Yay, Atropa! And I'm confident that you looked amazing on screen because I've never seen you look any other way.

Today is my first full day alone with ltc since my surgery. I'm still exhausted and anxious. Any get through the day ~ma lying around would be great.

~ma headed your way, sj. Toddlers are exhausting on the best of days!

Feel free to skip medical complaining ahead.

I am gearing up for my battle with my PCP. I would say annual battle, but it has been 2 years since I saw him last, as a patient. The last time I was doing work in his office he scowled at me and told his MA to make me an appointment.

He will have a huge list of tests he wants me to take. And I won't do it. I will give him all my blood and in the unlikely event that there are any flags there I will consider other tests. He will want me to have a mammo, which I will do because not a big deal, although it was fine the ones I had at 50 and 60 so I would be better with waiting until next year at 65. Every 5 years when you have no issues seem sufficient.

Then there is the colonoscopy issue. I've never had one. I have ZERO problems there. Regular as clockwork, no indigestion or pain or any flags. I have an awesome healthy diet. This year I am going to tell him if he writes a letter of medical necessity for the pill camera variety and it is approved I will do it. My issue isn't the colonoscopy itself, it is sedation. I do not play well with medications. It took 5 tries to get a pain killer I could tolerate after surgery. I don't want to take sedation meds for a procedure I don't want anyway. Take a pill cam, sure! I'd even check out the pictures. I checked with my insurance and they said with medical necessity it would be covered.

I'm sure he will do an EKG and echo, which are non-invasive, but again, no real issues! Bone density will show I am 64 and don't have the bones of a 20 year old, but I already take the vitamins and work out at least 5 days a week.

It is ridiculous for me to be so whiny about going to the doctor when I should just be grateful for being as healthy as I am, but I hate it all the same. Wah, biggest baby ever here. Don't wanna.

Laura, Hubs has had several colonoscopies over the past 15 or so years. Every time, they've found polyps. Although, to be fair, he has a family history of cancer -- both parents died of it. (I had mine 4-5 years ago, and they found nothing to be concerned about -- no family history of cancer.)

In other words -- I don't have anything helpful.

I totally get why they need to do it. It is just my history with medications that concerns me. The pill camera doesn't require sedation.

My doc is pushing a colonoscopy, and I'm putting it off because I don't want to have to find someone to take me home and nursemaid me.

Because of my weight and my anxiety, they booked an anesthesiologist and admitted me. I went to sleep chatting with the gas passer and woke up well-rested. I was lucid but a little shaky afterward, and they discharged me and sent me home.

The entirely worst part of the whole thing was the prep. Dear loward, just shoot me and we'll call it even.

They did an upper endo at the same time, found and removed a knot of extra veins that had all decided to hang out together in an out of the way spot--they were responsible for the occult blood trace. No other abnormalities.

If I had any symptoms or test results to indicate an issue I would be more reasonable. We'll see if he will go for the pill cam or not. Maybe he will understand my concerns about sedation.

I had one colonoscopy and the doctor's been nagging me to have another. The prep was miserable. Having to have someone pick me up and escort me home is an issue, since everyone I know has a job. There is a little kit where you (somehow) scoop up some shit and send it to a lab, so that may be do-able. We'll see.

My doctor said he didn't trust the little kit. I was very disappointed.