I got through the MRI. Not my favorite thing to do: it's so noisy and I had to lay perfectly still for over an hour. I think I was stressed, actually, and his injection was very painful.
On the up side, he asked me what kind of music I wanted to hear, something I don't think they did when I had my last MRI in 2005. Belatedly, I saw a sign on my way out that they also do aromatherapy, which would have been fun, but perhaps there was a charge for that.
Very glad I got this done for $75 with this particular plan I have. Hopefully I won't have to repeat it any time soon. I left with a CD in hand that I can bring when I return to the doctor's in June.
I also saw my PCP about the tick bite. My plan was to get a written prescription which I would fill and begin only if I get symptoms. I haven't yet. Maybe I'll get lucky and learn next week from the Health Dept. that the tick tested negative.
She said my blood pressure was great: 120/60.
My PCP said that after the one beautiful weather day we had last Saturday, there was a big uptick (no pun intended) of people coming in with tick bites. So I wasn't the first.
I noticed that in one of the two garage light fixtures my electrician installed recently, that one of them has collected a fair amount of rain water in the bottom. If it builds up, I imagine it could short out. The other fixture is bone dry. I called my electrician, but then worried he might charge me for coming over, so after talking to my dad, I decided to tell the electrician not to come because I feel I've been spending the big bucks left and right lately. I might try drilling a small hole in the bottom (plastic) to let the water drain out.
Electrician wrote back saying he wouldn't charge me and could be here over the weekend. (Relief) He's a good guy; I had a feeling he might say that, but I didn't want to count on it. Yay for me.
The cable company came by and removed an old cable wire that was hanging too low; I wanted it done before the mason arrives with some kind of heavy equipment that would get snagged under it. I haven't had cable in at least a decade and I don't know why when they came to disconnect it years ago that they didn't remove the wire then, but they didn't.
After the MRI, I really feel like doing something to baby myself, and I will, tomorrow, when I enjoy a free lunch and stops at Whole Foods (to use a $25 gift card earned from credit card rewards), Walmart (for pots) and maybe Aldi's for a few sale items (cantaloupes and mangoes).
I also want to pick up a glass vase at $1 store so I can bring in a bouquet of my own homegrown daffodils for my employer Tuesday. I have hundreds in bloom or near bloom and they are so cheerful to look at. She lost her mother this week and I can relate to everything she's been through.
The week after next I have a dentist appointment.
I've been thinking about what to do vis a vis a colonoscopy. I had one before and she removed 2 very small polyps. Now I'm due for another one but I've been reading and thinking a lot about how Americans are so over-treated with a lot of unnecessary tests and procedures. There's a lot in the press about how Americans pay more for healthcare, but actually don't have better health as a result. In Europe, colonoscopies are not so commonly done and their rate of colon cancer is no higher. I did the Colonguard fecal test last year and that certainly was easier. Plus I've gone vegan since that first colonoscopy and I do believe that makes me less likely to develop colon cancer.
I must say I have similar feelings about annual mammograms and annual dental x-rays. I've often caved into pressure from doctors to do those annual mammograms but again, there's a lot of debate about whether they really improve the odds of finding breast cancer. The dental x-rays are definitely not needed if you have an otherwise health dental picture and yet i always feel like i have to fight my dentist about this when I see him. I think they just want a return on their investment in a very expensive x-ray machine, to be honest.
At some point this year, I'd like to get a physical (solely for the bloodwork, which is always so interesting and informative to me) and a Shringix vaccine at Walgreens.
Medical meanderings
April 20th, 2018 at 01:02 am
April 20th, 2018 at 02:48 am 1524188906
I'm considering backing off on dental x-rays too. Colonoscopies are just once a decade so I'm less concerned. But I have a while to think about it since my last one wasn't long ago.
So nice of you to take flowers in to work!
April 20th, 2018 at 03:02 am 1524189776
I don't get mammograms due to radiation either. And my grandmother had breast cancer. Cancer is very likely due to nutritional deficiencies than hereditary, obviously there are some. People have reversed/healed their cancer with nutrition and alternative options. Traditional doctor's can only cut, burn, or add toxic chemicals to your body to treat. These are not for me.
April 20th, 2018 at 03:05 am 1524189949
Reposted to edit links.
April 20th, 2018 at 12:45 pm 1524224722
April 20th, 2018 at 12:47 pm 1524224850
April 20th, 2018 at 12:50 pm 1524225011
https://nutritionfacts.org/2014/02/18/are-dental-x-rays-safe/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=are-dental-x-rays-safe&utm_source=NutritionFacts.org&utm_campaign=63eaeab74b-RSS_BLOG_DAILY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_40f9e497d1-63eaeab74b-23353105
April 20th, 2018 at 01:33 pm 1524227600
Thanks for the article on dental x-rays. I let them do these last time, but I'm thinking what is the point unless I'm having a problem? I think because insurance will pay once a year, they figure might as well give once a year. I think I will stop unless I have issues that need a deeper look. Dentists and doctors are not used to the patients standing up for their care, thus they don't know what to say when we greet them with information and knowledge.
April 20th, 2018 at 02:09 pm 1524229757
April 20th, 2018 at 02:12 pm 1524229944
Why Americans spend more and die more from lung cancer
April 20th, 2018 at 02:28 pm 1524230927
Consumers Must Stop Insisting on Mammograms and Other Ineffective Cancer Tests, Scientific America, 2014
H. Gilbert Welch, a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and author of Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health (Beacon Press, 2011)
Cancer Establishment Admits We’re Getting Overtested and Overtreated, Scientific American, 2013
How Much Are We Over-Diagnosing Cancer?, Forbes, 2015
The Global Problem With Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment, Time Mag, 2014
Bottom line, we all need to be our own health advocates, listening to what our doc tells us but also doing our own due diligence, research and talking to our own families to determine the best approach. More and more I have a healthy dose of caution when dealing with the medical establishment.
April 21st, 2018 at 01:19 am 1524269988
April 21st, 2018 at 02:48 am 1524275324
I get a lot of cavities, so I get the x rays each year.
April 21st, 2018 at 11:25 am 1524306305
Actually, I've heard that by the time you find a lump thru a manual exam yourself, it's already much further advanced, stage-wise, than if you'd found it via mammo.
April 22nd, 2018 at 08:08 pm 1524424092
DH wants to get that newer Shingles vaccine. I don't think Medicare covers it. Not sure if any health insurance covers it either. You might shop around at different pharmacies though. I just got the older Shingles vaccine and there was a few dollars difference at different pharmacies.
April 22nd, 2018 at 09:18 pm 1524428291