When do you think regular medical appts. will start up?

[kaytieeldr]

Follow up surgical visit for my aortic dissection with the surgeon the end of April. Now I can't get all the aortic ct scans I need before I see him unless he says it's an emergency. I

Not a dovtor, but aortic dissection - even the follow up - sounds like emergency to me.

 

[anniemae]

There has to be a balance. I keep thinking about the biopsies that won’t be done, the bloodwork that can’t be scheduled, the the prescriptions that can’t be filled, the follow-ups that will never happen...

The medically fragile aren’t going to have a great chance against a pandemic if they can’t even get their prescriptions filled. I heard a terrible report today of an acquaintance who can’t get in touch with two different doctors.

This worries me too. My neighbors friend went for a routine mammogram last year and they found a very aggressive cancer that would have taken her life in a matter of months. She had no symptoms and no family history.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Some are still happening. We have a cousin in rural PA whose practice has two offices - neither shut down. One now operates as a "well" office and the other sees sick patients. Many patients are afraid to come in, but they have not stopped seeing any patient that wants to come in for anything other than CVD symptoms - those they direct to the hospital.

 

[tvguy]

I have no idea about my Dentist, but all my regular Doctors are working. Lots of patients are calling in to cancel and the receptionist is saying they are day to day, but if people are sick, Doctors have to stay open

 

[Pooh2]

I wish it would happen soon. I tore what my doctor thinks is my rotator cuff. I can’t get an MRI and the PT cancelled my first appointment. I’m in constant pain and my range of motion is getting worse. I called my doctor today because I’m worried the delay is causing permanent damage, but unfortunately there’s little that can be done. My doctor has even closed his office and is only seeing emergencies, which this isn’t since I can still somewhat move my arm. Everything I do makes it worse. If I don’t use my arm, the pain lessens but it gets really stiff. If I move it, it loosens up but the pain gets worse.

Do you have a shoulder sling?
If not, you can grab one from amazon for about $13.
I found it helped to take the edge off the pain to have it immobilized.
Sleeping in a reclining chair with the arm in a sling and protected from movement with pillows also helps.
Hope you get the care you need soon.

 

[gillep]

I delayed my yearly gyn visit/ ultrasound to follow up on some cysts earlier in the month, the office is still open if I need to go in urgently but right now I am perfectly fine to put it off however long is needed, likely until at least mid-Summer.

My eye doctor has been awesome. She emailed that we can email or call her with questions, and she will do her best to keep everyone out of the office unless it is an emergency by extending contact prescriptions and the like. She recommended switching to one day disposable lenses and without seeing me she is getting them sent to my door to try out and will exchange them if they don't work. She was able to bill my insurance and everything all over email. Definitely glad I kept her even after we moved a bit farther away than I would normally prefer to go for an appointment.

 

[Swimnoid]

My doctor’s office is still open. I go in tomorrow for labs. They check every one at the door for fever before they let you in. My physical is next week and they told me to come if I wanted. But things could easily change by next week and they may have to postpone.

 

[elphaba91]

As far as I’m aware all regular doctors appointments are still going ahead for now here in Australia, apart from non-urgent elective surgeries. I’m anticipating that will change though. I’m due for my regular MRI to check for recurrence of my cancer in a month and I’m anticipating that I’ll just get the results over the phone rather than having the usual appointment and eye exam that goes with it. I’m hoping that I can at least get the scan done though, even if it has to be at the specialist cancer hospital rather than my usual one; the idea of going without my scan scares me more than actually having it!

 

[Meriweather]

I have labs and an appointment, but not until the end of May.
I think they will happen.......it is a specialist

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Well I called the drs. office about the 6 month cancer check up. They said the visit is cancelled and they will call me to reschedule sometime after April 14.

My doctor works 2 days a week and a few hours in Saturday. I don't know when she will catch up.

 

[tazdev3225]

My husband sees a retina specialist monthly for eye injections. I rescheduled a few weeks ago when I came back from Disney to err on the side of caution since I had traveled before we realized how bad this would all be and I did take precautions anyway. His appointment is next week and I called to question what is happening with appointments. My husband is high risk because of several health conditions and I am concerned about his exposure. The office made me feel like an idiot for questioning the need for the injections. They are to keep the pressure in his eyes down from retinopathy. They will not prevent vision loss just prolong how long it will take.

The office is always insanely crowded, most patients are 60+, quite a few are from nursing facilities and we have never waited less than 90 minutes for an appointment. I worry about my husband being exposed so the answer was bring him and he can sit in the car while I handle everything then they will call me. Great so I can be exposed and then expose him. Plus he sees a tech, then waits some more and then sees another tech before the doctor finally sees him. This is in and out at least twice and he is unsteady on his feet from 2 strokes. This is insanity. I still don't know what to do for this appointment.

 

[Kitty 34]

DH is 67 and diabetic and was suppose to go in next week for his 6 mo check-up and bloodwork. They called yesterday and canceled. Kind of bugs me.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I have a Neurology appointment in about three weeks. I got a call this morning cancelling the in-person visit. The doctor will call me instead and we'll do s phone "visit". I'm okay with that. No vital signs, but while I liked this doctor before, now I really like her.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I had just a regular Dr. appointment last week... It was done by phone. Basically just asked me if I was doing OK and how I was feeling and if I was feeling the need to take the Lorazepam (which I have not). Since I am no longer taking the Lorazepam, there was no need to see me again until my next regular checkup towards the end of the year. Hopefully this will all be blown over by then.

 

[abdmom]

I wish it would happen soon. I tore what my doctor thinks is my rotator cuff. I can’t get an MRI and the PT cancelled my first appointment. I’m in constant pain and my range of motion is getting worse. I called my doctor today because I’m worried the delay is causing permanent damage, but unfortunately there’s little that can be done. My doctor has even closed his office and is only seeing emergencies, which this isn’t since I can still somewhat move my arm. Everything I do makes it worse. If I don’t use my arm, the pain lessens but it gets really stiff. If I move it, it loosens up but the pain gets worse.

I feel for you. I broke my shoulder 3 years ago. The muscles in my hand never recovered. My shoulder is pretty good though. For home PT, I would grab onto something like a railing and move my body while my arm remained stationary. It helped a lot. Salon Pas was like a miracle drug for the pain.

Our medical clinic closed as a result of coronavirus. DS had an appointment for mid-April that is required for his summer program. It was the earliest they had when I scheduled at the beginning of March. They have rescheduled it to June 1. The paperwork is supposed to be in May 15. I'm waiting to hear back from his summer program about getting an extension on the physical - they still charged the installment to my credit card yesterday.

 

[Colleen27]

I hope it is sooner rather than later. My bonus son has had ongoing problems with a particular tooth, just got insurance for the first time in almost two years (effective 4/1) and can't find a dentist's office that is open to have it filled or pulled or whatever. The last time I talked to him, he was in quite a lot of pain and really frustrated that the dentist he made an appointment with months ago when he first hired in at this job has closed, and as far as I know, he hasn't had any luck finding any others that are still seeing patients much less accepting new ones.