Monday* I had my follow-up appointment with my surgeon. (I waited for over an hour past my scheduled appointment time. I hate this. Why can’t they call me and tell me they are running behind? I’d do that for my clients.) He saw me for less than 5 minutes. He’s happy with my range of motion but still wants me to sleep in the
sling and I can’t start PT for another 4 weeks.

Not what I wanted to hear.

He also wouldn’t listen to me about how I can’t actually sleep in the sling. Seriously, even if I take a sleeping pill I wake up three times during the night, often for an hour or more. He was shocked to hear I don’t sleep on my back. Do many people? No, really, I want to know. I told him, no, I sleep on my stomach. He said, “Well, I don’t want you sleeping with your arm above your head.”

How is that comfortable, even assuming you have an arm that you can lift over your head, which I do not?

The visit was concluded with him asking me if I needed any pain meds. No, no I do not.

After that visit I went to see what I hoped would become my new primary care physician- the practice was recommended to me. I was told to get there a half hour early to fill out my forms. The forms were: 1. Insurance information 2. HIPPA form. Did not take 30 minutes.

I went back to see the doctor. His nurse asked about medications and allergies to medications but never asked about any medical problems. Then she tried to take my blood pressure from the just-had-surgery arm.
When the doctor came in, he also took no history. He looked at the list of medications I am on and noted that he didn’t know about one of them because he doesn’t prescribe it. He did not ask what I was taking it for. When I tried to talk to him about the sleeping (because apparently when sleeping on my back, well, I do this stop-breathing sleep apnea thing) and he decided that I’m waking up because I’m in pain. Even after I told him I’m not.

I do know the difference between pain and discomfort, for the record.

I left there with a prescription for pain pills anyway.

*Yes, I know. Been busy and brain-fried.