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Calling the doc

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 7/21/2008 2:15 PM (GMT 0)

How often do other people call their doctors?  What's too often?  i've been in a flare  for a while and I've been calling like once a week (for help with pain, questions about the remicade I just started, etc) I feel like I;m being a pain in the butt (ha, ha) and don't know when I should just try to wait things out. I like my doctor a lot, but there have been times when i called on a Thursday and still didnt hear from him until after the weekend.  he's a bigwig and I'm sure I'm not his sickest patient. I'm afraid if I call too much I'll be like Peter and the Wolf.

Posted 7/21/2008 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
HA!! This made me laugh sorry. Lets just say I have talked to my doctor at least once a week since May. LOL I flared up big time then
and I have been in contact with him alot. Either a drug question or not feeling well issue. I hate bugging him, but I look at it this way, I'm paying him enough to keep me going, the least he could do is take my phone calls. LOL But he also really good about calling me back. He may not call back right away, but he does return my call at the end of his day.
Posted 7/21/2008 3:14 PM (GMT 0)
Also, when you don't hear back from your doc, don't assume he didn't want to call. It could be that the desk dragons didn't give him the message. Call back! Here are some of my passive agressive excuses:

1.) I called for Dr. x yesterday and didn't hear back from him. I realized you may not have my most current phone number, could you check?
2.) I called for Dr. x yeseterday but unfortunatly left my phone off after we spoke. Could you check to make sure I didn't miss his call?
3.) I called for Dr. x yesterday but didn't hear back. I may be away from my phone for a meeting today. Could you tell me what time to expect his call?
4.) I called for Dr. x yesterday and didn't hear back. I want to make sure I don't miss his call today. Is he available now?
Posted 7/21/2008 8:22 PM (GMT 0)
When I was flaring and on new meds we spoke about once a week because either I was calling her with questions about drug side effects or she was calling me about the latest horrible lab results. When I am not flaring or on new meds I never call. For some reason though if I am sick enough to want to call my doc I never feel bad about disturbing her-She isn't sick or suffering. (and if its med side effects-she is the one who told me to swallow that poison so if I have a reaction she is going to hear about it)
Sj
Posted 7/21/2008 11:29 PM (GMT 0)
My GI has been known to take more than a week to return calls. However, the secretaries in his office know me pretty well and I always try to give them an idea of how urgent my message is, e.g. "I need a response before Thursday, because my prescription expires on Friday", or "fairly urgent, because I can't cope anymore".

If I'm in poor health and feel that I may need to get in touch with him urgently, I ring *before* the situation is urgent and find out when would be a good time to get in touch with him, should I reach the point of needing help ASAP. That way, if I ring a few days later and say I need immediate help, the secretaries have had prior warning and know I'm not just trying to push my way to the head of the queue.
Posted 7/22/2008 2:07 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks, everyone. that was ALL very helpful. I shouldnt have waited so long to join this group. What desperation will do...Really, I won;t feel so guilty about being assertive. I'll have you on the phone with me.
Posted 7/22/2008 7:26 AM (GMT 0)
I'm glad we were able to help, Ruby!
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