Re: Some hope for doctors after all?

October 5, 2008

Dodge,

Wow is all I can say!! That is the way its suppose work. WOW too bad

we can not all find that! I would get her name and make sure she is

working the next time you need to go to urgent care.

I love their system. I am in Texas and we have nothing like

that...basically its the ER if you are an adult on the weekend. Thats

it. I HATE the ER. Unless I have to have stitches or I so ill I can

not wait till monday...I avoid ALL ERS!

I wish we had such a system here. It would save lots of time. We do

have a pediatric clinic that has sick call on the weekends and after

hours during the week which is really nice.

I do hope you feel better fast!

Toni

>

> Heya all:

>

> I've been not feeling real well, so haven't been posting a lot, but

I do read every post. If you have personally emailed me, I will get

back to you... Just give me some time. An interesting thing happened

today, which made me slightly rise my expectations of those who carry

white coats. They, of course, being the supreme all-knowing beings,

and myself being a lowly not-knowing-much paramedic. Can anyone

see the sarcasm coming out of my ears?

>

> As some of you know, I got hurt not that long ago. I woke up this

morning and my left arm was not moving or acting like it should.

There was a lot of soft tissue swelling around my elbow, which hadn't

been there last night when I went to bed. The pain wasn't just

localized to the elbow joint anymore as it had been previously, but

went down into my fingers and up into my shoulder. I would have

passed it off as a Lupus/Spondylitis flare, except for the sharp

stabbing pains radiating down my arm.

>

> I decided I'd go to our local urgent care place and have them look

at it... What could it hurt? I didn't want to go to ER, because even

though I knew I'd get seen right away, I didn't want everyone making a

fuss. Sometimes, it's nice to go where people don't know you're a

medical professional.

>

> Our local urgent care/primary care clinic is kind of a neat place.

They don't do appointments. They take walk ins, and they do this

thing called Web Checkin. You fill out all your paperwork online, and

they call you to confirm it. One of the questions they ask is how

long it will take you to get there. Then, you wait at home till they

are about however many minutes you said it would take you to get there

plus five or ten from seeing you. In my case, I told them thirty

minutes, so at about forty minutes till they wanted me there, they

called. As soon as you get there, you go right into a room and the

nurse is like right there and the doctor is usually right on his/her

heels.

>

> Well, I told the doc what was going on, and dang it, she read my

chart thoroughly and found out I was a paramedic, but that was ok,

since she didn't mention it. She decided to get some x-rays of my

arm/shoulder/wrist. That done with, she pronounce my elbow " healing "

and the rest of my " OW, THAT HURTS! " to a Lupus/Spondylitis flare

because of the recent rains we've had.

>

> I told her I'd figured as much, but just wanted to be sure.

>

> Now, I know you're all going what's so remarkable here? Here it comes.

>

> She told me about raising my dose of pred, which I was amenable to,

gave me some anesthetic cream, which I was also happy with, refilled

my Ketamine cream, again, I can't complain, and then, she turned to me

and said... " While I'm here, is there anything else I can get for

you? You know your disease better than anyone and I'm open to

anything within reason. "

>

> My mouth kindda fell open at that. Is this a test? I couldn't help

but wonder. I tentatively said, " Promethazine? "

>

> " Anything else, " she asked.

>

> " Something for my anxiety? "

>

> " I can do that. I see you've taken Valium, " she said. Then, she

flipped through my chart. " You are on a lot of pain medications. "

>

> Oh boy, I thought, here it comes...

>

> " I see that you try to rotate your breakthrough meds, and I also see

that we've given you Norco in the past. Do you have any Norco right now? "

>

> Well, it's true, they have written me scripts for Norco for one

reason or another. It's also true that I try to rotate my BT meds.

It's also true that sometimes, for one reason or another, I don't feel

comfortable taking all my meds with me everywhere I go. Let me

explain real quick. One time, I had to work a tripple shooting in a

really bad neighborhood. It was the kind of neighborhood where my

personal med kit would have been well appreciated by the inhabitants.

So, I just took my trusty bottle of Norco. I'd rather lose it, since

I'm not dependent on it at all, cause I usually only take it when I

have a port infection.

>

> The amount of Norco they usually give me is like 12, just a perfect

number.

