Fun with Doctors (Part n)

[autographedcat]

More blathering about my health, behind a cut-tag so you can skip past if that bores you. :)



Yesterday, after a lovely lunch at McAlister's Deli with klrmn, I stopped by my doctor's office for a followup on my blood pressure. They checked it again, and found it once again at the same level it had been for the last 8 days, and she wrote me a prescription for an ACE inhibitor called Micardis, which my insurance promptly refused to cover. Luckily, she'd given me a sample pack so I could start on the medication while she and the pharmacy figured out what was what. This morning, i got a call back from the pharmacy to say they'd switched my prescription to Cozaar, which is another ACE inhibitor, and I'm to go back for a followup on 25 October to see how things are going.

Today, I took a half-day off from work in order to go and have a cyst removed from my backside. This has been there for a while, and keeps getting infected, so my dermatologist had referred me to a dermatologic surgeon to have it removed. After the usual formalities, she examined the area, and advised that what I had was a pilonidal abscess, and advised that I really need to consult a general surgeon before going forward. While she could remove the surface condition, it would likely recur. So I got dressed and came home, placed a call to my primary physician, and tried to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. I'm a bit frustrated, as I was hoping to get this resolved so I could check it off the laundry list of ailments I'm processing, but it looks like its going to be slightly more complicated.

Luckily, being home this afternoon means I was here to field a call from the local hospital's radiology department, who informed me that the insurance company had approved kitanzi's MRI, and when did she want to come in and do that. So it wasn't a total loss, but still....

Comments

Divide and Conquer

[annonynous.livejournal.com]

"So it wasn't a total loss, but still...."

A number of things got accomplished. 1) You're on a med for your blood pressure and 2) the insurer's covering it.
3) The abscess has been accurately identified, 4) you're pursuing the solution to the problem, and 5) you've become
a better informed patient on it. And 6) Kit's MRI got approved. Not my idea of a wasted day.

You know what to do when problems start to multiply!

Best wishes to you both.
Ann O.

[callibr8]

I sympathise with the frustration of wanting to have things done and taken care of... but agree with Ann O that you did get a lot accomplished - just not *all* that *you* wanted, *this* round.

Good luck, and keep us posted. Sometimes medical stuff takes a while to work through, but you're going about it the right way, and it sounds like you're working with fairly clueful medical types, so here's hoping for more positive progress, soon!

{{hugs}}

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

Glad you're getting the blood pressure taken care of. I hope you drink lots of water?

Which reminds me, I should go get some. *especially* after the evening I've had.

[quadrivium.livejournal.com]

I need to go get my cholesterol checked again myself. Bad me! Bad me! It's high, but I don't really worry about it, because my blood pressure is so low. But still. Should keep an I on that sort of thing. Go you! For going and doing!

Love,
Mary

[poltr1]

Don't you just love "in formulary" vs "out of formulary"? :-7

As for me, I'm on a different ACE inhibitor. Diovan HCT. Was on Accupril before I switched doctors. And I tried to avoid the drugs for years. I was afraid of side effects. The truth is, I had none from this drug. Except if I didn't take it for a few days. I'd get nasty headaches.

Also it's a good idea to watch your salt intake. Salt preserves meat, hams, salami, and other dead animal flesh -- but not live human flesh.

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

i'm with anon (cool lj name you must be an lj early bird)

you got a lot accomplished...not all as you would have liked... but progress.... medical stuff is esp sensitive biz. *hug* hope you get it all processed & over with soon with as little pain in your backside or elsewhere as possible! best to kitanzi too! *hug hug hug* :-)

[aunty_marion]

Pilonidal abscess/cyst, eh? I didn't know that was their proper name, but you're now the second person I know with one! Good luck with getting it cleared up, and with the BP. I keep a close(ish) watch on my BP with a home monitor, as my mother and all her sisters are on medication for high blood pressure. So far, so good....

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

Ugh, much fun. Whee. Hope it is all cleared up soon!
Hugs

[klrmn.livejournal.com]

alon recently got a polonidal cyst removed.

[kyttn.livejournal.com]

I sympathise with regards to the abscess - I have one, though luckily mine is a "stealth" one, and I only have problems now and then. It always seems to clear up before I make it to a doctor. When it flares, it can hurt like hell. Hope you get this one taken care of SOON.

*hugs*

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

I already use very little salt, as it is, and had been using non-sodium salt when I did. Ironically, the new meds warn against using potassium chloride as a salt substitute, so I'll have to go back to the old fashioned NaCl.

Re: Divide and Conquer

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Factor for the lowest common denominator, subtract the square root, and then bash it over the head with a lead pipe?

Yeah, not a wasted day, but not the day I had expected to have, either. :)

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

So far, most of my current batch of doctors are very easy to work with. I have no serious complaints about any of them.

Now, I just need to figure out when to work in the dentist and the other dermatology I need to do. :)

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

One of my moral failings is my caffeine addiction, which was expressed through the drinking of way too much coca-cola. Having successfully cut my sugar/caloric intake by an order of magnitude through the simple method of switching from Coke to Diet Coke, I am now trying to cut back further by not drinking soda at work. I still allow myself to have diet coke at lunch and dinner, but while sitting at my desk, I drink water.

I have two 32oz Gatorade bottles which I keep filled with tapwater and in the fridge, and rotate them out through the day. I end up drinking anywhere from 64-128oz of water each day as a result.

*hugs*

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

One of the reasons I'm going through a lot of this right now is the realization that, having hit 35, I really need to start being proactive about healthcare. I so rarely get sick that I tend to take my health for granted, but I know it's better to start keeping an eye on things sooner than later.

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

*grin* If you look closely, you'll notice Anon's nick doesn't say what you think it said. :)

We'll just take it one step at a time. Honestly, when it's not being infected, the abscess isn't so bad. But when it flares up, yow.

*hug hug hug* to you too!

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I bought a home monitor the day she told me to monitor it for a month to determine if I needed to go on medication. It's a fairly nifty device.

I didn't know there was a name for that, either, except that of course, every single thing you can imagine has a name. (cf. uvula) I just wasn't aware how common it was.

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Me too!! *hugs*

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Well, tell him to keep his voice down, or everyone will want one. :)

No. No, not really. I was just...

I'll get my coat.

*hug* :)

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Last time I swelled up was on a weekend when I couldn't get an emergency consult from my dermatologist, and I was pretty miserable.

Right now it's not really bothering me, but it seems to go in cycles.

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

And speaking of forumalries, one of the things they just revealed on the newest version of our health plan (we had our Open Enrollment annual meeting today) is that it now *will* cover non-forumlary drugs. Admittedly, with a $60 co-pay for a one month supply, but that's better than the previous practice of not covering them at all.

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

I met you once fleetingly when I picked up H. But when I did. I walked into a warm house full of books, acceptance, love & a new marriage. It is this I remember when we e-hug. They make me feel better in a hard time for me. Thank you. :-)


Tell the dockter you need sumpthin' tasty for the flare ups, even if you don't, cuz then you can save it to have on hand when something comes up that insists. With this doctor lock on pain meds - and not entirely without good reason in lots of cases- you gotta do what you gotta do to get it when you can so you have it when you need... feel better :-) *hugs*

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

lol snort :-)

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

way cool icon!

stealth.. hee hee. they do do that, don't they? like the phenomena with cars & mechanics... :-)

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Well, that house is in the same place as before, if you ever want some real hugs to supplment the e-ones. *hug*

[catalana.livejournal.com]

*hug* Good luck dealing with all the doctors...

[a-blue-moon-cat.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about all this. :( But at least you have health insurance to cover most of it.