Frustration with doctor

[Pablo]

I've been nursing an ear issue this week and my wife had a lot of congestion. We both took a Rona test Wednesday and both negative. As we are headed to RSA next week, I figured a trip to the doctor would be good prevention. I made an appt yesterday and I went to the local quack shack this morning. I've seen this doctor before and she's always been real thorough. Not today. She asked me what ailed me, so I gave her the symptoms. She looked in my ear, and not my throat, and said you've got allergies and they've backed up into your ear. "Keep taking your allergy meds and advil if it hurts." No prescriptions, no shots, nothing. I then asked her for a script for doxycycline for the trip and she said no. "I can't do that if you don't have anything wrong." Total disappointment. My wife, on the other hand, saw a different doctor. He ran a whole battery of tests and gave her a steroid shot in her ass. She feels a lot better this afternoon. I ain't looking forward to the pressure changes on the plane.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I've been nursing an ear issue this week and my wife had a lot of congestion. We both took a Rona test Wednesday and both negative. As we are headed to RSA next week, I figured a trip to the doctor would be good prevention. I made an appt yesterday and I went to the local quack shack this morning. I've seen this doctor before and she's always been real thorough. Not today. She asked me what ailed me, so I gave her the symptoms. She looked in my ear, and not my throat, and said you've got allergies and they've backed up into your ear. "Keep taking your allergy meds and advil if it hurts." No prescriptions, no shots, nothing. I then asked her for a script for doxycycline for the trip and she said no. "I can't do that if you don't have anything wrong." Total disappointment. My wife, on the other hand, saw a different doctor. He ran a whole battery of tests and gave her a steroid shot in her ass. She feels a lot better this afternoon. I ain't looking forward to the pressure changes on the plane.

Get some antihistamines. That should help with the cabin pressure change. Also might help you sleep on the plane. Good luck.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Your operator over there  might be able to round up some doxycycline for you. Let him know your problem with Dr.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Look at JASE medical

you answer a few questions online and then purchase any antibiotics you will need for a trip.

 

[mdwest]

Different docs, different policies I suppose..

Mine has no problem writing me scripts for potential problems as long as we're talking non narcotic..

I always keep a cycle of cipro, and a cycle of upper respiratory meds with me when I travel anywhere that getting sick has a fairly strong probability..

 

[Altitude sickness]

Look up a Jase Case

Jase Case Emergency Antibiotic Supplies and Medical Kits

Get your life saving emergency preparedness antibiotics included in the Jase Case. Ensure your ready with your own trusted emergency antibiotic kit. Shop now!

jasemedical.com

 

[shootist~]

I took several pages from the Tick Bite Fever thread to Travel Health (aka Passport Health). They looked up Tick Bite Fever on the CDC site along with recommended dosage if contracted. Their doc then wrote me a prescription for Doxy. Prescription instructions were to take only if bitten.

 

[Daniel Cary]

I've been nursing an ear issue this week and my wife had a lot of congestion. We both took a Rona test Wednesday and both negative. As we are headed to RSA next week, I figured a trip to the doctor would be good prevention. I made an appt yesterday and I went to the local quack shack this morning. I've seen this doctor before and she's always been real thorough. Not today. She asked me what ailed me, so I gave her the symptoms. She looked in my ear, and not my throat, and said you've got allergies and they've backed up into your ear. "Keep taking your allergy meds and advil if it hurts." No prescriptions, no shots, nothing. I then asked her for a script for doxycycline for the trip and she said no. "I can't do that if you don't have anything wrong." Total disappointment. My wife, on the other hand, saw a different doctor. He ran a whole battery of tests and gave her a steroid shot in her ass. She feels a lot better this afternoon. I ain't looking forward to the pressure changes on the plane.

I really thank God for an understanding, receptive, GP that takes time.
Bronchitis: an antibiotic & prednisone .. even sick, I've never felt so good since I was a kid!

That stuff really put's pep in your step!

 

[Rem280]

I've been nursing an ear issue this week and my wife had a lot of congestion. We both took a Rona test Wednesday and both negative. As we are headed to RSA next week, I figured a trip to the doctor would be good prevention. I made an appt yesterday and I went to the local quack shack this morning. I've seen this doctor before and she's always been real thorough. Not today. She asked me what ailed me, so I gave her the symptoms. She looked in my ear, and not my throat, and said you've got allergies and they've backed up into your ear. "Keep taking your allergy meds and advil if it hurts." No prescriptions, no shots, nothing. I then asked her for a script for doxycycline for the trip and she said no. "I can't do that if you don't have anything wrong." Total disappointment. My wife, on the other hand, saw a different doctor. He ran a whole battery of tests and gave her a steroid shot in her ass. She feels a lot better this afternoon. I ain't looking forward to the pressure changes on the plane.

So you know better than a doctor? Sound like most Americans wanting antibiotics for everything.

