Health and Wellness Chit-Chat: Your Primary Care Topic

[PRgal]

Having dense breasts sucks.  Just came back from an ultrasound on my right breast.  There was no abnormality based on the u/s but my breast MRI showed some differences from the previous year (could be related to the surgery I had in June, but they're not sure).  Now they want to do contrast mammo to see.  And if it's still off, an MRI biopsy.  I should have just gotten those gals out.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, PRgal said:

Having dense breasts sucks.  Just came back from an ultrasound on my right breast.  There was no abnormality based on the u/s but my breast MRI showed some differences from the previous year (could be related to the surgery I had in June, but they're not sure).  Now they want to do contrast mammo to see.  And if it's still off, an MRI biopsy.  I should have just gotten those gals out.

These dense breast mammogram situations are where "less is more" means doing less invasive procedures requires having more procedures and more worry.
Hang in there! 
(Hang-ing pun totally unintended 😉)

Edited February 5 by shapeshifter

[shapeshifter]

I've been going nuts over where to get a tooth pulled and an implant put in.
It's "just" a molar, but very expensive. 
So many things I could have fixed in my condo or on my car for the same money but haven't. 

Anyway.
Question for all y'all:
I thought I'd made my mind up on where to have it done, but just learned they do a 3% surcharge if you pay by credit card. 
That's not a problem for me. I can use my debit card. 
But does it sound, well, not exactly "sketchy," but kind of "low rent," if you know what I mean?

[Browncoat]

No.  That fee has always been there, and usually absorbed by the merchants.  This is just their way of recouping those dollars.

[shapeshifter]

11 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

No.  That fee has always been there, and usually absorbed by the merchants.  This is just their way of recouping those dollars.

Right. 
But is overtly passing the credit card fees on to dental patients the norm?

[SoMuchTV]

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Right. 
But is overtly passing the credit card fees on to dental patients the norm?

My vet started doing that a few months ago. I think it may have coincided with their being acquired by a “big vet” corporation. 

My car dealership (where i have service done) started doing it a while back, but I don’t think they do anymore. I wonder if they realized they could just raise prices and it wouldn’t annoy customers much as the surcharge. 

[Browncoat]

21 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Right. 
But is overtly passing the credit card fees on to dental patients the norm?

I don't know if it's the norm for dentists, but it's becoming the norm for other merchants.  

[Absolom]

17 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Look at any medical website - what they have to say about BP as high as mine is alarming and shocking. I didn't even realize it was considered that bad but they are making it sound like it's high enough to get yourself to a doctor ASAP. I didn't know that until after I saw the doctor. And she wasn't even going to mention it!!

This part is very true.  I didn't have to look at a website to know.  My blood pressure sky rocketed over a two week period when my mother with dementia was living with me.  The cardiologist dropped everything to talk to me about it and make sure I understood Mom was now too much stress and had to go to a facility.  In that case I was fully onboard and had already pretty much picked the place.  I called to confirm her placement and begin the arrangements when I got home.  I lost one of my bosses to a stroke from her high blood pressure.  Working late one evening and dead by morning.  That's why it's so baffling you want to die on the hill of not taking the available appointment to deal with it.  Your choice though.  

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Right. 
But is overtly passing the credit card fees on to dental patients the norm?

My dentist kind of reverses it.  They give a "discount" for paying cash (including checks).  It sounds more polite or positive perhaps.  One of the car dealerships does it along with the vet. The vet is more like the dentist saying it's discounted for "cash." 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Absolom said:

My dentist kind of reverses it.  They give a "discount" for paying cash (including checks).  It sounds more polite or positive perhaps

I would feel much better about it if it was conveyed that way. 

[chitowngirl]

Since Covid, SO many places are adding the credit card surcharge that they used to absorb, but they have to post that they are doing it. They can’t just add it and you get a surprise later when you check your receipt 
 

Unrelated to surcharges-my hemorrhoid is inflamed. It’s external, so easier to clean and medicate, but still …

Edited February 6 by chitowngirl

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, Ancaster said:

"Stick you with the 8:00am appointment"?  How about the doctor is coming in early to accommodate you?

How many times do we hear from people complaining that their doctors don't/won't give them the time of day and just pass them off to their assistants?  I love a doctor who "still" just wants to see me.

Nah, those are her regular hours. This is New England, home of the earliest early risers out there. I'm a New Yorker by birth and by nature and at least when I lived there that was considered early. Here it's not. My husband is an early person and he loves the 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. appointments. I am just over feeling like there's judgment on people for not being "early birds".

The doctor only made an effort to see me on short notice because I was insistent on moving forward with resolving my BP medication issue ASAP. I've had to take the lead with this the whole way. And I did get stuck with her assistant, both online yesterday and in the office. Today I met with first an assistant, then a very nice and very thorough resident (this is a teaching hospital). I didn't see the doctor until the very end of the appointment and mostly to give her opinion on what medication of the 3 possibilities the resident gave me. I ended up agreeing to try the one she suggested. It will be a low dose of a beta blocker to start.

First of all I don't know why my request to reschedule to a later appointment wasn't addressed. No one got back to me. I would have come in some other day if I was given that option. Or if it wasn't an option in the near future at least tell me that. I didn't make an issue of that with the doctor during this meeting, but when she did show up she bent over backwards to show that she understood my issues - like she had actually read my chart or records this time. She even smiled and showed an interest in me! And I am sure it's because she sensed that I was not happy with her in my messages. Last month when I saw her last it was like she was going through the motions and didn't even remember or have a basic grasp of my issues. During that meeting she acted like a lump in the chair nodding and I felt like she was more intent on filling out her "wellness check" form than addressing my issues. Not even mentioning the high BP reading didn't help. So I wasn't upset with her over nothing and the way she acted today showed me she was all but admitting it without admitting it. She addressed everything I kept mentioning but got no response from her about in previous meetings including my cholesterol. Wow, that's all it took! I don't ask for the unreasonable from her. BTW, we have decided to deal with looking for a cholesterol medication after I'm set with the BP medication. 

