Fired my doctor today

[Polar Bear]

Hmm... I've never known anyone here in the UK to get samples of medication.
But I'd imagine the 'expiration date' might have had a lot to do with getting them used up.
Lucky you that got what did you.

[Rustsmith]

PB, it is fairly common for specialist doctors to have samples of medications to give to patients. I guess that it probably has something to do with the difference in the way that medical insurance works between here and the UK. I have always assumed that part of the reason for using samples is to let the patient find out if 1) a new medicine actually works, 2) if there are any unsavory side effects that would result in a waste of medication and 3) help reduce the cost of medicine for some patients. However, I now suspect that a fourth reason, i.e. reduction of expiring inventory.

[Polar Bear]

I would have understood the reasoning behind giving samples to doctors to let appropriate patients have a trial run without the expense of paying for perhaps a month's supply.
I'm surprised that something should have 'dropped standards' immediately it reached expiration. I know it was the patches, better patches required.

For electrode patches on my tens machine I would dampen them as instructed and then tape them into place with micropore tape, took a lot micropore.

[Suckerbeagle]

OMG! I had to fire a doctor too. It was horrible. I moved from Boston to New Mexico and got a sleep medicine doctor instead of a neurologist who specializes in WED. This character kept trying to treat me for sleep apnea which I do not have. He threatened me about losing weight. Said he was going to put a CPAC machine on me if I didn't lose the unrealistic amount of weight he wanted in a short amount of time. My doc from Boston sent me here with plenty of meds to cover me, when I finally started running low this doctor faxed in a totally wrong script to the pharmacy and then went on vacation. Fortunately I'm no fool and had enough to cover myself. When the doc returned I had to actually go in and see him to straighten it out. The next time he did fax the script to the mail in pharmacy but he never confirmed it like I told him he would have to. I sat there thinking my meds were being processed but no. Then he gave me a script for not quite enough to cover me after he did confirm. Then his assistant told me he doesn't like to do mail in. So he couldn't have told me that? Finally found the top guy in New Mexico—in Santa Fe. I am happy to make the one hour trip there every six months. We suffer enough with this disease. We should not have to have the anxiety of a doctor we can't trust.