An eventful doctor visit getting HIV pills :s

Good grief. It was rather a drama today getting my HIV prescriptions. Partially my fault I must say but then things developed from there.

So last week I realised I was nearly out of my HIV meds. So I go to the prescription drawer of mine at home to get the two monthly repeat. Oh shit, I'd already filled it last time, oops. I was kicking myself as just two weeks before my HIV GP had asked if I needed any prescriptions. Bloody hell, now I'd have to make a special trip to my doctor for fuckin 2 prescriptions. I hate that, it's such an inefficient waste of my and my doctors times, and I really try avoiding going to the doctor as I'm so bloody sick of going to the doctor. Anyway, these things happen. *sigh*

I looked at the amount left and see I have about two weeks remaining anyway. OK no drama, plenty of time. I ring the centre last Monday to arrange an appt on the following Monday, really early to arrange an appt a week in advance I know but I have to do these things early as I have this habbit of simply forgetting all about it. Better to get it sorted for my own peace of mind.

Wouldn't you know it, my doctor is going to a conference overseas next week and won't be there from yesterday, and all his appts are totally booked out for Monday and Tuesday. The bloke talking to me at the desk though is really helpful. I say I only need an HIV prescription, and he says that's fine I can just see another doctor to get that. Oh well no worries. I thought. Made an appt for today (Thursday) as my pills run out on Monday which is an Easter holiday and they're closed. Bloody christians, always fucking up our lives......

I get there today quite tired as it's a morning appt and I'm fuckin terrible in the mornings. Ten AM may sound incredibly late for normal people, but not me. I do tend to need at least ten hours sleep these days, particularly as my liver has spit the dummy recently and is in recovery mode. It means I have to get up by 8:30 at the latest to organise myself and leave by about 9:20 or so to make it there in time on the bus. Anyway I considered it was my fault and went about calmly this morning organising myself. I got there at 2 minutes to 10, when my appt was scheduled. The doctor I was seeing was running a bit late anyway and I was called at about 10:15. Meh, my fault anyway all this, bla.

He's a very young  (quite a handsome bloke actually) and on the way in I say it's just a quick visit for a couple of prescriptions. No worries he says, as he already knows I'm a patient of my regular doctor. I thought all was good. Then I get out my list of prescriptions and show him the 2 HIV ones I need. Things started turning to shit from there on.

Turns out he 's not qualified to prescribe HIV pills. You know, they have to get a special qualification to prescribe HIV pills, and obviously he's a young bloke without said qualification. He says no worries sort of thing, and rings a fellow doctor friend of his there who is, and who will print out the prescriptions in between visits after his existing appt. Oh ok. The doctor apologises but I'm fine with it, say "Oh well these things happen". It's not like I was on a tight schedule or anything. I did say to him though that I told the bloke I was talking to at reception that that was the reason for my appt, to get an HIV prescription repeat. He was surprised, said "Really?". And commented it've made things a lot easier if reception had organised that better, for both of us. I wasn't so bothered, meh sort of thing, and went and waited in the waiting room again whilst the other doctor finished his present patient and printed the prescriptions. This was now not my fault. But I'm still all fine with it. As I left we both blurted out "Sorry about that", and laughed at us both blurting it out at the same time :)  Pretty funny actually :)


Then the things turning to shit increased. I was told it's be a minute or two to wait. Not sure how long it was but it was like 20 minutes or so. In fact I started to drift off to sleep as I was so tired with everything going on with me. Oh well, these things happen, I thought to myself. Not like I'm on a tight schedule or anything....


Then some doctor walks out and goes behind the reception counter, with two prescriptions! I look in euphoric anticipation as he begins to read my name! Oh finally it's all sorted! He reads my name! Hooray I thought, and start to raise my hand and get up from the seat! Yippy! My forgetful mistake was fixed! However the chance of the universe had more in store, and at this point the shit hit the fan.

During the course of my second wait, a stressed out courier driver came in with a trolly thing with a large box nearly the size of him. No idea what was in it, some kind of appliance I expect. When waiting bored shitless in a doctors office you tend to watch things like this, or anything going on for that matter, just for the vaguest bit of boredom relief. He had to wait about 5 minutes before someone came out from the depths of the centre to sign for it and instruct him where to take it. Oh the humanity! He spent nearly every second of that sighing to himself and looking incredibly pissed off. Eventually he returned from the centre depths with his trolley thing looking even more fuckin pissed off.

The chance of the universe can work in mysterious ways darlings.....

Just at the exact moment that the doctor behind the counter called out my name, just at the very exact moment that I was raising my hand and about to get up, he proceeded through the exit door next to me. He threw it open in a rage, the door crashing into me and blocking the view from me of even the counter, a loud crashing noise enshewed. This all witness by the packed waiting room, the counter staff, and the doctor himself. It wasn't just a violation of my personal space, as if my head had of been leaning to the left as I was about to get up I'd have been clobbered. Such was the force he used in his enraged state to swing open said door. 

Now the next bit you have to understand that some of the brain damage from the lack of oxygen during my kidney failure a while back still remains. Mostly my head's come back from that really well, but there's things like budgeting, arithmetic, and politely holding in what I'm thinking in difficult social stuations that haven't. Hence the following.

In the same room packed with polite people and all, my reaction was "Fuck, watch it!".

To my surprise he poked his head back around the door and said "I said I was sorry". Well if he did he must have muttered it or something as I certainly didn't hear it over the clobbering crashing of the door into the seat and me simultaneously. I replied "Yeah well....." the inference being that he wasn't sorry at all. If he was he be poking his head back around the door apologising profusely for his transgression against me. Instead he professed his innocence in said matter.

I go internally, meh, whatever, and go to the doctor waiting behind the counter with my prescriptions. But the courier driver isn't finished yet. Just as I get to the counter he goes off like a maniac just outside the door, keeping the door open to do so. I calmly turn around in surprise, can't understand what he's saying as it's a rant or some shit about bla. But in my usual way I responded.

At the counter, room full of various poilite people, I raised my voice to him and said "Piss off!!". Which made him go even more mental. Calmly turning back to the doctor he gave the prescriptions with a shocked look on his face asking if they were all OK. I said yes and thanked him in the most polite and friendly manner that I could muster. I left just after the courier driver. If his truck was parked on my side of the road I was going to let rip at him in a very Australian way, away from all those polite gentile dears at the doctors. Fortunately for him it was on the other side of the road and I couldn't be bothered. *sheesh* What a drama just to get two HIV prescriptions!

The story has a happy ending though. When seeing the chemist around the corner to fill the prescriptions I explained the hassle in getting them and asked what would happen if I got really stuck. They said that I'd have to make a doctors appt and they'd give me enough pills to cover that period until I see them. I thanked them very much and said that was a really handy thing to remember :)  Fuck they're so nice at the Albion St Centre. I'd recommend anyone who lives locally to go there instead of to a regular hospital. The wait is generally ten minutes at most.

All solved, all fixed. Next time I'll be going through the chemist if I'm really stuck :)