This is one email I have suspected I
would receive sometime, but the seriousness of this person's plight
really puzzled me. She has been to three different doctors asking
for insulin and wants to get off her oral medications. Her last
three A1c's have been 6.7%, 6.9%, and 6.8%. She had been on Avandia
for two years and then moved to Januvia when Avandia was pulled from
the market. She has refused Actos and one other oral medication.
She like me is allergic to sulfa which excludes the Sulfonylureas.
Her first doctor said he did not have
sufficient knowledge to prescribe insulin and did give her a referral
to a second doctor because he could agree with her. The second
doctor just said no and until she failed with Januvia, he would not
prescribe insulin. She went back to her first doctor and reported
what had happened and he referred her to another doctor. This doctor
just laughed her out of the office and asked her if she was giving up
on Januvia. Like she said in her email, she has not been this
humiliated by a doctor before. When I received her email she had just come from the third doctor who had also said no to prescribing insulin.
I asked her if there was an
endocrinologist specializing in diabetes near to her and she answered
that she thought there was and would get back to me after talking to
her first doctor. I had also asked her if she had been in the
military and she was surprised I asked, but said she had been. I
asked her if she had applied for VA assistance and she replied she
had not. I asked if she knew where her DD Form 214 was and she said
at the county courthouse. I told her to get copies of them and talk
to her county Veterans Service Officer. Then followed a series of
rapid emails as she asked many questions about costs by the VA as she
only received social security income.
I said there was no way for me to know
if she would have a copay and that she would be notified. I
explained that the testing supplies would not cost her and that the
total would depend on the prescriptions she needed. She stated that
it should be only the insulin and I said that this could be $54 per
quarter or less, and she said that made it worth going after. She
has since submitted her VA application and is happy with the
information she received from the local VA office. With her level of
social security she may not have any costs.
She has returned to her first doctor
and he is in the process of talking to the endocrinologist and she
will receive an appointment with that office shortly. Since she is
also an Iowa resident, I know that her county VA officer will take
good care of her. She has confirmed this and is thankful I gave a
push in the right direction. I have suggested that if she can
continue with the Januvia until she receives her VA classification
and her first appointment with the VA. She says she will; even with
the information now out about Januvia. She says that reading my blog
has been good for her and that when she needed help, I was there for
her.
Yes, that makes me feel good, but this
is why I blog and enjoy doing it. If I am able to help people, this
makes blogging even more enjoyable. I know that we will continue to
correspond so I may have another blog about her progress.
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