Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Doctor's Appointment on Monday

I had my appointment with the Physician Assistant, today.  The appointment was for 2:00 p.m., but I was required to be at the clinic by 1:45 p.m.  The clinic is located in Downtown, so I planned to leave by 12:45 p.m.

This morning, I drank (or should I say I tried to drink?) a cup of plain tea, black, without any sugar, and failed rather miserably!  I managed a few sips, less than half a cup!  Later, I ate one scrambled egg for breakfast. 

I left the house exactly at 12:45 p.m. and reached the clinic by 1:30 p.m.  There was a line of people waiting to be checked in and then, another short wait afterwards, to be called inside.  I went prepared to wait and read the book I had taken with me.  My pressure was good, my blood sugar was good, and I weighed 10 lbs. less than I had at my previous visit on January 11, which was also good!  The PA was very pleased with my progress and, basically told me to continue doing what I have been doing!  But, I had questions I needed to ask of her, including regarding those phone calls that were never returned.  According to the medical file, however, her notes indicate that I was called back and told to continue to monitor the pressure and call back in five days' time, and to come in for more frequent monitoring in person!  Um, except she didn't call me back!  Unless she called my old office phone number and left a message on the voice mail there; I didn't pursue it, but I know I verified that the clinic had my home phone number, when I called to leave the message. 

But, we discussed the concerns I had about not taking any medications when the pressure was good and only taking medications when the pressure was high enough  (above 130/80), as I was going for a couple of days without any medications and then, needing to take them the next day, as that can lead to complications, as well.  We have now decided that she will reduce the dosages of two of the pressure medications I am taking and I will take the reduced dosages daily, but continue to monitor the pressure and adjust as needed.  I feel much better about it, now.  I have a follow up appointment in April, but I am to call and come in earlier, if needed.

By the time I left the clinic, it was 3:30 p.m.  I was just in time for rush hour traffic!  It was 4:30 p.m. when I got home.  I decided to treat myself to a hamburger on the way home!  Just the hamburger, no fries.  Followed by a proper cup of tea with both milk and sugar! 

Later, I chatted with cousin P on the phone, watched news, took the big trash can to the curb, and did a load of laundry. 

Dinner was leftover red rice, mackerel curry, green beans, and cabbage.  Both Eileen and Nil had asked about my mackerel curry recipe, so I will do another post with that, as this is long enough as it is!

Later in the night, I video chatted with my daughter.  She'll be coming down on Thursday night as it is her birthday weekend; we are trying to plan what we want to do to celebrate.  She wants to go to Little Tokyo (Japan Town) to lunch on Friday, so we'll do that.  She didn't want any type of party; I suggested she went out to dinner with her friends, but she didn't want to do that, either!  But, I think I've persuaded her to invite her friends over to our house to play board games and have dinner on Friday night.  She sent a text to her friends to see if they are free on Friday night. She doesn't want me to get tired, cooking, so, if they are coming, we'll order food from our favorite Thai place. 

Today, I spent $25 at the doctor's office for co-pay and parking.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Another sunny day
- The doctor's appointment went well
- I had a safe drive downtown and back
- Blood pressure and sugar levels were good
- Chatting with my daughter

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Grocery shop for pineapples
- Visit Aunt T
- Put away laundry from today (hanging up to dry, overnight)
- Run the dishwasher

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?




14 comments:

  1. I'm glad your appointment went well, even if you didn't receive a proper explanation for the unreturned calls.
    I think you owe it to yourself to enjoy a proper cup of tea. Life is too short. X

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    1. Thank you, Jules. Yes, a good cup of tea is one of life's little pleasures, isn't it? I've reduced the amount of sugar I take, but I can't drink it without any sugar. :)

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  2. Good news on the results and long may the good results continue. I hope the changes to the medication work out for you.

    I'd have been annoyed that my records showed an interaction that didn't happen. If she'd left a message, her notes should have reflected that and the fact that is didn't is poor reporting on her part and is misleading.

    I know you will enjoy your daughter's visit home to celebrate her birthday, whatever she decides to do. How long is she home for?

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. Yes, I told her that I didn't get a call, but I didn't pursue it.

      My daughter will be home for an extended weekend. She's flying down Thursday night, after work, and flying back up on Monday afternoon.

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  3. Glad you got to talk with the p.a. about your blood pressure and medicine concerns. I would make sure they take your office contact number off your file though.
    I know you will enjoy the weekend with your daughter. Board games and Thai sounds like a great birthday to me.

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    1. Yes, the next time I call or go to visit, I will make sure that they only have my home phone number...or, maybe I should leave my cell phone number with them.

      It'll be fun to have my girl home for the weekend. I thought she might enjoy going out to eat with her friends, but, she decided to do something at home, instead.

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  4. Maybe the clinic misdialed your number and left a message with some stranger. If you make another call where you want a feedback, I would verify my number and explain what happened last time. Hopefully that would make the caller pay extra attention to what number they are dialing. Otherwise, sounds like a good appointment.

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    1. Maybe, Live and Learn. I know that I occasionally get other people's phone messages on my answering machine, so it's possible that the message meant for me went astray. Maybe I should have made an appointment and gone to see her, instead. Sometimes, I tend to be too passive.

      But, otherwise, it was a good appointment and, hopefully, things will go smoothly from now on.

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  5. I'm glad your doctor's appointment went well, Bless.
    Sometimes I get messages from doctor's offices for strangers. And this is on my office voice mail. If she really made those calls, she must have dialed the wrong number.

    I can't drink tea without sugar, With milk or without milk I need sugar. :)

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    1. Thank you, Nil. I think the phone messages just went awry. It's OK. These things happen.

      Yes, plain tea is not too bad, but it needs sugar! LOL. Especially the extra strength stuff that I drink! I only drink two cups a day, once in the morning and once in the evening; I'll give up my desserts before I give up some sugar in my tea!

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  6. I know you are probably tired of commenting on the "phone message that was not received", but it is annoying to the rest of us as well. They should have clued into the fact that you did not just call once. You left MESSAGES for a call back.

    I have managed to drink tea without sugar (if I have to), but it has to have milk in it.

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    1. Susan, yes, I did leave messages, plural! I probably should have asked the PA who exactly was it that called/was supposed to call me back, but, I didn't. I don't feel comfortable confronting people. In fact, I felt nervous about questioning her, in the first place! I have a hard time advocating for myself.

      Tea without sugar tastes like tears, to me!

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  7. Oh. And congrats on the weight loss and fantastic blood results. Woohoo!

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    1. Thank you! I was rather pleased with the weight loss! I lost something like 40 lbs. when I was undergoing chemo, which was fine because I was obese prior to chemo and could definitely afford to lose the weight! Then, afterwards, I gained about 20 of it back! I was heading back to being obese! So, this recent weight loss was a good thing. I am now overweight, rather than obese! :p

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