Memphis blues

A little late in reporting, but Tuesday was another day spent in Memphis at the VA Hospital. I caught the DAV van at 0630 down at the old shopping mall (now very deserted since the new one was finished). I had three appointments scheduled: the nutritionist at 11, neurology at 2:40, and ophthalmology at 3 pm. If you ride one of the volunteer vans, usually you can get in to see the doctors early. I went into ophthalmology first, and they took me right in.

Lucky me! The department has a new toy, and I was the very first patient to be scanned with it. The technician had to use her cheat notes, and although I have no idea what the machine is called; it does a scan to check if there is swelling around the optic nerve. I suppose all was well back there, assuming she did the test correctly. She would say look at the green dot, and sometimes there WAS NO GREEN DOT. Then she'd adjust things, and a fuzzy green dot on a bright red background would flash and little lights would buzz across the viewing area in angles or circles. Weird.

The ophthalmologist shined a lot of bright lights in my eyes, and said he couldn't see anything really new going on, but my chart tests indicate they should prescribe new glasses. Of course, they had just dilated my eyes, and I will have to go back in two months to get that done. :P

I was out of there before ten, so I wandered over to the nutritionist's office and signed in early for that appointment. I got right in because someone else was a no-show. Evidently, when I can afford to buy food, I eat fairly well. I've lost five more pounds, have no idea why. She seemed satisfied that I knew how to eat properly, did NOT give me a huge lecture on being overweight, and sent me on my merry way.

I decided to eat lunch before I went to the fifth floor neurology because I know that clinic only meets in the afternoon. I shopped a little in the canteen, didn't buy anything. I still made it up to the fifth floor before the receptionist went to lunch. She told me which box to put my paperwork in, and I took a seat in the waiting room. I had asked if I could see the doctor early. She made no promises.

Monday night, I could not sleep. I tossed, turned, and sweat all night long. So by noon, I was dead on my feet. I dozed off and on in the waiting room, too tired to even try to read the Agatha Christie mystery I brought along. The room filled up, and before long, everyone else seemed to have been summoned for vital sign checks but me. I kept pacing to keep awake, without much luck. It was after 3 pm when I finally saw the doctor.

I like Dr. M. He's a fairly new resident physician at the VA, and must be from the Ukraine or thereabouts. He is very straightforward, and I like that. He actually read my charts, which so often doesn't happen with the VA, and he said he was concerned about a couple of the results of the many tests I had last week. He didn't tell me everything, but I did get out of him that my sed rate is high, and another test that has to do with autoimmune system problems, the C-Reactive Protein was also high. According to WebMD, A recent study suggests a link between increased CRP levels and the development of age-related macular degeneration. Well, hello?

So, after all this, the doc gave me a refill on some meds for restless leg syndrome, which was one of the reasons I didn't sleep the night before. In order to get it filled, I had to go to the other end of the campus to the outpatient pharmacy, take a number and wait to see the pharmacist before the prescription was even turned in. I appealed to a volunteer who was at the information desk to help me get in touch with the van driver, who had been looking for me. The volunteer got me in to see a pharmacist without waiting, and he in turn had a few of the pills filled for me right then so the van wouldn't be delayed any longer. By the time we got out of there, it was well after 4pm, which meant it was dark when we got back to Jonesboro. Too long of a day.

Best part? I have to go back NEXT Tuesday for another of those unspeakably awful GI tests.

All this, and I've spent the last two days ripping out the carpeting in the house before I move back in. Oh, and I've sold several braille tshirts in the past few days. Maybe things will look up, just a little.