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rootofnewtmy first stop of the day was the pain clinic at georgetown. i saw yet another nurse or doctor in training (i don't mind... they haven't found a rut yet and have lots of ideas)... then the doctor came in. they're keeping me on the neurontin and adding klonopin. and they've ruled out the TENS unit b/c i react to most adhesives. so no physical therapy. and no therapist/shrinks b/c i told them my copay was too high. it's not that high, but it's prohibitively high for our budget. besides, i don't *want* to see another shrink. they all tell me that i'm remarkably well-adjusted and have learned all (or MORE!) the coping skills they were going to teach me. why waste the time and money?
after that appointment, i walked up to my neurologist's office (same hospital, different building). there, i discovered that my referral had expired (i didn't think the EMG, a procedure, counted as an office visit--i was wrong)... i called my doctor's office, but she's out for the day. i really hope she faxes over a referral first thing in the morning.
the neuro looked over my MRIs... said they were normal (brain/spine), but that the MRI folks suggested i have a CT scan of the chest b/c i appear to have lymphatic tissue behind the lungs, whatever that means. ah, well. i know it's not causing this pain/tingling, but the neuro said i really need to get it checked out.
anyhow, the neurologist did his standard neuro exam. he concentrated on my hands since i related that my hand pain reared up *majorly* for the first time since i quit working. the culprit? counted cross-stitch. he decided that i *do* have mild CTS, despite my EMG, due to the way i described the pain/tingling when he hit/held my wrists certain ways.
he referred me to a doc at Johns Hopkins for a skin punch biopsy for small fiber peripheral neuropathy... i have *no* clue whether my insurance will cover that or if JH will accept my insurance. need to call and find out. *sigh*
the doc sent me on my merry way... he told me to go down to occupational therapy with my 'script for custom wrist splints (conventional ones make me break out from the foam/adhesive or don't fit b/c i'm small-boned)... guess what... rehab/physical/occupation therapy at the *same* hospital doesn't take my insurance...
gah. i'm so tired of this.
i can remember when i didn't have co-pays... when insurance covered almost everything... when i never even had to call to get pre-certified. what the hell happened?
and tonight, i went to the pharmacy. i got there half an hour before closing (we went after dinner/clean-up)... the computer was "too slow" too fill our prescriptions in time. gaaaah. i just wanted 60 tablets of klonopin. how long does it take to do that?!? i can fill it tomorrow just as easily, but i'm going to a different pharmacy. i don't like the pharmacist at that one, anyway. she fills things very slowly on *good* computer days (minimum of 1.5 hours). back home, i never waited more than 15 minutes for a prescription... and if i waited that long, it was simply because i was picking up something that required paperwork/documentation or five million prescriptions at once (mom's got joint problems, brother's an allergic asthmatic, i had joint and allergy probs, dad had high blood pressure)...
and i'm tired of being in pain. i feel like some kind of crazy old lady who thinks she's falling apart, only i'm 25, all too sane, and wondering *why* i have to be hit with one of the few things that will actually keep me from living life to its fullest.
yeah, i can live to the fullestcapacity possible, but that capacity has been highly diminished.
ah, well. i should go to bed soon. i have an appointment with the orthopoedic surgeon tomorrow. *sigh* he gets to investigate mechanical etiology of my foot pain. tasty.
after that appointment, i walked up to my neurologist's office (same hospital, different building). there, i discovered that my referral had expired (i didn't think the EMG, a procedure, counted as an office visit--i was wrong)... i called my doctor's office, but she's out for the day. i really hope she faxes over a referral first thing in the morning.
the neuro looked over my MRIs... said they were normal (brain/spine), but that the MRI folks suggested i have a CT scan of the chest b/c i appear to have lymphatic tissue behind the lungs, whatever that means. ah, well. i know it's not causing this pain/tingling, but the neuro said i really need to get it checked out.
anyhow, the neurologist did his standard neuro exam. he concentrated on my hands since i related that my hand pain reared up *majorly* for the first time since i quit working. the culprit? counted cross-stitch. he decided that i *do* have mild CTS, despite my EMG, due to the way i described the pain/tingling when he hit/held my wrists certain ways.
he referred me to a doc at Johns Hopkins for a skin punch biopsy for small fiber peripheral neuropathy... i have *no* clue whether my insurance will cover that or if JH will accept my insurance. need to call and find out. *sigh*
the doc sent me on my merry way... he told me to go down to occupational therapy with my 'script for custom wrist splints (conventional ones make me break out from the foam/adhesive or don't fit b/c i'm small-boned)... guess what... rehab/physical/occupation therapy at the *same* hospital doesn't take my insurance...
gah. i'm so tired of this.
i can remember when i didn't have co-pays... when insurance covered almost everything... when i never even had to call to get pre-certified. what the hell happened?
and tonight, i went to the pharmacy. i got there half an hour before closing (we went after dinner/clean-up)... the computer was "too slow" too fill our prescriptions in time. gaaaah. i just wanted 60 tablets of klonopin. how long does it take to do that?!? i can fill it tomorrow just as easily, but i'm going to a different pharmacy. i don't like the pharmacist at that one, anyway. she fills things very slowly on *good* computer days (minimum of 1.5 hours). back home, i never waited more than 15 minutes for a prescription... and if i waited that long, it was simply because i was picking up something that required paperwork/documentation or five million prescriptions at once (mom's got joint problems, brother's an allergic asthmatic, i had joint and allergy probs, dad had high blood pressure)...
and i'm tired of being in pain. i feel like some kind of crazy old lady who thinks she's falling apart, only i'm 25, all too sane, and wondering *why* i have to be hit with one of the few things that will actually keep me from living life to its fullest.
yeah, i can live to the fullest
ah, well. i should go to bed soon. i have an appointment with the orthopoedic surgeon tomorrow. *sigh* he gets to investigate mechanical etiology of my foot pain. tasty.
