Stuck on important medical stuff!
 

Hi.

During this "time off" I need to catch up on all of those medical things I have been putting off, besides other things like job-seeking, taxes etc. I am plodding along albeit slowly with the non-medical stuff it seems, but the medical stuff is urgent due to the inevitable time lapse between calling and the appointment date obtained.

TO DO ITEMS:

1. optical - change in vision (have appt for May 5th)
2. dental - possibly problem with recent reconstructive filling
3. neuro - huge increase migraines - number and severity
4. pulmonary - follow up exam for recurrent/episodic cough
5. gyn - been so long since last "annual" we won't go there (so tempted not to! haha :o)

Those are already prioritized, although the first two are actually equal. neuro would be top priority, but i need the optical and dental first, since either could cause headaches and i don't know whether getting a simple headache might not trigger a migraine. the last two i just don't want to keep putting off. i especially need somebody to figure out the cough.

ISSUES

1. dental - i am afraid he will do something to make the situation worse! :(:(:(
   
2. neuro, pulmonary, gyn - my referrals are years old. they supposedly don't expire but they keep changing rules and i am not sure... this prevents me from making the appointments, because they take the referral number then.
   
3. i am too embarrassed to ask my mdoc / fess up that i haven't used the referrals yet!

I am reading my "issues" and the dental thing stands, but the last two sound dumb. I could call for appointments, and ask the clerk if my referral is still good. So, maybe the fears run deeper than the bureaucratic hoop jumping i listed. Anyway..............

I feel stuckkkkkkk. Anyone, HYELPPPPP???!!!

~ waves ~

Gosh Waves I could have written this for all the med stuff I put off, did you have a mammagram in there too?

I guess the easiest is to do it one at a time, not book all the appointments for everything the same week. Try to aim for 6 weeks Well, that is how I am taking it on. I can sneak in the eye appointment at last minute, my bifocals broke at nose piece and readers are not the right script.

My Neuro is May 4, phsyatrist/ortho dude is Monday and left arm lumbar are terrible. They never do anything but say lose weight. I have to get trigger points for the shoulder.

Then I will tackle the gyn stuff and mammagram, then the dental. In betwen get the blood work done and find a new PCP that will take care of me. I think the PA running the office is in a melt down. Refused a precert on my kid we needed for a MRI. Had to cancel the last one because of the ER with hiccups, then our trip, came home and PA said no she was not going to give the precert when the last one was not used. PUNISHING US!!!!

So I will have to keep my motovation going watching as you accomplish your needs too.

If docs had not called with reminders for these 2 follow ups from 6 months ago, I would not have made them, kept stalling. Like gyn mammo,'
di
Checking off pedi...going to call in the morning for first available.

confused... stuck
 

Hi Di

thanks for the reply. sorry you have so much going on. you are doing a good job.

i won't get much choice in scheduling, but i would not accept appointments all at the same time anyway, because i need some time, after i get both the dental and eyes settled,to see if it makes a difference in my migraines. i still need to see the neuro but that information is needed first.

in any case, scheduling is not what is troubling me.

You have them in the wrong order?

1. Neuro. huge increase migraines - number and severity
   
2. Pulmonary. Follow up exam for recurrent/episodic cough
   
3. Gyn - been so long blah blah blah just like the rest of us. LOL
   
4. Dental - possibly problem with recent reconstructive filling

??

P.S. Don't forget to rest in your "time off".

What time is it there?

it is confusing
 

Hi Lara

they are in the right order. true that neuro is more important, but dental and optical have to happen first, because if i have changes to my glasses, or the filling gets adjusted, i need to see if the migraines improve. this information will be relevant to the neuro visit. hence the "odd" order.

i had recent dental work. the migraines got worse afterwards. it could be to do with stress because it also coincided with the course - major stress - sleep deprivation... blechhh. BUT! my "preferential side" also changed so i am wondering if the dental work contributed. that tooth has always been very sensitive. i am afraid there is a problem with the work he did... but i am afraid he might not resolve it and instead just try to file down the filling and it might break etc etc... i could go on... also every time the tooth is worked on it gets supersensitive ... i am half wondering if i should hold out more... but i want an xray in case there is a problem ... i am afraid to ask / that he will say no... argghhh. i am very uptight about going back to the dentist. it isn't my usual dentist but my usual one wanted to do something i didn't want for waaay too much money. :(

as far as the other appointments, i am no longer sure why i am so nervewracked about it! i was focusing on the referrals being outdated possibly, but the booking clerk would know that if i called.

yet, i still feel stuck on those too, but now i can't see any reason for it.

~ waves ~

Heheh, don't worry, I am getting rest! :D I especially needed a "break" from doing that course with break-neck preparation and a single unresponsive student. :o I have detached from that now and feel much better. I am fine doing other things, and I am not rushing about, but it is easier to sort these things out when one is not working, and I will indeed be looking for other work soon. I don't expect to have all the visits done before then, but I'd like to have some done and the rest booked at least.

It is 1:30 pm here... looks like you are 8 hours ahead of me yes? 9:30 pm for you?

~ waves ~

Yup. Correct time. :)

Hey... waves, go easy on yourself.
I get it.

You're so practical on one hand and so worried on the other. Sounds like me.

I live with this imaginary balance scale sitting over my head.

You probably had the correct order already and I don't want to disorganize that.

Makes sense about the dentist and the optical, but I just don't see that's enough to have them first on the list. :)

If you're not sleeping, having more migraines and whatever else, you're totally stressed and you're having to put dentist and optical above Neuro then I don't know what to suggest. I don't want to mess with your plan.

It is your list though and I know it's really good to brainstorm.

:hug:

Hey Lara

Well the stress and not sleeping are done with (Gone with the Class) :)

I will think about what you said.

