Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Trip to Sacramento (Neurologists)


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).

photo via google images
The upshot of the trip is they both confirmed they are "confident in the Parkinson's diagnosis," and Michael is starting meds. There may a bit of a hold up as the base doesn't carry the med the neurologist prescribed. The base pharmacy is trying to talk our neurologists into another med, and said it would take a bit of time to get this one if they insist. We suspect they'll insist, and he'll have the meds by next week.

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:

Renee said...

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.

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

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

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

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.

Linda said...

Continuing to pray.