Called my doctor’s office, he still hasn’t gotten around to looking at my ultrasound results.
The receptionist did say that it listed
* thickened gallbladder wall
* gall stones
Which is pretty much what I already knew. The thickened wall is probably a sign of infection, which is why I’ve had a fever for the last few weeks, and soreness in that area. Maybe there was more on the results, but that’s all the receptionist mentioned.
Interestingly, I found this on IntelliHealth (http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WS/9339/9709.html):
Acute cholecystitis usually requires hospitalization. You need antibiotics given intravenously (into a vein) to treat infection and medications to control symptoms of nausea and abdominal pain. Once your pain lessens or goes away, there are no signs of infection, and you are able to drink and eat, you will be able to go home to continue your recovery. Alternatively, your doctor may wish you to stay in the hospital until you have surgery to remove your gallbladder.
Which suggests to me that if I don’t have a gall stone blocking the duct, all I need is some antibiotics. Which is pretty much a no-brainer, since I’ve had a fever for a week. It sounds like doctors will try to push for removal, since it’s the easy way for them to be sure of no recurrence, but I may not actually *need* surgery – it could be all I need is antibiotics and recovery time.
Too bad I don’t have any antibiotics left, a while back I was prescribed some for something… maybe when I had my wisdom teeth out? But I used em all up…
Kind of annoying, if they’d given me antibiotics when I was in the ER, or if my doctor had prescribed some, I could potentially have been all better by now. Instead, the ER just pointed out that my white count was up, and my doctor just noted that I had a fever.
So I’m feeling sort of optimistic… except anytime I’m feeling good, I can just think about trying to get medical records to bring me down…
When I called, I requested my medical records. The receptionist said I needed to sign a release, which I did in the past, but they only applied it to the one report they sent me at the time. I asked if there was a way I could sign a generic release, so I wouldn’t have to sign one every time, but she was sort of vague about it.
Sounds like *maybe* I can, but I will still have to call and request each report, since they have no way of automatically sending me a copy of test results. Which gives them the upper hand, since I have to *know* about a report to ask for it – they might draw blood for two labs, but if I only know about one of them, I only know to request that one… or if I don’t know the name of the lab, only that blood was drawn, how can I request what I don’t know the name of?
Plus I asked them to request the ultrasound images from radiology, since when I asked the radiologist, she said they wouldn’t give them to me, I needed to have my doctor request them… well, guess what? The receptionist told me they couldn’t request them from radiology, that I have to request them from radiology myself. Which I already tried to do… arrrgh! They make this as hard as they can. It really makes me feel like I need a lawyer or a gun with me to get a copy of my own records.
I mean, come on! I have to sign a document saying that I allow them to release a document to myself???
The whole system reminds me strongly of Brazil. Which of course it should, because Brazil is about just that sort of system, run amuck…
Shock Trooper, after storming the house and arresting a woman’s husband: “This is your receipt for your husband… and this is my receipt for your receipt.”
Later when she tries to get her husband back, Sam helpfully tells her: “I assure you, Mrs. Buttle, the Ministry is very scrupulous about following up and eradicating any error. If you have any complaints which you’d like to make, I’d be more than happy to send you the appropriate forms. ”
So the receptionist was more than happy to send me the appropriate forms. I just have to wait for those, and also go to radiology to get the forms from them too. Except they are only open during normal business hours, during which time I’m at work, so I’d have to take time off work to go in. Except I’ve used up my sick days by having this trouble in the first place….
A bit of a Catch 22 on getting the medical records, huh? Well, I’d thought about that too…that you might only need treatment for the infection and then to watch your diet for fatty foods. At worst that would mean giving up the occasional splurge since you are pretty good about it most of the time. People live their whole lives with gall stones without having their gall bladder taken out. Sounds like the sensible option.