Secretary:  “Hello,  Blah Blah Blah Clinic, may I help you?”

Me:            “Hello, I’d like to make an appointment to come in and get a lab test.”

Secretary:   “Has this test been ordered by a doctor?”

Me:             “This is an existing prescription.  I just need a test to ensure that my meds

                      don't need adjusting before I can renew my prescription.”

Secretary:      (Annoyed and snappish) “It still needs to be ordered by a doctor.”

Me:               “Oh, sorry, that must have changed.  Then I’d like to make an appointment

                        Please.”

Secretary:      (More annoyed and snappish)  “It’s always been this way.  You always

                      need a doctor’s  approval for a lab test.”

Me:                (getting a little snotty) “Oh, I’m sorry, I must have been confused by the

                      fact that this issue has not come up before in the last six years I’ve been on

                      this medication.”

Secretary:     (several eternities of complete silence.)

Me:               “OK, so I need to make an appointment.  Will you help me with that?”

Secretary:      (sounding professional again)  “We have an appointment with your regular

                      doctor tomorrow at 10:45 AM.”

Me:               “That would be lovely, thank you.”

Secretary:       (sounding smug, I thought) “Your REPORT TIME is 10:30 AM.”

My “Report Time?”  Is she completely serious?  I’m making a doctor’s appointment, not being drafted for Chrissake.

So let me get this straight; I have to make an office appointment (and pay a co-pay) for a doctor to say it's OK for me to have a blood test to say that I still need to take a medication that I've already been told I will most likely have to be on for the rest of my life?  WTF?  I understand that they have to do the test yearly to make sure that the dosage is correct (my condition CAN change, though it is unlikely to change for anything but the worse).

Also, the insurance companies rules have changed so that I can only buy the medication in qualtities that cost $17.50 at at time (I used to get three months worth at a time, now I can only buy it a month at a time) so I pay my $15 co-pay, and the insurance company pays a whopping $2.50?  How does anyone figure this is the best medical system possible?

I just have one more question:  Do they have anything you can take for the urpy, acidy feeling I get in my stomach when I have to deal with medical secretaries and red tape?

You know what?  I don't believe it for a minute, but I wish Qigong COULD cure my hypothyroidism.  It'd serve 'em right if meditation and a few simple exercises could put them out of business.