My experience with the VA [U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs] has been very mixed. I have received excellent care, negligent care, and life-threatening care – it has pretty much run the full spectrum.
Transitioning my VA healthcare from the Rockies to Florida has been very difficult.
One Sick Vet
Even though I managed to find out (in a very roundabout manner) that the VA has transition managers, and spoke to one about my move, transitioning my healthcare did not go smoothly.
My biggest problem has been getting my medications refilled. Apparently, when I saw my primary care provider in the Rockies for my annual exam, she forgot to renew my medications in the computer, which led to them “falling out” of the system. Thus, I was unable to order refills online through the VA portal. We made sure I had enough medications to last through the move to Florida, but when I attempted to get refills in Florida the trouble began.
I had arranged to see my new VA provider a few weeks after arriving at my new location. I will have a lot more to say about that particular provider later.
I explained that I had been receiving Botox from the VA in my previous location and needed to coordinate to continue to receive Botox in Florida. My new provider was unwilling to write the referral I needed, and suggested I try to receive that care from Tricare, through our military retirement benefits, rather than continuing to receive it from the VA. This would have entailed starting over from scratch to receive this treatment from a completely different healthcare system. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking, because I receive these injections on the standard 12-week interval.
My new VA provider also refused to renew any of my allergy medications, even though I had brought the bottles with me, which clearly showed they had been filled through the VA, as well as medication type, dose, etc. Because the prescriptions were no longer in the computer, he would not renew them.
I left that appointment very frustrated because I had received none of the care that I had requested – and none of it was a request for anything exotic or new, I had only sought to continue my existing course of treatment!
Meanwhile, I was also having trouble on the Tricare side of things getting other prescriptions refilled.
Thinking that perhaps I had misunderstood something due to brain fog, I returned to my local VA clinic and explained that I had completely run out of several of my medications and desperately needed refills. The receptionist relayed my request to the doctor, who responded, “I am not comfortable treating this patient’s allergies.” I was not given even an emergency refill dose to be able to continue my medications as prescribed.
What the VA provider *was* willing to do was to give me a referral to an allergist at the VA hospital. The referral was processed promptly, but the first available appointment was six weeks away (which is not a bad wait at all for a specialist, but is a long time to be without prescription medications.)
Last week I finally had my appointment with the VA allergist, and it went even better than I dared hope. Not only did the allergist agree that I should remain on my treatment plan, and agree to renew all of the prescriptions that my PCP had refused to renew, she also suggested two additional medications, both of which I am open to considering.
[It’s very rare that I am willing to try new meds, since any change runs the risk of upsetting the delicate balance that keeps my health somewhat stable. But her recommendations were really good. Even so, I only ever change one factor at a time, so that I can try to control variables and try to isolate its effect.]
So, after months of struggle, I finally have all of my medications again…until tomorrow, when I am due for my quarterly Botox injections to prevent migraines. I am still fighting that battle, trying to get the shots authorized in Florida, and unable to return to the Rockies to continue my treatment there. So I will be missing those injections, for the first time in years, as I have been unable to get that sorted out yet.
I will eventually prevail, and receive the care I need, but at what cost? Missing medication doses and undue stress are very bad for anyone, let alone someone who is chronically ill. I never realized that after fighting *for* my country, I’d have to fight *with* my country to get reasonable care for my health.
Instead of fighting for my ideals, now I’m fighting for my life.
