We went to Obregon on Tuesday for the stress test and the Dr. decided that it was inconclusive as to whether Roy has any blockages in his heart. When Roy was doing the exercise portion of the test, all was fine; but when he was laying down for the resting part of it after, things went a bit funny. The Dr. gave him a pill used for angina and that settled things down. This apparently was not the reaction the Dr. expected. The Dr. does not want to do anything more invasive until he knows for sure, as it is an expensive operation to do if there is nothing there, in the neighbourhood of 80,000 pesos, (about $6,500.00 CAD), and up depending on how many blockages there are, if there are any.
The cost of the stress test and Dr. consult was 2000.00 pesos, about $161.00 CAD).
He feels Roy should have a Test at a Nuclear Medicine Dept., in a nutshell it is basically a nuclear stress test, where they inject some stuff into his veins and it travels throughout his body and then they can see if there is or is not a blockage. It is of course more involved that this; but that is the short of it.
He is basically feeling fine, no pain or anything; but has zero energy so there must be something going on somewhere.
Not sure when I will update on this again, I guess whenever I have something to say.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Showing posts with label doctors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doctors. Show all posts
Saturday, June 01, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Back To The Emergency Room
We both had a good night last night and got some sleep. The night before on the other hand was not so relaxing.
Roy went to bed and started having pain and trouble breathing around midnight, so we got dressed and headed to the Emergency Room at the hospital.
After another ECG and some treatment we were sent home and he slept the rest of the night.
Yesterday morning our landlady came up with her blood pressure machine and we took his blood pressure and it wasn't too bad. One of the concerns of the Arrhythmia is the low blood pressure. We were then gently chastised by her for not calling her and getting her to go with us to the Emergency. She has told us over and over again to call her at any time day or night and she will accompany us; but we didn't feel we needed to call her and it all went well, so no worries.
She then wanted me to call the specialist in Obregon and tell him what had happened. I have a hard time with just calling a specialist as it is for me something you would only do in an extreme emergency even if you had his phone number up north. Here apparently you do it with any updates whatsoever. So after she left I called him and he wanted me to scan the latest ECG to him and other data so I did. He then called me back, remember this is a Saturday morning, and told us that he was very happy with the way the Arrhythmia had responded so far to the medications. His concern now has moved on to the Isquemia, (possible blockage) that had been noted in his last visit; but the greater priority at that time was getting the Arrythmia under control before heart failure happened. He emailed a couple of prescriptions to be used in case of pain again and instead of us waiting for the 3 week appointment made previously he now wants to see him this Tuesday to do a stress test and some other tests.
Our landlady reappeared and I told her of the new appt. and she is bound and determined to come with us in case we cannot understand something. I told her that as the appt. is not until 4 PM that we may stay the night if Roy is tired rather than making the 1½ hr. trip home. Not a problem, she has friends that have an extra place to stay and so I guess she will come with us.
It is not that we don't want her help, it is just that I am not used to asking people for help, I guess I have a huge streak of Independence, which she seems to find peculiar.
So, hopefully things will be quiet here until Tuesday.
Have a good day as we will be.
Roy went to bed and started having pain and trouble breathing around midnight, so we got dressed and headed to the Emergency Room at the hospital.
After another ECG and some treatment we were sent home and he slept the rest of the night.
Yesterday morning our landlady came up with her blood pressure machine and we took his blood pressure and it wasn't too bad. One of the concerns of the Arrhythmia is the low blood pressure. We were then gently chastised by her for not calling her and getting her to go with us to the Emergency. She has told us over and over again to call her at any time day or night and she will accompany us; but we didn't feel we needed to call her and it all went well, so no worries.
She then wanted me to call the specialist in Obregon and tell him what had happened. I have a hard time with just calling a specialist as it is for me something you would only do in an extreme emergency even if you had his phone number up north. Here apparently you do it with any updates whatsoever. So after she left I called him and he wanted me to scan the latest ECG to him and other data so I did. He then called me back, remember this is a Saturday morning, and told us that he was very happy with the way the Arrhythmia had responded so far to the medications. His concern now has moved on to the Isquemia, (possible blockage) that had been noted in his last visit; but the greater priority at that time was getting the Arrythmia under control before heart failure happened. He emailed a couple of prescriptions to be used in case of pain again and instead of us waiting for the 3 week appointment made previously he now wants to see him this Tuesday to do a stress test and some other tests.
