Saturday, October 28, 2006
Got a roller coaster ride going on here.....
When I last reported on the browser life melodrama, I had just gotten a showing on Wednesday night that looked promising. I was also pretty beat up from getting the outside of the house ready for the showing. And I was anticipating a major snowstorm.
Well, I woke up Thursday to a migraine that was even worse than the previous day. Nothing I could do but stay in bed with my eye pillow blocking out all possible light, lying on my left side with my ear tight against the pillow (I'm completely deaf in the right ear) to block out any extraneous noise. I finally improved enough to crawl cautiously out of bed around noon. I peeked through the blinds and was greeted by the sight of a blizzard just starting to taper off.
Hobbled downstairs to let the dog out. Poor Chip was unsure what to do at first because the snow was taller than he was! He did locate an area up against the house where the snow was only six inches or so deep. Once in it, he decided it would be cool to go play and try to eat as much snow as possible. When he finally decided to come in to eat, he had so much snow stuck to his fur that it was difficult to tell there was a dog underneath!
I opened the blinds and discovered to my dismay that my six foot tall burning bushes in front of the house had been completely flattened by the snow! Dead, broken bushes don't much add to curb appeal, so I had to go out and rescue them. I grabbed an old whisk broom and knocked the snow off the branches. Luckily, I had gotten to them early enough that most of them sprang back up again. But with my limited mobility and strength, I couldn't reach or move everything, and some of the lower branches looked like they were goners. I figured there wasn't much I could do until the snow melted. I came in for awhile and rested, and then I had to gear up for part two: the back yard's relatively young, more fragile bushes. The dwarf lilacs I think are going to be ok for the most part, but the other bushes were in bad shape. I couldn't swat at them with a broom or pull the branches up out of the snow without breaking them, so I had to actually dig them out, which was even more physically painful than the front yard adventure. I kept at it, though, until I had uncovered most of them and then staggered back into the house. There was no way I was gonna be able to shovel the driveway or sidewalk.
Luckily for me, when I had to leave the house to go pick up meds from the pharmacy, I was able to get out of the driveway by gunning the engine in reverse and powering my way through to the street. Thank goodness for traction control. I had eight meds to pick up, but was rather aggravated to discover that despite approval from the insurance company and specific instructions left via a nurse for my primary care doc, two meds weren't covered, and the bill on those equalled an entire month's food budget! Ack! So I had to ask the pharmacy to hold those while I got things sorted out.
Next, I needed to get gas. I tried going across the street to the grocery store's gas station since it was nearby, but two of the pumps were out of order, and I was nearly hit by three different vehicles in the space of a minute, so I bailed and drove to a Shell station, which cost more but at least had working pumps and no asshole drivers.
Then it was on to the massage therapist and chiropractor, a visit very much needed after my adventures battling snow and filth. I had managed to aggravate trigger points in my shoulders, entire lower back, hips AND my neck. I sure wish I could afford to go more often than every three weeks....I think once a week would be much more effective. Maybe when I win the lottery.....
Picked up the mail on the way home. Guess who got summoned for jury duty? Bummer! Actually, I would like to serve on a jury, but there's no way I could stay alert during testimony or sit in the same chair for more than two hours. But the only way I can be excused is to get a doctor's letter, and the summons didn't say anywhere on it how to proceed.
Even with the massage and adjustment, I was still sore as hell at bedtime. I took a Valium as a muscle relaxant. But I had to skip the sleep aid because I'm transitioning from Lunesta to Ambien, and I was told to take 24 hours off between the two meds. So I got up yesterday morning with the migraine back, nausea, and a major case of fatigue. Fun.
Fortunately, my neighbor friend volunteered to shovel my driveway and sidewalk, no small task as the snow had hardened into ice. It took her over an hour. While she was slaving away, I went into the house to feed Chip and got a phone call. It was the realtor's office, and they were scheduling a SECOND showing for this morning, which means someone who had already toured the house wanted to view it again! Yayyyyy! I took a peek to see how presentable the front porch was and noticed it was covered in leaves that had fallen off the bushes the previous day when I had beaten the snow off of them. So I hauled out the big broom again, undoing Thursday's progress in the process, but I have to admit the porch looked very nice devoid of leaves.
I also had to do some major phone calling. First, I contacted the insurance company to see why they weren't covering the generic for Seasonale when I had an approval letter for it. They did some sort of override to their system and said it should be ok after that. Then I spent about half an hour in voice mail hell with the jury commissioner's office, trying to find out how to be excused from jury duty for medical reasons. I finally found the proper option and got the detailed rules regarding the letter, how it must be on the doctor's letterhead, how it must clearly define my health conditions and exactly how they would prevent me from serving, and whether my condition was permanent. If they forget to mention your condition is permanent, you'll be called up again in six months. And this has to be done by snail mail; you can't be excused by phone or e-mail. So I called the primary care doc's office and arranged for the letter to be written. I also told the nurse for the second time that my insurance doesn't cover Nexium and specified that I needed a prescription for generic omeprazanole (or some spelling similar to that). She said no problem, that the doc would probably take care of it that afternoon. I then called the pharmacy back about the generic Seasonale, and they confirmed that this time, it was listed as covered. I told them I'd pick up the two meds today.
