The initial Wednesday that began this wtf journey of noticing recurring odd patterns started out as just another ordinary day. The sun was shining, I had just finished the morning activities, and I was beginning to make the calls, do my chores, and run the errands for the day. My daughter had gone in for her annual bloodwork the previous week and I was reviewing the results which stated that the dosage of her medication needed to be between 225 and 300 micrograms (mcg).
This particular Wednesday morning, I proceeded to call our doctor’s office to ask that the prescription be sent into our local pharmacy. As is customary, I was directed to speak to the nurse. This is when my first significant wtf Wednesday began. (I will note here that, if it weren’t for the proceeding Wednesdays, none of us would have noticed the pattern that was about to ensue).
After the standard on-hold period, the nurse eventually surfaced on the other end of my phone line. She confirmed my pharmacy information and let me know that she was calling in the order for 200 mcg. I asked her if she could perhaps make it closer to 250 mcg, as I had the summary report in my hand, and it states that the dosage is to be between 225 and 300 mcg.
She said that she also had the paperwork stating that the dosage is to be between 225 and 300 mcg, and persisted in maintaining that she was sending the order to our pharmacy in the amount of a 200-mcg dosage.
I attempted to ask again if I could please get the prescription for closer to 250 mcg since that is a number that falls between 225 and 300. She simply stated that 200 mcg was indeed between 225 and 300 mcg, so that’s the number she’s calling in.
Pause… wtf?
“Um,” I blankly stated, “the number 200 is actually not between 225 and 300.”
“You seem to want me to call in a higher dosage,” the nurse debated, “but I cannot send in a number above 300 for you. Your dosage is supposed to be between 225 and 300, so I’m sending in the dosage amount of 200 micrograms.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. I thought I was doing extremely basic common-sense math in my head and was taken aback, wondering if maybe I had a severe hangover and simply wasn’t aware of it, yet at the same time my mind raced in bewilderment of how this nurse somehow skipped passing an elementary math course. “But 200 is below 225,” I politely repeated, hoping that something would click in her head, “Can you please call in a dosage that’s at least above 225?”
“I’m not going to give you a prescription for 300, that’s the highest amount and the doctor has clearly stated that your dosage be between 225 and 300,” she insisted.
I didn’t know what to do to make this lady understand that I just wanted a dosage that the doctor prescribed; anything between 225 and 300 mcg would be fine, so I attempted a different approach, “I would just personally be more comfortable with 250 as opposed to 200. Would you mind asking the doctor if that would be possible?”
Begrudgingly, she agreed to consult the doctor and put me on hold.
Is this going to be the type of day I’ll be having, I thought, wtf?
The nurse finally came back on the phone line and let me know that the doctor had approved 250 mcg; however, obviously reading from a script, she persisted to tell me that “Synthroid oral tablets are only available in 25, 50, 75, 88, 100, 112, 125, 137, 150, 175, 200, and 300 micrograms strengths.” She paused for a moment, and when I did not respond, she continued, “so as you can see, I can’t call in a dosage of 250 micrograms.”
“Well,” I slowly dispatched, hoping to not agitate her but also feeling the need to make her understand that math is actually useful in real-life scenarios, “If the doctor is prescribing 250 micrograms, and the medication comes in dosages of 125 micrograms, can you call in two of those for my prescription dosage?”
She didn’t answer. I waited a few seconds and continued, “or maybe one order of 200 and one of 50… that would be also be 250 micrograms, although I think taking two 125 doses of the same amount would be a little less confusing overall, plus we wouldn't have to keep the pills separated in different containers.”
I think at that point I'd royally confused her. There was another long pause before she blatantly objected, “125 is not between 225 and 300. I think that you should just accept the 200-microgram dosage, that’s the dosage that I feel is precise to call in for you. 300 micrograms would be too high, and we should keep the dosage between 225 and 300, not just give you the very highest amount prescribed. You can always request a higher dosage at your next visit after you’ve tried the doctor’s initial determination.”
It’s a good thing I have a couple of pre-teens and a teenager. My patience has been being tested for a long time coming. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and forced myself to respond patiently as I attempted to explain in slow, clear wording. “The doctor has approved 250 micrograms,” I paused for just a couple seconds before continuing, “If the medication does not come in 250 microgram doses, but it does come in doses of 125, then if you call in two 125 doses, then my daughter could take two tablets every day. Two times 125 equals 250.”
I closed my mouth and willed myself to remain silent while waiting for what seemed like an hour, but was in actuality only about a minute, as the silence resounded on the other end of the line, “Hello? Are you still there?”
“Please hold,” the nurse snapped as music and advertisements immediately blasted through my phone. I waited on hold for another five to ten minutes before the nurse returned.
“The doctor has approved the two doses of 125 micrograms each, please have your daughter take two tablets every day, I’ll call that in now. Thank you and have a nice day.” The phone clicked as she quickly disconnected from our call.
Wtf?
Needless to say, my daughter now understands the importance of paying attention in her math class… It turns out that people might want to use basic math in their everyday life after all!
So that was the first odd Wednesday incident that I picked up my phone and texted a couple friends about it. They laughed, and we thought nothing of it… until the following Wednesday morning when I awoke to see…
Are you in suspense?? 😊 Read the next blog to find out about another link in the continuing pattern of