I told her I was stressed out because my BP was still reading so high on 2 BP monitors and who wouldn't be if you read what the internet has to say about that? How would anyone here feel if their BP was still up in the 180s over 100?!! So she had the resident take my BP with a manual monitor, because she said they're more accurate and usually show a lower BP. I didn't even ask why no one told me that's why I had to come in person but I'm still pissed that no one explained that to me beforehand. It would have made a big difference in how I felt about this. I'm not unreasonable. If someone explained that to me I wouldn't have had a problem with it. That's all I wanted. And I think I deserve that and shouldn't be told by other people like I should have known that without being told! Their not responding to a valid question is not acceptable, in my opinion. This meeting made me feel a lot better but a few words to that effect beforehand could have helped. I know a lot of my doctors would have done that.

Anyway, My BP came in at 148/84 on the manual monitor. What a difference! I'm relieved now. The doctor sent the prescription to the online pharmacy so I probably won't get it for a week or so. And I scheduled a follow up in a month. She told me to bring my BP monitors so she can see if there's something different I can do to get more accurate readings from them. She even said she realized I had a lot coming up in the near future like the echocardiogram and the thyroid ultrasound and meeting with thyroid doctor.

I told her it was even more than she knew. I have a trip coming up in a few weeks and a house renovation issue that will have to be addressed in the Spring, and lymphedema therapy consisting of a 6 week intensive program coming up in mid March. It's going to be a lot and I admit that it's stressing me out. It's not just me, though. My husband is stressed out over the home renovation situation and he doesn't even have the medical issues and worries going on that I do right now. It's a long story.

 

 

P.S. My day was really wrecked up by that early meeting. I ended up exhausted by noon and napping in the mid afternoon. I'm feeling a little better now.

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, Absolom said:

This part is very true.  I didn't have to look at a website to know.  My blood pressure sky rocketed over a two week period when my mother with dementia was living with me.  The cardiologist dropped everything to talk to me about it and make sure I understood Mom was now too much stress and had to go to a facility.  In that case I was fully onboard and had already pretty much picked the place.  I called to confirm her placement and begin the arrangements when I got home.  I lost one of my bosses to a stroke from her high blood pressure.  Working late one evening and dead by morning.  That's why it's so baffling you want to die on the hill of not taking the available appointment to deal with it.  Your choice though.  

My dentist kind of reverses it.  They give a "discount" for paying cash (including checks).  It sounds more polite or positive perhaps.  One of the car dealerships does it along with the vet. The vet is more like the dentist saying it's discounted for "cash." 

I don't understand what you mean by "dying on a hill". I'm not dying on any hill by asking them why I had to come in there in person or if my appointment could be on another date at a later time. I'm complaining that no one got back to me to answer my question and appointment request and how the dr. was generally not reacting to my issues until I insisted on it.  I don't think I was expecting too much from her or her assistant who blew me off. I was not discourteous to them at any time. 

Also, I am not a snowflake. I have trouble functioning early in the morning. I am not a morning person especially not that early. I don't seem to be getting any respect for that. There is so much prejudice against non-morning people it's not even funny. I have tried to be one. I had to be one when I worked but I was younger and in better health then, and even then it wasn't easy for me. I don't know why I am that way, I just am. I also don't know why I feel like I have to justify these things. I have been very sympathetic toward other people's issues and certainly not put the laugh emoji on any of their posts for being upset about a similar situation, but I am not feeling very understood or respected right now and I don't think I deserve that.

Oh, and P.S. I didn't even explain how the assistant had originally made the app't. for 8:20, then changed it to 8:00 without any explanation, and when I asked her why she just wrote back curtly, "because 8:20 was not available". No reason, nothing. It was only THEN that I asked her if she could find me a later time on a later date then because 8:00 was going to be rough for me. And that's when she just blew me off.

Edited February 6 by Yeah No

[Sharla]

On 2/4/2025 at 12:26 AM, Yeah No said:

After writing my doctor about it on "MyChart" she suggested a combination drug with this one in it and another one or an add-on to make it work better. However she said it's "something we can discuss on your next visit here". So I wrote back asking why I needed to come in to discuss it, especially if she was leaning toward that solution, and mentioned how I have 4 appointments coming up for various reasons for tests and with specialists in the next 2 weeks as it is. Plus these doctors seem to be completely unaware of how far out they're booking and I can't wait weeks to see her every time I need to try a new medication. My BP is too high to wait. Unfortunately she hasn't responded yet.

She said you'd discuss it at your next visit.  That's why they aren't responding to repeated questions of why you need a visit.  She's already told you she wants to discuss the med at a visit.  

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

P.S. My day was really wrecked up by that early meeting. I ended up exhausted by noon and napping in the mid afternoon. I'm feeling a little better now.

I'm sure you don't want to go chasing after another medical issue right now, but that could be a symptom of sleep apnea, which I didn't get diagnosed until this past year. For the last 10 years I was employed I used to race home at lunch to take a 10-20 minute nap, without which I could not really function. 

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, Sharla said:

She said you'd discuss it at your next visit.  That's why they aren't responding to repeated questions of why you need a visit.  She's already told you she wants to discuss the med at a visit.  

Telling me she wants to discuss it at an in person visit doesn't answer my question which was why it had to be done at an in person visit. Geesh, I didn't think I was being so unreasonable asking for a reason why that had to be the case instead of an alternative like a phone call or a Zoom meeting. It wouldn't have taken that much for her to tell me the reason and I don't think it was proper or nice of them to just blow me off on it. I have a lot of things going on right now so coming in is very disruptive. But I guess my time as a patient isn't considered valuable nor do I deserve an answer to two simple questions. Wow. 😏

Have people just become so used to being treated this way that they now defend it? Or do they get away with treating people this way now so they want to defend it because it's now somehow considered acceptable behavior? I spent my career having to be very careful how I engaged with clients, coworkers and bosses and it was just not seen as cool or acceptable to blow people off like that over a simple and reasonable set of questions. I would have had poor evaluations from my superiors and bad relations with everyone else and could have lost my job over it. I am simply floored that I have to defend my position on this. Thank goodness I don't have to explain it to friends and my husband or I'd really think the world had gone mad. I already do but at least not because of them!