Then my neighbor friend came by to help me take Chip to the vet for his annual physical and shots. I can't handle Chip on a leash anymore because I haven't the strength or mobility. Good thing I had help yesterday, because I could barely walk myself. Chip got a clean bill of health and his rabies, distemper and bordatella shots. He's much braver around needles than I am, heh heh. After we finished, we got some Boston Market to go as I had a $2 off coupon. I didn't want to dirty up the kitchen when I new I had a showing coming up.
The rest of the evening was spent alternating resting with small amounts of tidying. The hardwood floor needed mopping because all of all the snow and dirt that had been tracked in, but I just didn't have the stamina for that. So I just made sure everything else looked good. Dragged myself to bed about 1am.
Got up this morning about 8:45, the latest I could manage considering the showing was scheduled for 10am. I just barely had enough time to feed Chip, make the bed, open the blinds and turn on the lights, put a few last minute things away, sweep the floor, get myself dressed and ready to go and get Chip ready to go. We hopped into the car at 9:45. I was sooo exhausted; I had brought a book to read in the car at the park, but I slept most of the time of the showing.
After I got home, I dropped off Chip and went back out to the pharmacy to get my two meds. Well, one of them was covered, but the other was still the wrong med! Despite leaving very clear messages to the nurse twice, the doc had prescribed Nexium AGAIN! Argh! The pharmacy said they would call this time and leave a message. It probably won't get straightened out until next week. I keep reminding myself that at least after I get these meds covered properly the first time, the refills should be no problem. While I was there, I asked whether they had the generic for Mobic since the insurance company has told me they'll only pay for the generic. They do have it, so when I see the rheumatologist in November, I'll make sure he prescribes the right one.
Then, since the grocery store was right across the street, I decided to get most of my food shopping out of the way. I got their last electric cart, but the place was a freakin' obstacle course, full of overflowing carts and people who would just not let me get around them. Took me a damned hour to buy probably 20 items. But at least it's over.
Have spent the rest of the day alternately dozing off and rushing to the phone only to hear damned pre-recorded political messages. Hoping like hell one of those calls is gonna be the realtor telling me I've got an offer on the house.
It's gotta be soon.
Well, I woke up Thursday to a migraine that was even worse than the previous day. Nothing I could do but stay in bed with my eye pillow blocking out all possible light, lying on my left side with my ear tight against the pillow (I'm completely deaf in the right ear) to block out any extraneous noise. I finally improved enough to crawl cautiously out of bed around noon. I peeked through the blinds and was greeted by the sight of a blizzard just starting to taper off.
Hobbled downstairs to let the dog out. Poor Chip was unsure what to do at first because the snow was taller than he was! He did locate an area up against the house where the snow was only six inches or so deep. Once in it, he decided it would be cool to go play and try to eat as much snow as possible. When he finally decided to come in to eat, he had so much snow stuck to his fur that it was difficult to tell there was a dog underneath!
I opened the blinds and discovered to my dismay that my six foot tall burning bushes in front of the house had been completely flattened by the snow! Dead, broken bushes don't much add to curb appeal, so I had to go out and rescue them. I grabbed an old whisk broom and knocked the snow off the branches. Luckily, I had gotten to them early enough that most of them sprang back up again. But with my limited mobility and strength, I couldn't reach or move everything, and some of the lower branches looked like they were goners. I figured there wasn't much I could do until the snow melted. I came in for awhile and rested, and then I had to gear up for part two: the back yard's relatively young, more fragile bushes. The dwarf lilacs I think are going to be ok for the most part, but the other bushes were in bad shape. I couldn't swat at them with a broom or pull the branches up out of the snow without breaking them, so I had to actually dig them out, which was even more physically painful than the front yard adventure. I kept at it, though, until I had uncovered most of them and then staggered back into the house. There was no way I was gonna be able to shovel the driveway or sidewalk.
Luckily for me, when I had to leave the house to go pick up meds from the pharmacy, I was able to get out of the driveway by gunning the engine in reverse and powering my way through to the street. Thank goodness for traction control. I had eight meds to pick up, but was rather aggravated to discover that despite approval from the insurance company and specific instructions left via a nurse for my primary care doc, two meds weren't covered, and the bill on those equalled an entire month's food budget! Ack! So I had to ask the pharmacy to hold those while I got things sorted out.
Next, I needed to get gas. I tried going across the street to the grocery store's gas station since it was nearby, but two of the pumps were out of order, and I was nearly hit by three different vehicles in the space of a minute, so I bailed and drove to a Shell station, which cost more but at least had working pumps and no asshole drivers.
