As I like to say, rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated--thank you Mr. Twain. I just got off a long phone call with my primary care. I've had 5 months of hell that I will not even try to document right now. Trust me, hideous. Meanwhile, believe it or not, my thyroid has gone for a dive (my THS is up, in other words). This when I just got off the two nasty nasty meds I was taking for psychological troubles, that I and a few other people aren't sure I really had/have. But I am still taking stuff, to be careful. And because saying, "I'm not crazy," is the first thing any crazy person says. Wait. I may rant about the $1300 bill I had to pay because albuterol gives me such insomnia that I become delusional..nuff said for now.
I've gotten a little hung up on invalid equals invalid. I would love to be validated. Guess I need to go to the flash cinema in Hillcrest.
I can't change the blog name without starting it over as a new blog. Just add an "s" at the end. I went back to work half time after four months on disability. To the many, very nice, curious people, I have said "multiple medical issues". That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
More wrangling over prior authorizations for meds this week. Boring. Waste my time--you're welcome! Next it's a PET scan Wednesday, then I expect another appointment with the surgeon. Then scheduling the next surgery. More boring, in a completely scary way.
I'm not saying this in the spirit of "poor me". I just need to let it out a bit. I may be blogging here a bit more frequently, as venting does help. And she does live.
Showing posts with label tests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tests. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
lather rinse repeat
I went for the GI consult. Office was very busy--staff seemed overwhelmed, and rather argumentative. Waited 45 minutes before a nurse took me back to do weight and vitals. Weight came in as 7 pounds lighter than primary care visit less than a month ago. I believe scale at primary care's office is roughly 4 lbs. heavy. So let's call it 3 lbs. It would be a nice trend. Anyway, the nurse said she was going to get the blood pressure meter. Minutes pass, a knock comes on the door, and it's the doctor. He's older than I am--yeah! Not to be ageist, but I think every doctor I've seen since moving to California as been at least 10 years younger than me. I take it back; Neuro-celeb is definitely older than I am.
Gastro-man's first name is Eugenio, but he has Robert, his middle name, embroidered on his lab coat. I haven't seen an embroidered lab coat in years--it seems very old school. Gastro-man actually read through my notes in their entirety, earning my undying gratitude. He felt my diagnosis of a virus in June was correct, and said it could have lasted 8 weeks. I didn't know a virus could last that long. He talked about how Copaxone opens a hole in your immune system.
He feels that the tenderness in my lower left abdomen is due to an injury to the muscle in the abdominal wall. That was a huge relief, though the healing process maybe very long. I was worrying that it was something much worse. However it is still a problem. He recommended I lay off the physical therapy exercises that stress the area. I am kind of loathe to leave off on the abs entirely, as I am trying to really strengthen the core muscles. Keeping problems in check with the lower back and the legs relies to a great deal on the abs and thighs.
I hate letting any area of my exercise regime go for any reason. Getting it back is so difficult. Maybe I can experiment with some other things? I hope to go to th water stretching class next Monday.
Of course, next Thursday, I am scheduled for a colonoscopy. I wasn't surprised when Gastro-man said he wanted to do one. I last had one in 2001, and in light of my recent troubles, he wants to make sure there aren't any surprises. I was ok with the concept, but did not expect to have it scheduled that soon. I was not asked if it fit in with my schedule--just ad to wait another 20 minutes, then handed paperwork with the date and instructions on it.
Then the nurse came back to finish my vitals. BP 127/95 after I was told I'd be missing 1.5 days of work next week. Then I was sent to the lab, where it took 30 minutes to give me a kit for a specimen. I'll have to stop back by the hospital on my way to work to drop it off...now to figure out how to handle the parking!
All told 2.5 hours at the hospital; 3 hours sick leave used. Next week, it'll be back on unpaid Family Medical Leave.
As always, I feel like I should never tell doctors anything. It doesn't pay.
Gastro-man's first name is Eugenio, but he has Robert, his middle name, embroidered on his lab coat. I haven't seen an embroidered lab coat in years--it seems very old school. Gastro-man actually read through my notes in their entirety, earning my undying gratitude. He felt my diagnosis of a virus in June was correct, and said it could have lasted 8 weeks. I didn't know a virus could last that long. He talked about how Copaxone opens a hole in your immune system.