>

> So, back to her question... " No I don't, but I don't take it that

often... I mean I have so many meds for pain, nine in all, and I only

use Norco when I get a port infection or a major flare, or if I don't

want to take my meds into an area where I'm afraid they'll get

stolen... I know I rotate my breakthrough meds, but I do that on a

monthly basis, and all my meds are Schedule II and I really don't need

it and... "

>

> She looked at me and kind of smiled. " Well, apparently, you were

bothered enough with all those schedule II medications to come into

the clinic today, " she said. " I'll write you a script for norco, and

if you don't take it, you can save it for your next infection. "

>

> " Uh, ok, " I stammered.

>

> " Is there anything else you need? Do you need any refills on any of

your other meds? " I didn't, so we left.

>

> Rod was talking to the lady at the desk about how compassionate the

doctor seemed, and I was standing there in a daze when the doctor came

over and gave me my scripts. Then, she looked into my face and said,

" I have Fibromyalgia. I do understand. "

>

> --

> Dodge

>

> " I make the living, my dog makes the living worthwhile. "

>

> Read my blog at:

> http://jumpthis.wordpress.com

>

October 6, 2008

Dodge,

How rare to find an emergency doctor so willing and understanding.

Did you think that you were dreaming?

I am glad that it was a pleasant experience and nothing like the ER

trip from hell that you encountered.

I hope your elbow and arm heals quickly.

Shirley

>

> Heya all:

>

> I've been not feeling real well, so haven't been posting a lot,

but I do read every post. If you have personally emailed me, I will

get back to you... Just give me some time. An interesting thing

happened today, which made me slightly rise my expectations of those

who carry white coats. They, of course, being the supreme all-

knowing beings, and myself being a lowly not-knowing-much

paramedic. Can anyone see the sarcasm coming out of my ears?

>

> As some of you know, I got hurt not that long ago. I woke up this

morning and my left arm was not moving or acting like it should.

There was a lot of soft tissue swelling around my elbow, which

hadn't been there last night when I went to bed. The pain wasn't

just localized to the elbow joint anymore as it had been previously,

but went down into my fingers and up into my shoulder. I would have

passed it off as a Lupus/Spondylitis flare, except for the sharp

stabbing pains radiating down my arm.

>

> I decided I'd go to our local urgent care place and have them look

at it... What could it hurt? I didn't want to go to ER, because

even though I knew I'd get seen right away, I didn't want everyone

making a fuss. Sometimes, it's nice to go where people don't know

you're a medical professional.

>

> Our local urgent care/primary care clinic is kind of a neat

place. They don't do appointments. They take walk ins, and they do

this thing called Web Checkin. You fill out all your paperwork

online, and they call you to confirm it. One of the questions they

ask is how long it will take you to get there. Then, you wait at

home till they are about however many minutes you said it would take

you to get there plus five or ten from seeing you. In my case, I

told them thirty minutes, so at about forty minutes till they wanted

me there, they called. As soon as you get there, you go right into

a room and the nurse is like right there and the doctor is usually

right on his/her heels.

>

> Well, I told the doc what was going on, and dang it, she read my

chart thoroughly and found out I was a paramedic, but that was ok,

since she didn't mention it. She decided to get some x-rays of my

arm/shoulder/wrist. That done with, she pronounce my

elbow " healing " and the rest of my " OW, THAT HURTS! " to a

Lupus/Spondylitis flare because of the recent rains we've had.

>

> I told her I'd figured as much, but just wanted to be sure.

>

> Now, I know you're all going what's so remarkable here? Here it

comes.

>

> She told me about raising my dose of pred, which I was amenable

to, gave me some anesthetic cream, which I was also happy with,

refilled my Ketamine cream, again, I can't complain, and then, she

turned to me and said... " While I'm here, is there anything else I

can get for you? You know your disease better than anyone and I'm

open to anything within reason. "

>

> My mouth kindda fell open at that. Is this a test? I couldn't

help but wonder. I tentatively said, " Promethazine? "

>

> " Anything else, " she asked.

>

> " Something for my anxiety? "

>

> " I can do that. I see you've taken Valium, " she said. Then, she

flipped through my chart. " You are on a lot of pain medications. "

>

> Oh boy, I thought, here it comes...

>

> " I see that you try to rotate your breakthrough meds, and I also

see that we've given you Norco in the past. Do you have any Norco

right now? "

>

> Well, it's true, they have written me scripts for Norco for one

reason or another. It's also true that I try to rotate my BT meds.