 

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm sure you don't want to go chasing after another medical issue right now, but that could be a symptom of sleep apnea, which I didn't get diagnosed until this past year. For the last 10 years I was employed I used to race home at lunch to take a 10-20 minute nap, without which I could not really function. 

Yeah, I don't really want to pursue that right now but I have wondered about it. Interestingly the sleep app (Samsung Health) I use actually records me snoring and tells me how much time I snored and woke up during the night. I have listened to a lot of it and nothing sounds at all like the examples of sleep apnea snoring on YouTube. In fact I recognize that kind of snoring and gasping because my husband snores like that and I can't get him to address it. I sleep with earplugs because of it.

Also the sleep app is telling me I wake up a normal amount of times during the night. I realize this is not a professional study but I do find that interesting. I think my biggest issue is a messed up sleep cycle that I can't seem to get back on track. One of the problems is insomnia and then not getting enough sleep, then falling asleep early and only getting a few hours, waking up and not being able to fall asleep again so I end up staying awake for a few hours before going back to sleep. Sometimes I feel great doing that but sometimes not. I was dealing with this with the buspirone I was taking for a while and that really helped me fall and stay asleep, but I had to come off it because it was actually making me anxious - a strange but known side effect for this anti-anxiety drug. I was taking it not for anxiety though, but because it helps with stomach issues, which I had after my gallbladder removal. Those have cleared up now so I don't need to take it anymore anyway.

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, Sharla said:

She said you'd discuss it at your next visit.  That's why they aren't responding to repeated questions of why you need a visit.  She's already told you she wants to discuss the med at a visit.  

Also I have had doctors recommend meds. to me right there on the message app. many times. Or the assistant would talk with the dr. and get back to me on it. No need for a meeting to discuss it much less an in person one. It's done all the time so I wondered why not this time? What was the reason? It turned out that they wanted to take my BP with a manual BP monitor because they are considered more effective - something I didn't know. That's all they needed to tell me. It was really NO BIG DEAL.

Telling me the reason she didn't respond to me is because she said she'd talk about it in her next meeting with me didn't answer why I needed the in person meeting in the first place. It's like when a kid asks their mother why she wants them to do something and the mother responds, "because I said so". I don't know about you, but my mother never said something like that to me. She respected my questions. So excuse me if I expect the doctor to respect them too.

[Sharla]

It appears that someone in the forum had already suggested it was because they needed to check your blood pressure themselves. 

[Yeah No]

Just now, Sharla said:

It appears that someone in the forum had already suggested it was because they needed to check your blood pressure themselves. 

Yes and that was helpful, but the point was that the doctor or her assistant should have told me that because it wasn't immediately obvious to me. I didn't know that manual BP monitors were more accurate or that I might need to learn better ways of using mine to get more accurate results. A lot of people don't know that and this is my first time getting such high readings so I had no idea. Being told that by them would have helped. I would not have been upset with them at all if they had done that.

[Sharla]

18 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Telling me she wants to discuss it at an in person visit doesn't answer my question which was why it had to be done at an in person visit. Geesh, I didn't think I was being so unreasonable asking for a reason why that had to be the case instead of an alternative like a phone call or a Zoom meeting. It wouldn't have taken that much for her to tell me the reason and I don't think it was proper or nice of them to just blow me off on it. I have a lot of things going on right now so coming in is very disruptive. But I guess my time as a patient isn't considered valuable nor do I deserve an answer to two simple questions. Wow. 😏

My guess is that you are a higher needs than average patient just like a friend of mine.  They're busy and taking the time to answer in detail when they've already said you need to come in impacts their day, too.  I doubt the receptionist knew the reason and there are only so many times a day they will want to bug the doctor.  They probably save those for something more pressing.  I understand you wanted to know.  You seemed very spun up about it which doesn't help your blood pressure.  I'm glad you went to the appointment and things were handled. 

[Yeah No]

22 minutes ago, Sharla said:

My guess is that you are a higher needs than average patient just like a friend of mine.  They're busy and taking the time to answer in detail when they've already said you need to come in impacts their day, too.  I doubt the receptionist knew the reason and there are only so many times a day they will want to bug the doctor.  They probably save those for something more pressing.  I understand you wanted to know.  You seemed very spun up about it which doesn't help your blood pressure.  I'm glad you went to the appointment and things were handled. 

I have never been a "higher needs" patient until now. I have several complicated issues now in my older age and more concerns, but I am not in constant contact with my doctors and never have been. I am just used to doctors (even her at one time) that didn't just blow off patients that asked one or two questions. Things have definitely changed in the past couple of years. Now they have a message at the top of the message function of the site telling patients to be respectful and and kind. I have never been anything less than that but now some of the doctors and staff are not being as respectful of patients. So I guess it doesn't go both ways. At least she addressed my issues in person and I was nothing but positive and respectful of her and the resident during my visit with them.

I have to wonder, though, why they recently felt they had to put that message up warning patients to be respectful. Could it be because like me they aren't getting the level of attention and respect from their doctors that they had come to appreciate in the past? I really wonder about that. I get it that some patients can be terrors but other than asking these two questions I have never been anywhere near a "high maintenance" or "disrespectful" patient. Even when a doctor treated me in quite a shocking manner once a few years ago in person I remained quiet in his presence about it. I was so shocked by his behavior I didn't even know how to respond without blowing up at him and I didn't want to do that.

[shapeshifter]

13 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Telling me the reason she didn't respond to me is because she said she'd talk about it in her next meeting with me didn't answer why I needed the in person meeting in the first place. It's like when a kid asks their mother why she wants them to do something and the mother responds, "because I said so". I don't know about you, but my mother never said something like that to me. She respected my questions. So excuse me if I expect the doctor to respect them too.