I just don't understand why i feel so stuck. The optical and dental before neuro seem normal to me. My pdoc thinks it is a logical ordering also.

Are you thinking, perhaps, that i am stuck, because i'm not convinced of the ordering?

... hmmm. that could be.

Or perhaps the dentist is holding me up is putting the brakes on me booking the other stuff?

I don't know what to do. I have to do something though. I hate dealing with tooth issues here. I *loved* my dentist in California. If i could have packed him in my suitcase i would have... :o I knew dental care here was inferior, but I didn't realize just how inferior until I got here. It's improving but... it's still hard to find a decent hygenist let alone a good one, and soft toothbrushes are a rare find too.

~ waves ~

1. Dental

ok
 

:D

LOL! That was funny. (Point taken!)

I am so glad that you are here lara.
(((((HUGS)))))
bizi
Hope she helped you get unstuck today dear waves.
bizi

Waves,

The neuro might be able to help with the dental. In the waiting room of my pdoc/neuro I met a woman who had been seeing neuros for something that turned out to be dental.

Your order makes sense.
To get unstuck, I make one appointment at a time, go to the appointment, and only after that appointment make the next appointment. It takes much longer but it gets me to move through the list.


M

Dear Mari,

i have no problem with keeping track of multiple appointments. booking more than one makes more sense to me.

i am now uncertain about the priority/ordering simply because dental is such a sticky point, that putting it ahead of everything could be more of a problem than a solution.

in that sense doing away with the "dental dependency" might be helfpul. i still have to deal with the dentist thing though. i don't know how to approach him. i probably need to take the bull by the horns ... ask for what i want and hope it goes well... but i am really chicken.

howver it would probably make sense to book the neuro asap whether they give meban appointment before or after the dentist. i will probably need more than one visit, but or starters i could use some better meds regardless what the cause of the migraines i. NSAIDs are starting to burn up my
stomach.

i was trying to be perfectionist about the ordering i think. probably there is no perfect way to do this and i should stop seeking the "optimal" solution.

Hi,

I keep track of my appointments well enough. The thing is that I want to face one at a time in my head. I guess I sort of carry around emotionally the thougths / emotions of the upcoming appt. I can only carry around so much emotion at a time before I get overwhelmed.

I am happy that you wrote out the list and are prepared to start tackling these tasks.

M

ok... i get it. sorry for misunderstanding!
 

Ah, ok. I get it now. Yes, emotional overwhelm is a consideration. However i am feeling overwhelmed by not having the stuff booked. I carry it all around emotionally anyway, if that makes sense. Having the bookings would allow me to put them out of mind until i have to go to the appointment (other than the dentist which is a mess).

I am still confused, but i am leaning towards trying to book the neuro. There may be a long wait as it is.

Maybe i can make a half step with the dentist. Maybe i can just call him and tell him my issues, and say what i would like from him -

1. XRAY to verify if all caries have been cleaned out.
2. verify fitting of filling because it feels like it's putting pressure on the adjacent tooth
3. verify all exposed dentine has been covered because i have sensitivity at the base of the filling (close to gum)

then take it from there.

i don't know why i am afraid he will refuse the X-ray, or be upset with me in general. I suspect it is a mixture of thoughts and gut feeling - not just one.

I am angry that, when he removed the temp filling the other dentist had put in, he didn't do an XRAY then. that would have given more information! I am not just angry with him, but also at myself for not stopping him and insisting that he do it. (I thought of it at the time, but I felt inappropriate speaking up. :()

Another thing is that when i left he said, "I hope not to see you again, for THIS tooth." In my head, I can "hear it" as a way of saying he hoped the work was successful. However I walked out with a strong feeling that he never wanted to deal with that tooth again. (It is in fact a very difficult spot to fix.)

~ waves ~

unstuck, for now
 

Well i feel better about this stuff now. I'm not stuck because, since my stomach has put up a no-entry sign for NSAIDs, i have to make neuro first priority, period. Optical is going in parallel and no big deal to me... i already have an appointment. I am having vision problems, and that is a source of discomfort. I am looking forward to an updated script so i can get a pair of really dark prescription shades for when i am photosensitive which, lately, is most of the time. (at home, i wear my shades over my glasses... :D LOL ... i look like a bug. :cool:)

I know i need to face the dentist, but i realize it is overwhelming at the moment. I'll hold out a while longer and see if the sensitivity decreases some more.

I've also thought about it some more in relation to the migraines. I've had some bad ones on either side. The dental work is only likely to affect the same side - so i doubt it's a bit player, even if it might contribute a little.

anyway. i am feeling less dazed and confused regarding what to do next. i am getting on with the neuro as posted in my other thread on migraines/gabapentin/neuro.

(i am sometimes dazed and confused from gabapentin use at the moment, but that is SOOOOOOO much better than the alternative. :o)

============================

regarding the dentist meanwhile ... i would love it if anyone has feedback on the exchange i described when i left... do you think i was hypersensitive in feeling like he no longer wanted to have to work on this particular tooth? as i said before it was more of a vibe that hit me. what he said is actually pretty common type of thing to say... a doctor might say i hope not to see you too soon... that kind of thing... meaning they wish you well... and yet...

any thoughts?

~ waves ~

I think you need to try to remember his tone of his voice, that would be an indicator of the intent behind his words. For me I think his comments were that of Hoping that things go well for you and that he hopes that will fix your tooth problem. No ill feelings I hope.
bizi

Waves,

I think you have to operate based on the hope that he is a professional who can help you.
Go back to him when you are ready and point out to him your concerns.

M

i think it was a dumb thing for him to have said. I would try to forget it.
love
bobby

Sending wishes for good luck to solve this problem.

I hope we both have luck solving this.

Donna:grouphug::hug: