This medical reflection (which you will all now be subject to) started last week when i had my eyes examined. It seemed to me like an excellent exam. Very thorough with all sort of procedures I had never experienced, although I have been going to see optometrists annually for well over 15 years now. He checked the back of my eyelids, did a contact fitting, checked my eye pressure, dilated my pupils and all sorts of interesting and unusual things. And I was happy to learn that I have very very healthy eyes. I had always assumed I had unhealthy eyes because my prescription is so high, but no, in fact my eyes are very healthy, which such thing I never would have supposed.
But everything is not perfect in optometry world. First bad sign, it turns out that my insurance didn't cover the extra tests they did. They did not tell me this. I have to pay them $90. Ouch!!
Bad sign two: they dilated my pupils which I had never had done before. It was weird not to be able to see. I want back to work after my exam, but had to leave and go home right away because I couldn't see anything. This, in and of itself would be a good thing, but I don't think I should have been outside with my pupils this big:
They sent me off without sunglasses or anything! They didn't even ask. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but really that seems like very bad form. And please realize that I took this picture almost two hours after they had been dilated. My face looks weird because I couldn't keep both eyes open long enough to take a picture (don't worry I turned the flash off) so I had to close one. (I hope you can see from there how truly big my pupil is--you can hardly see the iris).Being so quick to see the good in an optometrist who, in fact, was not good made me seriously review some of my other experiences with doctors here in New York. Most of them were pleasant. Here are the highlights (in chronological order). I hope this is not boring. Feel free to skim
1. My primary care physician. I've seen him once and his assistant gave me a very good exam. He came to me very highly recommended by a client at my clinic. He asked good thorough questions, but I didn't feel like he was listening to me. I was a little disappointed that he didn't have any thoughts on the fact that at the time I was needing to drink more then 7 liters of water a day. He told me to drink more juice, milk, and soda instead. SODA!! Crazy weird.
2. My dermatologist came to me very highly recommended by a co-worker who I love. I love love love my dermatologist!!! I've told everyone at the office about him and three people have actually gone. He listens carefully and always has interesting facts to share. Example: zits on the jawline are caused by hormones, zits on cheeks not so much. So interesting! I look for excuses to go see him, but haven't come up with one yet. My skin is looking pretty good!
3. My endocrinologist. Come to find out that endocrinologists are the doctors who can help you if you're drinking more than 7 liters of water a day. My PCP failed to tell me this, but luckily I have a doctor friend named Jamie who knows things. My endocrinologist seems like a good guy. He asked interesting questions. But i didn't really understand anything he explained to me. If Jamie hadn't already explained to me all the possible causes I would have been completely (not just mostly) lost. And, being a certified nursing asssitant and all, I'm totally okay with doing an 24 hour in and out measurement, but he just gave me one big tube to collect all the out for the whole day. I don't think so.
4. My midwife. I called an OB/GYN clinic close to my work and told them to sign me up to see anyone. Imagine my delight when i got there and discovered I would be seeing a midwife. I LOVE nurse practitioners!!! (no offense, Jamie) You know how on TV, doctors take their clients into their office and you sit down at their desk and discuss things. Has anyone ever actually seen that happen in real life? I have!! Bonnie and I sat and chatted at her desk. And she did such a good job with the exam and making things comfortable. I hope that I have a baby in New York so that you can deliver it!
5. My dentist. When I first got my insurance, I called my company and asked them to assign me to someone close to my work. I got set up with a clinic in Chinatown. Every time I called the office, either the person who set appointments wasn't there or there was no one in the office who spoke English. I gave up for almost a year. Then last week I decided to give it another try, so I asked my insurance company to change me to a dentist that was close to my house. Being as how I live in Washington Heights, I figured it would be a Spanish-speaking place, but I figure I speak Spanish ok so I would be closer than at the last place. I got an appointment and sure enough everyone there spoke Spanish. Except the dentist--he was Russian. But thanks to my practice listening to the Russian ladies at work, I was able to understand a good portion of what he was saying.
I love New York.
3 comments:
There have been some questions regarding my 7th doctor. It was my therapist. I just didn't have any amusing stories about him, so i skipped him.
shut up. everyone has amusing stories about their therapist.
Did your dermatologist mention why one would get zits between their eyebrows, in the Star of India fashion? If so, I would like to know. I am always getting zits there.
Post a Comment