That time of year again...

The dreaded yearly physical.

So yesterday I had my yearly physical.

The boys were away hunting so I had to take public transit. My Dr's office is about 2 kms away but it was very cold so I decided to take the bus. Because I live in a small town, the busses do loops and do not travel both ways - so to get to where I needed to be, I had to ride the bus approx. 6km, switch busses in downtown, ride the 2nd bus another 6 km to reach my destination that was ony 2 km away from where I originally caught the bus - you get that?

After the 30 minute bus rides, I arrive at my Dr office 30 minutes early.

The nurse calls me in to weight me - I weight too much, to take my blood pressure - it is too high and to measure my waist - it is too big.

Then I get taken into the exam room where I am given a serviette and a paper towel to cover up with. Why do they bother? I put on the paper gown which actually covers the front of me but leaves my back end hanging in the breeze.

The Dr comes in and she does the regular physical exam and chitchat. Then comes time for the Pap test. Let's get this over with. I lay back and look at the poster of a freaky monkey on the ceiling with the caption "I need to relax" Cute.

The little swing lamp the Dr uses to see what she is doing is being finicky and keeps shutting off by itself. She tries to fix it. She is still prefoming the Pap test. She suddenly says "hang on, I'm going to get the nurse to hold a light for me". She leaves the room with me in this lovely position. It is actually the receptionist she brings back ACK!!! to hold the light. I do not make eye contact with anyone. I stare at the goofy monkey on the ceiling, pretending my bits are not on display to this woman who is not my Dr. The Pap is finished, the receptionist leaves.

The Dr leaves so I can dress, ya like I have any dignity left.

When she returns she asks if I want a flu shot - sure, I usually get one.

She asks when my last tetanus shot was. I can't recall, so she decides I should have one. So bad memory equals lots of shots.

I also have to schedule a mammogram as it has been 2 yrs since my last one and I have a family history of breast cancer. Great I get to have the girls squished again.

I go see the nurse again to get my 2 shots.

I have fasted since the previous night so I go down to the lab for my blood work. It isn't too bad this time - only get poked once. I have very deep slippery veins and I usually get poked several times before they decide to take the blood from my hand which hurts like a ....

I also have to get an EKG since I am over 40. Off with the top half of clothes again - paper sheet over me. The technician sticks 9 sticky things all over me, attaches the electrodes or whatever and a couple minutes later rips off the sticky things and tells me I am done. I redress and thankfully head home.

I left the house at 8:10am and return at 11am. Not too bad and I am done for another whole year...well except for the mammogram.

Later in the afternoon my boys return home. I tell my needle-fearing son I got the flu shot - he is 13 now and swears he can decide for himself and he is NOT getting the flu shot this year. I say fine, and that he should be really thankful that he is not female as the flu shot would be the least of his worries!

Apparently I'm Normal

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you have probably heard me complain about my DIZZIES. I have been having split second dizzy spells for several years. I don't get the spinning kid of dizzy, just the "gonna tip over" kinda dizzies. They last a second or two, happen at all different times, while walking, sitting or laying perfectly still. Some days I have none, some days I have 50.

I have been to see a nerologist, I've had an MRI and all kinds of other wonky tests, I've been to see a ENT as well. A couple weeks ago I had to drive into Toronto to go to SunnyBrook hospital to have a balance test.

The first part of the balance test consisted of strapping me in a chair, putting something on my head and then strapping that into place so that I could not move, placing a pen light in my two hands held in front of my face, drawing a curtain around the chair, turning off the lights so that is was pitch black and then swinging the chair 90 degrees in one direction and then 90 degrees in the other direction several times while I focused on the penlight. Did that make me dizzy? You betcha!

The 2nd part of the test had me lay down on a table, look back and forth between dots on the ceiling, sit up and focus on a yellow dot in front of me, lay down, repeat the ceiling dot things, the sit up thing, several times.

The final part of the test was to spray warm water into my ears for several seconds. It didn't hurt but fell extremely warm and very loud. When she did my right ear, it felt even hotter.

So anyhow...I had an appt today with the Ear, Nose & Throat Doctor who sent me for that test, to get the results. I reminded my husband last night of the appt and then promptly forgot about it.

He came into the bedroom at 8:20am this morning (he had gotten up much earlier) and asked "What time is your appt?" I scrambled out of bed! My appt was for 8:45am!

I brushed my teeth, got dressed, remembered deoderant and ran downstairs to see he is just sitting at the computer, not yet ready to leave. URGH!