It's also true that sometimes, for one reason or another, I don't

feel comfortable taking all my meds with me everywhere I go. Let me

explain real quick. One time, I had to work a tripple shooting in a

really bad neighborhood. It was the kind of neighborhood where my

personal med kit would have been well appreciated by the

inhabitants. So, I just took my trusty bottle of Norco. I'd rather

lose it, since I'm not dependent on it at all, cause I usually only

take it when I have a port infection.

>

> The amount of Norco they usually give me is like 12, just a

perfect number.

>

> So, back to her question... " No I don't, but I don't take it that

often... I mean I have so many meds for pain, nine in all, and I

only use Norco when I get a port infection or a major flare, or if I

don't want to take my meds into an area where I'm afraid they'll get

stolen... I know I rotate my breakthrough meds, but I do that on a

monthly basis, and all my meds are Schedule II and I really don't

need it and... "

>

> She looked at me and kind of smiled. " Well, apparently, you were

bothered enough with all those schedule II medications to come into

the clinic today, " she said. " I'll write you a script for norco,

and if you don't take it, you can save it for your next infection. "

>

> " Uh, ok, " I stammered.

>

> " Is there anything else you need? Do you need any refills on any

of your other meds? " I didn't, so we left.

>

> Rod was talking to the lady at the desk about how compassionate

the doctor seemed, and I was standing there in a daze when the

doctor came over and gave me my scripts. Then, she looked into my

face and said, " I have Fibromyalgia. I do understand. "

>

> --

> Dodge

>

> " I make the living, my dog makes the living worthwhile. "

>

> Read my blog at:

> http://jumpthis.wordpress.com

>

October 6, 2008

So far, my experience with doctors and my RA has been pretty

positive. My PCP is a rare breed indeed and my Rheumy has the

patience to sit and talk and answer all my questions like she's

talking to an educated adult. Only ER experience so far was a visit

last winter which ended up with 2 shots for pain and a prescription

for Pred and Celebrex with instructions to see my PCP. This was

before my diagnosis so had no clue what was going on. Still, it

wasn't all that bad, although, probably as they should, they were

pretty focused on the symptoms and not so much the cause. Once they

determined I had no life threatening things going on it was treat the

symptoms and out the door.

Bob

> >

> > Heya all:

> >

> > I've been not feeling real well, so haven't been posting a lot,

> but I do read every post. If you have personally emailed me, I

will

> get back to you... Just give me some time. An interesting thing

> happened today, which made me slightly rise my expectations of

those

> who carry white coats. They, of course, being the supreme all-

> knowing beings, and myself being a lowly not-knowing-much

> paramedic. Can anyone see the sarcasm coming out of my ears?

> >

> > As some of you know, I got hurt not that long ago. I woke up

this

> morning and my left arm was not moving or acting like it should.

> There was a lot of soft tissue swelling around my elbow, which

> hadn't been there last night when I went to bed. The pain wasn't

> just localized to the elbow joint anymore as it had been

previously,

> but went down into my fingers and up into my shoulder. I would

have

> passed it off as a Lupus/Spondylitis flare, except for the sharp

> stabbing pains radiating down my arm.

> >

> > I decided I'd go to our local urgent care place and have them

look

> at it... What could it hurt? I didn't want to go to ER, because

> even though I knew I'd get seen right away, I didn't want everyone

> making a fuss. Sometimes, it's nice to go where people don't know

> you're a medical professional.

> >

> > Our local urgent care/primary care clinic is kind of a neat

> place. They don't do appointments. They take walk ins, and they

do

> this thing called Web Checkin. You fill out all your paperwork

> online, and they call you to confirm it. One of the questions they

> ask is how long it will take you to get there. Then, you wait at

> home till they are about however many minutes you said it would

take

> you to get there plus five or ten from seeing you. In my case, I

> told them thirty minutes, so at about forty minutes till they

wanted

> me there, they called. As soon as you get there, you go right into

> a room and the nurse is like right there and the doctor is usually

> right on his/her heels.

> >

> > Well, I told the doc what was going on, and dang it, she read my

> chart thoroughly and found out I was a paramedic, but that was ok,

> since she didn't mention it. She decided to get some x-rays of my

> arm/shoulder/wrist. That done with, she pronounce my

> elbow " healing " and the rest of my " OW, THAT HURTS! " to a

> Lupus/Spondylitis flare because of the recent rains we've had.

