Is that . . . ? Yes, yes it is. An even keel!

Had a follow-up appointment with my rheumatologist. Also had to jump through fiery hoops of doom to get my Adderall refilled through my p-doc. The clinic where both are located is somewhat out of the way for me, and with Adderall being a controlled med, Murphy guffaws big-time if I try transferring it to another pharmacy since they can’t fax or otherwise electronically transfer the ‘scrip like other meds. Experience has taught me such attempts only bring about debacles galore, ergo the whole two birds, one stone thing.

But I should have known to expect a headache. It’s always a huge fiasco whenever I need to get a refill, made worse by the egregious ineptitude of my HMO who won’t allow fosteronfilm to take care of the red tape for me, despite my having filled out a legal waiver giving my consent and permission for him to do so on my behalf. Add to that the cost we’re paying for health insurance through my employer is increasing by 10% next year and that my HMO is the most expensive one they offer, and it’s aggravating, it is.

I’d want to switch plans, except I really, really adore my rheumatologist. Not only is he the doctor who managed to get me out of a two-month-long flare-up and keep me stable for years now, but he’s a real doctor to me. He treats me like a person, not just a list of symptoms, and actually remembers little personal details about my life and medical history, unlike all the other medical professionals I’ve seen who I doubt would be able to pick me out of a lineup. If I don’t mention something that troubled me in the past (as in years in the past, even), he takes the time to ask about it: whether I’m better, if I’m still experiencing it, etc. He’s a great doctor, probably the best I’ve ever had.

He also makes me giggle. He has a bit of a temper*, but it’s not an evil-scary temper but an endearing-grandfatherly temper. After my appointment, I witnessed a tirade to his nurse about some difficulties they’re having with their computers and the tech support who’re supposed to fix it. It made me twitter and want to give him a hug.

So I guess I’m sticking with my current HMO and health plan, despite all the other myriad aggravations.


*He yelled at me the first time I saw him for not seeing a specialist before about my lupus–which I hadn’t done due to the brilliant advice of my previous doctor who told me–even as my flare-ups were getting more regular, longer, and harder to recover from–to just treat the symptoms when I had them.

   


Writing Stuff

The Fix has reached routine maintenance mode, my deadlines are in a manageable state, and I just finished the story I’ve been fretting about.

It’s official; I’ve hit an even keel.

And it’s . . . weird. I feel downright disoriented not having to juggle a bazillion things at the same time, not freaking out about deadlines, or not stressing about the massive pileup of items on my things-to-do list. Huh.

Well, as predicted, my even keel hit just in time for the holiday chaos to commence, so I can’t imagine it’ll last. Although I think I really ought to want it to last. And maybe now I can get some work down on that %#&@! YA novel that I set aside in June and haven’t picked up since.

New Words:
– 1250 words on “White Rabbit” which I’ve re-titled “Biba Jibun.” Hit zero draft over the weekend and had fosteronfilm first-reader it. It ended up being 6K, and I’m miffed that I couldn’t get it down to 5.5K or less. Importuning a couple other folks to look it over now, and then it’s off to the Datlow/Windling duo.

Meep.

God, I hope it doesn’t suck. When I finished the zero draft, I felt pretty elated, pretty pleased with it. But I gave it a couple days and did an editing pass. Subsequently, I’m far less elated and much less pleased with it.

Again, I say “meep.”

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16 Responses to Is that . . . ? Yes, yes it is. An even keel!

  1. mouseferatu says:

    God, I hope it doesn’t suck. When I finished the zero draft, I felt pretty elated, pretty pleased with it. But I gave it a couple days and did an editing pass. Subsequently, I’m far less elated and much less pleased with it.

    I couldn’t promise you a quick turnaround–probably something on the order of “after the Thanksgiving holiday”–but if that would be acceptable, I’d be happy to look it over.

  2. mouseferatu says:

    God, I hope it doesn’t suck. When I finished the zero draft, I felt pretty elated, pretty pleased with it. But I gave it a couple days and did an editing pass. Subsequently, I’m far less elated and much less pleased with it.

    I couldn’t promise you a quick turnaround–probably something on the order of “after the Thanksgiving holiday”–but if that would be acceptable, I’d be happy to look it over.

