#medication management

Monday, Dec. 23rd 2024 is the best day to reliably request any year-end meds. This goes double if it’s new—do not get fucked by prior authorizations!

If you need a prior authorization, ask the office/pharmacy to request an expedited one from your insurance. Even with that, your insurance may still drag it out. They absolutely will if you don’t try tho.

Noon on Friday, Dec. 27th is pretty much last call for year-end refills. Everyone is calling in. Your doc is almost certainly not open to process orders on weekends. Being realistic here, depending on their caseload, you still may not make the cut.

If you request a refill after Friday, Dec. 27th 2024, it is probably not getting filled until January. Please still try if you need the refill, but I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. This is not necessarily because your doc’s office isn’t trying. It’s much more likely that they’re short due to holidays & illness.

Whatever you do, do not lose your shit. There are shitty people in healthcare, and you should be able to get mad about it. Do not lose your shit at the office! If you do, you may be barred from that practice. No idea how it looks elsewhere, but it’s a 2-4+ month wait for new patients at nearly every PCP/specialist in DC, MD and VA. I know, it fucking sucks sometimes. Please don’t risk your access to life sustaining care.

Please be kind. A lot of the healthcare workers who don’t suck are disabled and/or otherwise marginalized. We get it, and we’re drowning over here. If you act like we’re all UHC CEOs, we’re gonna burn out trying to help you. Then, you really may be left with everyone who’s aiming for that job.

Everything I’ve said also applies to pharmacies. They’re damn near criminally short on a normal day. Q4 is hell, and the last two weeks are Black Friday: extended edition. They’re painfully aware that someone will go without, even if they work themselves to collapse. Yelling at them isn’t going to help you, it’ll likely just lead to a nervous breakdown and/or early closure.

Sincerely,

I'm very likely going to get put on night shift in the very near future and am starting the switch now. I took my usual 40mg this morning around 7am. It does wake me up so I can't take it before going to sleep tomorrow morning, and unfortunately, I do start feeling gross if I go more than 26-28 hours between doses. The last time I did this I tried to skip the morning dose but just ended up feeling super jittery/anxious and nauseated around midday.

Remember to not skip your shot days and maintain your prescribed injection schedule. If you use topical testosterone follow all of the application and dosage instructions.

By doing so you may be able to avoid unwanted side effects related to your hormone levels being too low or too high.

Share any concerns with your health provider, including if you wish to have your dosage adjusted.