A visit with the doctor

I went to the doctor for a med. check. I hate those because this is what usually happens. The nurse takes my vitals and tisks her tongue at me. I don't even look at the scale anymore because it lies. Then the dr. comes in, looks at my chart and says, "I just don't know what to do with you." He asks me some questions, which I try to answer and he changes my meds and tells me to call him in a week to report how the new meds are working.

It has been six months since I saw the doctor last. He wouldn't refill my current prescription without a med check to make sure the new one was working. So I went in and did the drill. Scale. Didn't lie as much as normal, but with scales you just never know when they are trying to lull you into a false sense of security. Blood pressure. The numbers sounded good to me. Then the dr. comes in, looks at my chart and says, "I just don't know what to do with you."

Did you know that it is possible to have blood pressure that is in fact, too low? Go figure. He thinks it is the new medication, but they don't make it in a smaller dose, so I have to cut the pills in half and see how that works. Oh, and losing 12 lbs! 12. Guess I should have quit trying to lose weight years ago. Apparently that is the key- stop caring.

Then he asked about my sleep. I laughed. A lot. When I quit laughing I told him that I sleep like a baby- I wake up every 2 hours and eat. Well, not the eating part, but the waking up part is true. He wasn't happy. He was even more unhappy when I told him that this has been going on for decades and that I cannot remember ever waking up feeling rested. Now he wants to send me to a sleep doctor for a sleep study. Not the do you have sleep apnea because you snore doctor but the why don't you have quality sleep doctor.

Right. Tell me this, I don't sleep at home, in my own bed, how am I going to sleep in a strange room, strange bed with electrodes hooked up all over and knowing that someone is watching? Ya, right, that's gonna work.

But I guess in reality I am thankful for doctors and everything they can do. I have been told that 50-75 years ago people with RA didn't even live to be my age, let alone live normal lives with as few symptoms as I have. And the ankylosing was not something that was diagnosed, let alone treated. So I guess if I have to have them, I can at least be thankful that they are treatable and that treatment is available to me and seems to be working.

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Indeed.