I think the lack of caring runs deeper than the medical profession...I see it so often. Folks can't or don't see the big picture in terms of their action or inaction at their jobs. I'm sorry you're going through this. I worked in a medical front office for 21 years...if the doctor didn't get his paperwork done I would ALWAYS call our patient and tell them that paperwork wasn't done but that they were on my radar and I hadn't forgotten about them. It didn't fix the problem but they knew they weren't lost in the cracks. Nobody wants to feel like they don't matter. Treat people like you want to be treated for pete's sake.

Sometimes trying to get results from a doctor's office is akin to climbing Mt. Everest.

Please hang in there and know that others here on DU feel your pain. Our for-profit health care system in the US is a shameful embarrassment.

years. I told them both precisely why they were being fired and that I would, and did, tell the referring doctors as well as my insurance provider.

Insurance co is still waiting for Dr #2 (specialist) to finish their papers... received: 12/19!!!!

DR #1 (GP) is "not in the office today"


The answer: "call back tomorrow"

BTW tomorrow if fucking FRIDAY...do you thnk ANYTHING will change before NEXT WEEK now?

I hate being in pain and limbo and the added stress of worrying about LIFE (gas, bills, food) isn't helping.

I lost my job at the School District because of this already (Hadn't worked there long enough to qualify for medical leave)

and I am gonna be in thin ice with my second job as this drags out...

I just wanna go back to bed and hide, so tired of fighting...

It sounds like you need a good case manager.

In December 2016 I hadn't been feeling well for like a month, really raspy, short of breath, no energy, all I wanted to do is sleep. So one morning I go out to my van to get something which was parked across the street from where I was couch surfing, rummaged through the van,got what I was looking for, and started back to the house...next thing I know I'm looking up at a local cop who is asking me if I wanted an ambulance!!
The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital plugged into a ventilator, iv's stuck in both hands and that dammed beeping machine you hear in every TV hospital show! First thought, Oh shit what did I do now! (I have a history of trashing myself on mt.bikes,motorcycles ect.)
It turns out that I have Congestive Heart Failure as well as a bad case of COPD.
Four days later they take me off the ventilator. Now I start asking all kinds of questions...the drs and nursing staff couldn't even begin to answer all the questions so they sent a Case Manager up to speak to me,she was the most blessed person I have ever run across!
To make a long story much shorter, she got me through the process of applying for SSI, helped me with getting Medacaid to get me the oxygen generator and bipap machines that I had to have, and helped me get into decent housing and a whole list of things that I would have had no idea how to do.
If you are applying for SSI/SSDI ask about a case manager and stay on their case, like anything in life some are better than others.

Is that I am co starkly trying to hold it tovether... so when there's these days it just feels even worse. Like I am just in so much pain and angst...and now I have to fight and be my own advocate too...?

Some days it is just too m6ch... others I am sure I can handle it, despite the pain and illness effects. Ugh. Chronic health stuff wears at the soul...

Believe me,having a Good case manager/advocate is well worth the time and effort...I would not have made it through the process without her, the system is designed to make it a real hassle to get thru.
If it weren't for this lady I don't know if I would be alive today.

I am a wounded healer myself and saw a marked shift in services in the late eighties. It seems over night the emphasis in providing services shifted from client care to productivity. We went from calling those we served patients to calling them consumers. Caseloads and paperwork demands exploded. Work-sites became micromanaged cubicles with an ever changing cast of co-workers. In retrospect my emotionally painful burnout and supportive spouse provided me with a way out of contributing to a broken, sadistic system that seems to operate on the open secret philosophy of "Get Sick...Die Quick"

Insurance Companies are not your friend and it seems like most of us with chronic conditions spend too much time having to spin our wheels till they get creaky enough to challenge the system. It's exhausting and would be unnecessary if we truly had a society that demanded compassionate treatment for all in our health care as well in for our citizens and our communities.

I want everyone in the US to have single-payer/Medicare for All.

I'm an SDI coordinator for local government, it's the fact that they're severely underfunded and half staffed not to mention overwhelmed because of lot of these people file the most utter nonsense, like they worked a parade or event for a day and then they think they're entitled because they're temporarily out of work. This completely clogs and already lagging system, making the people who actually need to have to wait even longer. I'm sorry for your situation, I really hope you get some money soon.

I know its a shitshow...and the stupid people dont help...
I'm just tired of hurting and feeling like this too... ready for HEALING