My Doc's appointment: The Good, The Bad, and the Cellular Phone...

[Guest guest]

Ok, so things start out ok... I'm up in plenty of time, since I didnt' sleep

worth a darn... I get ready and for once, everything is right where it's

supposed to be. Rod and I start out and run into some traffic on the way, but

nothing too terrible. We get there, and for the first time in my history of

seeing Doctor Harney, we have to wait. I have never had to wait in his office!

Never!

Finally, we get in, and I tell him I want to change my med regimen a bit. He

isn't exactly against that, but wanted to try raising the dose of my Methadone

before making any changes. I tell him I'm already on a high dose. He asks if

I'm having side effects and I say no... Then, he says, " Well, Dodge, out of all

my patients that I see for chronic pain, you are on the most opioids, the

highest doses and you have the most tolerance. I don't think raising your dose

is going to matter that much regarding the amount of meds you take. "

He then said if I did not experience adequate analgesia in four to six weeks, he

would switch my regimen like I want.

He also gave me my muscle relaxant back and added another medication to my

regimen. It's called Opana, and is oxymorphone. He asked if I wanted the

extended release version, and I said seeing as how I already have Oxycontin and

MSContin, I didn't think so, so now, I get to try this new drug, and if it

works, then I will rotate three weeks on it, one on Dilaudid as part of my daily

regimen...

He also is sending me for an MRI of my left knee, per my request, and I'm glad

about that. I told him that I did overuse some of my breakthrough meds,

(because I believe in being honest), during my unsuccessful switch from MSContin

to Kadian, and he said, " I kind of figured you were going to need to. " Then, he

wrote me a script for more Breakthrough meds, which I tried to tell him I didn't

need since I just got my scripts filled on the 19th, but he said, " Just take it

and get it filled and save it for a rainy day. " In other words, save it for

some time in the future when you need it... Then, he so rightly advised me that

I'd need it sooner rather than later, since now all my scripts will be staggered

and I'll have to wait an extra week so all the scripts get filled at the same

time, because ain't no way in heck Rod will go out there twice in one month.

So, I have a month's worth of medication to get me through a week? Ok... Well,

I won't need nearly that much, but whatever Doc. I'm not gonna argue.

I asked him if he wanted to do a drug screen, and he just said, " Nah, " so that

was that...

We went to the pharmacy to get the new scripts filled, and it was there that I

realized that my cell phone service had been cut off because I, in my anxiety,

forgot to pay the bill. So...I had Rod pay it...

We went home after that and Rod said he was going to his doctor's appointment,

which I didn't want to go to. I called the cell company to get them to restart

my service and gave them the confirmation number. They informed me that they

can't restart the service without Rod's credit card number. I asked just how

was I supposed to call to get it if my phone service was suspended... So, we

went round and round about that for five minutes...

Finally, he agreed to just turn it back on because I told him I was a paramedic

and needed my cell to be working...

So...that's what happened.

--

Dodge

From acquaintances we conceal our real selves.

To our friends we reveal our weaknesses.

--Basil Hume

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http://jumpthis.wordpress.com