Justaseeker's Journal page 18

[justaseeker]

Here's the clinic's website, if I haven't shared the link already. Its about a 45 minute drive - but its an easy drive and a nice place to visit. Its located in an intact historical village so I'll be exploring the community - here's a link for that as well.

: The Downing Clinic : Clarkston, MI 48348

Clarkston Chamber | Historic Walking Tour

[justaseeker]

Life just doesn't seems to be simple for me right now. I took two of my dogs - Papillons who just turned three - in to the vet for a dental cleaning Tuesday. One ended up having surgery while he was there - needed two teeth cut out. He had two "missing" premolars - not unusual for a toy breed - but what was really missing was the fact that only one of them was actually missing. The other one had just not erupted - and it was rotated and impacted the molar next to it. The crown of the molar was actually fractured under the gum line. So, the un-erupted premolar and the broken molar's roots had to be cut out. Bless his little heart!

And, it makes me sad to think that the molar could have been saved if we had acted earlier - and worst of all that he may have been in some discomfort all this time. He didn't act like he was in pain, but dogs can be funny that way sometimes. They just carry on and have high tolerance for pain, especially if its a pain that was chronic and they adapted to it.

Well, no sense crying over split milk, although I am going to go back through all of his records to see if there was EVER any mention of needing to x-ray these missing pre-molars. I would have done it right away if the vet said it was needed. I have always used the same vet here - and they are a fully accredited hospital with top ratings - only 12% of vets meet these criteria. And, we keep the dogs insured and are very fastidious about their care. And, yet somehow his poor mouth slipped through the cracks! Damn!

At least there were no other complications, like infection or encapsulating cyst. He does seem to be recovering well so hopefully he will be feeling better than ever soon.

[justaseeker]

Meanwhile, while the one dog is recovering and not able to go for walks, I am also laid up and not able to go for walks. My bad left knee is acting up again so now I am icing, elevating, and using a knee support - and avoiding stairs. I have other types of inflammation going on right now so I am also eliminating the raw, whole milk cheese that I had been eating recently - and adding MSM to my supplements. These symptoms could also be iodine detox so I am watching that as well - and drinking a LOT of water.

While I am laid up, I also have a new task on the computer and phone to keep me busy. I just received notice that my health service admin is contracting with a different insurance provider starting Sept 1. My coverage will be the same but there is now a whole new network of health care providers to consider - and my MD isn't in this network. Technically, it doesn't matter that she isn't in the network since I have out of network coverage. BUT, in investigating the new insurance provider I have discovered some positive benefits to using one of the providers in their network -of which there are 238 potential docs within 5 miles of my house!

I also did more investigating of the hospital systems here and found three hospitals - in two systems - that had equivalent ratings and reviews. One is the same one that my MD uses but there are two other possibilities. So, I am cross referencing the docs in the new network by their hospital affiliations and other criteria - like taking new patients and specialties/training. I am compiling a list to consider. And, I will be making a few phone calls to find out as much as I can prior to considering making a consultation visit. This time I am interviewing prospective doctors up front to see if/how they will play well with my new DO.

Last but not least, I have finally crossed the "180 threshold" on the scale - weighed 179.4 this morning!

[justaseeker]

Whew! Thank goodness for good searchable databases! At least the new provider has a national network with such an online database. The previous provider did not, and I was working almost blindly before - with an overwhelming number of potential doctors and no starting point of reference other than personal referrals and dumb luck.

Anyway, I used the new provider's grading system (which had criteria that I liked) and started narrowing my search. I limited the search to only the highest grades and added filters for hospital affiliation, etc. I now have a list of nine potential doctors within five miles of my house.

Next step is to start making phone calls with questions for the staff.

[justaseeker]

Actually, taking a step back. After further investigation, I've learned that there is an ongoing process to contact doctors to join the new provider's network - so its possible that my current MD will become a member by Sept 1. I'll wait until then to see if I want to look for a new doctor or not - and will rework my complied list of doctors at that point.

[justaseeker]

The downward trend continues....179.0 on the scale today.

[Pamsc]

Sounds like you have found what works for you! Do you notice a difference in how you feel on the new thyroid medicine?

[Gwynn]

WTG on the downward trend!!! Hope puppy feels better too!

Gwynn

[justaseeker]

Sounds like you have found what works for you! Do you notice a difference in how you feel on the new thyroid medicine?

Looking like I may have.

Its too soon to know much about the new thyroid med. This past week was transitional - old med one day, new med the next. Now, I am only taking the new med. Based on how long it took for me to see the full change (one month) when I stopped the old med after starting iodine, I'd say it will probably be a month on the new med before I know much. I'm getting tested for thyroid function with the new med in 2 months.

[justaseeker]

WTG on the downward trend!!! Hope puppy feels better too!

Gwynn

Thanks. He's feeling better all the time.