I call in today because I'm going 'home for the holidays' back on the east coast to spend 2 weeks with our families. I'm heading towards what i think is a little bacterial overgrowth issue and I always like to travel with something just in case. Turns out my Dr. is out till February which is wonderful for him, but not so much for me.
I talk to the nurse, i explain as simply as possible my issues. Can't take flagyl anymore, cipro doesn't work that well and I took it last bout. I would like augmentin, works great and I discussed it with my doctor at my last appointment as the next med to take.
Get a call back from the nurse. Dr. X says that won't be effective, he wants to give you xifaxan. I calmly explain that I've tried that once and my insurance doesn't cover it. It cost me close to $300 dollars and didn't even work. She says ok and she'll speak to the doctor.
She calls me back and says good news, the doctor switched it to metronidazole. I, trying to stay calm, point out that I can't take that anymore because I experienced peripheral neuropathy. She goes 'oh right you did tell me that, well I think the Dr. has left for the day but I'll see what i can do. He said Augmentin wasn't appropriate for pouchitis' Now i know damn well from this board that it's worked before for many people, that it's popular with pregnant women with pouchitis and that my own Dr. has it queued up as my next drug, but this covering physician just flat out refuses to give it to me. I mean, i'm not asking for narcotics here. Is there a big blackmarket trade in antibiotics I'm unaware of?
This stuff just kills me, and of course it's always around the holidays. At least it's given me the last push I needed to find another GI in the area. Thankfully living in Chicago I have a wealth of options.
This happened once before around another holiday. My doctor was out and I had full blown pouchitis sneak up on me. His coverage's initial reaction was to tell me to followup with my regular doctor in a week and go to an urgent care center if I needed it. The concern for my wellbeing was overwhelming...(sarcasm). I put the breaks on that spiffy plan, but man oh man oh man do I hate dealing with 'coverage' physicians.
I talk to the nurse, i explain as simply as possible my issues. Can't take flagyl anymore, cipro doesn't work that well and I took it last bout. I would like augmentin, works great and I discussed it with my doctor at my last appointment as the next med to take.
Get a call back from the nurse. Dr. X says that won't be effective, he wants to give you xifaxan. I calmly explain that I've tried that once and my insurance doesn't cover it. It cost me close to $300 dollars and didn't even work. She says ok and she'll speak to the doctor.
She calls me back and says good news, the doctor switched it to metronidazole. I, trying to stay calm, point out that I can't take that anymore because I experienced peripheral neuropathy. She goes 'oh right you did tell me that, well I think the Dr. has left for the day but I'll see what i can do. He said Augmentin wasn't appropriate for pouchitis' Now i know damn well from this board that it's worked before for many people, that it's popular with pregnant women with pouchitis and that my own Dr. has it queued up as my next drug, but this covering physician just flat out refuses to give it to me. I mean, i'm not asking for narcotics here. Is there a big blackmarket trade in antibiotics I'm unaware of?
This stuff just kills me, and of course it's always around the holidays. At least it's given me the last push I needed to find another GI in the area. Thankfully living in Chicago I have a wealth of options.
This happened once before around another holiday. My doctor was out and I had full blown pouchitis sneak up on me. His coverage's initial reaction was to tell me to followup with my regular doctor in a week and go to an urgent care center if I needed it. The concern for my wellbeing was overwhelming...(sarcasm). I put the breaks on that spiffy plan, but man oh man oh man do I hate dealing with 'coverage' physicians.
