7 November 2023
Yesterday was a mess. I had an ophthalmologist appointment with a new practice scheduled for 2:30 pm. I didn’t feel up to driving so I used Uber to get to the appointment and back. That’s a whole different story. I still have problems every time I use Uber. For some reason the app on my phone froze as I disembarked at the practice and it kept it open for the entire time I was at the ophthalmologist.
The next problem was the practice was running 1 and 1/2 hours behind. My 2:30 appointment saw me go in around 4 pm. By the time I was finished and got home, it was 5:40 pm.
First, the ophthalmologist. She was very thorough with the exam. Of course, a technician did the refraction and dilation. At least I felt the technician competent with the refraction. My right eye was a little different from my glasses prescription but strangely, I saw better with my glasses so there was no need for new glasses.
The overall conclusion is that my eyes were causing me problems because of dry eye due to chemotherapy. She recommending “artificial tears” or some lubricating product like that.
I now have to make the decision to stick with my old ophthalmologist or go with the new one. The old one has no real waiting problems. They do more tests on my eyes with mapping, photographs, peripheral studies, etc. which could just mean that want to bill that to Medicare. On the other hand, I am diabetic and I do probably need for some of that to be done. The new ophthalmologist wants to see me in a year’s time while my old one wants to see me every 6 months. I’m thinking I’ll stick with the old one. All things considered, I got basically the same treatment with an hour and a half wait. Also, the new one is part of a chain of practices. The old one is not.
When I used the Uber app to get home, it was still locked with the last ride. I had to reboot the phone to get a new ride home. I kept telling the guy don’t take I-95 but he insisted on following his GPS. You can guess the result. I-95 traffic at 5 pm. Also interestingly, the ride home was cheaper than the ride to the practice.
Today was my first infusion session of just Herceptin (and of course magnesium which is always low). Pat was my nurse and she put in clearance for everything before the blood tests came back.
The blood test results were as usual. The only real difference was with RDW (red blood cell distribution width). Mine was high and can be a result of anemia, which I have. Dr. Velez wasn’t too concerned about it.
He stopped by and kept telling me every three weeks I would feel better and better. I keep waiting. At least I was able to drive myself this morning and didn’t have to depend on the kindness of friends or Uber.
This was the quickest I’ve done the therapy. I was taken back just before 9:30 and was finished by 11:30 am. I was home by noon. I like that type of schedule!
I asked my cousin Jimmie about what to use for dry eyes since I know she has that problem. She’s on a prescription drug but she recommended a non-prescriptive TheraTears. She also alerted me to the recalls of numerous products for dry eyes. Fortunately, TheraTears doesn’t seem to be on the recall list and I ordered some from Amazon.
If you are keeping up, I have a 10 am appointment with my hand doctor tomorrow, Thursday I have a fasting blood test at 8 am and Friday is a hydration. Nothing like your week being taken up with medical issues!
Stay tuned!
