Doc Visit Today

With Dr. D and I couldn't be happier.

I even told him about my previous bp readings, in and out of the office and he acknowledged white-coat hypertension and advised me his protocol of diagnosing real hypertension... very attractive (not simply a couple of bad readings in the office then off to drugs, like my other doc).  Dr. D said he usually takes another reading later in the visit and then may have the patient do a 5-day reading- take readings over a 5-day period and pretty much go from there. Not to mention, I didn't see any drug salespeople in the (very nice!) lobby *and* not alot of pharma junk in the office either.

I advised him on my MTHFR and we discussed using baby aspirin (85mg) once I find out I am pg again. So we will definitely try that out next time.. may not help but can't hurt. And he does do b/w "when there is a concern" (patients like me, whose body seems to like to m/c, or ectopic histories).

He was even talking to me about his experiences in Iraq (2003-2004) while he was examining me. Very interesting!  I found Dr. D and his staff to be very nice and friendly and they put me very much at ease!

Oh, and BTW, there was even a coffee maker (with different flavors of coffee and tea) and a water (hot and cold) station in the lobby!

April Fools'? I think not

I am bummed. This year our present employer has decided to do away with our HMO. *sigh* This means we now get to have crappy health insurance; as in the kind where you pay a (ridiculous) deductible THEN pay more later on! What a ripoff!

Fortunately it doesn't take effect til June 1 so I have time to get whatever done... Which is why I scheduled my annual OBGYN checkup (with a different doc of course; my previous doc has actually made me leery of docs now!) for this coming week- this way if I need any follow-up checks (god-forbid) they will be covered in full. Wish me luck!

I guess that brings me to another silver lining of being laid off: I will only get two months' severance pay (hey it's better than nothing!). Severance including, of course, may paycheck, and any insurance I elect (health, vision, etc). So that means beyond June 30, I will only have coverage til the end of August. Why is that a good thing? This company wants you to do an online health assessment PLUS a physical exam, by September 1. Granted, the physical is on their dime, but here's the catch: if your health doesn't meet up to the doc's (and insurance company's) opinion- say, you're "overweight" or have "high" BP (with BP link, scroll to the top of the page and click, "High Blood Pressure is a sympton not a disease..." link), they will want you to start a "wellness" program.

Why am I leery of this? Because doctors like to jump to drugs in my experience, as my aforementioned doctor was very reluctant to go the non-drug route. Shown by her attitude in accusing me of "ignoring the problem" and insulting me in many other fashions *AFTER* I had suggested natural treatments. Basically, she wouldn't agree to it until after she had finished insulting me for not taking her potions, which have been proven to potentially cause more problems than to help. And sure enough, my "problem" had basically resolved itself. Ah, the difference a day makes. If I really had this "problem," it would have once again reared its ugly head that day too. But it didn't. I guess that makes her right... you can't ignore the problem... that doesn't exist!

Now for a little something about this aforementioned doctor visit which I have not mentioned much: In the lobby before our visit, in walks a well-dressed, young-looking man. He carried a bag with him that appeared to be full of samples. Keep in mind that this bag has a name of a widely-used drug on it. The man went inside the office. Came back out a few minutes later. To be fair he still had the full-looking bag with him, but it still raised my eyebrows and made me scratch my head later that day, especially after the doctor disclosed that the BP med she was pushing on me was a beta-blocker. The name that was on the drug bag? It is a widely-used beta-blocker that is dangerous during pregnancy. I really hope that this guy just went to the wrong office, as I am aware that is a possibility. However, shouldn't the front-desk receptionist have caught that by asking which doc he was there for? I also do not know for sure which med the doc was going to give me, if this was actually the one or not. But, still...

Regarding doctors...

So today happened to be our quarterly blood drive at work and I figured, "ah what the heck," and let the vampires take some juice. Of course anyone who has given blood before knows that they take your vitals first; temp, pulse, B/P...

My b/p reading was 122/74; much-improved over yesterday's 146/80-after-a-148/xx at the doc's office yesterday. Not bad considering where I was and everything going on ;)

I intended to call it in today to inform my doc about my check but time ran away from me today; so it's on the to-do list for tomorrow. Maybe now she'll believe me that's it's STRESS.. seriously if she'd been pushing anti-anxiety meds I might have taken her up ;)  Oy.