Dealing with the VA 03 Oct 2011

It seems to be so easy for someone to just go to the doctor, right? It is not for me. I had an appointment with the VA today. Although it was just for a tens unit, it is so difficult for me to just walk into the VA without having a panic attack. I hate going to the VA hospitals, I hate hospitals as it is, but within the VA there is a sea of men. Depending on my appointments, there are sometimes just a few men, but mostly a lot. All I was to do is get the tens unit, put it on and then see if it would work. So I go in there with back pain and neck pain. I know that my back pain is worse, but I cannot say that. The unit is to be tried on what is more painful. To have a tens unit put on you the person has to put the patches on you. Since it's my lower back, that means the pads would go on my buttock muscles. I thought and thought and the more that I did the more I could not breath. I had to just say the neck. Although the neck did hurt, even him putting the pads on me, I flinched. It wasn't the doctor, he was nice and seemed to be interested in helping me feel better. Put that is one of my big issues, i hate for men to touch me, anywhere. I flinch and hold my breath. I know logically that this is just a doctor that wants to help, but that trust was destroyed by the military and I don't think that will ever change.

At the same time I have been trying to get an appointment with my Primary Care Physician, it's been over two weeks. I was done so I called the patient advocate. He said that he would call the administrator from the clinic and I should be hearing from him soon. Nothing, so when I had the appointment I went in to see the Patient Advocate and the administrator for the clinic is on vacation. Ok, so how do I get an appointment with my doctor? I am told that the doctor's nurse will call me after she talks to the doctor. I don't care if she talks with the doctor, I need to talk with the doctor, I need an appointment, I am in PAIN!

Most people take for granite that when they call their doctor and they are sick an appointment that day or the next is realistic. My doctor is booked until January 2012, yes that is three months out. And when I say booked, I mean totally booked. So I am told that I can go into the clinic in the morning (any weekday) between 8am-10am and will be seen by a doctor. I do not want a doctor, i want my doctor. I am not about to try and get through talking to a male doctor with the problems that I am having. I can barely go in and see one for just cold symptoms, but not at all for women issues. So I am in pain, I cannot go and see my doctor because she's booked and the nurse has not gotten me yet (she called while I was at my appointment - like that's going to help). I have gone to the patient advocate, to which I ask how am I to get to see my doctor. When I call in I need to see her then, not three - four months down the road.

I swear that the VA does this so that eventually the veteran will die before they get the proper care that we have paid for. And I mean paid with a price most people do not understand. So called free health care for veterans has never been free, we paid for it with more than just money. Yet there are people out there who have never added to society, they are leaches off the backs of the working person, and they get health care when they want it. How is this honoring our veterans?