Monday, November 11, 2019, 2:00 p.m.
I wondered fleetingly if my appointment was valid, being on a national holiday and all. It was. We just didn’t get any mail today.
It has been 15 months since my first annual physical with Dr. Prabaharan. Last August, on the same day I was first approved for Medical Financial Assistance. It was always October with Dr. Chan because her office staff always sent me a reminder. Dr. Prabaharan’s staff did not do that, and I was on the cruise in October, anyway.
I arrived 15 minutes early, checked in, and sat down to wait. An assistant came to the door and called my first name (I suppose she didn’t even want to attempt to pronounce “Hegarty”). She stopped to get my weight (143 lb.) and my blood pressure (which was 117 over something), and then she ushered me in to Dr. Prabaharan’s office, asked a few questions, then instructed me to remove my top, leave my bra on, and put the opening in the back.
Dr. Prabaharan entered soon, and I saw the same gentle professional that I had remembered from 15 months ago. He asked all the usual questions, appropriate for an elderly diabetic patient. He listened to my heart and to my lungs, checked my eyes and my throat, and then continued to talk.
I mentioned that my vitamin D was too high (he said to cut down from 10,000 IU/day to 4,000, so I’ll cut down to 5,000). I asked about the high albumin/creatinine ratio (for kidney function) and whether meloxicam could cause that and he gave me a resounding, “No!”
That was pretty much it. He told me he wanted to have some more tests, one of which is a lipid panel which requires fasting.
When I got home, I had the email from Dr. Prabaharan which read:
LAB TEST INSTRUCTIONS
You may choose which day to come in for lab tests. The orders are already in your chart. You do not need to bring any paper work. No appointment needed. The lab is open 7AM to 7 PM on weekdays and 7AM to 12noon on the weekends.
You need to have been fasting for at least 12 hours prior to the Laboratory tests (water is OK but no juice, coffee, snacks, etc.).
If you are planning to come in the next morning, the night prior to coming in have an early meal around 7 or 8pm. Afterwards water is ok but no other food or drink till you have the tests done in the morning.
I checked my Kaiser account online to see exactly what tests Dr. Prabaharan had ordered and I saw that he had another A1C in the list, in addition to the lipid panel and tests for liver and kidney functions. Interesting.
Update: I have written in my calendar to have the fasting bloodwork done on Monday, November 25.
