Subcutaneous Sunburn

[foxgrrl]

There are about six or seven things going on this evening that I could attend. But I'm going to sit at home and sort through my photos, because I'm all tired and sore. Also Nyah is sick in bed with the cold, so I've been tending to her, and going out dancing isn't as fun without her.

I saw a new endocrinologist today, got some blood drawn for a thyroid test, spent two hours in the pharmacy to NOT get any of my prescriptions - as usual. (And for those who are going to say that my prescription is addictive, dangerous, and prone to abuse… It was for estrogen.)

---

Update: oh yeah, I forgot to mention…

It has been unseasonably cold here in the bay area, for the last week. [Like 35°F] All the deciduous trees have now lost their leaves. Walking around Los Gatos, in the cold morning, looking for the office of my new doctor, brought back memories of when I started transition in Idaho - almost exactly seven years ago this month. I had thought that I would be done with all of this by now. It seems like I'm no further along now than I was then (in fact, I think that I actually used to pass better back then).

I feel like I'm starting all over again.

Comments

[foxgrrl]

Why won't they give you the prescription?

Because the purpose of pharmacies is to NOT fill prescriptions. Their job is to keep vital medications away from patients. I could speculate as to how this institution came about, and who is to blame for it. But I never leave the pharmacy with more than 1⁄3 to ½ of my prescriptions filled at any time. Common excuses:

1. The insurance company says that you should be taking 50% of the dose that your doctor prescribed for you. Then I object, and they want to talk to my doctor - who retired. I show them my [original] medical records, to several people, eventually one of the pharmacists can do something. Sometimes I don't catch it and wonder why I run out of meds halfway through the month.
2. The prescription is written on the wrong colored paper.
3. The new prescription date is too old, so instead of 12 refills, they only give me 3.
4. They're out of stock. And the only person who can order more is on vacation for a week.
5. The previous pharmacy screwed up their records, and passed the bad data along to the new pharmacy without the correction.

(There might be some others I've forgotten. These have all happened to me in the previous 12 months.)

[idea-fairy.livejournal.com]

Which pharmacy are you using? Maybe you should switch. I've had good luck (knock wood) with the 24-hour Walgreen's at El Camino and Grant/237 in Mountain View. There have been occasional problems, but overall they've been pretty good.

[foxgrrl]

Hey, that's pretty close to here. I might actually try that. Though I have had these problems with every pharmacy so far (At least three, I think).

[oygevalte.livejournal.com]

CostCo is a bitch if you have to switch a prescription to another store (each store is on a completely independent system, and apparently it takes a bunch of phone calls and paperwork and data entry to transfer a scrip from one store to another). That aside, I've done very well with 4 different CostCos, and their prices are cheaper than any other pharmacy I have tried -- often cheaper than those online Canadian places, even.

And little-known secret for those who have self-pay scrips and are NOT CostCo members; under California law, it is illegal to have a members-only pharmacy. That means everyone can go into a CostCo in Cali and get the regular member prices on prescription drugs ONLY. Just tell the guy/gal checking IDs at the door that you're going to the pharmacy and they wave you through.