Fuxed

After my poor experience with Doctor S on Monday I called the office back and asked that Dr. B review my chart, refill the anti-potassium medication and make me a new appointment with him. What did I find out??? Well, the dumb ass Dr. S is leaving the practice in October and I will never have to deal with her again, only with Dr. B. To say I wa upset when I spoke with the office staff is an understatement, and Dr. B immediately ordered th refill of the prescription in question. Shit! I was so upset. But I am so glad I will be seeing Dr. B from now on. I have much more confidence in him. I have only one kidney, having lost the left one to cancer ten years ago. I was a lucky one; no chemo or radiation, the tumor was encapsulated. But dealing with only one kidney and aging has proven to be a difficult proposition. High potassium levels, hyperparathyroidism issues, high phosphorus levels, all do not bode well for a long life span. I must protect what is mine. I am as careful as I can be but I must constantly advocate for myself with physicians. Ever since I was young I was the one who had to make doctor appointments. When I was nineteen my dad told me to call the doctor as I was sick with gastric issues and he thought it might be cancer. Why I had to take care of myself when I was still under the my parents' roof is still beyond me. But I did make the appointment, took myself to it and was promptly hospitalize with ulcerative colitis. Stress and more stress and a genetic predisposition reared it's ugly head and I was relegated to a life of permanent medication for the illness. Forty years later I still have issues but I can deal. My dad developed Crohns a year after my diagnosis and sixty years later his brother developed Crohns. What a family. My mother, who thought the reason I was stricken was stress related, suggested I start smoking to relieve the stress. Dummy me took up smoking. I smoked for ten years only to quit after the sudden death of my beloved grandmother. I kept thinking I was having a heart attack so rather than stressing myself out over that I just quit smoking. And took up another addiction, anorexia. That lasted until my bipolar diagnosis when that medication managed to help me to bulk up. I feel like this is my full medical history and I have. Save for a few details. But for many reasons I no longer smoke or drink, but I do have an occasional magic zucchini bread. Oh, well. Addiction, addiction, addiction. Now I am dealing with arthritic hands, although I did manage to practice the mandolin for forty five minutes this morning. Still sore and swollen, but that will lessen as the day wears on. Excelsior!!!