I could use your prayers, please. *Update 5/27*

[K9karen]

Shingles suck. My poor mom had them repeatedly when she got very ill. I had them once and didn't nip them in the bud 'cause I didn't know I had them until they dried up, and the pain started.

Tsk, tsk and shame on that doctor for yelling at you! I have to boast how lucky I've been with my docs. I've never, ever been yelled at. I had to call my ortho surgeon's answering service right before I was scheduled to pop into an MRI because the tech couldn't understand his abbreviations. My own doc called me within minutes (at 7am on a Saturday!). I know he had been to a concert the night before too, 'cause he had mentioned it. He was as sweet as always. He once told me there was no reason for ANY doctor to feel above anyone else because they take an oath to help and heal. Want his name???

Sorry for the "me" story. I hope you feel better,Mary. My mom always got shingles on her hips too. The neuropathy stinks. Prayers that you feel better and that your doc appt goes well.

Are you going to mention the back up doctor's attitude to your doctor? I would. It's your body and your money. It was YOUR fault he was on call, huh?

[rosethecopycat]

Prayers for your appointment.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Mary, I'm sorry to hear this. You'll remain in my thoughts and prayers. Please take care.

[Karen]

Prayers that things go well. I would speak to your doc about "the new kid" but also understand said "new kid" may have been feeling a little ovewhelmed. If he ever does it again, then I'd make a written complaint.

Years ago I had to get a new allergist, as my old, sniffly Doc had retired. He passed me over to his replacement, as me to set up an appointment to introduce myself to Doc. R, and I did. less than a week after that, I needed a prescription refill called in. I called Doc R's office, and he called back to say "Do I know you?" in a rude tone of voice. I described myself, and told him I had just been in his office, and he conceded he did remember me after all.

I relayed this to my Primary Care physician, and she said, "What meds do you need? I'll prescribe them for you, you don't need to be treated like that." And I never had to see Doc R. again!

[Medusa]

I even acknowledged to this dr. that I had thought about waiting until morning to call my regular dr. for a Rx but I know his staff. They always say "No, you need to come in for an appt. He won't prescribe anything w/out seeing you first" and then we'd go round and round about it. As I said, I have to see my surgeon today. He and my dentist work closely together and my surgeon goes out of the country a lot, usually to Japan, to teach. These appts. are golden and if I cancel, I don't know when I can get another one. So I thought I'd have the Rx waiting for me, I could pick it up, take one of the pills and get the meds started so that the shingles don't advance like they did last time. How inconvenient is it to press a few buttons on a fax? At least he didn't have to leave his home and go in to the hospital. I'm definitely going to mention it to my dr. but I'll be very selective w/my wording. I know how protective they are of each other. Thanx for your well wishes, friends.

[Medusa]

Ok, just got home from my surgeon's office. I'm to complete round 2 of the antibiotic and go back in two weeks. He didn't give me any more injections of the antibiotic into my gums, so that's a good thing. He said that as long as I'm improving, he's not going to be concerned. If I had just maintained or gotten worse, then we might have a problem. The blood in my mouth in the morning is less than it was but I can't take a chance; I have to continue the antibiotic. I was concerned because I'm to start acylovir today for shingles so I talked to my pharmacist about possible drug interactions and she said that there wouldn't be a problem.

This sure has been an expensive month. First the surgeon, then the Valtrex costs $145 WITH insurance, so I asked if I could have samples from my dr.'s office but he didn't have enough so he prescribed acyclovir which is only $23.99 w/insurance. That I can handle. I like to keep a reserve on hand in case one of the Fur Posse should get sick. As it is, I was just about to have ceramic tile installed in my enclosed patio but, when I opened one of the windows to wash them, the entire outside frame fell apart. It appears that the previous owners had water damage and did a bandaid approach just to pass inspection. So, of course, where there's water, there are ants, so I had to call an exterminator and now I have to replace all the windows in the patio room. So what started out as a $1500 project has been bumped up to $8500. At least my surgeon didn't charge me for the checkup today, thank goodness. I think I'm going to get into my sweats and watch some TV.

Thanx for your prayers, though, friends. I'll let you know in two weeks how it turns out.

Oh, btw, my dr. actually called me and asked how I was doing and said that he has my pain meds ready for me for shingles if I wanted to stop in and pick up the Rx. So I explained the situation and told him that I also explained it to the other dr., whom I mistakenly thought is the new guy. He isn't. He's just part of the network. Anyhow, he said "He's a nice guy, well, a good guy. Did he give you a problem?" So, apparently, either that dr. told him what transpired or he has a reputation for being a hothead, so I told my dr. what happened and that he was very rude to me and my dr. was speechless. He finally just said "Oh my. Oh my. Oh...ok. Well, we'll get you fixed up. I want to be sure to take care of business."

[RICHARD]

Some of the biggest AHs were the best doctors and some of the nicest ones were the biggest AHs when you worked with them closely.

Hope you never have to do that again.

[Catty1]

Mary - regarding the bit of blood you still have - are you allowed to rinse with warm (not hot) salt water?

I know you have a particular condition - but salt water really helps with bleeding gums, etc., under normal circumstances.

Just a thought.