So we finally leave - I got to the office 3 minutes late, thank goodness it wasn't too far, and then had to wait 15 minutes longer before I was called in, then another 10 minutes before the doctor came in to tell me my balance test was completely normal and he had no idea what was causing my dizzies. He suggested I talk to my chiropractor to see if it has anything to do with my neck.

So I am normal & dizzy...how about you?

And I need more coffee.

Medical Tests & Crazy Drs

Warning this will be long and possibly boring :)

I have been having split second, but frequent dizziness for YEARS now. In July I had what I call a "flash" in my head. It didn't hurt but scared the crap out of me. I saw my family Dr who referred me to a neurologist.

I saw the neurologist in Oct. This guy was weird. He spoke to me with his eyes closed and wore socks with Berkinstocks.

He told me I had a "weird" brain. I asked if that was his official diagnosis? He said it was weird because my episodes were so short or only happened once. Don't strokes and heart attacks only have to happen once? He sent me for several tests.

A couple of weeks ago I had an Evoked Potential test. I believe this is to test the pathways from the brain to various nerves. I had electrodes placed on my head, arms, legs and back. I then had a little electric shock thingy placed first on each ankle, then each wrist. It sent little electric pulses into the nerves until my toes (thumbs) started moving. It was painless but took about an hour.

On Monday of this week I had an EEG done. When I got there the nurse started parting my hair and marking my scalp where the electrodes would go. It was actually quite relaxing. Once the electrodes were placed (about 20) with a large amount of adhesive, I had to lie down and be still.

She had me close my eyes for most of it. A couple times I found myself drifting off. Then she would have me open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. Then my arm went to sleep and I tried not to move.

Next I was told to breathe rapidly for 3 minutes. She said I may feel dizzy or lightheaded, but not to stop. Great more dizziness, just what I need.

The last part of the test, she had me close my eyes and flashed strobe lights at me - just a bleep ... bleep at first, then a faster bleep, bleep, bleep then finally a seizure-inducing bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep!!!

I was lying down for about 20 minutes. She had me sit up - "careful, you may be dizzy". Ya think?!

Then she started removing all the electrodes and finally said ok you can go. I stand up and look in the conveniently placed mirror and gasp! My hair is going in more directions than I can count! Good thing I remembered my comb - not that it helped much with the amount of adhesive I had in there. She told me to wash it out sooner rather than later as it would harden - great. I called DH to come pick my up ASAP and tried not to be to conspicuous as I waited for him.

This morning, I had an MRI. An MRI is a tube that they stuff you in. Did I mention I am a tad claustrophobic? No? Well I am!

I got there early and they took me right in. I had to disrobe all but my underwear & socks and put on a gown. I was then taken to the machine - had to lie down, place my head in the little formed pillow. I asked for a cloth to cover my eyes so that I wouldn't inadvertently open my eyes and see how close the walls of the tube were.

The gave me headphones to muffle the sound. And then they placed the cage thingy over my head - I didn't actually see this until I left, just felt them snap it in place. They also gave me a pillow for under my knees. It was pretty comfortable. Oh they also give you a panic button, in case you need to contact them - I'm not sure if that made me feel better or not.

Then they moved me into the tube. My hands were resting on my chest, my elbows skimmed the walls of the MRI freaking me out a bit. Then the noise started.

Think of the most obnoxious sounds you can imagine and then amplify them until it is unbearable. I think there were about 7 different sounds. My body started to vibrate, either from nerves or from the sound pulses.

In situations like this I usually count or talk to myself inside my head to make myself calm down. I was unable to focus on my own thoughts, the noise was so loud. I repeatedly tried to count. The last burst of noise came from the top and the bottom and made the table vibrate and scared the bejeezus outta me!

Finally it was over and the table was moving out of the tube. I was in the MRI for a total of 10 minutes. They removed the cage and the cloth and I was able to sit up and then go get dressed. I was actually finished before my scheduled appt at 8:30am.

I finally stopped vibrating about an hour later. While not quite as horrible as I had imagined, I hope to never need an MRI again.

Now my follow-up appt with the "weird brain" Dr isn't until Dec 30th, but I guess if they actually find something they would contact me earlier - at least I would think they would.

If you have read this far, thanks for your patience :)

Below this post is a video of one of the MRI sounds (I couldn't figure out how to add it to this post). Turn the volume of your speakers WAY up and it may be close to the real thing :) Enjoy!

