Deferred maintenance
Jan. 11th, 2008 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamsharkIf I didn't get earaches I probably wouldn't have seen a doctor since I had my last baby. But I've got sub-standard, non-draining ears that drive me to a doctor ever 3-5 years. My ears are not actually infected right now, but they're full of fluid and will eventually turn into a raging earache if I don't do something about it.
So I made a last-minute appointment with a random family practice doctor at my local Park Nicollet Clinic before I flew to Arizona, hoping for something that would keep my ears from exploding on the plane. He quickly determined that a lot of the congestion in my head was probably due to an addiction to over-the-counter nasal spray (which helps in the short term but has the opposite effect in the long term). He prescribed a non-addictive nasal spray (Flonase) and an antihistamine, and was kind enough to write me a prescription for antibiotic in case I developed a full-blown infection on my trip. The meds definitively cleared up the nasal congestion and instantly cancelled out the Sinex addiction so I didn't have to taper off that stuff. The ears didn't actually get any better. But I liked Dr. Willis' attitude (good listener, good explainer, sensible attitude) and decided to make him my Primary Care Physician. I haven't had one of those for years and years - since Dr. Page retired.
It looks like it's going to take an EarNoseThroat doctor to deal with the ear plumbing (I think I need tubes, like babies get). But since I now had a doctor, I decided to catch up on about 5 years of deferred maintenance. Thus, I have now scheduled a whole battery of standard blood tests, a sigmoidoscopy, a treadmill test, a mammogram (well, almost - I have to call the number and schedule that one myself). Oh, and the ENT I had originally hoped to see. Unfortunately the first ENT appointment I could get was two weeks from now. I might try calling in the mornings next week to see if I can get in on a cancellation. My ears aren't actually getting worse, but they aren't getting any better either, and I'm tired of what sounds like little tiny people moving furniture around in my left ear all day.
Here's one of the things I like about young Doc Willis. He started writing down the blood tests they do these days (cholesterol, glucose, et al) and I said, "What about a thyroid test?" He asked why, and I said just because I've heard that it is a common undiagnosed problem in middle-aged women. He said, yes, that's very true. But it's not one of the standard screening tests. I said, "I wonder why it isn't?" and he said, "I wonder that too. It probably should be." He asked if there was any history of thyroid problems in my family, and as soon as I mentioned my grandmother he added that test to the list with no more argument. (I think he wanted to be able to put down "family history" as a justification in case the insurance questioned it).
So I made a last-minute appointment with a random family practice doctor at my local Park Nicollet Clinic before I flew to Arizona, hoping for something that would keep my ears from exploding on the plane. He quickly determined that a lot of the congestion in my head was probably due to an addiction to over-the-counter nasal spray (which helps in the short term but has the opposite effect in the long term). He prescribed a non-addictive nasal spray (Flonase) and an antihistamine, and was kind enough to write me a prescription for antibiotic in case I developed a full-blown infection on my trip. The meds definitively cleared up the nasal congestion and instantly cancelled out the Sinex addiction so I didn't have to taper off that stuff. The ears didn't actually get any better. But I liked Dr. Willis' attitude (good listener, good explainer, sensible attitude) and decided to make him my Primary Care Physician. I haven't had one of those for years and years - since Dr. Page retired.
It looks like it's going to take an EarNoseThroat doctor to deal with the ear plumbing (I think I need tubes, like babies get). But since I now had a doctor, I decided to catch up on about 5 years of deferred maintenance. Thus, I have now scheduled a whole battery of standard blood tests, a sigmoidoscopy, a treadmill test, a mammogram (well, almost - I have to call the number and schedule that one myself). Oh, and the ENT I had originally hoped to see. Unfortunately the first ENT appointment I could get was two weeks from now. I might try calling in the mornings next week to see if I can get in on a cancellation. My ears aren't actually getting worse, but they aren't getting any better either, and I'm tired of what sounds like little tiny people moving furniture around in my left ear all day.
Here's one of the things I like about young Doc Willis. He started writing down the blood tests they do these days (cholesterol, glucose, et al) and I said, "What about a thyroid test?" He asked why, and I said just because I've heard that it is a common undiagnosed problem in middle-aged women. He said, yes, that's very true. But it's not one of the standard screening tests. I said, "I wonder why it isn't?" and he said, "I wonder that too. It probably should be." He asked if there was any history of thyroid problems in my family, and as soon as I mentioned my grandmother he added that test to the list with no more argument. (I think he wanted to be able to put down "family history" as a justification in case the insurance questioned it).
