Posted by Elka (205.188.198.57) on July 09, 1999 at 12:37:47:
Yesterday I spent four hours going back and forth between clinic and pharmacy just to get my prescription of Maxalt! (My husband is military...service with a smile!) Anyway, the doctor who had originally prescribed it had gone on leave without bothering to enter the OK for my prescription in the system. The result was a two-week waiting period WITH NO MEDICATION and when I finally did receive the call saying my Maxalt was in, I couldn't get it because she hadn't put in the OK! In tears, with two screaming children tugging at my pants, I returned to the clinic and demanded to see another doctor.
Lucky for me, Dr. Sarcasm was on duty. He had never even heard of Maxalt, nor had he ever seen a true cluster patient and was obviously very skeptical about my condition. He kept asking questions like, "Are you sure these are cluster headaches and not just migraines?" and "Have you actually been diagnosed by a neurologist as having cluster headaches?" I think I finally convinced him of my condition when I started spouting all my symptoms, which, by the way, are CLASSIC, TEXTBOOK cluster headache symptoms (you guys all know the deal). I finished my little tyrade by telling him that, thanks to the military's wonderfully efficient treatment system, I had endured two horrific weeks, sometimes feeling like I could shoot myself in the head without giving it a second thought, without the aid of any medication. I then asked him if he had any suggestions on what I might do to receive treatment more promptly in the future. He sarcastically answered, "Well, if you feel like you might shoot yourself in the head, the first thing I would suggest is that you check yourself into the psych ward, then we'll talk about what to do next."
I have never wished these headaches on another living person until yesterday, and I hope you all will forgive me for what I am about to say, but if I could have taken out my magic cluster wand and cursed him with one right then and there, I would have done it. I wonder if it would have taken him two weeks to find himself some Maxalt!!