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7395. judithathome - 9/4/2008 4:14:48 PM Thank god I take blood pressure pills! Have been on hold with the health insurance company all morning.
Seems my doctor's billing clerk typed in the wrong code and I'm being billed some outrageous amount due to "diagnosis inconsistent with tests"...on Keoni. He goes to the doctor every year for a PSA reading...it has always been paid by the insurance company...for the past 12 years! Suddenly it's not.
We do not run to the doctor every 5 minutes...it's a rare year that we go in more than twice and he doesn't even take meds...for anything! We are not costing this insurance anything in comparison to most couples who have medical problems. It fries me that we're getting hit with this due to some jerk-wad's incompetence.
I can't believe the amount of bone-headed screw-ups people make in their jobs. This is something that will tie up the billing group, the insurance group, and ME for weeks to come. 7396. Jenerator - 9/5/2008 2:06:58 AM Anomie,
If you didn't throw up or have diarrhea, you probably had something other than food poisoning. 7397. Jenerator - 9/5/2008 2:09:04 AM Judith,
I hate insurance!!! 7398. anomie - 9/5/2008 3:55:19 PM Jen, I thought that too for a while, but the consensus is against us. I'm just glad it's over. 7399. judithathome - 10/8/2008 6:01:00 AM Hurrah for my bones! Had a full body bone scan Friday and the doctor called today with what I was just certain was dreadful news....been having bad pain in my back for 3 weeks, along my spine.
My bone density has improved in my spine and everywhere but my hips...it's a 13% improvement since the last scan, almost 2 years ago. The doctor was most impressed!
We discussed why my back might be hurting and finally settled on something I was beginning to suspect: no swimming the last month. I'm starting back this week at LA Fitness for my swimming.
He said to keep taking the calcium citrate and vitamin D and walking as much as I can. And to use the Miacalcin nose spray religiously...I have to use it because the other "bone helping stuff" (Fosamax) gave me ulcers.
Anyhow, I'm thrilled I'm not diagnosed as having "osteoporosis" but instead, have improvement in my bone density.
7400. thoughtful - 10/8/2008 2:44:39 PM Great news! Bones are nothing to fool with.
Cas, the cat, is now hyperthyroid, while his mom (me) is going hypothyroid. Go figure. Must be something in the water as I've dealt with hyperthyroidism myself for 30 years and our old dear cat Emily was also hyperthyroid.
I had a physical done and other than my thyroid, everything is great. My cholesterol is a little high (208) but it's because my HDL, the good stuff is so high. My triglycerides are also very low. So it looks like my shift in diet to more fat and more balanced fat intake has done me no harm at all. Adding butter, sour cream, mayo, eggs, and meats while cutting out trans fats and limiting carbs has been a good thing...as expected. 7401. judithathome - 10/8/2008 4:59:44 PM Same for me, Thoughtful...my cholesterol readings were excellent. And my weight loss continues slowly...I'm down 36 pounds now.
7402. thoughtful - 10/8/2008 5:06:15 PM Wahoo! Congratulations!
We had a health & safety fair at work awhile ago and I did a thing on waist measurement being the best indicator of risk of heart disease stroke and cancer. The good news is that even a small reduction in waist size has a huge benefit on health risks, so your weight reduction is doing wonderful things for your health. I'm betting you feel a lot better too.
Great job! 7403. thoughtful - 10/8/2008 5:09:17 PM My bloodwork shows that I am now underactive thyroid. I guess after all these years of being overactive, it's finally giving up the ghost.
I'll go for a recheck in 3 months and in the meantime, I'll add fish oil pills back to my diet and switch to vitamins that contain iodine. I'm hoping that alone will be enough to get me back in balance.
7404. judithathome - 10/9/2008 6:42:38 PM yesterday my son had an xray done of his head, neck, and upper part of his spine...he is experiencing numbness in his left arm and last three fingers of his left hand. His neurosurgeon told him that it was classie pinching of vertebrae number 5 and 6 and said if it got worse to have the xray.