Like the "because I said so" response, the "when I see you" response implies they are overwhelmed with needs of too many kids/patients right now, probably because this is cold and flu season? 
Maybe the insistence on doing the visit in person has something to do with too many calls right now taking up too much time when they have back-to-back visits all day every day?

ETA:
However…
This morning, I was so stressed after dealing with the person answering the phone who didn't want to transfer me to the Patient Care Coordinator and was then further stressed by the Patient Care Coordinator that I'm dreading what will happen if I need to reach the Periodontist after he extracts my tooth.

Edited February 7 by shapeshifter

[Mountainair]

I am on my own high blood pressure journey and it really doesn’t take much Web MD investigation to know that manual blood pressure readings are way more accurate than the electronic cuffs. If my doctor asked me to come in I am going to come in. I’d rather them lay eyes on me in person than adjust anything without taking vitals, etc. 

I also am not a morning person but my job requires me to be at work by 7:30. I had today off so I slept until noon. I get it. Also having blood pressure out of whack means you can be extra tired. I’d much rather take the first appointment of the day than another time because it means the Dr hasn’t gotten off schedule yet and you aren’t waiting for hours in the waiting room. In and out. With the health care system being the way it is today you are at their mercy. It’s just the way it is. 
Today is also National Wear Red Day for heart disease/defect. My son was born with a heart defect we discovered at age 10 (2 years ago). His condition, while dire to me, has taught me that what I consider an emergency is not considered an emergency by his cardiologist and I have to put my trust in those that know more than I do. Despite what the internet wants me to believe. 

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

3 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I have to wonder, though, why they recently felt they had to put that message up warning patients to be respectful. Could it be because like me they aren't getting the level of attention and respect from their doctors that they had come to appreciate in the past?

When it comes to level of attention, I think it's the opposite.  You mentioned using mychart to write to your doctor about your blood pressure.  Back in the day, if you wanted something addressed, my recollection is that you made an appointment, and if it was something incredibly important, you could call and they might get the doctor involved.  But now, with messaging like you described, I can't even imagine how much time doctors spend reading and responding (or having staff read and respond) to messages.  So it seems to me people actually get more attention than they used to.

[Absolom]

Not really health or wellness but part of the passing the credit card charge along, I found out this morning I need some major plumbing work done.  The lead guy asked if I had checks and knew where they were as that would save me 3.75%.  So the plumber is passing along the credit card service charge.  

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

When it comes to level of attention, I think it's the opposite.  You mentioned using mychart to write to your doctor about your blood pressure.  Back in the day, if you wanted something addressed, my recollection is that you made an appointment, and if it was something incredibly important, you could call and they might get the doctor involved.  But now, with messaging like you described, I can't even imagine how much time doctors spend reading and responding (or having staff read and respond) to messages.  So it seems to me people actually get more attention than they used to.

Sometimes if you call after hours you can talk to the doctor "on call." 
The availability of this service seems to fluctuate with the availability of doctors.

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Like the "because I said so" response, the "when I see you" response implies they are overwhelmed with needs of too many kids/patients right now, probably because this is cold and flu season? 
Maybe the insistence on doing the visit in person has something to do with too many calls right now taking up too much time when they have back-to-back visits all day every day?

I did wonder if maybe she's just got too much going on right now but the waiting room was so empty both when I got there and when I left that I was left scratching my head over it. Although there have been times I have waited to see her or someone else there over an hour but that is not that common, although it never was like that before the pandemic. This is a big hospital with many doctors operating out of this one area. It's the "internal medicine" department. I often wonder why there aren't more patients coming in for appointments. It's a decent state hospital with a very good reputation so I don't get it. I have heard they are facing some financial difficulties, though. 

I have wondered if my dr. is struggling with work/life balance. She was on maternity leave for almost a year starting in 2023. Until a month ago I hadn't seen her in about a year and a half. I had appointments with fill-in doctors and residents during her absence and I usually see specialists mostly, not her anyway. And of course things keep changing and I think maybe she's got a lot on her plate right now both at work and at home.

11 hours ago, Mountainair said:

I am on my own high blood pressure journey and it really doesn’t take much Web MD investigation to know that manual blood pressure readings are way more accurate than the electronic cuffs. If my doctor asked me to come in I am going to come in. I’d rather them lay eyes on me in person than adjust anything without taking vitals, etc.  

I am actually used to having doctors explain why they want me to come in so that's one thing. The other is that I have felt recently that I have been asked to come in unnecessarily. I have had that happen a few times. And I mean really unnecessarily. I had to return an orthotic that my podiatrist had made for me that didn't fit right. I figured that maybe she wanted to see how they fit me and that's why I had to come in so I just went but when I got there she didn't even look at my feet much less me wearing the orthotic to show her how it didn't fit right. I spent less than 5 minutes with her and handed them to her and left. Nothing was done but that. I was confused because I thought we were going to talk about the bursitis in my toe and my bunions. But no. And she charged for a visit. I could have just handed them to reception. I had actually done that once before so it's not like it wasn't done. I was pissed afterward because I cancelled another appointment to make myself available for that one.

There have been other times I was called in unnecessarily as well by other doctors. Again, this never used to happen before the pandemic. So this is one reason why I asked why I had to come in in person.

I gave up on the custom orthotics BTW. It seems that not even advanced technology can create one that doesn't really hurt my feet. I have better luck with Dr. Scholl's off the shelf.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

When it comes to level of attention, I think it's the opposite.  You mentioned using mychart to write to your doctor about your blood pressure.  Back in the day, if you wanted something addressed, my recollection is that you made an appointment, and if it was something incredibly important, you could call and they might get the doctor involved.  But now, with messaging like you described, I can't even imagine how much time doctors spend reading and responding (or having staff read and respond) to messages.  So it seems to me people actually get more attention than they used to.

