Health Update

I got a couple emails asking, so I thought I’d give you an update.

After taking down the Christmas decorations, I began to feel numbness in both hands and in my arms. I had a lot of swelling in my hands and feet. I also had joint pain. After a video visit with the doctor, I was given a muscle relaxer and steroids.

I was told if the numbness didn’t go away to make an appointment. After the meds were gone, the numbness remains. So she worked me in on Friday.

At the appointment, she had me raise my hands and arms and such. She moved them around, poked around and thinks it’s something in my neck. I don’t know how that fits into everything else, but ok. She told me that she wants me to go get an EMG. So now I am waiting to get a day for that. I need to call on Monday.

I’m not sure what happened with my Blood Pressure, either. On Thursday, when I was at the ADHD doctor it was 130/80. That’s good for me! But at the Primary doc on Friday, it was 140/100.

There was all kinds of confusion with my Upper GI test, too. For some reason they had me down as cancelled. I spent way too much time on the phone trying to figure out whether I was getting it done or not. Once it was sorted out, we figured out what happened. It is now rescheduled to this coming week.

So in a nutshell I have more questions than answers. When I wake up, that’s when it is the worst. Pain accompanies the numbness. Some swelling, too.

I will keep you posted. Thanks for checking up on me.

Doctor, Doctor! Give Me the News …

When I started to feel that awful pain in my back, I called the doctor and made an appointment. When I got there, they had these funky thermometers mounted on the walls at the check in windows. Basically, put your forehead close to it and it gets your temp. It was actually pretty cool. Once the called me back, they take me straight to the scale. I knew I wasn’t going to like the number that popped up. Urgh!

Next, they took me to an exam room that had a long table on it. The nurse said this room was for people with back issues. It has all kinds of buttons on the floor so they doc can raise or lower the table as needed. The nurse takes my blood pressure and it is high. I hadn’t taken my medicine before going in, but the number was higher than my normal “high.”

I love my doctor. She is great. She is honest and to the point. Despite all of that, I don’t really like going to the doctor. I worry. I’m not going to lie, my mind tends to go to the worst thing when something is wrong. This hip-back thing has been there for almost two weeks. My first thought is “Do I have a spinal tumor?” or other extreme things. I don’t really know what that is, but it happens to me all the time. It’s probably because of my family history – diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc…

Anyway, the doc comes in and asks whats going on. I’m already not looking forward to the conversation, because I was suppose to lose weight between visits. So I explain what’s going on and she turned her computer screen to me and says gently, “It probably doesn’t help that you’ve put on 25 pounds.” OUCH! Yeah, I feel like a schmuck! She asked if I had done any kind of muscle stretches before I took Ella for a walk. I laughed and said, “When she wants to go – she wants to go, so no, I didn’t.” She chuckled and said I need to find time to stretch before walking.

She had me stand up and she checked out my back. I explained that the pain was in my left hip and back, so it surprised me when she said that my right hip was a bit out of whack. She had me lay on that long table and did some “manipulation” to help it get back in place. I still have some pain, but it is much better than it was. I have no idea what it will feel like after sitting at work tonight, but I am hoping it isn’t too bad. So, it looks like I will be popping some ibuprofen and she said it would be a good idea to see a chiropractor.

It’s been a while since I have visited the chiropractor, but I have a feeling it will help. I used to go often, and it really did help. All those years of lifting my DJ equipment – loading – unloading – loading again – unloading again – I used to really get crazy sharp pains in my lower back. It would not surprise me if my back has gotten worse.

One thing is for sure, I gotta shape up. Please hold me accountable. It is so easy to just pick up something when we are in a hurry. Nine times out of ten, you chose the easiest and not the healthiest things to eat. I need to get better about not doing that.

Hoping to be back to my old (and pain free) self soon …..

What’s Up, Doc?

This week I found out that the doctor’s office where my primary care doctor practices is going private. To be honest, this is the first time I have ever had this happen. They offered all of the current patient’s the option to stay with the practice – at a cost. So for $90 a month, I can stay with my doc, get his cell phone number for after hours questions, unlimited visits with no co-pays or deductibles, “unhurried appointments that start on time”, and a bunch of other “perks”. While this sounds great, I still have to pay my monthly insurance in case I need to go to ER or have a hospital stay. Bottom line: it’s gonna cost me more money.

I think the hardest part about this is the fact that I finally found a doctor I like. He’s Italian (we’ve talked about Italy and Sicily often). He listens to me. He doesn’t rush me. He is honest. I trust him. I’ve really only had a few doctors where I felt like this. Now, because the entire practice is going private, I have to begin a new search for a doctor!

Finding the right “doc” should be an easy task, right? Well, it really isn’t for me. Because I work an hour and 15 minutes from home, AND work for a health system, I have to take the insurance provided by them. I have to use doctors that are affiliated with the health system. This is not really a big deal. What makes it difficult is that the closest practices are about 30-50 minutes south of where I live.

Not only do I have to find a new doctor for me, but the new doctor has to be one that I can take the boys to as well. The options keep getting fewer and fewer, especially since there are only a few practices in that area.

The old doctor will see me through the end of December. So I have about 2 months to research, visit, and make a choice. Oh, and amidst all of that, it is time for open enrollment and there are all kinds of changes in that too that I need to look at and consider.

Why must health care and insurance be such a major pain in the ass?! Urgh! I am really hating that my doctor’s office is doing this!! I understand why, though. I mean, really, if I were a doctor and could avoid all the insurance company bullshit, I’d do it too! It’s just very frustrating and unfair to the patients who are established. To assume that a patient can afford an extra $1100 a year on top of what they already pay for insurance really sucks!

It is no secret that in many cases all it would take is one major medical emergency to put a family into financial distress! Hell, one ER visit with my son, at the health system I work for cost me over $800! He wasn’t even admitted! Health care costs are astronomical (not to mention pharmaceutical costs)!

So the search is on … I have a short time to interview, research and make the decision on my new doc. I am loathing ever damn second of it. Who is the right Doc??