They found 2 objects that look like the bottom parts of paper clips at the base of his his skull! Metal ones! They are at the bottom of the incisions on his head...and no, he didn't have staples in the incisions...they used thread to "sew" him up and he counted each stitch when they were removed.
He called the neurosurgeon's office and they are freaking out...he's waiting to hear back.
7405. thoughtful - 10/10/2008 2:01:02 PM oh for heaven's sake! what's next for that poor fellow! 7406. judithathome - 10/11/2008 6:19:01 AM I saw the x-ray today and was shocked beyond belief...it really DOES look like a paperclip!
Also got a call from my doctor and he told me there is a suspicious spot on the mammogram I had done on Wednesday...have to go in for a more detailed one. Naturally, when a woman hears that, it's panic city.
So here I am...in panic city. Intellectually, I know it's probably nothing.
7407. arkymalarky - 10/11/2008 6:06:47 PM Man, Judith, you've had more than your share of stress lately. Good you're going back Wednesday and don't have to wait long. Did the doctor elaborate in any way? I'm a basket case after an abnormal mammogram, but my SIL who had breast cancer was pulled right when she had hers. They didn't have her come back another day for "mag views," but took her right from her first mammogram to a biopsy that day. They always look at mine carefully before they let me go, and knowing how they did her gives me less to worry about as I wait on results. 7408. judithathome - 10/11/2008 6:42:25 PM Well, it must not be THAT bad because no one called with a new appointment for me and they certainly won't be calling over the weekend.
I'm almost certain it's a benign fibroadenoma...but since my mother had breast cancer, it's still nagging at me.
I'm not getting morbid or anything but even if it IS bad news, my mom survived it and I knows tons of other women who have, too. If I were younger, I'd be more frantic but I know enough about this stuff that I'm a little more calm than I might be were I younger and dumber....ha!
7409. arkymalarky - 10/11/2008 6:48:48 PM True. In fact, SIL was in her mid-30s and she survived hers and is thriving now. 7410. Jenerator - 10/11/2008 6:50:56 PM Judith,
Will they be going in to see what the mysterious item is in your son's neck? I'm thinking that a video recording of that operation is in order; that, or an attorney that specializes in malpractice serves as a witness. 7411. Jenerator - 10/11/2008 6:51:44 PM AND, I feel for you for this dreadful news and the anxiety producting results of the mammogram. That has been a tough year for you and your family. 7412. judithathome - 10/11/2008 7:27:28 PM Well, there is definitely a video of this operation because the doctor was presenting the case at conference in Vienna the next week...it was an extremely unusual solution to a complicated problem that doesn't happen all that often. So I know it was taped...in fact, Leslie asked for a copy of it...ha!
Leslie has mentioned malpractice but he is so grateful to that doctor for saving his life...he doesn't want to cause problems for him. And really, it was the two guys who sewed him up that might be at fault. They came to the room the next day and told him they had "closed" him up. Or, it could simply be an anomoly on the film...it could be something on the clothing he had on but he swore the x-ray tech checked every possible thing it could have been.
The reason we think it is something left in his head is that the nurse who takes care of all his meds, MRIs, and other stuff said "I can't tell you anything but I think I know what this is...and you need to call your neurosurgeon right away."
Leslie thinks it's a clip that held the artery in place while they were "fusing" the two veins...and he is afraid it is cutting blood flow to his brain a bit.
We'll know more on the 21st...we're seeing the surgeon in Dallas that day. 7413. judithathome - 10/11/2008 7:28:04 PM I'm hoping it's nothing...he really doesn't want another surgery! 7414. judithathome - 10/13/2008 10:37:58 PM Well, my doctor's office finally called me back and they have scheduled a "diagnostic mammogram" for November 21st!!
That tells me I have nothing to worry about at all.
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