Our landlady reappeared and I told her of the new appt. and she is bound and determined to come with us in case we cannot understand something. I told her that as the appt. is not until 4 PM that we may stay the night if Roy is tired rather than making the 1½ hr. trip home. Not a problem, she has friends that have an extra place to stay and so I guess she will come with us.
It is not that we don't want her help, it is just that I am not used to asking people for help, I guess I have a huge streak of Independence, which she seems to find peculiar.
So, hopefully things will be quiet here until Tuesday.
Have a good day as we will be.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Cardiologist
The cardiologist did another ECG yesterday and the results were the same as the tests he had done at the Similares lab.
It turns out that he has a problem that has to be dealt with right away so we will either be going to the hospital in our state capitol today or to the city south of us, both apparently have good cardiac facilities.
I may be away from the computer for a few days, not really sure at this point.
Cost of the Cardiologist: 500 pesos for the consultation and letter, 300 pesos for the ECG. Total cost: 800 pesos or just about $66.70 CAD.
It turns out that he has a problem that has to be dealt with right away so we will either be going to the hospital in our state capitol today or to the city south of us, both apparently have good cardiac facilities.
I may be away from the computer for a few days, not really sure at this point.
Cost of the Cardiologist: 500 pesos for the consultation and letter, 300 pesos for the ECG. Total cost: 800 pesos or just about $66.70 CAD.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Roy And The Doctors
Well this morning we went to the lab. to pick up Roys results from the blood, urine and heart tests. They had said they would be ready anytime after 8 AM Monday morning. We were slow to move this morning so it was probably after 10 AM when we arrived. They picked out his package from the pile and we were out of there.
Next was a return trip to the Dr.. Only 1 other person in front of us, so not a long wait. The Dr. read through the reports and told us the good news first.
Blood tests all came back normal and good.
Urine tests showed elevated Uric Acid which can cause swelling and inflammation in the joints. Pill prescribed for 20 days to eliminate that issue and told to eliminate all red meat for a month, which is not hard for us as we eat very little red meat. As we do eat so little red meat I am not quite sure why he has this issue.
Onto the ECG, the Dr. had thought that he had heard an anomaly when he listened to Roys heart and it showed up on the ECG. As I cannot spell the words the Dr. used I will just say that basically his heart is not working correctly.
Referral to the Cardiologist. Off we went to the Cardiologists office and found out that he only has appointments in the afternoons. We were given an appt. for 5 PM today, so I will write more after we see him.
Total cost for this morning: Dr. 30 pesos, (less than $3.00 CAD.) and prescription for pills for the Uric Acid - 23 pesos, (less than $2.50 CAD).
To be continued..................
Next was a return trip to the Dr.. Only 1 other person in front of us, so not a long wait. The Dr. read through the reports and told us the good news first.
Blood tests all came back normal and good.
Urine tests showed elevated Uric Acid which can cause swelling and inflammation in the joints. Pill prescribed for 20 days to eliminate that issue and told to eliminate all red meat for a month, which is not hard for us as we eat very little red meat. As we do eat so little red meat I am not quite sure why he has this issue.
Onto the ECG, the Dr. had thought that he had heard an anomaly when he listened to Roys heart and it showed up on the ECG. As I cannot spell the words the Dr. used I will just say that basically his heart is not working correctly.
Referral to the Cardiologist. Off we went to the Cardiologists office and found out that he only has appointments in the afternoons. We were given an appt. for 5 PM today, so I will write more after we see him.
Total cost for this morning: Dr. 30 pesos, (less than $3.00 CAD.) and prescription for pills for the Uric Acid - 23 pesos, (less than $2.50 CAD).
To be continued..................
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Back To The Doctor
Roy has had very swollen feet for the last few months, he never wanted to go to the Dr. about it to see what the cause is. Is it just men in general or is he more stubborn than most? This said with a smile, of course.
A couple of days ago our landlords daughter in law came up with a birthday party invitation and was aghast when she happened to notice his swollen feet. I guess coming from someone other than me had an effect on him as he decided we should go to the Dr. and see about it.
