| MAY 2, 2002 My new patient appointment with my new internist was scheduled for today at 10:20AM. To be honest I wasn't looking for much out of the appointment since he is an internist and my last internist did not feel comfortable handling my case. As such I saw her as little as possible, especially since I had to pay all my medical expenses myself. And since there were so many doctors I had to see then, she kind of fell by the wayside. Anyway, my appointment was scheduled for 10:20 but I wasn't in the system when I got there. No appointment for me they said, but they said I could stay and they'd see me. Hmmm.... not starting on the right foot but thankfully that turned. It took about 70 minutes but I was eventually called back. VITAL SIGNS WT - 162 Blood Pressure - 134/104 T - 99.9 [it had been a Betaseron night so not surprising.] P - 96 R - 14 Pulse Ox - 94% I was shocked at all of them to be honest. B/P is high but I had been out of meds... pulse - high especially given a 70 minute rest period and pulse ox was just strange. It has been better when I was a smoker but it has become apparent to me since Thursday the CHF [Congestive Heart Failure] may just be affecting my oxygenation of my blood more than I was aware of. Once ushered to the exam room I noticed an award on the wall from the NURSES at a hospital in Jacksonville he worked in and that impressed me. Dr R came in and I really liked him. After he got a brief history [I had it printed for him as well] I asked him the following. 1. I am out of most of my meds. Can you tell me which meds you can or will give me refills for? 2. I was told you were the one to see, so you could tell me who to see since there aren't any endos, neuros, or rheumys on the island? Well, he surprised me by telling me he would be more than willing to be my primary doctor... would refill all my meds... and all he asked is for me to be seen at least once by each of those docs for a new patient appointment so if something came up I could go back. YAY!!! So, I see the neurologist, Dr B on July 24th... the rheumatologist, Dr P on June 25th... and the endocrinologist Dr P on July 10th. I guess he didn't feel the need to have me see the cardiologist. Since my medical costs have been reduced by having Medicare I decided I could now afford to get a Mammo and PAP smear and told him it had been a long time... a very long time since the last ones. So, I have a Mammo scheduled for May 24th and a full physical with a PAP on May 30th. The next thing we talked about was a handicapped sticker for parking and he agreed. And last but not least, DAP, the drug assistance program. Well, he doesn't do anything with DAP because the paperwork is too involved and said to go to the health department but in lieu of would give me a month supply of all meds they have samples for... not many but hey... I got Synthroid, Vioxx and Fosamax. And Vioxx and Fosamax are incredibly expensive. So, I left with all my appointments and 15 scripts and headed to the lab... he wanted a CBC, Chem Profile, TSH, and a Lipid Profile. Cost for the day... $0.00, nothing, nada, zero. Unbelievable!!! Just a few months ago it would have been I don't know... maybe $300. |
You are listening to Memories from the musical Cats, written by
Andrew Lloyd Webber and T.S. Eliot. I felt this song was a perfect
selection
for this site because of the affiliation I feel with Grizabella. Although
for her,
it was age and not health issues that changed her, neither of us are who
we
were before, on the outside, and it can affect how we feel on the inside.
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Since December 19, 2003