What’s Cooking Goodlooking?

Well, THAT week went by fast! It seems like only 7 days ago it was Saturday! 🤣 I hope the week treated you well!

For those of you who might be interested in my ongoing medical drama, boy have I got a post for you!

If you are not one of those who are interested, just go ahead and scroll down to the pictures! lol.

Below is a snippet of my week…

My wrist pain has not been getting any better. So, I thought I would message my doctor to have her change my pain medication.

I sent her a message saying I would like to make the change, but it took over 3 days and I still had not heard anything. Then at 11:59pm on what was going to be day 4, I finally get a message from her saying she sent in the prescription to the pharmacy. Well, the next morning – which was yesterday – I called my local pharmacy (it is a Walgreen’s)… They said that the prescription was sent to the WRONG Walgreen’s. It was sent to a Walgreen’s in downtown Chicago. So, I called THAT Walgreen’s and, because the pain medication is considered a “controlled substance”, it was not possible to transfer the prescription to my local pharmacy. The doctor would have to write a new prescription and send it to the CORRECT pharmacy (WHICH – by the way – I gave her the information for in my first message to her). THEN the pharmacy in Chicago told me that there was a problem with my insurance approving it… it would require the doctor to do a “prior authorization”, which I was told could take anywhere from 1 to 3 days to get the approval for. It was going to be the weekend, and I knew NOTHING would happen over the weekend.

Now, the remaining part of this story kind of makes me look like a pain medication addicted person – who knows – I don’t BELIEVE I am, I am just sick of being in pain.

Like I said (many, MANY times) I was in pain and desperate. I called her “office” and unfortunately it ISN’T REALLY her office – it is the call center for the health network she is in. There is NO WAY to actually call her office directly – which I think is stupid and I hate it! Anyway, the person at the call center took my information and said they would send a message to the office. Well, I had ALREADY done that through the online portal. AND my wrist was REALLY, REALLY hurting! Three days is an eternity when you are in pain… So, I got in the car and DROVE to her office, and I told myself “You are NOT leaving that office until you get this resolved!” Her office is only about 3 miles away from my apartment, but, in my opinion, I should NOT have to wait that long for a response. I explained my situation to the receptionist at her office and told her that I NEEDED to speak to the doctor or the doctor’s nurse. The receptionist looked at my record and I heard “click, click, click”; she said she had just sent the prescription to the correct pharmacy. Tell me… If a few clicks of a receptionist’s keyboard were all it took, WHY was I still waiting??? Then the receptionist said, the prescription STILL required a prior authorization… which remember, could take 1 to 3 days.

I never felt such a sense of accomplishment AND a sense of DEFEAT at the same time! I left her office and then after about an hour, I called my local pharmacy to check to make sure they had the prescription AND that they sent the prior authorization request over to the doctor’s office. The pharmacy technician that I spoke to told me they DID have the prescription, and the prior authorization WAS sent, but I think she heard the desperation in my voice and asked me to hold while she spoke to the pharmacist. I waited on hold for a couple of minutes. Then the pharmacy technician came back on the line and told me “The pharmacist overrode the prior authorization request.” I had NO idea that a pharmacist had that kind of power, and I wasn’t about to question it. The pharmacy tech told me the medication would be ready within the hour! YAY!

So, that afternoon I picked up my new pain medication. I took 1 pill and waited about 90 minutes and felt no change in my pain, so I took another one. I THINK it may have helped a little. The direction on the prescription says to take one or two pills every six hours as needed, but not to exceed 8 pills in a day. And she only wrote the prescription for 30 pills, which I honestly don’t think is going to be enough, but hell, I will take my victories where I can and cross the bridge for more pills, if needed, later. I am scheduled to have my next MRI on Tuesday, so I am hoping that by the end of next week I will at LEAST have some idea of a plan of what the next steps will be on my journey to relief.

The moral of this story is one that I wholeheartedly believe: “YOU MUST BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR HEALTHCARE!” No one knows your body and your pain(s) like YOU do!  Nobody is going to do it for you and doctors are not mind readers, and increasingly, most (but not all), healthcare providers do not have the same empathy and intuition and bedside manner the way doctors used to. I know, I know, you are all laughing because it sounds like some old man saying, “Back in MY day, we had…”. And maybe I am, I am certainly getting older! lol. But it is true. In my entire life, I have had some BAD doctors, and I have had some AMAZING doctors. Sadly, the majority of them, at least for me, have been falling into the “BAD” category. Jason thinks I am WAY TOO picky and demanding about my doctors. I don’t think he is picky enough about his. I think “normal” people are probably somewhere in the middle of where we are.

I apologize for the “book” I just laid out there for you to read. I guess I needed to get it off my chest and I think Jason is getting sick of hearing me talk about it! 🤣

Anyway, please enjoy some Saturday Selfies and have a great weekend!

Jason

Hey everyone!

I’m so sorry for the late in the day post! I have been in major pain with my wrist, and it makes it hard to do stuff. Just opening my water bottle or shampooing or brushing my teeth… you get the idea. I met with the wrist doctor this week and he went over my MRI and said that all the plates and screws are in the right place, nothing is loose and there are no screws poking through the bone. He went over my pain symptoms again and said that it is probably due to a compressed disk in my neck. YEARS ago, I had the C6/C7 vertebrae in my neck fused together with another titanium plate and screws. He said that sometimes the disks around it start to degenerate and will compress on nerves that run to my hand. I get that… That is why I had the neck surgery all those years ago, because my left hand was numb. But, while I do agree that there probably is some nerve compression in my neck causing SOME of the pain in my wrist, I don’t think it is the ONLY thing causing the pain.

Anyway, he said that basically he could not really do anything to help as he did not see anything that warranted surgery, and I have maxed out on the number of cortisone injections that I can have. He suggested that I see a neurologist. YAY! Another doctor! I am currently in the process of trying to find one near me. He said he did not know anyone to refer me to, which I just feel is odd. He is an orthopedic surgeon – he works with bones all day. He does not know ANY neurologists??? Apparently not.

SO, I apologize if some days the posts are late or missed. I am at the mercy of my wrist at the moment.

ANYWHO… I hope your weekend is going well! Here are the selfies for this week!

Enjoy!
Jason