He feels that the tenderness in my lower left abdomen is due to an injury to the muscle in the abdominal wall. That was a huge relief, though the healing process maybe very long. I was worrying that it was something much worse. However it is still a problem. He recommended I lay off the physical therapy exercises that stress the area. I am kind of loathe to leave off on the abs entirely, as I am trying to really strengthen the core muscles. Keeping problems in check with the lower back and the legs relies to a great deal on the abs and thighs.
I hate letting any area of my exercise regime go for any reason. Getting it back is so difficult. Maybe I can experiment with some other things? I hope to go to th water stretching class next Monday.
Of course, next Thursday, I am scheduled for a colonoscopy. I wasn't surprised when Gastro-man said he wanted to do one. I last had one in 2001, and in light of my recent troubles, he wants to make sure there aren't any surprises. I was ok with the concept, but did not expect to have it scheduled that soon. I was not asked if it fit in with my schedule--just ad to wait another 20 minutes, then handed paperwork with the date and instructions on it.
Then the nurse came back to finish my vitals. BP 127/95 after I was told I'd be missing 1.5 days of work next week. Then I was sent to the lab, where it took 30 minutes to give me a kit for a specimen. I'll have to stop back by the hospital on my way to work to drop it off...now to figure out how to handle the parking!
All told 2.5 hours at the hospital; 3 hours sick leave used. Next week, it'll be back on unpaid Family Medical Leave.
As always, I feel like I should never tell doctors anything. It doesn't pay.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
I want my hands back
Today (now yesterday) was a hard day. I was at library headquarters. I try to cloak as many symptoms as possible there. That passing for normal thing. I don't care so much at the branch because everyone there is kind of family on some level. And the rules of politeness between strangers are in greater play with the public.
Anyway, I used to type 140 wpm for regular word processing input. Ran up to close to 200 for data input. Sometime in the last year, my ability to type with more than two or three fingers at a time started disappearing. A sub worker commented recently. "How'd you get a library degree with only typing hunt and peck." I don't hunt and peck. I know where every key is. I'm probably the fastest two-finger typist I know. Bu let's face it, it ain't pretty.
At the meeting at HQ, when we were all in front of PCs, I was acutely conscious f the the young librarin next to me. Her fingers just flew. Mine stumbled. Because I miss keys a bit, and hae to go back to fix. It seems silly to complain about, but I do mind. I wonder if it will get much worse?
Then there's money. I hate change and do everything I can to avoid it. But part of my job involves a cash register...grr i can't even type this fast enough to finish this. post before the time I set to go to bed!
Another day. Still SOOO tired. Today I had my second pelvic ultrasound in 6 months. Ick. This one was an enormous improvement over the first. The technician was a woman. I'm convinced the internal probe (aka the electric cucumber) was smaller. Or maybe what was wrong has suddenly improved? It was far less painful.
I still wish for a modicum of dexterity back. I don't have to do origami. But not to fumble so endlessly! Pretty please?
Anyway, I used to type 140 wpm for regular word processing input. Ran up to close to 200 for data input. Sometime in the last year, my ability to type with more than two or three fingers at a time started disappearing. A sub worker commented recently. "How'd you get a library degree with only typing hunt and peck." I don't hunt and peck. I know where every key is. I'm probably the fastest two-finger typist I know. Bu let's face it, it ain't pretty.
At the meeting at HQ, when we were all in front of PCs, I was acutely conscious f the the young librarin next to me. Her fingers just flew. Mine stumbled. Because I miss keys a bit, and hae to go back to fix. It seems silly to complain about, but I do mind. I wonder if it will get much worse?
Then there's money. I hate change and do everything I can to avoid it. But part of my job involves a cash register...grr i can't even type this fast enough to finish this. post before the time I set to go to bed!
Another day. Still SOOO tired. Today I had my second pelvic ultrasound in 6 months. Ick. This one was an enormous improvement over the first. The technician was a woman. I'm convinced the internal probe (aka the electric cucumber) was smaller. Or maybe what was wrong has suddenly improved? It was far less painful.
I still wish for a modicum of dexterity back. I don't have to do origami. But not to fumble so endlessly! Pretty please?
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