New doctor adventures!

(Chapter 15 Medical Appointments and its Challenges in my book)

Today I had a doctor’s appointment with a urologist because I had recently been treated in the emergency room for a kidney stone. If I look at an old phone book, I know that I have been to this office previously but it was many years ago and I have no idea why I was going there before.

The first problem was that I went to the wrong building. Once I was at the correct building, I went on the elevator to the second floor. Soon after I got off the elevator, I saw a sign that had the urology office name on it. It was near a stairwell and at first, I thought that it meant that I needed to take the stairs. That didn’t make sense to me, so I walked down the only hallway that there was. Luckily, I was able to find the office and I was so relieved. I explained to the receptionist that I was sorry that I was late but that I had gone to the wrong building.

The second challenge was finding the bathroom. Did the receptionist tell me that it was on the right side or the left side? If only my brain could retain things for longer than two seconds, life would be a lot easier! I live alone so I have to navigate these appointments on my own which sometimes makes it very difficult to do. I looked for the bathroom on one side of the hallway and when I didn’t find it, I asked a staff member and they pointed to where it was. Luckily after I exited the bathroom, there were Exit signs on the wall, so that helped me find my way back to the waiting room. Talk about feeling stressed!

My third challenge happened after I saw the doctor. I was in the examining room waiting to see the doctor. The doctor entered the room and greeted me and introduced himself. He was looking at his laptop and also looking at the ultrasound that was taken in the emergency room. After speaking with me, he explained what he thought was going on. I just nodded my head as if I understood the words that were being said to me. Should I let him know that I don’t understand what he was saying to me? I think that I need to get to know this doctor in order for me to feel comfortable letting him know about the problems with my cognition and my memory. He asked me which pharmacy that I wanted him to fax some medication to and I told him which one I used. Most of the time the medical words that the doctor's use is just too much for my brain. It is as though they are speaking in a different language.

This was when my fourth challenge happened. Luckily, I was able to follow the exit signs out to the waiting room. On my way there, I saw a sign about “checking out” but I didn’t really understand that either. It is definitely one of those days! I went back into the waiting room and I waited for everyone in line to be helped. Then I asked the receptionist about checking out and she pointed and told me to go through that door and sit on the blue chair. I was at least able to remember and follow this simple direction. Then another receptionist asked how she could help me and I said that I needed to check out. I paid my co-pay and she made two more appointments for me.

I just feel exhausted and defeated from this appointment! I think that the only thing that I understood was that I didn’t have a UTI. Everything else he said was just too much for me to comprehend. I did my best because that is all that I can do.

I will continue to educate people, especially those who don't have a clue! Especially the people who think that living with a memory impairment means that sometimes you forget things. That is just one small part of living with mild cognitive impairment.

Unfortunately, I have no significant other and I'm not really sure who can help me with these appointments. I do know that sometimes these appointments are challenging and stressful, but not always.