my scrip with a minimum of uncomfortable small-talk. I can even fill out a questionnaire about my mood, sleep and energy levels. In-and-out, one scrip in exchange for 3 months of not having to get up at 6 am to be on the Upper East Side at 8 in the morning for my five-minute, $35-dollar appointment.

Well, last appointment, she tried to prescribe me a new med called Pristiq. It is, she explained, a more "refined" version of my current medication, and I could switch to it without tapering off and should experience no side-effects. It's, she explained, "basically the same thing [I'm] already taking, with 'unnecessary' chemical elements removed." And it's new. Reading between the lines, it is clear that she is being courted by the drug manufacturer to push this product, which, according to a little Googling, is a patent-extender because Effexor's about to lose its patent.

Well, okay. I took 6 weeks worth of samples home with me and then immediately logged on to check my coverage. My company's insurance plan, it turns out, will charge me $65 per prescription for Pristiq, and only $30 for Effexor. I called my doc's office straight away to have her phone in a new prescription for Effexor, explaining that my insurance didn't cover Pristiq. I got 2 refills, changed my appointment for 3 months later, and that was that.

Today was 3 months later, so I went in for my new Effexor scrip, and was given the third degree by Dr Looneybird. How did I find out that it wasn't covered? Websites are never updated, websites can't be trusted, did I call? I must call, and I must ask what needs to be done to GET it covered. I must be firm, I must ask to speak to a supervisor. I must speak to them in person, I must make them understand. She will be able to give me discount cards for Pristiq, but not for Effexor. I must come back to her in one month so we can see "where we are".

Why am I being enlisted to get this new drug covered by my insurance carrier?

Why can't I just get my frickety-frackin' medication so I can live my frickety-frackin' life?

Whaddo I do?

Why are you in Tavie's head? 10:51 AM | shower me with attention