My Visit to the Creepy Eye Doctor's Office

My primary set me up to have an eye exam.  Being diabetic I have a yearly exam but this new primary says current thinking is that this sort of eye exam should be done two times a year now.  Great, more money being sucked out for medical shit.

So Hubs took me to the eye doc last week.  I couldn't help but notice the giant eyeball statue in the complex's courtyard.  I posed with it after we were heading out.........

So we go into the check-in area and there is a large decked out Christmas tree.......

Folks around here seem to leave Christmas trees up most of the year.....Christmas decorations make way for Mardi Gras decorations and/or Valentine's decorations.  As I looked closer at this tree I noticed there were rather large silver balls which had been painted to look like eyeballs.  Hmmm.  A bit creepy in my book.

So I rather quickly got escorted back by a technician to a small room where she did an intake on me and then tested my vision with the infamous eye chart.  Between answering questions and trying to make out the lines on the eye chart, while she was writing stuff down I made the comment that "I could never work here.".  She looked at me with a puzzled facial expression and I explained that I found this whole place creepy, as there was nothing but eyeball themed art work on the walls and on EVERY SINGLE WALL IN THE BUILDING.  And this small room had a large piece of artwork featuring a ginormous eyeball on it that kept staring at me!  She responded in a rather haughty tone that, "Well, all this art work is done by local artists."  That's all fine and good but seriously?.....if someone was paranoid, all these eyeballs staring at a person might drive them running from the place. lolz

So after finishing with this tech person I went back into the waiting room and then was called back by a different technician to a different room.  He had me look into a machine with bright green x's to measure something or other.  I made a comment that I felt like I was going to play MineCraft due to the green pattern.  This 30 something tech suddenly got very excited, thinking I played Mine Craft, but I had to burst his bubble on that.  He then launched into telling me that he and his brother ran a side gig helping gamers advance in games by providing digital equipment you can buy at auctions in these game worlds, etc.  He went on to say they made a high double $Ks figure last year and all I could think was, "Dude, you need to quit this job and do that full time because I am sure you'd make more with your side gig than what they pay you here.". 8-))

So after being dilated I was sent to a darkened waiting room labeled the "Dilation Room".  There was a tv monitor in there and instead of showing a tv show of some kind it ran commercials for this eye doc on a continuous loop.  Seems he also owns a "MediSpa" in this complex and they do cosmetic type dermatology stuff........

There was also a slide of the doc next to an eyeball mural located somewhere in the building.....I suppose the lady on the other side of the mural was the artist?

Then a slide came up of the giant Eye Ball statue outside decorated for Halloween, wearing an oversized Witches hat......

Hard to tell the scale of this thing from this photo.  I was wondering where the Christmas decorated eye ball photo was.

So it was finally time to meet the eye doctor.  I was surprised that he was a young guy, dressed in tan corduroy pants, a plaid flannel shirt and a red puffer vest.  Looked like a hipster employee rather than the owner of this facility.

He extended his hand to me but instead of putting his hand out vertically so I could shake his hand, he held his hand out to me, palm up.  I didn't know what to do with this....slap him 5?....spit in his hand?.....What??

So he went on to explain that I had no evidence of diabetic complications in my eyes. yay.
Then he said however, that sometimes when one has cataracts removed(which I had done in 2015)and have artificial IOL lenses implanted, a membrane can develop under the lenses, which can make your vision less than perfect.  He explained that they have a quick and easy fix for that-a YAG laser that can zap the membrane and restore your vision to the clearness from when you had the lenses implanted.  I had this membrane developing more so in my left eye but the right eye is not far behind in having this condition.  It's called a secondary cataract and this is a common complication with an easy fix.

I did have the presence of mind to ask if Medicare covers this procedure.  In my case my Medicare Part B will cover this being done as an outpatient procedure with no OOP.