> >

> > I told her I'd figured as much, but just wanted to be sure.

> >

> > Now, I know you're all going what's so remarkable here? Here it

> comes.

> >

> > She told me about raising my dose of pred, which I was amenable

> to, gave me some anesthetic cream, which I was also happy with,

> refilled my Ketamine cream, again, I can't complain, and then, she

> turned to me and said... " While I'm here, is there anything else I

> can get for you? You know your disease better than anyone and I'm

> open to anything within reason. "

> >

> > My mouth kindda fell open at that. Is this a test? I couldn't

> help but wonder. I tentatively said, " Promethazine? "

> >

> > " Anything else, " she asked.

> >

> > " Something for my anxiety? "

> >

> > " I can do that. I see you've taken Valium, " she said. Then,

she

> flipped through my chart. " You are on a lot of pain medications. "

> >

> > Oh boy, I thought, here it comes...

> >

> > " I see that you try to rotate your breakthrough meds, and I also

> see that we've given you Norco in the past. Do you have any Norco

> right now? "

> >

> > Well, it's true, they have written me scripts for Norco for one

> reason or another. It's also true that I try to rotate my BT

meds.

> It's also true that sometimes, for one reason or another, I don't

> feel comfortable taking all my meds with me everywhere I go. Let

me

> explain real quick. One time, I had to work a tripple shooting in

a

> really bad neighborhood. It was the kind of neighborhood where my

> personal med kit would have been well appreciated by the

> inhabitants. So, I just took my trusty bottle of Norco. I'd

rather

> lose it, since I'm not dependent on it at all, cause I usually only

> take it when I have a port infection.

> >

> > The amount of Norco they usually give me is like 12, just a

> perfect number.

> >

> > So, back to her question... " No I don't, but I don't take it

that

> often... I mean I have so many meds for pain, nine in all, and I

> only use Norco when I get a port infection or a major flare, or if

I

> don't want to take my meds into an area where I'm afraid they'll

get

> stolen... I know I rotate my breakthrough meds, but I do that on a

> monthly basis, and all my meds are Schedule II and I really don't

> need it and... "

> >

> > She looked at me and kind of smiled. " Well, apparently, you were

> bothered enough with all those schedule II medications to come into

> the clinic today, " she said. " I'll write you a script for norco,

> and if you don't take it, you can save it for your next infection. "

> >

> > " Uh, ok, " I stammered.

> >

> > " Is there anything else you need? Do you need any refills on any

> of your other meds? " I didn't, so we left.

> >

> > Rod was talking to the lady at the desk about how compassionate

> the doctor seemed, and I was standing there in a daze when the

> doctor came over and gave me my scripts. Then, she looked into my

> face and said, " I have Fibromyalgia. I do understand. "

> >

> > --

> > Dodge

> >

> > " I make the living, my dog makes the living worthwhile. "

> >

> > Read my blog at:

> > http://jumpthis.wordpress.com

> >

>

October 6, 2008

Wow, Dodge - what a wonderful doctor! I wish they all could be as

compassionate and understanding. Hope you feel better. You are in my

prayers.........Doreen

Heya all:

I've been not feeling real well, so haven't been posting a lot, but I

do read every post. If you have personally emailed me, I will get

back to you... Just give me some time. An interesting thing happened

today, which made me slightly rise my expectations of those who carry

white coats. They, of course, being the supreme all-knowing beings,

and myself being a lowly not-knowing-much paramedic. Can anyone

see the sarcasm coming out of my ears?

As some of you know, I got hurt not that long ago. I woke up this

morning and my left arm was not moving or acting like it should.

There was a lot of soft tissue swelling around my elbow, which hadn't

been there last night when I went to bed. The pain wasn't just

localized to the elbow joint anymore as it had been previously, but

went down into my fingers and up into my shoulder. I would have

passed it off as a Lupus/Spondylitis flare, except for the sharp

stabbing pains radiating down my arm.

I decided I'd go to our local urgent care place and have them look at

it... What could it hurt? I didn't want to go to ER, because even

though I knew I'd get seen right away, I didn't want everyone making a

fuss. Sometimes, it's nice to go where people don't know you're a

medical professional.

Our local urgent care/primary care clinic is kind of a neat place.