Those of you who are over the age of 65 know about the Medicare Wellness Visit. This is the annual physical that Medicare will pay for - if sent in with the proper coding. I've learned that you do not make an appointment for a 'physical' ... but rather a 'Medicare Wellness Visit'.
This visit was with our nurse practitioner who works for our family physician. She is young and very thorough. I like her. The visit started with another nurse coming in a getting my vital signs. This included my height, weight, and blood pressure. My adult height has always been 5’4” … and I’m sad to say that it may now be 5’3” – as they say that we tend to shrink a bit with age.
My weight (lucky for me) has never been too
much of a problem. I stay within the 126 – 130 range most of the time.
But I’m not
good at doctor’s offices… my normal low bp soars when there are white coats
around. I was told it's called the "white coat syndrome". So-oo although my bp was 121/69 at home, it was 170/89 in the office.
This made it necessary to do an EKG… which I also knew would bring on another
OMG moment.
It seems that my EKG’s always show some abnormality which
registers as ‘an infarction’. The first time they saw this, I was sent to a
Cardiologist who ran every test in the book… and declared that my heart was
fine. He said that EKG result is normal for me (?). This time before she
ran the test, I told her what the result would be… and it was. She
passed this information on to the NP and she recorded it as such.
Then they
took the required amount of blood (which always seems like a lot) to run the
necessary tests. After my breast cancer 19 years ago, I’m used to everyone
taking blood. And I have to admit
this nurse was very efficient in hitting my vein and caused very little discomfit
(just a little prick). Don’t we all dread that technician or nurse that simply
can’t for the life of them find your vein?
Next on the
agenda was ‘my chronic cough’. I have had a cough for 19 years… ever since
Radiation. I call it my ‘radiation cough’ as I was once told that possibly it
was due to inflammation to my lungs due to the radiation I received for my BC.
Later I learned that it could also be due to some fluid build-up around my
heart – also possibly due to the radiation.
Who knows?
But the cough continues. Lately it has gotten a bit worse, so
I mentioned this… and since no fluid was heard when the NP listened to my
lungs, the NP gave me several prescriptions to try to see if possibly it was caused by
reflux. She also told me to make sure I have my chest x-rayed when I see my
Oncologist next month. I know that there is always the possibility of my BC
having metastasized to my lungs… thus, causing the cough.
THIS (which I’m aware
of) is probably the reason my bp was so high. I’ve always felt (at least since
my BC diagnosis) that I am well until some doctor tells me that I’m not.
to be continued....
I'm similar to you in that my BP always rises when I go to the doctor.
ReplyDeleteMy hopes are that your visit to the oncologist shows you are still in the clear.
Mae, I would think that it's fairly common for one's bp to rise when at a doctor's office (mine goes nuts at the dentist too).
DeleteI hope you will be found to be just fine. You and I know that when you get to a certain age, it's always something. I have my blood drawn a week before my visit, then we can talk about anything it finds different. I like my doctor these days, although I've only had the same primary care physician for a couple of years now. They keep changing. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe've had the same primary care physician forever... he's our age and may be thinking about retiring. But we really like the nurse practitioner that works with him.
DeleteI think we all face some anxiety when we step into the doctor's office b/c of the very issue you mention at the end: We feel fine until some doctor tells us that we're not.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Tom. And no matter how much I tell myself that it's foolish... what is, IS... it doesn't seem to help.
DeleteI do the same thing with BP. They made me monitor mine everyday for a month to prove I am fine when not seeing a doctor. Of course we are anxious then. We don't go to a doctor for conversation. Hope your oncologists visit is just as innocent.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Patti. They just tell me to check mine (BP) every once in a while.
DeleteOh yes, those doctor's visit!! I dread them because I know that my bp will be high, too. And, I've lost 2 inches. What in the world!! Oh well. Aging does take it's toll.
ReplyDeleteAt one time, they told me I was 5'3 (instead of 5'4) and that it wasn't unusual to lose height as we aged. But the next time I was 5'4 again... (I believed this was due to Yoga... and stretching ?) I haven't done Yoga in the last 2 years.
DeleteVisits to the medical folks seems to get more complicated the older we get. And glad yours are listening and respecting what you have experienced and observed about your own body.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a cartoon I saw several years ago. A man is sitting on that examining table, the Dr. is standing in front of him looking at his chart. The man says, " I know, you're just going to keep looking till you find something aren't you.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a good thing when you can walk out of the Dr's office with a clean bill of health.