Then it was on to the massage therapist and chiropractor, a visit very much needed after my adventures battling snow and filth. I had managed to aggravate trigger points in my shoulders, entire lower back, hips AND my neck. I sure wish I could afford to go more often than every three weeks....I think once a week would be much more effective. Maybe when I win the lottery.....
Picked up the mail on the way home. Guess who got summoned for jury duty? Bummer! Actually, I would like to serve on a jury, but there's no way I could stay alert during testimony or sit in the same chair for more than two hours. But the only way I can be excused is to get a doctor's letter, and the summons didn't say anywhere on it how to proceed.
Even with the massage and adjustment, I was still sore as hell at bedtime. I took a Valium as a muscle relaxant. But I had to skip the sleep aid because I'm transitioning from Lunesta to Ambien, and I was told to take 24 hours off between the two meds. So I got up yesterday morning with the migraine back, nausea, and a major case of fatigue. Fun.
Fortunately, my neighbor friend volunteered to shovel my driveway and sidewalk, no small task as the snow had hardened into ice. It took her over an hour. While she was slaving away, I went into the house to feed Chip and got a phone call. It was the realtor's office, and they were scheduling a SECOND showing for this morning, which means someone who had already toured the house wanted to view it again! Yayyyyy! I took a peek to see how presentable the front porch was and noticed it was covered in leaves that had fallen off the bushes the previous day when I had beaten the snow off of them. So I hauled out the big broom again, undoing Thursday's progress in the process, but I have to admit the porch looked very nice devoid of leaves.
I also had to do some major phone calling. First, I contacted the insurance company to see why they weren't covering the generic for Seasonale when I had an approval letter for it. They did some sort of override to their system and said it should be ok after that. Then I spent about half an hour in voice mail hell with the jury commissioner's office, trying to find out how to be excused from jury duty for medical reasons. I finally found the proper option and got the detailed rules regarding the letter, how it must be on the doctor's letterhead, how it must clearly define my health conditions and exactly how they would prevent me from serving, and whether my condition was permanent. If they forget to mention your condition is permanent, you'll be called up again in six months. And this has to be done by snail mail; you can't be excused by phone or e-mail. So I called the primary care doc's office and arranged for the letter to be written. I also told the nurse for the second time that my insurance doesn't cover Nexium and specified that I needed a prescription for generic omeprazanole (or some spelling similar to that). She said no problem, that the doc would probably take care of it that afternoon. I then called the pharmacy back about the generic Seasonale, and they confirmed that this time, it was listed as covered. I told them I'd pick up the two meds today.
Then my neighbor friend came by to help me take Chip to the vet for his annual physical and shots. I can't handle Chip on a leash anymore because I haven't the strength or mobility. Good thing I had help yesterday, because I could barely walk myself. Chip got a clean bill of health and his rabies, distemper and bordatella shots. He's much braver around needles than I am, heh heh. After we finished, we got some Boston Market to go as I had a $2 off coupon. I didn't want to dirty up the kitchen when I new I had a showing coming up.
The rest of the evening was spent alternating resting with small amounts of tidying. The hardwood floor needed mopping because all of all the snow and dirt that had been tracked in, but I just didn't have the stamina for that. So I just made sure everything else looked good. Dragged myself to bed about 1am.
Got up this morning about 8:45, the latest I could manage considering the showing was scheduled for 10am. I just barely had enough time to feed Chip, make the bed, open the blinds and turn on the lights, put a few last minute things away, sweep the floor, get myself dressed and ready to go and get Chip ready to go. We hopped into the car at 9:45. I was sooo exhausted; I had brought a book to read in the car at the park, but I slept most of the time of the showing.
After I got home, I dropped off Chip and went back out to the pharmacy to get my two meds. Well, one of them was covered, but the other was still the wrong med! Despite leaving very clear messages to the nurse twice, the doc had prescribed Nexium AGAIN! Argh! The pharmacy said they would call this time and leave a message. It probably won't get straightened out until next week. I keep reminding myself that at least after I get these meds covered properly the first time, the refills should be no problem. While I was there, I asked whether they had the generic for Mobic since the insurance company has told me they'll only pay for the generic. They do have it, so when I see the rheumatologist in November, I'll make sure he prescribes the right one.
Then, since the grocery store was right across the street, I decided to get most of my food shopping out of the way. I got their last electric cart, but the place was a freakin' obstacle course, full of overflowing carts and people who would just not let me get around them. Took me a damned hour to buy probably 20 items. But at least it's over.
Have spent the rest of the day alternately dozing off and rushing to the phone only to hear damned pre-recorded political messages. Hoping like hell one of those calls is gonna be the realtor telling me I've got an offer on the house.
It's gotta be soon.
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