Actually the reason I wrote to her on MyChart in the first place was at her request because she wanted to know how I was doing on the new medication in case any adjustments needed to be made, especially since I am so prone to bad reactions to medications. And I didn't want to delay either because it could go on for months before my BP got any lower if I waited to see her for every adjustment. So she knew I was going to contact her that way because she suggested it. She told me to give it a week or so to see how I did on the drug and if I had any issues to let her know. There is simply no way I would have been able to handle this in a reasonable amount of time if I had to make an appointment to see her every time just to give her an update, especially since the drug wasn't working. I had to find out from her whether to increase the dosage and by how much. And as it happened, I had to do that a couple of times because I still wasn't seeing any results. If not for contacting her this way it would have gone on for months just to get to this point. And forget it, with BP that high I didn't want to wait that long. She had me increase it to the maximum dosage and it was only then that I asked whether she could prescribe me something else or an add-on because she had told me that one or the other might have to happen. So I wasn't doing anything other than what she had told me to do. And it was then that the assistant told me the doctor wanted me to come in.

In thinking this over I realized that one of the reasons the lack of communication from her or her assistant bothered me is because not only was I worried about my health and not feeling heard or respected, but because so many of my other doctors are actually VERY responsive if I write with a question or concern. So in context this felt out of the ordinary. In fact it was even out of the ordinary for her.

But also, I am beyond frustrated with the slowness of everything I do medically these days. I feel like I am constantly going for appointments and having tests and taking new medications and getting no closer to resolving anything. I had a nothing fall last September that barely grazed my leg but now the lymphedema in my right leg is a little worse. I went to see a specialist who sent me for a test to get a definitive diagnosis of lymphedema because I didn't have one and that was needed to refer me for therapy. So of course that didn't happen until October and it wasn't until November that I met with a lymphedema therapist. But then she was booking way out in March for the actual 6 week course of therapy. I had no choice but to book it because there are so few such therapists in this area. I tried to find one but got nowhere. And that's only ONE of my super-frustrating medical situations. And it's not for want of trying to resolve them.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Yeah No said:

have heard they are facing some financial difficulties, though…

4 hours ago, Yeah No said:

…have felt recently that I have been asked to come in unnecessarily. I have had that happen a few times. And I mean really unnecessarily. I had to return an orthotic that my podiatrist had made for me that didn't fit right. I figured that maybe she wanted to see how they fit me and that's why I had to come in so I just went but when I got there she didn't even look at my feet much less me wearing the orthotic to show her how it didn't fit right. I spent less than 5 minutes with her and handed them to her and left. Nothing was done but that. I was confused because I thought we were going to talk about the bursitis in my toe and my bunions. But no. And she charged for a visit.…

Ugh. Is there another practice or medical group nearby?

I can relate to chronic and ongoing foot problems. Now that my hips hurt after 20 minutes of walking, the feet aren’t really an issue anymore. I guess that’s life and the over-the-hill side of it.

 

But I’m totally freaking out right now about the upcoming (Tuesday) tooth-pulling / pre-implant procedure that in total will take 8-12 months and at least $8k — hopefully $5k out-of-pocket.
But what I’ve been awake since 4:30 am about is the dentist I finally decided to have do it told me to call his Patient Care Coordinator if I have any questions, and if the PCC couldn’t answer them, he’d get me in touch with the dentist, but the PCC seems to find me (and maybe all patients?) annoying and have personal problems. Ugh. I hate it when the better doctor has the worst assistant. I haven’t encountered that in a while. 
So I’m wondering if I’ve made a mistake in choosing this practice/dentist.

[Mindthinkr]

    It is interesting to me how difficult it seems to be for all of us to find good caring medical and dental providers. It was my expectation that they were “hired” to take care of us. 
   I just spent 4 1/2 hours in the dental chair Wednesday. Everyone at the office couldn’t have been nicer. “Do you need more blankets?” “Is your head and neck supported well and comfortable?” They knocked me out for the procedure. I’ve used them for over 20 years. I know that I could call the office and someone would address my concern or issue. From reading here I think I’m the exception and not the general rule. 
   I truly wish that it was easier for all of you to find good care. 

[shapeshifter]

58 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

…I’ve used them for over 20 years. I know that I could call the office and someone would address my concern or issue. From reading here I think I’m the exception and not the general rule. 
   I truly wish that it was easier for all of you to find good care. 

I wonder if having "used them for over 20 years" is part of it. 
As an adult I've moved 1000s of miles 5 times.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Try getting your teeth cleaned when you travel fulltime.  It's impossible. 

Appointments are always scheduled months in advance, and I don't know where I'm going to be then.  I called a dentist I'd gone to in the past, thinking I'd tell them I'd grab any appointment that gets cancelled with as little as an hour's notice.  No dice.  They said I haven't seen the dentist recently enough so they won't clean them without getting an exam first. 

Mr. Outlier tried an independent dentist (not even a suspicious Aspen Dental-type place) that advertised a new patient special, where you get an exam, xrays, and cleaning for like $50 or $100 or something.  He got an appointment within the week.  Hurrah!

Not so fast.  They did the exam and xrays and gave him a treatment plan, but said for the cleaning they had do some sort of "advanced" cleaning for some big money AND it couldn't be scheduled until six weeks out.  So he left with no clean teeth.  At least they didn't charge him for it, but methinks that's what always happens--it's just a way to get you in the door.

That said, whenever we've had what would be considered an emergency (like a tooth that's gone bad), we've been able to find someone to work on it.  But routine cleaning, for health?  Forget it.

But we happen to be in Tucson right now and Mr. Outlier called a dentist in Nogales, across the border, on Monday morning, and he got an appointment for that day at 12:30.  He drove down there (about 45 minutes), parked on the street on the U.S. side, walked across the bridge to the office right at the end of the bridge, and they cleaned his teeth.  They also did an exam and took xrays and said everything looks fine.  Total cost?  $60.

AND he stopped on the way back to do a mountainbike ride he'd heard about, but didn't think it would be worth a special trip.  But the drive to Nogales took him right by it.

