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Just an update - my prior PCP (who is no longer practicing family medicine and is in a different specialty now) agreed to extend my prescription for 90 days. I’m sure this didn’t align with “protocols” but the difference between a good doctor and a bad doctor is knowing when it is appropriate to...

I understand. The problem is one of vendor lock in essentially. The issue isn’t that the system is requiring that I use a Coumadin clinic (which I’ve been doing for two years). The issue is that they are requiring that I use THEIR Coumadin clinic. This is not unusual. But it’s also IMO a...

It’s rare that I deviate outside my admittedly wide-ish range of 2.0-3.5 (range suggested by my previous cardiologist). So I steadily take 7.5 daily and watch it, and rarely have to adjust. So I typically only use 5 and 2.5 pills, but could split the 5’s if it came down to it. Fortunately I’ve...

By the way, this was the PCP’s response to the cardiology nurse’s request to write me a prescription: “I will not. I have had a couple of other patients initially decline to work with the anticoagulation program, but that is clearly our safest care option and our standard of care here. I will...

Because that’s not the way they do things. I don’t mean to be flippant in my response to you. That’s just what they told me. They also insisted on sending me a new coaguchek and scheduling an instructor to teach me how to use it (even though I’ve been using one, including tonight). In short...

Thanks all for the advice. I really wanted to get a sense of how you all are handling this issue. It’s good to hear it’s not completely rampant everywhere. The (ridiculous) cost aspect is frustrating but I’m not factoring it in because unfortunately the healthcare system is already outrageously...

I guess what I’m asking to learn about is the “eBay” strategy, and how you can still get warfarin. I have the coaguchek and I’m fine with buying the supplies. I’m also fine checking in with them every so often. What I’m not fine with is weekly testing, journaling, long hold times while I phone...

I recently moved to a new state and asked my new cardiologist to continue my prescribed dose of warfarin (two years following aortic valve replacement which I chronicled here). They responded that I have to use their Coumadin clinic in order to get a prescription. I already have a coaguchek and...

So it’s back. Same exact spot. Also it now has a friend directly ON the scar about an inch and a half down. I emailed a picture to my PCP who suggested I come in later this week to check it out. It’s not growing I guess. Doesn’t feel lumpy (beyond normal zit bumpy at least) and doesn’t look...

Just to update everyone… it went away.

I had three holes and they bled for a while after the surgery. They required a couple extra stitches in the hospital too. Nothing significant, but created a lot of blood stains on shirts. The tubes aren't connected to your lungs though, they're there to drain from the body cavity. I was one...

Y’all have me paranoid about infection. I’m just shy of 3 months. I have had a “pimple” directly adjacent to and for the most part touching my scar pretty much the whole time. Looks and feels exactly like a regular pimple. There’s no drainage or anything like that. Not sure if I’m being...

And I think that's where IVUS and some new technologies being developed come in. Apparently CAD is difficult to diagnose! There are some optical methods being developed that can distinguish between thickening, plaques, and plaques in danger of rupture. There's some discussion about OCT here...

This isn't actually correct though. You can remove conditions, you just need your doctor's approval. MyChart even offers the ability to do it all within the app. Obviously, the original record won't be removed, nor should it be. In my case, my cardiologist specifically told me "you don't...

Understood. But it's not really "upset" as much as acknowledging that things can be different in different countries. As I admitted, I'm coming from a very US-centric perspective and I know literally nothing about Australia's socioeconomic landscape, healthcare system, or anything else. YMMV...

Good lessons for sure. It’s possible it’s a little different in the US where wealth disparities are so incredibly high and socioeconomic mobility is a bit more restricted due to cronyism (let alone the racial component to it). Help can be really important here, but I digress. Many of us have...

"Crap hanging on valve" is exactly what I had. And it led to a heart attack two years ago, at age 41. 100% blockage of the LAD (for those who don't know, the LAD is the coronary artery that some call "the widowmaker"). Fortunately, it happened at work and I work in a pathology department...

You don’t have to believe it if you don’t want to. There are a lot of people suffering. There are people who can’t afford a coke. Literally. There are people who get a ticket for a seat belt violation for example and have to choose between spending 3 days in jail or just living with a warrant...

$6 (plus the up front cost) is a lot of money to a lot of people. That’s my point. As long as doctors collude with insurance companies to pork poor people, the rural thing matters.

Will insurance cover test strips?