Medical ranting
Mar. 9th, 2005 02:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
triskellianAbout four years ago, I had a series of asthma attacks which ended with a few days in hospital, and a lot of meetings with doctors to discuss different medicines.
Since then, my asthma's been stable, so although I've seen doctors for other things in the meantime, no one's looked at my asthma. The surgery I go to has been getting increasingly insistent that I have to see the asthma nurse for a checkup, so I finally gave in and went yesterday.
And it made me angry...
I demonstrated that I know how to use my inhaler properly. I explained that my asthma was giving me no trouble at the moment. Against my wishes, I was weighed and measured (I have a deliberate policy of not knowing how much I weigh as part of my "trying to be sane about my body image" plan. Yes, I could have not looked. And, no, I haven't got either taller or shorter since my last checkup four years ago).
Apparently I am supposed to do this every year. Show up, be weighed and measured, breathe in from one tube (inhaler) and out into another (peak flow meter), and answer a bunch of dumb questions. I've had asthma my whole life, and it seems I can't be trusted to just get on with it on my own. If it changes, I'm perfectly capable of making an appointment with the doctor to talk about it then.
Next, I discover that the rules about prescriptions have changed and I'm now only allowed to have a prescription for one month's worth of medicine at a time (ie one inhaler, when I'm used to getting three). This means it costs me three times as much (the prescription fee is per medicine, not per item), and it means that every single month I have to go through the rigmarole of getting more medicine. I'm horribly disorganised about getting my medicine anyway; I don't fancy having a running-out-need-to-get-more crisis every month.
All of this is particularly galling in light of two facts. The first is that some chronic diseases entitle their sufferers to free prescriptions, but chronic asthma, despite its potentially life-threatening nature, isn't one of them.
And the second fact is that the big thing in asthma treatment is for sufferers to learn to manage their condition themselves so that it doesn't affect their lives. Which I was getting on with quite nicely until I started being forced to jump through bureaucratic hoops. Monthly prescriptions (and associated fees) and yearly checkups have much more of an impact on my life than my asthma itself does :-(
Since then, my asthma's been stable, so although I've seen doctors for other things in the meantime, no one's looked at my asthma. The surgery I go to has been getting increasingly insistent that I have to see the asthma nurse for a checkup, so I finally gave in and went yesterday.
And it made me angry...
I demonstrated that I know how to use my inhaler properly. I explained that my asthma was giving me no trouble at the moment. Against my wishes, I was weighed and measured (I have a deliberate policy of not knowing how much I weigh as part of my "trying to be sane about my body image" plan. Yes, I could have not looked. And, no, I haven't got either taller or shorter since my last checkup four years ago).
Apparently I am supposed to do this every year. Show up, be weighed and measured, breathe in from one tube (inhaler) and out into another (peak flow meter), and answer a bunch of dumb questions. I've had asthma my whole life, and it seems I can't be trusted to just get on with it on my own. If it changes, I'm perfectly capable of making an appointment with the doctor to talk about it then.
Next, I discover that the rules about prescriptions have changed and I'm now only allowed to have a prescription for one month's worth of medicine at a time (ie one inhaler, when I'm used to getting three). This means it costs me three times as much (the prescription fee is per medicine, not per item), and it means that every single month I have to go through the rigmarole of getting more medicine. I'm horribly disorganised about getting my medicine anyway; I don't fancy having a running-out-need-to-get-more crisis every month.
All of this is particularly galling in light of two facts. The first is that some chronic diseases entitle their sufferers to free prescriptions, but chronic asthma, despite its potentially life-threatening nature, isn't one of them.
And the second fact is that the big thing in asthma treatment is for sufferers to learn to manage their condition themselves so that it doesn't affect their lives. Which I was getting on with quite nicely until I started being forced to jump through bureaucratic hoops. Monthly prescriptions (and associated fees) and yearly checkups have much more of an impact on my life than my asthma itself does :-(
no subject
Date: 2005-03-09 02:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-09 02:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-09 07:16 pm (UTC)The surgery are probably following NHS guidelines to monitor asthma sufferes. Yeah, its a pain as it seems to be all nicely under control, but some sort of regular health check could also catch other problems early - which is no bad thing. Weight thing is annoying, but sadly there are health issues associated with weight. I tend to ignore my weight now, but I've managed to lose a lot. Occassionally venturing near the scales helps remind me to curb my enthusiasm for 'nice things' every so often - but that is a personal choice. Of course, the manner in which 'helpful advice' is issued by any medical staff is key here, so if they are actually being pleasant and vaguely supportive I'd grit my teeth and try and see it as a positive, annoying as it may be.