Serenity Now

I'm now scheduled for shots through day 11. Standard protocol is 8 days.
I'm running out of room in my sharps disposal container.

I really don't want to waste another minute of my life recounting the stupid minutiae that has characterized the past two days. I've already wasted WAY too much time and energy doing jobs that I'm paying my insurance company and doctor to do. It's an incredibly boring story. But since it's all part of the process, I'll try and do a quick recounting.

OK--so I'm on a hugely high dose of meds, so that means I need more medication. I raise that issue with my nurse (which is something SHE should have done), and she says, "No problem, you have refills on your meds. Just order them from the pharmacy."

Aetna requires me to use their "Specialty Pharmacy," which is a home delivery system. They specialize in providing over-night delivery of injectable drugs for infertility, cancer patients, etc.

OK--so I call the pharmacy Monday afternoon to reorder my meds. They say the order will be processed on Tues. and delivered on Wed. Someone has to be home to sign for the delivery on Wed. Sounds good--I'll need my meds on Wed.

So I spend all day Wed. at home waiting for the UPS truck. By 2:00 pm, still no meds. There's still time for it to come, but I just have that feeling....

So I call the pharmacy. "Oh yes, that order has not been processed yet. We can't process it without authorization from your doctor's office. We have called and left them several messages, but we haven't heard back. We can't process the order without that authorization."

"And why the &*%$! didn't anyone tell me that you still needed authorization? I've sitting at home all day waiting for an order that hasn't even been processed yet? And I need meds--TODAY!"

"Usually it's not a big deal and doctors respond very quickly to these requests. We called and left several messages with your REALLY OUT OF DATE cell phone number that you DID NOT give us as your primary number. Because you NEVER give your cell phone as your primary number. And we have your HOME PHONE as a secondary number, but we didn't bother trying that number, even though that's the number we've used to contact you in the past." (OK--that's not exactly how the conversation went, but I'm getting sick of this.)

So, I call the doctor's office.

Nurse: "Oh, we gave them that authorization in January when we started the cycle, so it's not my fault, even though I didn't know I had to send an authorization every time I up your meds. That's not unusual protocol, but I've never heard of that before so it's not my fault, even though you're paying my office for our expertise in coordinating infertility benefits. We faxed in the authorization today, so you should be good to go. Come into the office today and I'll give you sample meds to hold you over until your meds get here.

"Oh, and come in for an appointment tomorrow morning that you don't need to come in for. The doctor will look at you like you're crazy and say, 'What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here until Fri."

I call the pharmacy again. "It can take up to 24 hours for our system to show that the authorization has been sent. But don't worry. As long as it was sent today, we can process the order Thurs. for delivery on Fri. We can give you a confirmation call once we receive the authorization."

Fast forward really slowly to Thurs. about noon. Still no confirmation call from the pharmacy. So another call to the pharmacy.

"We don't have any record of your order WHATSOEVER!"

20 minutes later: "Oops, sorry, we put that order under your husband's name. That's why I asked if you have another name."

I DON'T HAVE ANOTHER NAME!!! MY NAME IS NOT RYAN!

Ok, so they found the order, but they STILL DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORIZATION.

"We never received the fax that your doctor's office supposedly sent yesterday. We can't process your order without the proper authorization. It is the patient's responsibility, not ours, to obtain doctor's authorization."

Call to the doctor's office: "What the *#()*@! is going on?"

Call back from the nurse: "This is NOT our fault. This is the pharmacy's fault. We have confirmation of our fax from yesterday. We've been on the phone with them for the past 1 1/2 hours; we refaxed the authorization and have confirmation that someone there has received it. They should call you with confirmation that your order has been processed. But don't stress it. Stress really isn't good when you're trying to conceive. Relax--we can get you sample meds if needed. Oh, and you need to come in Sat. for your next appointment."

Me: "Are you sure about that because I wasn't supposed to come in for an appointment this morning."

Nurse: "What do you mean? You come in on day 8 and every day after that. That's what it said in the chart. I'm just following doctor's orders."

Hang up.

Nurse calls back in 10 minutes.

"I'm really sorry about how abrupt I was with you on the phone. I've been really stressed about this insurance situation and I took it out on you. This shouldn't be a stressful time for you. I checked your chart and I was wrong. You weren't supposed to come in today. That was my fault. What else have I done to make this a miserable experience for you?"

Long story long--meds are supposed to be coming today. But it's 10:00 and still no delivery. Am I paranoid, or should I call?

I think I see the UPS truck now.

IVF Irony # I've lost count: Did you catch the brand name of that needle in the sharps container? "Ultra Comfort."