He has a missing molar and they told him they could do a bridge for $1,380, or an implant.  The implant price is highly variable, but the base price was about $1,200, plus $475 for checkup and impression, plus other "if needed" services like extraction (about $150) or bone graft (about $450). 

His problem, of course, is the scheduling, since an implant is done over several months.  And it's not that we haven't stayed in some places for several months--we have.  But we didn't know we were going to do that when we got there.

Fortunately, our teeth stay pretty clean.  In fact, I got my teeth cleaned in 2010 in a different Mexican town, and then went to a dental hygienist school in 2022 for the next cleaning.  They said they were in good shape--just mainly behind my bottom teeth, which has always been a problem area.

So the inability to get regular cleanings isn't as big of a deal as it would be for someone who has more challenging teeth, for which I'm very grateful.  Because I'm not kidding when I say how hard it is to get someone to do it.

 

Edited February 8 by StatisticalOutlier

[shapeshifter]

16 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I am beyond frustrated with the slowness of everything I do medically these days.

Similarly, in Montana, a virtual acquaintance on another forum, who is an active 75-year-old, is now recovering from a stroke and just posted:

Quote

Ironically, one of the messages I received while my phone was muted at the clinic was from my PCP with whom I had left numerous messages related to my elevated BP a couple of months ago, none of which ever got a response. Apparently, a records request from another facility for a patient who had expressed concerns about their BP and suffered a stroke is an effective memory enhancer…

 

[SoMuchTV]

2 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Try getting your teeth cleaned when you travel fulltime.  It's impossible. 

Appointments are always scheduled months in advance, and I don't know where I'm going to be then.  I called a dentist I'd gone to in the past, thinking I'd tell them I'd grab any appointment that gets cancelled with as little as an hour's notice.  No dice.  They said I haven't seen the dentist recently enough so they won't clean them without getting an exam first. 

Mr. Outlier tried an independent dentist (not even a suspicious Aspen Dental-type place) that advertised a new patient special, where you get an exam, xrays, and cleaning for like $50 or $100 or something.  He got an appointment within the week.  Hurrah!

Not so fast.  They did the exam and xrays and gave him a treatment plan, but said for the cleaning they had do some sort of "advanced" cleaning for some big money AND it couldn't be scheduled until six weeks out.  So he left with no clean teeth.  At least they didn't charge him for it, but methinks that's what always happens--it's just a way to get you in the door.

That said, whenever we've had what would be considered an emergency (like a tooth that's gone bad), we've been able to find someone to work on it.  But routine cleaning, for health?  Forget it.

But we happen to be in Tucson right now and Mr. Outlier called a dentist in Nogales, across the border, on Monday morning, and he got an appointment for that day at 12:30.  He drove down there (about 45 minutes), parked on the street on the U.S. side, walked across the bridge to the office right at the end of the bridge, and they cleaned his teeth.  They also did an exam and took xrays and said everything looks fine.  Total cost?  $60.

AND he stopped on the way back to do a mountainbike ride he'd heard about, but didn't think it would be worth a special trip.  But the drive to Nogales took him right by it.

He has a missing molar and they told him they could do a bridge for $1,380, or an implant.  The implant price is highly variable, but the base price was about $1,200, plus $475 for checkup and impression, plus other "if needed" services like extraction (about $150) or bone graft (about $450). 

His problem, of course, is the scheduling, since an implant is done over several months.  And it's not that we haven't stayed in some places for several months--we have.  But we didn't know we were going to do that when we got there.

Fortunately, our teeth stay pretty clean.  In fact, I got my teeth cleaned in 2010 in a different Mexican town, and then went to a dental hygienist school in 2022 for the next cleaning.  They said they were in good shape--just mainly behind my bottom teeth, which has always been a problem area.

So the inability to get regular cleanings isn't as big of a deal as it would be for someone who has more challenging teeth, for which I'm very grateful.  Because I'm not kidding when I say how hard it is to get someone to do it.

Wow, talk about a good news/bad news post!  So you travel full time, and there’s not a home base where you can develop a relationship with providers? In some ways I envy the adventure and freedom, but that life could never be for me! I want to have a mailing address, even if 99% of stuff is online! And a dentist that schedules me 6 months out for my cleaning, where the dentist pops her/his head in for the 2-minute “exam”. 

[Mindthinkr]

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I wonder if having "used them for over 20 years" is part of it. 
As an adult I've moved 1000s of miles 5 times.

I moved a lot when I was younger, but settled here where a lot of my family lives. They also use this dentist. We laugh that we put their 5 kids through college. So you probably are correct that the relationship is cemented. 
 

I know who you mean on your last post, but don’t quite understand the jest of the quote. It may be that my head still isn’t screwed on tight yet. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

50 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I want to have a mailing address, even if 99% of stuff is online!

You have to have a mailing address.  We have a p.o. box but even then, you have to have a street address for your driver's license, voter registration, insurance--that sort of thing.  We use a friend's house--he also checks our p.o. box and forwards our mail every few months.  (Which is also fraught, given the post office delays nowadays.)

And keeping this in the field of health and wellness, it's the same for getting routine care from doctors.  Neither of us gets a yearly physical, so that doesn't matter.  But there are some people who plan their travels so they can be in the same place once a year, or at least on a regular basis, and schedule all their appointments.  And there are some people who can't do travel like this at all because they have ongoing narcotics prescriptions and they have to have in-person appointments to get those renewed much more often than once a year, and may have restrictions on getting them filled out of state.

We really like not having a schedule, but it's annoying when we end up somewhere for an unexpectedly extended period, and I think, "Dang, we could have gotten you that implant."  Despite my lack of professional maintenance on my teeth, I do appreciate a nice set of chompers, and if Mr. Outlier smiles big enough, I can see that missing tooth.  (Actually, can what is seen be accurately described as a "missing tooth"?) 

Anyway, I've decided I should look on the bright side and be glad he's smiling that big, and ignore the hillbilly part.