We went to a Farmacia Similares to see the Dr.. I have seen this particular Dr. before and liked his approach so I was glad when it was him. The Drs. at the Farmacia rotate in and out and also change from mornings to afternoons so I am never quite sure who I will see.
The Dr. asked lots of questions and gave him a fluid pill to get rid of the worst of the retention problem quickly. Then he wrote a script for a blood and urine analysis and also an ECG. Paid the Dr. his 30 pesos, (about $2.50 CAD) and we were on our way.
This morning we headed down to the laboratory that is run by the Similares people also. There were very few people ahead of us and after giving the clerk his information we maybe waited 5 minutes, then blood work, he handed in the urine sample and waited maybe another 5 minutes for the ECG. She gave him a couple of minutes to remove the metallic objects on his person and his shirt and returned and did the test.
While we were waiting they had to do a blood test on a little girl about 1½ yrs. old. We both figured we were in for some ear splitting screams; but she emerged with mom with a lollipop and dry eyes. I said something to her mom about there being no tears. Mom just proudly smiled and said no, she just sucked in her breath a bit and that was it. Wow.
Cost for all of Roys tests was 324.00 pesos or about $27.02 CAD. We can pick up the results on Monday morning after 8 AM and then we will have to return to see the Dr.
All in all a good experience. Very friendly, professional people, very clean place, would definitely go there again. Thankfully, we didn't have any communication problems and were happy with the appt..
I did notice that they have a special on right now for the basic analyses. For 426.00 pesos, (about $35.52 CAD), you can get your blood and urine tested for all the normal stuff and a ECG and something else. It said that this checkup will tell you how well your liver, kidneys,heart, etc. are functioning plus your cholesterol levels, sugar, etc.. I thought is was a pretty good deal and am thinking I might go for that myself as I haven't had anything like that checked in a very, very long time.
Next installment to follow.
A couple of days ago our landlords daughter in law came up with a birthday party invitation and was aghast when she happened to notice his swollen feet. I guess coming from someone other than me had an effect on him as he decided we should go to the Dr. and see about it.
We went to a Farmacia Similares to see the Dr.. I have seen this particular Dr. before and liked his approach so I was glad when it was him. The Drs. at the Farmacia rotate in and out and also change from mornings to afternoons so I am never quite sure who I will see.
The Dr. asked lots of questions and gave him a fluid pill to get rid of the worst of the retention problem quickly. Then he wrote a script for a blood and urine analysis and also an ECG. Paid the Dr. his 30 pesos, (about $2.50 CAD) and we were on our way.
This morning we headed down to the laboratory that is run by the Similares people also. There were very few people ahead of us and after giving the clerk his information we maybe waited 5 minutes, then blood work, he handed in the urine sample and waited maybe another 5 minutes for the ECG. She gave him a couple of minutes to remove the metallic objects on his person and his shirt and returned and did the test.
While we were waiting they had to do a blood test on a little girl about 1½ yrs. old. We both figured we were in for some ear splitting screams; but she emerged with mom with a lollipop and dry eyes. I said something to her mom about there being no tears. Mom just proudly smiled and said no, she just sucked in her breath a bit and that was it. Wow.
Cost for all of Roys tests was 324.00 pesos or about $27.02 CAD. We can pick up the results on Monday morning after 8 AM and then we will have to return to see the Dr.
All in all a good experience. Very friendly, professional people, very clean place, would definitely go there again. Thankfully, we didn't have any communication problems and were happy with the appt..
I did notice that they have a special on right now for the basic analyses. For 426.00 pesos, (about $35.52 CAD), you can get your blood and urine tested for all the normal stuff and a ECG and something else. It said that this checkup will tell you how well your liver, kidneys,heart, etc. are functioning plus your cholesterol levels, sugar, etc.. I thought is was a pretty good deal and am thinking I might go for that myself as I haven't had anything like that checked in a very, very long time.
Next installment to follow.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
A Trip To The Emergency Room
I have to say that we have been very lucky health wise since we have come here. We have never had a health concern that going to a doctor at Farmacia Similares has not been able to help with.
Roy has been feeling yucky off and on the last few days. One day he is fine and then next day not so great.