 

[375Fox]

I was just in a bit of a panic because my doctor gave me an issue writing a prescription for doxycycline for anti-malaria. I leave Sunday. Urgent cares can’t legally write the prescription for travel health for wherever reason. The couple travel clinics in western PA didn’t have appointments I could make. Someone pointed me to CVS minute clinic. I made an appointment for malaria prevention and got the prescription after a 10 minute appointment. I’ll be doing that in future instead of my doctor office, so much easier. If you want doxycycline, it’s better to say you are going to a malaria area and bring CDC doxycycline recommendation printed out. Saying you want it for preventative measure is a difficult sell. Also, the amount for tick or malaria prevention is 100 mg. It’s sub-antibiotic level so if you actually have an ear infection and get it prescribed for that purpose you’ll actually be contributing to anti-biotic resistance for doxycycline, just something to think about if you actually have an infection.

 

[JimP]

In today's world of suing everyone for very little reason and a lot of doctors getting the blunt of it because of their deep pockets and usually fantastic insurance I am actually surprised at how many still write out prescriptions before the ailment shows up.

My Dr. is one of these, but then he is also a hunter and most of the time when I go into him we talk more about hunting than we do about what is ailing me. I can just sent him a message with what is happening or where I plan to go and the prescription is waiting for me at the pharmacy the next day.

 

[BryceM]

What if the doctor's assessment of your symptoms and treatment recommendation was correct?

People don't always like what I tell them, but they pay for my opinion and they get my opinion. Sometimes they like a second opinion more than my opinion. Fine with me.

Does seem silly she wouldn't give you a doxycycline Rx for malaria prophylaxis though.....

 

[112Savage]

The problem is that people are idiots. And eventually we will get to a point where the antibiotics we have no longer work on the bacteria that are developing resistance. This is not MSM scare tactics; this is real and I see it often.
Why are people idiots? They get prednisone and antibiotics for viral infections, they take sub clinical levels and truncated treatment regimens of antibiotics, worse yet they take “left over” antibiotics that may or may not be effective at killing the species which may or may not be causing the problem. Then when they do this, they complain when their doctor won’t give them antibiotics for an ailment they don’t actually have.

Sorry, rant over. I understand travel antibiotics. But they need to be used with an understanding of what they do and what they should be used for and not used as the proverbial band-aid for snotty nose/headache/diarrhea/congestion

 

[WAB]

So you know better than a doctor? Sound like most Americans wanting antibiotics for everything.

Going to Africa without a course of CIPRO or another antibiotic is just foolish. Any Dr worth the title knows what you could get into over there. And yes, folks who spend a lot of time in third world environments do know more about the potential dangers than many doctors. A good Dr will prove a scrip for antibiotics when you are traveling into a high risk area.

 

[Rem280]

Going to Africa without a course of CIPRO or another antibiotic is just foolish. Any Dr worth the title knows what you could get into over there. And yes, folks who spend a lot of time in third world environments do know more about the potential dangers than many doctors. A good Dr will prove a scrip for antibiotics when you are traveling into a high risk area.

Guess I am a fool. Asked my Dr said tetanus booster and a I will be fine. Glad I survived 21 days in Africa without those foolish antibiotics. Listened to my Doctor and survived.

 

[375Fox]

Guess I am a fool. Asked my Dr said tetanus booster and a I will be fine. Glad I survived 21 days in Africa without those foolish antibiotics. Listened to my Doctor and survived.

Quality medical care is easily accessible in South Africa and parts of Namibia if something happens. Elsewhere not so much or at all. I’m not going to a malaria area without malaria prophylaxis. Doxycycline is the one I prefer because I have no side effects to it. Dehydration from diarrhea on a tracking hunt in extreme heat can be a very serious situation as well particularly older hunters. Neither are something to take lightly.

 

[Rem280]

Quality medical care is easily accessible in South Africa and parts of Namibia. Elsewhere not so much or at all. I’m not going to a malaria area without malaria prophylaxis. Doxycycline is the one I prefer because I have no side effects to it. Dehydration from diarrhea on a tracking hunt in extreme heat can be a very serious situation as well particularly older hunters. Neither are something to take lightly.

The original poster was complaining of an ear ache and congestion, not going to the Congo. Stay on topic. You keep spinning this and calling people like me a fool. Keep popping pills

 

[375Fox]

The original poster was complaining of an ear ache and congestion, not going to the Congo. Stay on topic. You keep spinning this and calling people like me a fool. Keep popping pills

The title is frustration with Doctors and the post you replied to (from WAB) calling yourself a fool specified high risk environments in third world countries.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

This last trip I just did. My primary PA had no issues with anything I asked for. Of course he know my medical history. I had inhalers for allergy, doxy and two other antibiotics, plus 90 doses for a portable nebulizer incase allergy got real bad.

 

[Red Leg]

I do not travel anywhere outside the US without an antibiotic like Cipro. If your doctor won't give you a prescription because he is an idiot, make an appointment with a travel clinic. Even an urgent care clinic will normally prescribe an antibiotic for travel. That bottle of Cipro has saved several of our trips.