What a day

[giza]

I had an appointment with Dr. K this morning about my knees. Since they flared up last Wednesday, they've returned close to normal, or so I thought. Upon examining them, he pointed out that there was a section of my right knee that was still swollen. He also mentioned that there are "grooves" in the bone under the kneecap, and that some people have deep grooves while some people have shallow grooves. My grooves are shallow, so this puts me more at risk for things like chondromalacia.

We discussed treatment of the condition and he said that the Aleve I was taking was a good start, but that a certain medication called "Piroxicam" works better on large joints. So I walked out with a prescription for that. Unfortunately, it's not to be mixed with alcohol, so that pretty much kills my drinking habit for the next month. It was also pointed out to me that strengthening the quadraceps will provide support to the kneecaps to keep this issue from returning.

Never one to pass up the opportunity to make a joke, when I asked about long term complications of this condition, Dr. K's answer was: "Death and decay. The same as every other medical condition." Never a dull moment with him.

Paying my bill was interesting -- when I went to pay the co-pay, I was told that my account had a $40 credit and I didn't owe anything. Hey, who am I to argue with that? When I got my prescription filled later, it was pretty much the same thing. The total due was $0.00. That's a first for me too.

Of course, the appointment this morning was made all the more interesting by the noreaster that we had going through the state. The roads were very slushy and traffic was pretty bad. What normally should have been about 20-25 minutes each way took closer to 45 minutes each way. And when I got back home, the R5 Regional Rail line was down due to electrical problems. That meant standing outside for about 15 minutes, taking a bus to the 69th Street terminal, and taking the subway into work from there. I made it into the office around... Noon or so.

Given all that went on in the morning, I was pretty tired just when I got into work. This left me being not as productive as I wanted to be. Let's hope I can do a little better tomorrow. :-P

Comments

[streakthetiger.livejournal.com]

Glad you`re knees are feeling better! Or will be when you take the medication.

And that`s nice that is was all free. How or why that is, is kinda creepy. But yay for you! :D

[simbab.livejournal.com]

I've had that happen before...our insurance company changed their co-pay policy and I've had a number of credits on my account at the doctor's office. Sometimes the policy changes and the office is a bit slow on the uptake, and they charge you co-pays when they shouldn't or they charge you for the wrong amount.

[akakaryuu.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Blue Cross and Blue Shield are waving generic drug copays for the remainder of 2007.

Pretty sweet, is it not?

[wildw0lf.livejournal.com]

Did I just hear you say you had to cut back on alcohol!? Breaking your New Years' resolution already! :)

I hope your knee gets better though, as pain isn't fun.

[music4fun.livejournal.com]

I'll drink your Scotch so it doesn't spoil. Hee, hee.