Monday, April 1, 2019, 10:30 a.m.
It was another “early” morning, meaning I set the alarm clock for 7:30 a.m. But I was awake from 6:08 a.m. on, and felt yukky with an allergy sore throat and itchy, weepy eyes. I need Allergra! But I got up, turned the coffee on, and got into the shower. Breakfast will have to wait. We took our AM pills, then I got Emily ready while Linda got dressed.
We got to Union City shortly after 10 so I had time to walk Emily a little. Then I went inside, checked in, and waited for the medical assistant. Juanita was pleasant but professional. She asked a lot of questions then took my blood pressure (113/79, pulse 83). And I waited for Dr. Kalra.
He came into the exam room, shook my hand, said “How are you?” Then he went to his monitor and looked at my medical record. The first thing he asked (like the medical assistant did) was what is my pain level today. As I expected, he asked me about each of the medications I’m taking specifically for pain. Lyrica. Tramadol. Flexeril. Meloxicam.
Then I asked him about the high result on my albumin/creatinine ratio. He knew I was asking if that was caused by any of my pain meds, and he said an emphatic NO. However, after that he asked me how much Meloxicam (Mobic) I was taking and suggested I might want to cut it down to avoid potential kidney damage. Good choice!
He asked me general questions about my gut health and then listened to my heart and lungs with his stethoscope.
Then he said to discuss my medications with Dr. Prabaharan, if I have any questions, because he is transferring “ownership” of all my prescriptions from the Pain Clinic to my PCP. This means good-bye! To the Pain Clinic and to Dr. Kalra. We talked about my participation in the Pain Management Program last year and that I have continued with acupuncture and physical therapy with Francis.
He stood up and handed me his card, with the invitation to give him a call or send email if I have any further pain issues in the future. I expected him to shake hands again before he left, but instead he gave me a hug! A good-bye hug, just like Carole did when I had my last physical therapy appointment with her in Oakland Kaiser. So I’m wondering: Is that a Kaiser thing? Well, it wasn’t for Paul Simon at my last appointment with him. So maybe it’s a person-of-color thing. Or maybe I just look like everybody’s grandmother!
It gave me some closure, although I didn’t think I needed any. But Dr. Kalra definitely had a place in my life, in my pain management.
The whole encounter took less than a half hour, 15 minutes in the waiting room and 15 minutes with Dr. Kalra. Linda had had some coffee by the time I got out and seemed fairly relaxed. It had stopped raining when we got home, and it was a good time to fix eggs and bacon for an early lunch.
