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I've been dealing with this stupid eye thing for two months now!! First I went to Urgent Care (because my new Health Insurance hadn't kicked in and I'm out of state). They said I had a staph infection because I had mono and gave my antibiotic drops. Told me to see an ophthalmologist when my health insurance kicked in.

Saw an ophthalmologist who had *terrible* bedside manner. I had to wait 3 hours in his waiting room. Told me it wasn't an infection, that it was just **medical jargon** asked him to explain what **medical jargon** was and he used another **medical jargon** term.

told me no contacts for 3 weeks and to come back. I came back for follow up. He said all good, but then wanted me to go for a LASIK consult (him as surgeon). I told him I wasn't interested in lasik - didn't have the money for it and my eyes fluctuated. He told me I had to go to the lasik consult and then the lasik consult would send me to an optometrist.

I skipped the lasik consult and went to an optometrist. He tells me I have an infection in the glands of my eyes (ophthalmologist cleared me literally 2 days ago and said nothing wrong). He fully dilates me and then sends in his nurse to tell me they won't take my health insurance - as this is now a *medical* appointment and not an eye exam. So I would have to pay out of pocket!! So I decline and leave.

So now I have to find *another* optometrist that takes my health insurance. Get a fucking fourth diagnosis.

In the meantime I'm wearing these shitty, poorly fit eye glasses. It drives me nuts and I feel like they're going to break at any moment. I've had to take time off of work and fork out hundreds of dollars for this. I just want to get my fucking eyes fixed.

On top of that I spend literally an hour and a half on the phone with my new insurance company with this idiot who keeps insisting that I need to go to my primary care physician and get a referral - only to find out that she was totally wrong about that.

So I find myself crying over this stupid shit because I'm stressed about my new job (had a big flub this morning and afternoon), feeling overwhelmed, and I have no close friends to talk to about this here because I just moved.

I guess I'm just feeling overwhelmed. Venting. Things are actually going well, I just feel... overwhelmed... and a bit lonely.

ETA: BTW, the Lasik thing is like the only doctor's instructions I have ever ignored in my life. EVER.

[This message edited by hurtbs at 5:46 PM, August 29th (Thursday)]

I am sorry. Call your health insurance or check online for their providers.

Do NOT go see an Optometrist they will just refer you to an Opthamologist.

Find one with 20 plus years experience and if you don't feel like it is a good fit find another one. Before you consider surgery of any kind see 2 Opthamologists.

Good luck!

Fireproof - I posted above how I spent 1.5 hours on the phone with insuracne today The incompetent person on the phone kept telling me that I needed to go to my primary care physician and get a referral. After an hour and a half they just told me to go online and pick someone from the list. Insurance will not refer me to a different ophtolomologist, they will only approve the same one.

Both the ophthalmologist I saw and the optometrist had 30+ years experience. Optometrist did not refer me to an ophthalmologist, he just wanted me to pay out of pocket.

Optometrists can treat eye infections. My last one was great.

[This message edited by hurtbs at 6:29 PM, August 29th (Thursday)]

Do you know what the original diagnosis was the ophthalmologist gave you? Maybe it's on paperwork.

That push to have a LASIK consult is highly unethical.

@purple - I will have to have him send over the paperwork to my new doctor. It was a highly medicalized term and he refused to clarify every time I asked.

I agree that the LASIK push is hugely unethical. It's a purely cosmetic procedure. Imagine if after after getting stitches removed from a benign place (like elbow) a doctor said you *had* to get a plastic surgey consult

So I got into another optometrist tonight. They put me in on Friday at 5:30 - just before a holiday weekend.

The girl was young, younger than me, but she was AWESOME. She listened to me, did a full exam. She told me that I didn't have infection, but that I had *medical term* that she explained was oil glands that are highly susceptible to getting clogged and irritated. She said that she was going to give me daily lenses, special soap for cleansing my eyes, and see me back in a week. She said that if these dailies didn't wear, there were 8 - 10 others we could try.

She also said I wasn't a good candidate for LASIK. She was GREAT. I guess the other two were in the "I have my own business and need to get as much money as possible" stage and she's in the "I"m a newish Doctor and still want to care for my patients." stage.

Feeling very happy - wearing lenses right now.

Oh, and she takes both my medical and my vision. Today's visit, $10. And she didn't dilate me.

[This message edited by hurtbs at 6:49 PM, August 30th (Friday)]

YAY!!! That's the best news I've heard today!!

Happy for you!

That's wonderful! I'm so glad to hear this.

I love when bad medical situations resolve well. Glad you found a good doctor!

So sorry that you have had such bad luck. Glad you found a competent dr finally.

Please please please request copies of your records from the boob who wanted to do LASIK. He needs to be reported to the state, and your insurance company. Send a strongly worded letter with a copy of the medical record to the board and to the insurance company along with the medical record from the new dr with the right diagnosis and proof that you aren't a candidate for LASIK.

Drs like this don't get reported enough, it makes me crazy. We fought for over a year to have an incompetent, abusive dr removed from the staff of the hospital unfortunately he still is in limited practice. It's sad and it's wrong and the people who really that it hurts are the clueless patients. The older generations that don't question their dr because they are a dr.

Anyway glad you have had some good luck finally.

Yes, the issue is definintely *not* resolved yet but I feel like I"m in the hands of someone who is actually committed to resolving the issue and listen to me and isn't set on selling me a procedure or glasses (the last optometrist wanted me to get new glasses from him, with my scrip they usually cost $400+)

So feeling like I'm with a Doc that is committed to a solution is golden.

I mean, heck, a 5:30 appointment on a Friday before a 3 day weekend and she still sat there an listened to my story patiently, performed all the tests, and at no point did I feel like she was rushing me through anything.

@tush - I reported it to my insurance company (i got the impression that will result in nothing). How do I otherwise report him to the state? Is it possible?