Dear Michele, I guess, as with all our attempts to get help, we need to modify words physicians and pharmacists, with words like, respectful, knowledgable, helpful and so forth.
I had a similar experience on beta blockers, where a GP told me the symptoms I had could not possibly be from GD…they weren’t; they were from beta blockers he had prescribed and he missed it completely.
But this shouldn’t stop us from asking questions and assessing if there is a service minded professional we can access. We have to help them remember what their job is, what their training is for! It was such an encouragement to meet and talk to a pharmacist who encouraged us to appropriately pester our pharmacists. This is their job. Some of them will be gratified to have folks like us come to them , reminding them that they are not just clerks that can spell alot of strange names, type neatly and ring up what you are buying at the registrar.
After you get an answer on a specific question, ask, “Now is this the latest information on this? and it is reliable? Can I quote you? And your name again is? and how long have you been working at Kaiser? They will think that you are a plant from the administration…and you might just get red carpet treatment. Also, don’t hesitate to call back and point out wrong info that you have been given. Or if you can stand to, write a respectful letter, documenting the confusion, send a copy to the department in charge. Best wishes to you. Jeannette
