I've been very hesitant to post this but it's something I have to deal with on a daily basis. This…read morereview isn't out of malice but a hope nobody else has to go through this.
I had recently moved to NC & noticed pretty bad vision loss in my right eye. I found this practice which had good reviews, was accepted by my insurance & was close to my house. My appointment was on 8/30, I showed up 15 minutes early & completed the paperwork. In the initial consultation with the medical assistant my experience was incredibly pleasant. I provided a detailed list of medications I was prescribed, dosage, frequency, mg info & explanation of why I was taking each medication.
When the doctor came in the room, that was when my experience became incredibly bad. The first thing that was said when she walked in was "Do you really need all this medication?" Needless to say I was shocked. Not a "Hello", not a "Welcome to NC, thank you for choosing my practice." I got an immediate judgement because in my list of medications were two narcotics. Mind you, I wasn't going to her practice to request narcotics, I had plenty to last until I found a pain clinic. At no time did I request a prescription for any narcotics or any medication for that matter. After numerous lectures & sales tactics to promote the clinic services such as acupuncture & other holistic procedures that really had no impact on the vision loss I'd complained about, but more so to treat me for the drug addiction she believed I had, she finally agreed to get a referral to a Neurologist, Brain MRI & Pain Clinic to satisfy my frustration as to why I was seeing her in the first place. I left that appointment in tears & went home trying to explain to my daughter why I was so upset when my objective was to go get some answers. I felt attacked & immediately lumped into the category of "drug abuser & addict". I'd previously been with my doctor & pain clinic for 10+ years so my experience with new doctors was limited. Being treated so terribly wasn't the greatest start to my NC experience, unfortunately it got worse.
After 3 weeks of being ignored by this clinic in my multiple requests for the referrals that had been promised, I had become 90% blind in my right eye. I'd called, emailed & stopped by the clinic multiple times to obtain status of my referrals with no solution, I was always given the "we're working on it" excuse. At this point I was terrified & angry as in the 3 weeks wasted I could've found the cause & possibly stopped the progression of the loss of vision. Again, the immediate problem I went to see her for to begin with.
I took it upon myself & scheduled an appointment with an eye doctor who immediately told me I had severe swelling on my optic nerves, there had to be something pressing on my nerves, whether it be spinal fluid or a tumor & if left untreated the vision loss would be permanent. I explained to him the problems I had at the doctors office & told him they weren't doing anything. He immediately got on the phone with this practice to speak with the doctor & to explain the severity of my condition, the condition which the doctor completely ignored previously, that could've been treated 3 wks prior. Within 2 hours I was at the neurologist office having neurological testing, blood work, a spinal tap & a complete brain MRI. Within 4 hours of the Brain MRI I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The next day I started immediate infusion treatment in hopes of regaining my vision.
My diagnosis was given on September 25th & now in March, unfortunately I have not regained my vision in my right eye. I do have more vision than I did when the infusion started, but still have a lot less vision than I did when I went to this clinic begging for help.
It kills me to think that if this clinic actually did their jobs & saved the judgement for later, I might have almost all vision back.
It's clear that there is a severe narcotic issue in this country & it's very important that medication be given in appropriate cases, but I wasn't asking for medicine. I was losing my vision & begging for help from a Doctor that failed me. It's so important for doctors to believe their patients from the start, then if necessary do research. I openly provided authorization to obtain my previous medical records, at which time she would have discovered I was NOT doctor shopping or addicted to pain medication, instead she believed I was an addict because my prescription list I opening provided on my own. I lost vision because of her negligence & judgement. I can only hope that she uses this as a learning experience & I pray the next person that walks into her clinic doesn't have to face the same treatment I did. Just because a person is on pain medication doesn't mean they're a drug addict, they could just have an incurable disease that is incredibly painful. A lesson learned, I hope.