Oh how doctors annoy me....

Almost 3 months ago, my husband and I decided to get addition life insurance to cover our mortgage instead of using the mortgage insurance we currently have with the bank.

We filled out the application with our insurance company, we both had long conversations on our medical history with a different insurance rep that called. We had a nurse come check our urine and take our blood pressure.

Then we waited....and waited.

Meanwhile,....

A couple of weeks ago, my Dr's office left me a message saying that he wanted to see me about my test results. I called them back and asked what test results, as I had not recently had anything done. She looked in my file and then called me back saying I must have been called in error as there was nothing she could find as a reason why he needed to see me.

2 weeks go by, my insurance rep calls to say that a form had been sent to my Dr on April 14th - he has not yet filed it out and returned it and if he doesn't so it by the end of May, our application will be canceled. She also mentioned that the insurance company pays the Dr $100 to fill out these forms.

I called the Dr's office and explain the situation, asking why this is taking so long. She says he has a stack of paperwork to do and if I want it done, I will have to make an appt. I mention the call I got 2 weeks previous, she says that was probably for this. So now he will get paid by the insurance company and gets to bill for an office visit as well.

My Dr is not close by, I have to take time off work to go there, as does my husband who drives me. I managed to get an appt for today. I had planned to go see him in a few weeks for a new prescription, so I decide to just combine it all today.

I wait for 45 minutes past my appt time before I am even called into the office. I wait a further 15 minutes until the doctor comes in. I mention the form, and he says there is info requested that he cannot supply, such as a recent pap test, which I get done at a different Dr.

So anyway, he fills out what he can and writes a note telling them to contact the other Dr for everything else. He promises to have it faxed today.

Now the other Dr is even farther away and has not yet even received a form to fill out. She will probably want to see me before filling it out it too. This is not going to be done by the end of May.

I call my insurance rep when I get home and explain the entire situation. She says they will probably consider it a new requirement and extend the deadline - I hope.

If his office had been more on the ball in the first place or if he just filled it out without having to see me and not sat on it for 6 weeks, we wouldn't have this issue.

I am really annoyed with this Dr right now. We have a shortage of Drs here, so I can't just switch no matter how much I would like to.

Ok vent over....for now :)

That dreaded time of year again....

No I'm not talking about taxes but those are bad enough ......no I am talking about it being time for my ACK yearly physical!

I travel into Toronto, approximately 100 Km and an hour train ride away to see this Dr because I cannot find a female doctor out here in the boonies. I only go to her for the yearly physical, I have a male doctor (that used to be closer but then he moved and its a pain to go see him too), for all other stuff.

So I dread going in for this appt each year - it isn't pleasant yanno. But it is made worse by the fact that this doctor is ALWAYS triple booked and I usually have at least an hour wait until I am called in. Today of course, I was 25 minutes late and they raised stink about it. Seems the Dr showed up on time for a change. So I was rushed in, given a total of 3 minutes to put on the paper napkin gown before the nurse hustled back in to give me an ECG, since I am over 40 now - like anyone will let me forget. (It was fine by the way)

I remembered to bring a wrap with me this year to stay warm, thanks, to a bloggy friend who complained about the paper napkin gowns the other day. And then I sit and wait another 35 minutes until the doctor comes in.

The first thing the doctor does is rip the paper napkin down the front and then the back checking my skin for moles or whatnot - so why do I bother even putting it on - it is not like it is keeping me warm.

I grit my teeth as the doctor tries to make pleasant conversation through the rest of the exam and wonder if I should mention that I really dislike the picture she has put on the ceiling for the patients to stare at - I mean its a nice gesture and all - but I really dislike this picture and I have to stare at it every year. And why oh why are the damn exam tables so narrow and butted right up against the wall? I kept feeling like I was going to fall off.

I have slightly elevated blood pressure that I have been on meds for the past few years for. When she took my reading with the regular cuff (we usually use the large cuff as I have fat arms :)) it was 144/98 - higher than it has been. So she then put me on he electronic blood pressure meter with a large cuff. It takes 6 readings and averages them.

My average came out as 119/71. What?! One of the readings was 104/70! When she came back in to read them - (they had left me alone for the 6 readings), she mentioned that sometimes they get false readings because people get nervous when doctors are there. So perhaps I was more relaxed without her there. So maybe I have normal blood pressure and have been on medication just because doctors scare me?

Who knows. I'm just glad it is over for yet another year.