More HMO Pharmacy Screwups

My doc emailed me last night to say that he called in my prescription for Humatin (paromomycin) to treat the dientamoeba fragilis parasite. So early this morning I called my local HMO pharmacy to ask whether my prescription was ready. They told me they had NO record of my doctor ever ordering that medication. I verified the drug and my doctor's name and they again said he never called it in. I believed he had called in the prescription, but someone in the pharmacy lost the order.

Nevertheless, I called my doc and verified that he had called the prescription to my local HMO pharamacy. Then I called the pharmacy again and told them that my doc had indeed phoned in my prescription last night. So whoever answered the phone told me to hold on while she looked for my prescription order. Meanwhile I was standing in my bathroom dripping wet while the shower water was running. The best way to get someone to call you back is to call them and get into the shower. I got 3 calls this morning while trying to take my shower. Anyway I finally got tired of waiting for the pharmacy person to get back to the phone. So I hung up and finished my shower.

Then I called the pharmacy again. Fortunately the person looking for my prescription answered the phone and told me that she found it. It was 'in the back', because they didn't recognize the drug. She told me my doc had ordered 'humestin' for stomach ulcers. I know my doc ordered 'humatin' for my parasite, but the pharmacy blamed the doc, rather than blame their own personnel. So we verified that the drug was actually 'humatin' (an antibacterial/antiparasitic drug).

Then the pharmacy person had to locate that drug, because my local pharmacy doesn't carry it. The HMO drug availability site listed humatin as one of the drugs they carried. However per usual my local pharmacy did not carry it. I had the same experience with Alinia exactly one week ago. Fortunately they called me back again to say they found 22 capsules at another clinic. I told them to transfer my prescription to that clinic. So my husband could pick up my prescription on his way home (by bus) today.

So tonight after dinner I will begin yet another drug to treat d-frag. The side effects are nausea, stomach (probably intestinal) pain, diarrhea, etc. I already have the first 2 symptoms from the parasite. So I may either experience more intense pain and nausea or decreased symptoms while the drug kills the d-frag. Whatever happens, I'm looking forward to 7 more days of discomfort while I wonder whether this drug will work.

Meanwhile I'll wait for the other clinic (which reviewed my patient history last night) to call me to say whether they want to take on my case (with chronic gut infections). I won't visit that clinic until I finish 7 days of Humatin side effects and hopefully erradicate d-frag. So at the earliest I could visit that clinic a week from tomorrow. More waiting and wondering ...