  3. biomekanic says:

    I’m lucky in that our doc lets pick up my scrip and get it filled for me, for my Focusin(aka Ritallin).

    10% next year
    <--- 100% next year.
    From $200 to $400 for a family of two, and “Don’t expect a raise”.
    Not loving that. Not at all.

    • Eugie Foster says:

      Holy Jeebus! Words cannot express the magnitude of that suckitude! If our health insurance went up that much . . . well, I wouldn’t need it as I’d have had an apoplectic aneurism and died when I found out. Criminy.

    • Eugie Foster says:

      Holy Jeebus! Words cannot express the magnitude of that suckitude! If our health insurance went up that much . . . well, I wouldn’t need it as I’d have had an apoplectic aneurism and died when I found out. Criminy.

  4. biomekanic says:

    I’m lucky in that our doc lets pick up my scrip and get it filled for me, for my Focusin(aka Ritallin).

    10% next year
    <--- 100% next year.
    From $200 to $400 for a family of two, and “Don’t expect a raise”.
    Not loving that. Not at all.

  5. Coolness on your great doctor. After reading what you said, it makes my silly flu seem like a trifling thing. 🙂

    • Eugie Foster says:

      Flus are never trifling! ‘Least not in my experience. And it’s not like I’m at death’s door or anything. While I certainly don’t qualify as “healthy” by any stretch, everything’s (mostly) controlled, and the concessions I have to make to keep me chugging along don’t cause me undue hardship or distress. Just a whole mess of inconvenience.

    • Eugie Foster says:

      Flus are never trifling! ‘Least not in my experience. And it’s not like I’m at death’s door or anything. While I certainly don’t qualify as “healthy” by any stretch, everything’s (mostly) controlled, and the concessions I have to make to keep me chugging along don’t cause me undue hardship or distress. Just a whole mess of inconvenience.

  6. Coolness on your great doctor. After reading what you said, it makes my silly flu seem like a trifling thing. 🙂

  7. klandaghicat says:

    I’d like the name of your rheumatologist. Mine’s pretty decent so far, although for some reason, I think I make him uncomfortable. One visit, he was talking about tonic water being good for “tramps”. He was writing trapez-asomething and talking about cramps. We agreed I should give it a try. Especially with gin. The past visit, he also made a verbal slip, nothing too notable, however.
    I think I made a bad impression the first visit. I tend to not wear panties. In a hurry and not sure if I was going to be required to strip, I just grabbed a pair. A red, lacy pair, and stuck them in my pocket. Sure enough, the nurse says, “Put this on” and hands me the obligatory paper cover thingy. I put on red, lacy panties and they’re not quite as modest as I would have like. At least my hubby was in the room.

    • Eugie Foster says:

      Hee! Is your rheumatologist young? I’d imagine that every doctor would eventually see his or her share of sexy panties on patients. At least you had the foresight to grab a pair.

      I’d like the name of your rheumatologist.

      Sure thing. It’s Dr. Eduardo Baetti, and he’s with Kaiser Permanente.

    • Eugie Foster says:

      Hee! Is your rheumatologist young? I’d imagine that every doctor would eventually see his or her share of sexy panties on patients. At least you had the foresight to grab a pair.

      I’d like the name of your rheumatologist.

      Sure thing. It’s Dr. Eduardo Baetti, and he’s with Kaiser Permanente.

  8. klandaghicat says:

    I’d like the name of your rheumatologist. Mine’s pretty decent so far, although for some reason, I think I make him uncomfortable. One visit, he was talking about tonic water being good for “tramps”. He was writing trapez-asomething and talking about cramps. We agreed I should give it a try. Especially with gin. The past visit, he also made a verbal slip, nothing too notable, however.
    I think I made a bad impression the first visit. I tend to not wear panties. In a hurry and not sure if I was going to be required to strip, I just grabbed a pair. A red, lacy pair, and stuck them in my pocket. Sure enough, the nurse says, “Put this on” and hands me the obligatory paper cover thingy. I put on red, lacy panties and they’re not quite as modest as I would have like. At least my hubby was in the room.

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