Last night he was in a lot of pain, neither one of us thought that it was a heart attack; but he was in quite a bit of pain so he decided he needed to go to emergency at the hospital. Roy has no health care here as he has never wanted to sign up for it. We decided to go to the Hospital Pabellon Guadalupe and just in case I couldn't understand everything the doctor said we asked our landlady to go with us. Our landlady does not speak English; but she and I communicate very well, we are both used to each others speech and if I don't understand one word she uses she will dumb it down.
We arrived at the hospital around 5 PM and were signed in and told to sit down, we barely got sat down and they called us into a examining room. They asked some questions, told Roy to lay down on the bed. He was having a lot of pain breathing so before checking too many things out they asked about allergies and immediately started an IV with pain medication in it. Within 10 minutes he was comfortable enough to lay down and the Dr. checked him out more thoroughly. He decided that Roy had Gastritis, that the parasite killer had not worked for him as it was bacteria born. He continued to check on him and chat with our landlady and I until Roy was pain free. He then wrote out a bunch of prescriptions and sent us on our way.
After heading to the drugstore and filling the prescriptions we were back at home. Roy was feeling much better and pain free. The whole trip took about an hour and a half.
This morning he is his normal self, I am happy to say.
We had never been to an emergency room here before; but after this experience I am comfortable with the fact that I could understand what was being said and with what was happening and if it happens again we will do it on our own.
Now for the nitty gritty, the costs.
To see the Dr. on a Saturday evening at emergency cost 300 pesos.
The hospital costs were 911.28 pesos (cost of medication in the IV, materials, etc.)
So the total cost at the hospital was: 1211.28 pesos or approx. $ 101.63
Cost of the medications at the pharmacy was: 655.90 pesos or approx. $ 55.03 some of the meds. are for 5 days and some are for 10 days supply.
So the total cost in pesos was 1867.18 or approx. $ 156.66
All in all a good experience if going to the emergency room can be a good experience. Happy with all the care and procedures that were done. Doctor was in no rush and explained everything very well. Nurses and Dr. were very good and we both felt very comfortable with the level of care.
Roy has been feeling yucky off and on the last few days. One day he is fine and then next day not so great.
Last night he was in a lot of pain, neither one of us thought that it was a heart attack; but he was in quite a bit of pain so he decided he needed to go to emergency at the hospital. Roy has no health care here as he has never wanted to sign up for it. We decided to go to the Hospital Pabellon Guadalupe and just in case I couldn't understand everything the doctor said we asked our landlady to go with us. Our landlady does not speak English; but she and I communicate very well, we are both used to each others speech and if I don't understand one word she uses she will dumb it down.
We arrived at the hospital around 5 PM and were signed in and told to sit down, we barely got sat down and they called us into a examining room. They asked some questions, told Roy to lay down on the bed. He was having a lot of pain breathing so before checking too many things out they asked about allergies and immediately started an IV with pain medication in it. Within 10 minutes he was comfortable enough to lay down and the Dr. checked him out more thoroughly. He decided that Roy had Gastritis, that the parasite killer had not worked for him as it was bacteria born. He continued to check on him and chat with our landlady and I until Roy was pain free. He then wrote out a bunch of prescriptions and sent us on our way.
After heading to the drugstore and filling the prescriptions we were back at home. Roy was feeling much better and pain free. The whole trip took about an hour and a half.
This morning he is his normal self, I am happy to say.
We had never been to an emergency room here before; but after this experience I am comfortable with the fact that I could understand what was being said and with what was happening and if it happens again we will do it on our own.
Now for the nitty gritty, the costs.
To see the Dr. on a Saturday evening at emergency cost 300 pesos.
The hospital costs were 911.28 pesos (cost of medication in the IV, materials, etc.)
So the total cost at the hospital was: 1211.28 pesos or approx. $ 101.63
Cost of the medications at the pharmacy was: 655.90 pesos or approx. $ 55.03 some of the meds. are for 5 days and some are for 10 days supply.
So the total cost in pesos was 1867.18 or approx. $ 156.66
All in all a good experience if going to the emergency room can be a good experience. Happy with all the care and procedures that were done. Doctor was in no rush and explained everything very well. Nurses and Dr. were very good and we both felt very comfortable with the level of care.
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