The Cubicle’s Backporch

Last week I woke up with this spot on my arm. I figured it was a bug bite and didn’t think too much about it.

But it stayed around for a week and it had a ‘ring’ look to it. I started to think maybe it WASN’T a bug bite and figured I’d get to the doctor eventually. Then at work two days ago, someone said “That looks like ringworm” and showed me a picture and other people started agreeing.

So I immediately started picturing this WORM creature under my skin. So gross.

Then I did some research and found out that it wasn’t a real worm, just a bacteria infection. Whew. (B/c really? A worm under my skin is a little too much to think about)

So anyway, that’s how I found myself at the Walgreen’s take care clinic. “It’s great,” a coworker said, “They’re usually not too busy and a nurse practitioner sees you and it only costs half the price of an urgent care visit.”

So I went to the Walgreen’s take-care clinic b/c of his good recommendation and the fact that in my research it said that a doctor would probably prescribe a cream to fight the bacteria- no big deal. And I’ve seen nurse practitioners before and they were knowledgeable.

So I get there, sign in on the kiosk and wait for my name to be called. In fact, I waited AN HOUR. It was 45 minutes before someone even came out to call the person in front of me. I know, I should’ve left… cut my losses. But I kept thinking “I need to see someone about this and I might as well get it over with today.”

So, I wait an hour and finally get in the room where the nurse practioner (NP from now on) asks me some health history questions and gets my insurance information. After 15 minutes of paperwork, she asks me what she can help me with today and I roll my arm over and say “Well, I think I might have ringworm.” And she looks at it and says “Yeah, it kind of looks like that.”

THEN she gets a book out to read up on ringworm. I’m not shitting you.

So she reads, and tells me what she’s reading… “…and you’ll want to apply the ointment twice a day. And don’t use the same towel to drive that area off with that you use for other areas of your body….” I nod b/c it was similiar to what I had read online and I knew it was contagious.

THEN, she gets out another book to figure out what to prescribe me. THEN, she uses a computer program that tells her a couple of different options on what to prescribe me.

She picks one and writes a prescription.

So I leave thinking “Waste of time, but at least I have a prescription.”

Then I stand around for five more minutes while she confers with the pharmacy. Then she goes to another patient and I ask the pharmacy tech if I can come back to pick up my prescription b/c I have a meeting that I can’t miss.  She says sure and I rush out of there.

Fast forward to me getting off work and heading back to Walgreens to pick up my prescription. I walk in and tell the tech my name and she asks the Pharmacist “Is that the one that’s up front?” And he says yes and goes to the over-the-counter aisles.

“Is this an over-the-counter item?” I ask the tech.

“Yes. But the system says we’re out of it, so he’s just making sure.”

At this point, I’m starting to get a little pissed.

So, he comes back and says that they are indeed out of what I need. The tech says she can call and find it somewhere else so I ask if it’s available everywhere.

She says yes and then gives me the name of it and tells me I can find it in the YEAST INFECTION area.

Umm. Okay.

So anyway, I go to another store and why yes, it is in the yeast infection aisle b/c it’s a YEAST INFECTION TREATMENT product.

And nowhere on the box does it say it should be used for anything but a YEAST INFECTION.

But I buy it anyway hoping it’ll work.

So basically I paid $75.00 to tell the NP what I had and to have her write me a prescription for an over-the-counter vaginal cream.

Yep. I’m never going back there again.

But I do giggle in glee when I warn MrC to make sure he doesn’t touch my vaginal cream.