[Absolom]

5 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

So the inability to get regular cleanings isn't as big of a deal as it would be for someone who has more challenging teeth, for which I'm very grateful.  Because I'm not kidding when I say how hard it is to get someone to do it.

My parents did the Mexican dental thing for years and were happy with it.  Also if you can I'd keep trying the dental hygiene schools or even dental schools.  I was shocked when I had to reschedule a dental appointment a few months ago.  I thought here we go with another four to six month wait.  They got me in within days.  The receptionist said they'd never walked into the office on Monday to so many cancellation messages.  It was the height of the summer COVID wave.

[Yeah No]

On 2/8/2025 at 6:00 AM, shapeshifter said:

Ugh. Is there another practice or medical group nearby?

I can relate to chronic and ongoing foot problems. Now that my hips hurt after 20 minutes of walking, the feet aren’t really an issue anymore. I guess that’s life and the over-the-hill side of it.

Yes there's the practice I used to go to before my long time primary dr. retired at the very beginning of the pandemic. My husband still goes there to his replacement and loves the dr. but he hates the staff and how they make coding mistakes that have resulted in unfair bills that he's had to have them straighten out. This has happened to him 3 times already in just a few years. That's one reason I switched to the medical group at the hospital I use now. The coding is bullet proof plus this is at a state hospital so I think that helps. So like you are dealing with at your dentist, I am dealing with the good dr./bad staff issue myself. Not that my current doctors are bad, I just think there's some kind of staffing or other problem at this hospital since the pandemic and it's impacting their effectiveness. Because like I say, they were never like this before the pandemic. I am still thinking it over.

On 2/8/2025 at 7:05 AM, Mindthinkr said:

    It is interesting to me how difficult it seems to be for all of us to find good caring medical and dental providers. It was my expectation that they were “hired” to take care of us. 
   I just spent 4 1/2 hours in the dental chair Wednesday. Everyone at the office couldn’t have been nicer. “Do you need more blankets?” “Is your head and neck supported well and comfortable?” They knocked me out for the procedure. I’ve used them for over 20 years. I know that I could call the office and someone would address my concern or issue. From reading here I think I’m the exception and not the general rule. 
   I truly wish that it was easier for all of you to find good care. 

Thank you. I have been seeing my dentist for over 20 years too and I don't know what I would do without him and the others at his practice. For a brief time several years ago he got frustrated with not being paid in a timely fashion by some insurance companies so he dropped them. Unfortunately it included my insurance and I couldn't switch at the time to one he took. So I was forced to find another dentist. WOW was that a lesson in how difficult THAT is! And the only one I could find anywhere near me that was taking new patients was truly awful. She wanted to sell me all sorts of procedures I knew for a fact that I didn't need - I guess she didn't factor in that thanks to a great dentist before her I actually knew what was going on inside my mouth and what I needed and didn't need. And she acted like I needed these things urgently, too! 

Fortunately the next year my original Dr. started taking my insurance again and hasn't ever stopped since. Whew! He's only a few years younger than me so I worry he'll retire and close up the practice. I hope that doesn't happen any time soon.

[Yeah No]

20 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Try getting your teeth cleaned when you travel fulltime.  It's impossible. 

Appointments are always scheduled months in advance, and I don't know where I'm going to be then.  I called a dentist I'd gone to in the past, thinking I'd tell them I'd grab any appointment that gets cancelled with as little as an hour's notice.  No dice.  They said I haven't seen the dentist recently enough so they won't clean them without getting an exam first.

My husband goes through something like this because he drives for a living and often doesn't know when he's working until the night before. So he has had to reschedule all medical appointments, sometimes several times before one sticks. But at least he has a "home base", which helps. The only suggestion I can make is find a doctor at a location you visit more often than others that is willing to see you via virtual visits most of the time. Perhaps they can work with urgent care facilities and drug store clinics if you need to see someone on site for anything not too specialized. And if tests need to be done requests can be submitted to local test facilities. Quest Diagnostics has 2,000 locations nationwide.

[PRgal]

I had to call the medical imaging department at the hospital that takes care of my neurofibromatosis (NF) after they called to let me know that I needed chest X-rays to check whether the area I had taken out had seen some "trauma."  The guy who left me the note did not say that I could just walk in and get it done.  I didn't see an appointment set up nor did I see a requisition on myChart, so I called the NF clinic and the receptionist (not the guy who left me the voice mail) said I could show up any time.  I had hoped I could get an appointment there or a requisition I could print out, but the guy said it was first come, first serve.  I still don't understand why I couldn't get it done anywhere.  I guess they preferred keeping things in-house.  Everything's "charged" to my provincial health card anyway, so why would it have been an issue?

[Yeah No]

Well the good news is that my heart is fine and my thyroid nodules haven't grown any since the last ultrasound. They have been just about the same size since 2021 and are pretty small. I see the thyroid doctor at the end of the week so I will hear more about how I am doing then.

The bad news is that the beta blocker my primary prescribed me to lower my blood pressure (carvedilol) doesn't look like it's going to work out. I took a half the prescribed dose for two days (with the doctor's approval because I'm very sensitive to medication) and I did not like how I felt on it at all. I felt VERY tired, sluggish and a little weak. For a while I was a little alarmed at how I felt. I didn't take any of it today and that feeling went away. 

The other bad news is that in spite of my primary knowing how sensitive I am to meds. and prescribing a very low dose and then approving me to take half that dose to start, somehow the prescription she gave me is for a 90 day supply. And she just defaulted to sending it to the same mail away pharmacy she did for the Lisinopril. She did it in my presence and when I asked her what my price would be she said she didn't know and her screen wasn't telling her that. She had told me the price when she ordered the Lisinopril last month so I thought she had the ability to see it. I didn't say anything but then when I got the medication I saw that I had been charged a $25.00 copay, which is a little high in my opinion considering the prescription plan I have and the fact that the Lisinopril was only $5.00. I realize it was a 90 day supply but why did she give me that when she and I just talked about how I have to try a drug out before I know whether I can take it? I assumed she would have ordered maybe a 15 or 30 day supply.

