Michael and I took
off yesterday for a little trip to Sacramento. Nah, it wasn't a couple's getaway
- it was a trip to see two fantastic neurologists at UC Davis. They talked with us, asked questions, and ran
Michael through a gamut of performance tests again. They noted the progression of his symptoms and
the effect being off the meds for Essential Tremors had made (none).
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| photo via google images |
The timing of this
diagnosis - right at retirement - makes it a bit of a challenge. Most still
have work to occupy their time and mind while they settle into the diagnosis. Not much changes in real life, as they adjust
to living with a new condition. For us, it affected our immediate work/ministry
plans....and now our driving plans....We talked about ways to continue to
"think ahead" and not make retirement all about Parkinson's. We were a bit discouraged to be reminded this
is the "beginning" and things are going to get worse, but that's all
the more reason to get busy doing the things we feel God is calling us to do.
We also discovered:
my stubbornness and sense of humor are gifts Michael should appreciate, we love
both our neurologists, Michael can't eat aged meats and cheeses any longer (going
to have to research), and he has gained an amount of retirement weight, too.
Michael doesn't gain weight. We have
some assignments to focus on between now and our next visit.
The plan is still to
stay in the area until the next appointment. At that point, if all is well,
we'll hit the road again and come back for appointments every 3 - 6 months.
Prayers are
appreciated that this med will give Michael relief from some of the more
troublesome symptoms with very little side effects.....AND that we have grace
to deal with the ones he does experience.
4 comments:
Praying that the prescribed meds are a go.... hard when a non-formulary is prescribed. Been through that ourselves... but we were using civlian pharmacy not on post.... here is the official scoop (although I"m sure you're aware of this):
Non-Formulary Prescriptions at Military Pharmacies
You can fill your prescription for a non-formulary drug at a military pharmacy ONLY IF:
Written by a provider at that military hospital or clinic, and
Medical necessity is established.
Military pharmacies aren’t required to fill a prescription for a non-formulary drug written by a civilian provider, but MAY do so IF:
You were referred to the civilian provider, and
Medical necessity is established.
They said they'll get it. It's a common drug for Parkinson's - they'd just rather he try another one. Our neurologist wants to begin with the least "invasive" drugs and save the ones they want until they are really needed - she hopes to buy five more years this way. So the base admits it's a necessity - they just hoped she could be convinced to start the other drug now. LOL
I am hoping that once we finish the VA process he can get his meds through the VA system while the rest of us use Express sCripts - but haven't really researched that yet.
Continuing to pray.
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