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Hello everyone! Today, I will start my journal of all my doctors’ appointments with my physician as well as my Gastroenterologist. A gastroenterologist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. To learn more,
click here.
So, I was finally able to find a doctor in my area who accepted my insurance. To my surprise the doctor who accepts my insurance shares the same office as my Gastroenterologist, which is about 7 miles away from where I live. Now how much of a small world is that? On October 31st, I made an appointment with my new physician at 4pm. My new physician's name is Dr. Clopton. When I went to sign in, the receptionist informed me that my doctor wouldn't be in for the day, but there would be someone filling in for him. His name is Mr. Mc Farland. After about 30 minutes, the nurse finally called my name to come in so she could check my vital signs. My weight was normal at about 140lbs. even and my blood pressure was 120/80. She explained to me that Mr. Mc Farland was running a bit late, so it would be another 15 - 20 minutes or so, before he would be available to see me. Now keep in mind this is my first time seeing this doctor, so I hadn't eaten anything all day thinking he would want to draw blood from me. After about 45 minutes or so I was feeling a bit weak and thank goodness he finally showed up. The very first thing he said when he walked in was, "Hello, please forgive me for being late." He said it with such sincerity that I couldn't help but release my lack of patience and frustration that had built up during my long wait. He then introduced himself, shook my hand and asked the purpose of my visit. I informed him that it's been over a year since I've had a checkup and since my previous doctor stopped accepting my insurance, I also needed a referral to see my Gastroenterologist. So, he approves and asks me questions about my health and medical background. While I'm answering his questions he checks my heartbeat, looks into my ears, eyes and throat. I told him that about two years ago I was diagnosed with acid reflux and was put on different medications until last year when I was scheduled to have an endoscopy (a medical exam that looks at the inside of your digestive system). He asked the results of the endoscopy and I told him that I had an esophageal stricture (a continuous narrowing of the esophagus ) and also let him know what procedure was taken to fix the matter. Mr. Mc Farland then asks me have I eaten anything. I told him no and he was glad because he wanted to send a nurse in to draw blood from me. He said he wanted blood work done to see if there was H. pylori in my blood. Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) is a bacteria that causes infections of the stomach. These infections contribute to the development of diseases, such as heartburn gastritis (inflammation of the stomach), and ulcers in the stomach. The other reason for the blood work would be to check my blood count, cholesterol, diabetes, and liver function. After the blood was drawn, Mr. Mc Farland scheduled me to see my Gastroenterologist for November 8th. The test results haven't come back in just yet, but be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed so that you will be notified when I post my next updates with the blood work results and my appointment with the Gastroenterologist.
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