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Feeling Overwhelmed With Doctor Appointments

Jackie English's avatar image

By Jackie English

3 min read

Is anyone feeling overwhelmed with doctor appointments?

I sure am! Between missing yearly appointments the last few years from COVID and my recent ER visit, I feel I have enough to fill my next few months.

Missing appointments because of COVID

I have missed quite a few appointments because of COVID—my regular yearly checkups for my liver, mammogram, pap, etc. I have also cut down on my rheumatoid and dentist visits or anything I wasn't having problems with, and I skipped going the last couple of years.

Pre-COVID, I was testing for the Zephyr Valves. I had passed the first few tests and was supposed to follow up on more tests in April 2020, but because of COVID, they canceled it.

If I decide to have them again, I have to restart everything. I still haven’t decided if I want to keep pursuing that or not.

I also saw my rheumatologist every three months but had my first couple of visits after COVID via telecall and then went to one office visit when the numbers went down. Of course, the numbers went up again, so I missed my last appointment in December. I will make an appointment soon with COVID numbers dropping again.

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Scheduling my missed appointments

I’ve been fortunate to be stable for the time being, which has kept me from going in sooner. I also missed my annual women's appointments but am getting ready to set up appointments for them soon.

I finally had a yearly checkup from my primary in December, and she referred me to a vascular doctor because I have been having problems with my feet turning purple. This had been going on for a few years, but this was the first she had seen of it.

The provider that I had before her had left, so I was seeing my new one for the first time. My RA doctor had seen my feet also but told me it was circulation problems and to wear compression socks.

My feet were still warm to the touch and still had a pulse in them, so I thought nothing more since my RA doctor didn't seem concerned. My new primary doctor had made the referral, but I couldn't get in until March when I was sick and had to reschedule, so I have that appointment this month along with a few others.

At my last pulmonary appointment, I talked with my doctor about retaining C02 and that it had been over ten years since my previous study, so he made an appointment to see if I needed a BiPAP instead of the Cpap that I have been using all these years.

So, this was another appointment that I had in March, which was rescheduled since I was also sick at the time of that appointment.

Never-ending testing

I went to the ER because I was having breathing problems, and my doctor suggested it. Being sick on and off that entire month, I was getting frustrated because I would feel good one day and then be down for the next three.

I was so exhausted and couldn't get enough sleep, and it seemed like it was never-ending. After a trip to the ER, I discovered that I had pneumonia and the flu.

I had tested negative for COVID, though, and even tested myself at home. They wanted to keep me, but all of their rooms were full, so the ER doctor told me that since I am so aware of my needs and what my pulse ox numbers should be, he sent me home with two antibiotics and an antinausea med.

He told me if I had any changes, to come back to the ER.

While at the ER, my bloodwork was out of whack, and come to find out later, the EKG came back abnormal. So, at my follow-up appointment with my primary, she did more bloodwork and wanted me to see a cardiologist because of the EKG.

It has been seven years since I have been to the heart doctor. The last time I was there was to see if I would qualify to have surgery.

I passed everything but got diagnosed with mild pulmonary hypertension back then. I was never told to follow up, but maybe I should have.

As you can see, I will be busy this month with follow-up and yearly appointments that I should have had two years ago. Hopefully, that will be it for a while.

I’m exhausted just thinking about these appointments.

How do all of you deal with all of your appointments? Do you feel overwhelmed or take it in stride? Feel free to share your experiences below.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The COPD.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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