Minor Medical Matters
These are just notes to myself, really.
I saw my doctor yesterday for the first time since April of 2011. I was wrought up about the visit because I thought he would chastise me for not already having had this year's mammogram or the bone density scan recommended by my gynecologist in April of last year, and for failing to send in the samples for the fecal occult blood test. I also figured that my blood pressure would be up from all this unpleasant anticipation. And I had a lump on the first joint of my left little finger that I was so irrationally worried about that I didn't even do any research on it.
The blood pressure was 124/78. I kept looking at the monitor with a happy grin. My doctor did not chastise me about anything. I got a tetanus booster -- it's been ten years since I lost a battle with the Henry Kelsey rose bush, went to Urgent Care to have the resulting infection treated, and got hustled into the ER with insanely high blood pressure as a side benefit. I also got the third in the series for the hepatitis B vaccine.
My doctor said the lump on my finger joint was called a Heberon's nodule and was an early sign of osteoarthritis. This is not great news, but it beats what I was worried about.
The nurse who discharged me told me that I could go to the lab any time before seven-thirty to get blood drawn, and that I could have the bone density scan without having to wait, either by going to the fourth-floor radiology lab before 4:30 or by going to the ER after that. I was very dubious about this last, but since it was after 4:30, I went obediently to the ER. The triage guy was not impressed by my story and indicated that the Medicine Clinic should have called and said I was coming if they wanted to do it that way. He also said the radiology lab was open til five, so I went back over there. People were behind desks there, but the waiting room was dark. A nice woman told me that they closed at four and I should go to the ER.
I went home. I think it's ridiculous to expect the ER to do non-emergency X-rays after hours, and there was no way I was going to argue with the ER guy again when he had people all around with actual emergencies. I'll go to the fourth-floor lab earlier in the day, when I have to be downtown anyway to pick up my medication, and if it turns out that you can't actually walk in, I'll make an appointment.
One last note: I have lost ten pounds since last April. I knew I had lost something, but after years of very, very stupid dieting, starting when I was fourteen and ending when I was in my forties, weighing myself makes me seriously weird in useless ways, so I don't do it. I am okay with this degree of loss. I had made some changes directed not at losing weight but at affecting blood sugar levels. A couple of pairs of pants that were too tight in the waist now fit, which is pleasant, but I've almost lost the use of four more pairs that once fit. I hate belts, too.
Pamela
I saw my doctor yesterday for the first time since April of 2011. I was wrought up about the visit because I thought he would chastise me for not already having had this year's mammogram or the bone density scan recommended by my gynecologist in April of last year, and for failing to send in the samples for the fecal occult blood test. I also figured that my blood pressure would be up from all this unpleasant anticipation. And I had a lump on the first joint of my left little finger that I was so irrationally worried about that I didn't even do any research on it.
The blood pressure was 124/78. I kept looking at the monitor with a happy grin. My doctor did not chastise me about anything. I got a tetanus booster -- it's been ten years since I lost a battle with the Henry Kelsey rose bush, went to Urgent Care to have the resulting infection treated, and got hustled into the ER with insanely high blood pressure as a side benefit. I also got the third in the series for the hepatitis B vaccine.
My doctor said the lump on my finger joint was called a Heberon's nodule and was an early sign of osteoarthritis. This is not great news, but it beats what I was worried about.
The nurse who discharged me told me that I could go to the lab any time before seven-thirty to get blood drawn, and that I could have the bone density scan without having to wait, either by going to the fourth-floor radiology lab before 4:30 or by going to the ER after that. I was very dubious about this last, but since it was after 4:30, I went obediently to the ER. The triage guy was not impressed by my story and indicated that the Medicine Clinic should have called and said I was coming if they wanted to do it that way. He also said the radiology lab was open til five, so I went back over there. People were behind desks there, but the waiting room was dark. A nice woman told me that they closed at four and I should go to the ER.
I went home. I think it's ridiculous to expect the ER to do non-emergency X-rays after hours, and there was no way I was going to argue with the ER guy again when he had people all around with actual emergencies. I'll go to the fourth-floor lab earlier in the day, when I have to be downtown anyway to pick up my medication, and if it turns out that you can't actually walk in, I'll make an appointment.
One last note: I have lost ten pounds since last April. I knew I had lost something, but after years of very, very stupid dieting, starting when I was fourteen and ending when I was in my forties, weighing myself makes me seriously weird in useless ways, so I don't do it. I am okay with this degree of loss. I had made some changes directed not at losing weight but at affecting blood sugar levels. A couple of pairs of pants that were too tight in the waist now fit, which is pleasant, but I've almost lost the use of four more pairs that once fit. I hate belts, too.
Pamela