Yea for the NP and Her Assistant!

We spoke with the nurse practitioner late yesterday afternoon. When I asked my main question, she said that anytime his pulse rate goes over 100 and stays that way for a length of time (The time was left a little nebulous), I should call 911. His pulse rate jumps to over 150 sometimes.

I explained the problem I was having seeing the cardiologist and she said her assistant would see to it, heh, heh. The assistant called this morning before 9:00 am saying we have an appointment today at 2:15.

The NP also ordered another potassium test for this morning, but we won’t get the results until probably next Tuesday.

I hope they can give him something for his problem. His heart rate goes high, but his blood pressure drops very low. He is now having more than one episode a day. And he gets so tired. Today he barely made it up the steps when we cam home.

How Silly of Me to Ask!

The call was finally returned at 4:40 pm, but the result was not helpful. I explained Mr. Fixit’s situation with the cancer and the medication for that and the potassium problem to the scheduler. She said the earliest opening was July 6. I said, “We need some help now. He’s having these episodes. Do you think the physician assistant has an earlier opening?” She said his earliest time available was in two weeks.

I said, “What am I supposed to do if this happens again? When does he need emergency treatment?”

She said, “I can’t help you with that. I can put you through to the nurse’s voice mail and she can call you back tomorrow.” I said, “I’ll call her tomorrow.” I really didn’t want to talk to voice mail again. I wanted to speak with a human who could tell us what to do or to offer some suggestion as to the cause of the heart problem. This is a heart problem, not some little trivial thing.

Maybe I’m not up on the latest medical etiquette. Perhaps you don’t call your heart specialist with heart problems. Could it be they only do check-ups and hospital visits? Maybe I screwed up.

Tomorrow I’m going to call the nurse practitioner he has been seeing for things not requiring a specialist. I know she will find time for us and will answer the questions we have or find the answers. I also want to ask if I was out of line expecting help from the specialist. I think I can count of her to answer the questions or to help us understand what steps should be taken if the episodes worsen.

Breathe in, Breathe out

O-o-o-m-m-m, o-o-o-m-m-m. An hour has passed since my last post and I still haven’t received a call back. I have calmed down a bit; not completely, but a bit.

I know that the schedulers in medical offices do more than make appointments for patient visits. I realize, too, that their jobs must be stressful indeed. They not have to schedule appointments, but some (I’m not sure that all) also have the logistical nightmare of scheduling surgeries. I wouldn’t want that job.

But I will say that having your call made during regular business hours to a doctor’s office forwarded to voice mail is more than a little off-putting.

O-o-o-m-m-m, o-o-o-m-m-m, cleansing breath.

Patience in Short Supply

Mr. Fixit has developed a few problems with his heart in the last few weeks. I don’t know whether they’re related to his cancer medication, his potassium problems, or his heart medication. Last night he had another episode, and I decided it was time to talk to the cardiologist.

I called this morning at 10:00 am to make the appointment. The first two times I called I could barely hear the receptionist, and she couldn’t hear me. I hung up and called again. Again, the connection problem. Just as I was ready to hang up again, the reception cleared and we could hear each other. I was directed to the doctor’s scheduler. My call was forwarded to the scheduler’s voice mail. I left my name, phone number, Mr. Fixit’s name (which I spelled) and a request for an appointment. I also gave a short summary of the problems he is having. I repeated my phone number at the end of the call.

It is now 11:30 am and I haven’t received a call back. Am I being too impatient? I’ve been in that office and spoken with the schedulers. I have never seen any of them with patients waiting. You make your appointment and leave—five minutes usually. I assume they have other duties beside making appointments, but I assume that scheduling is the main task. When I don’t receive a call-back in what I consider a timely manner, I get a bit perturbed. It’s not like I call constantly being a nuisance. I have never requested an appointment other than the first one and the short exam before the kidney surgery. We’ve never had occasion to make appointments other than his regular check-ups. It would have taken no more than five minutes I would think to make an appointment.

I realize that I am more than a little tense and testy lately, but, darn it, this is my husband’s well-being that we’re talking about here. It seems to me that people in medical offices should realize that their patients are stressed and would take that into account when prioritizing their work.

Lab Results

The results of Mr. Fixit's lab work showed that his potassium level has dropped to an acceptable 5.2. The normal range is 3.1 to 5.1, but the nurse practitioner said he could resume his normal diet with the exception of bananas. I suggested he also avoid tomatoes and nuts which are extremely high in potassium. I was a little disappointed because I thought it would be much lower since he hasn't been eating any of the foods on the high potassium list. I promised him pot roast today. It was a no-no because potatoes and carrots have extreme amounts of potassium. We'll have to wait and see, I suppose.

Stress

(I wonder if Blogger will let me do my own paragraphing. It seems to have taken over and is not dividing my text where I want new paragraphs. In fact, it has decided that I only need one paragraph throughout. I realized paragraphing is somewhat subjective, but, darn it, if I want more than one paragraph, let me have more than one. See? I'm a little stressed today.) The consequences of Mr. Fixit's high potassium levels could have dire consequences. I so confused about what he should be eating. It seems that most most vegetables have scads of potassium. I'm at my wit's end. No tomato products, no bananas (which is is favorite fruit), no broccoli, no carrots, no dried beans, no potatoes, no almost-every-other-vegetable I can think of. When you consider this low potassium thing along with his low cholesterol, I spend more time researching on-line than I do actually cooking. The thing is, it's probably my fault he's having this problem. I thought I was improving his diet after his kidney removal and the cancer diagnosis. Most of the stuff he was eating is extremely high in potassium. I wonder why someone didn't mention after the kidney removal that this could be a problem. I had absolutely no idea. He has another appointment for labs Wednesday to see if the level have dropped to an acceptable level. I hope so, and I hope someone will talk to us about his diet. __________________________________________________________ Note: Dammit! There is supposed to be four paragraphs; the Blogger/Google gods who know EVERYTHING seem to think One should be enough.

Check-up

Today Mr. Fixit had blood work and a chat with the nurse practitioner. She provided answers for a couple of little problems and said the results of the labs were good. After we came home, she called and said that she noticed that his postassium levels were too high. She said that it could cause cardiac problems. I told her he had been eating a couple of bananas a day, and she said that could be the problem. I checked on the computer for high potassium foods and found we had in the last few days several that were on the high potassium list. The NP said that she wanted a do another test the middle of next week. We were supposed to get a call to set up the appointment this afternoon, but I missed the call. I'll have to call Monday.