Now I'm likely going to be out that $25.00. I can't be throwing away $25.00 every time I try another medication. I would have rather that she figure out which pharmacy is the cheapest or let me do it before putting in the prescription. She did it with the Lisinopril, so why not with the Carvedilol? I realized later that she just picked the online pharmacy because that one was in my list of pharmacies in my chart.  And she probably thought that was the cheapest since it was before. Obviously that's not the case with the new drug. I should have said something but I was trying to go with the flow. Later when I got home I went online to see where I could have gotten it cheaper and both Walmart and my local supermarket would have charged me only $8.15. Ugh.

What I want to know is why this is the case now. When I used to have a copay it was generally the same copay for most drugs at my local CVS unless they went into another "tier". Now it's all over the map and quite different from pharmacy to pharmacy. It's maddening!

And now I'm tossing over whether I should try taking the Carvedilol again before I contact the dr. about it. I only took it for two days and now I am second guessing whether I was feeling lousy on the second day for some other reason. I really dread having to go back to the dr. to try another drug but I guess that's my lot in life. I am still taking the Lisinopril. The Carvedilol was supposed to be an add-on. There are other choices for an add-on if the Carvedilol doesn't work out but I am weary at the  moment and disgusted with my situation. It really sucks being this sensitive to most medications. Sorry to go on so long.... ☹️

[nokat]

On 2/5/2025 at 2:05 PM, PRgal said:

Having dense breasts sucks.  Just came back from an ultrasound on my right breast.  There was no abnormality based on the u/s but my breast MRI showed some differences from the previous year (could be related to the surgery I had in June, but they're not sure).  Now they want to do contrast mammo to see.  And if it's still off, an MRI biopsy.  I should have just gotten those gals out.

I hope you're okay. I kept getting the dense breast reports and had the ultrasounds.

[PRgal]

1 minute ago, nokat said:

I hope you're okay. I kept getting the dense breast reports and had the ultrasounds.

They're still unsure, so I now have to do a contrast mammo, scheduled for next month.  If FURTHER testing is needed, then they'll have to do a biopsy THAT DAY.   

[nokat]

5 minutes ago, PRgal said:

They're still unsure, so I now have to do a contrast mammo, scheduled for next month.  If FURTHER testing is needed, then they'll have to do a biopsy THAT DAY.   

 

5 minutes ago, PRgal said:

 

I hope that is as far as it goes. I had the ultrasound, and then got told don't worry unless a doctor walks in. One did. I'm thankful it was't bad, but geez.

[Yeah No]

11 minutes ago, PRgal said:

They're still unsure, so I now have to do a contrast mammo, scheduled for next month.  If FURTHER testing is needed, then they'll have to do a biopsy THAT DAY.   

Ugh, a month to wait for that is a long time. I have needed an ultrasound after a basic mammogram for several years now so I don't get as worried about it anymore. It has now become pretty routine for most women with dense breasts. It's usually done because they can't see through the dense breasts with a regular mammogram, not because they see something suspicious that needs to be clarified. Of course I still worry but just not as much. But having to worry about that for a month would really suck. 

[PRgal]

3 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Ugh, a month to wait for that is a long time. I have needed an ultrasound after a basic mammogram for several years now so I don't get as worried about it anymore. It has now become pretty routine for most women with dense breasts. It's usually done because they can't see through the dense breasts with a regular mammogram, not because they see something suspicious that needs to be clarified. Of course I still worry but just not as much. But having to worry about that for a month would really suck. 

I was told by my high risk nurse navigator that I might not even have to have breast MRIs and ultrasounds and they'd go directly to the contrast mammo instead.  I'm seriously considering a mastectomy/reconstruction (and would FINALLY have even breasts!) in a year or two.   

[Mindthinkr]

Went to the endodontist yesterday. I need 3 root canals. They are doing all of them on the 26th. Another (4th tooth) was suspicious, but he isn’t willing to do it at this time. After that I go back to my regular dentist and have another (my last one was last week) 4 1/2 hour appointment to get multiple things fixed. I call it the dental merry-go-round. Hopefully I’ll get finished in 6 months. I thought when I had about the same issues and schedule 2 years ago that I would get a break, but no such luck. Some of us just inherited bad mouths. Thank goodness my child does not have my dental issues. I’m grateful for that. 
 

Best wishes to all of you and your mammogram results 🧸

[kristen111]

On 1/14/2025 at 5:24 PM, Mindthinkr said:

Same. It’s taken 2 weeks to see the regular dentist (one more week to go) and then it will take at least a month for me to see the endodontist. I have 3 root canals and hopefully no more by the time I get into the specialist’s chair. I sympathize. 

This year I had four molars extracted by the Oral Surgeon which couldn’t be saved.  $600 a pop with a Senior discount.  $2400 and still need implants.  Yikes!

Edited Tuesday at 11:08 AM by kristen111

[shapeshifter]

32 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

This year I had four molars extracted by the Oral Surgeon which couldn’t be saved.  $600 a pop with a Senior discount.  $2400 and still need implants.  Yikes!

My extraction was over a week ago (molar with cadaver bone graft particles prior to implant $1k, but insurance should pay most, then I’m on the hook for about $5k for the implant — “Yikes!” is right!).

Anyway, it still aches at times. Is that normal? I have a follow-up appointment next week.

[kristen111]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

My extraction was over a week ago (molar with cadaver bone graft particles prior to implant $1k, but insurance should pay most, then I’m on the hook for about $5k for the implant — “Yikes!” is right!).

Anyway, it still aches at times. Is that normal? I have a follow-up appointment next week.

Yes, it’s still new and takes awhile to feel normal.  I felt the same way.  How is everyone?  I’ve had a few mishaps this year but everything came out fine and normal again.  Sucks to get older.  Doctors, dentist are the normal now, unfortunately.  No dental insurance anymore since husband retired, but good medical, thank goodness.  🥰