Dear So and So

[Crankin]

Dear Ob-Gyn,
You should not have left a message on my cell phone to call your office, without telling me that the office has changed the way you tell patients about their Pap smears when I went for my annual exam. When I heard the message, I realized I had not received the card you usually send that all is well and it was already 6 PM when I heard your message.
I had a miserable night worrying that I had cancer, and could barely stop thinking about it all through my spin class this morning, before I called you back.
Thanking G-d all is well, and now I can enjoy my Thanksgiving.

[redrhodie]

Dear Ob-Gyn,
You should not have left a message on my cell phone to call your office, without telling me that the office has changed the way you tell patients about their Pap smears when I went for my annual exam. When I heard the message, I realized I had not received the card you usually send that all is well and it was already 6 PM when I heard your message.
I had a miserable night worrying that I had cancer, and could barely stop thinking about it all through my spin class this morning, before I called you back.
Thanking G-d all is well, and now I can enjoy my Thanksgiving.

Oh, I know how that feels! The hospital sent me a certified letter the day before Veteran's Day, which I couldn't pick up until the following week. It ended up being a letter stating what they had already told me in person. I spent the weekend wondering if they found something else. Really stupid!

[Catrin]

Those things are always scary - they did that to me a couple of years ago where the letter came before the phone call. The letter came on a Saturday when they were closed Turned out I just had a cyst in my breast but still!

No surgery on my neck for now My doctor, who happens to be an osteopath (and mountain biker), thinks that most of my discomfort is where the bulging disk is hitting the nerve and there is a really good chance the injections will take care of things. He also said the injections would help decrease the inflammation in the bone (who knew bone gets inflammation?). The bone spur isn't very large...

So I am going to try the injections and now I am off to see if I can find a traction device...

BTW, he thinks the bulging disk came from my fall and subsequent whiplash on the mountain bike...

[Biciclista]

good nnews, Catrin.. the less surgery you can have, the better off you are.
Reminds me of when they did a scan of my sister and told her her pancreas looked funny. She had to wait WEEKS to get in for a follow up scan and in the meantime, she had researched things that change the shape of the pancreas (Well, duh, CANCER)
when they finally got done with all the testing and she was a wreck, they said, "oh you have a slightly larger than normal pancreas, no big deal"

[Catrin]

I went through something like that when I had an ovarian cancer scare a few years ago. It turned out I actually had something else, but it was something that they apparently couldn't/can't diagnose outside of examining the uterus in the pathology lab...

I learned then that I have to be very careful how much medical research I can do online - without a medical background it is difficult to tell the wheat from the chaff and it is so easy to jump to the big "C"...especially if someone from the doctor's office has already put it in your head! I can understand what your sister went through, so glad to hear the results though.

[Pax]

When I had my breast reduction the sent the tissue off to be biopsied as a matter of course. I got a call at 5:00pm on a Friday from my docs receptionist telling me that there was "something abnormal in the tissue" and if I wanted to know more I should call back on Monday to speak with the nurse. Gee, ya think I might want to know a little more than that??

[indysteel]

Those things are always scary - they did that to me a couple of years ago where the letter came before the phone call. The letter came on a Saturday when they were closed Turned out I just had a cyst in my breast but still!

No surgery on my neck for now My doctor, who happens to be an osteopath (and mountain biker), thinks that most of my discomfort is where the bulging disk is hitting the nerve and there is a really good chance the injections will take care of things. He also said the injections would help decrease the inflammation in the bone (who knew bone gets inflammation?). The bone spur isn't very large...

So I am going to try the injections and now I am off to see if I can find a traction device...

BTW, he thinks the bulging disk came from my fall and subsequent whiplash on the mountain bike...

Overall that sounds positive, Catrin. I hope the injections help. When is your first one scheduled?

[snapdragen]

That's great news Catrin! Did your doc say anything about PT? Sometimes gentle traction can help the disc stuff. I tried it, and it felt great as long as I was in the traction machine, but my neck was too far gone by that point. I'm really happy you don't need to have surgery!!

[Catrin]

Overall that sounds positive, Catrin. I hope the injections help. When is your first one scheduled?

When is still to be determined, it has to be done under sedation and apparently under some kind of x-ray machine where they can see the needle is going into the right place. This may well have to wait until January as I am sure the co-pay for this will be high. I am, however, looking into it.

That's great news Catrin! Did your doc say anything about PT? Sometimes gentle traction can help the disc stuff. I tried it, and it felt great as long as I was in the traction machine, but my neck was too far gone by that point. I'm really happy you don't need to have surgery!!

My doc isn't sending me to PT because he doesn't think it would work any more than what I am already doing. He did recommend a home traction thingee, but I need to find one (and hopefully can afford it). It sounds like a simple device... He did give me some neck rehab exercises. I had a hour long massage this afternoon at his advice, and it was lovely. Not the most comfortable in certain places, but just wonderful!

[Catrin]

My poor mother has to have another lung surgery this afternoon. They found a MRSA infection in her lung and apparently all they can do is to go in and clean it out. She will be back in ICU and have another chest tube...she is getting so tired of this.

[indysteel]

When is still to be determined, it has to be done under sedation and apparently under some kind of x-ray machine where they can see the needle is going into the right place. This may well have to wait until January as I am sure the co-pay for this will be high. I am, however, looking into it.



My doc isn't sending me to PT because he doesn't think it would work any more than what I am already doing. He did recommend a home traction thingee, but I need to find one (and hopefully can afford it). It sounds like a simple device... He did give me some neck rehab exercises. I had a hour long massage this afternoon at his advice, and it was lovely. Not the most comfortable in certain places, but just wonderful!

Remember that come January, you'll have to first meet your deductible before insurance will pay anything. Whether and what the co-pay (or co-insurance) is may be irrelevant, depending on how high your deductible is. Good luck figuring this part of the situation out.

As for your mother, I am so sorry. I hope this second surgery is the last and that she finally gets to go home soon.