So I am due to go back to the creepy eyeball place in about a week to have the PCO membrane zapped away.  Information on this procedure is HERE. Having a laser zapping my eye sort of makes me  nervous.  Heck, eye doctors/techs have a hard time prying my eyelids open to put drops onto my eyeballs. lol

Let me know if you have had cataract surgery and then needed a posterior capsular  opacification procedure performed on your eye(s).  How did it go for you?  Any complications?

I'll try to get more photos of all those creepy eyeball paintings/prints/murals/watercolors to show y'all in the future.

Sluggy

Lots of Little Things

This week is flying by and here are a bunch of little things I wanted to talk about......

* I have hit 50 miles of cycling for the month as of last night.  My goal for April was 30 miles, as I got in 22 miles in March so I thought that was a modest increase.   I am really going to have to think about what to "up" the target to for May.  Considering we'll be traveling for half the month and I'll be getting other kinds of exercise, plus probably won't have access to an exercise bike I don't know if I should change the goal.  Maybe just play it by ear and get in as much cycling as I can will suffice for a goal next month?

* I went ahead and did some grocery shopping the past couple of days on May's food budget money.
Since I won't be able to drive starting tomorrow for about a week I went ahead and got my food money cash at the bank and picked up some deals.
And speaking of eye surgery......

* I am a tad annoyed at this eye doctor thing.  It's a massive operation that he runs.  When I was giving all the forms and info about this surgery last month they wrote down all my follow up appointments but did NOT give me a time to report for the surgery, just the date.  The form said I would be called "a few days before" that date with what time to arrive for surgery.
Well, I am suppose to go in tomorrow, Thursday but as of yesterday Tuesday I still hadn't been contacted with the information.  Plus I keep getting forms in the mail from them the past month that need signing and returning, with notes attached that this dept. or that forgot to have me sign something.
This gives me NO FAITH that they will call or something else will happen to screw this up.
So I had to end up calling them yesterday asking for my surgery time.
Hey! I am suppose to put expensive drops in my eyes starting on Wed. and if everything wasn't in order yet and they were going to cancel this surgery date I wanted to know BEFORE I started using those drops.  Plus rescheduling this procedure anytime soon would be problematic as we are going away next month and I couldn't fit in follow-up appointments at appropriate intervals, etc.
Ugh.

I ran some errands and while I was gone I got two, COUNT 'EM  TWO phone calls from different people at the doctor's office about my surgery time.  So as of now, we are still on for this cataract surgery.

I must say that I am a bit scared about it all.  Anything involving my eyes freaks me out.  Heck, I have a real hard time putting drops in my eyes, what am I going to do once they come at me with scalpels?! 8-(
I hope they have a real good sedative for me, and maybe a straight jacket.
Don't expect to see me post much if anything in the next couple of days since my eyeball will be out of commission for awhile.

* I got a food bank donation up to the local church.  I put the stuff in my car which made me remember to take it all over while I was out bopping around town.

 That's 10 jugs of laundry detergent....

And 4 jars of peanut butter

Since I no longer extreme coupon my donations are a tad more modest.  But I still pick up extra when I find a really good deal.  I get to give without it costing me lots of ca$h and the food bank gets supplies.

* I got my new Rite-Aid card in the mail last week.....

It came in a big fancy envelope with all kinds of information.
Between the +Ups Reward program going away AND now the Video Values Program has been discontinued(!)I have serious doubts about what kind of savings I can see with this new Plenti deal.
I won't be able to drive mostly next week so I don't know if I'll even go in the first week the new program is in force.  I may just sit back and wait until I hear back from others who it's working for them before I venture out into uncharted waters at Rite-Aid.
Except.....

* There is one deal I want to do at Rite-Aid next week and if you have a Rite-Aid in your area Rivulet, you may want to get there and pick this up since you use Dawn.

Next week Rite-Aid has DAWN dish soap on sale, 3 bottle for $3 and buy 3 and earn 100 Plenti Pts.
There is a .25¢/1 Q on Dawn on Coupons dotcom.  Print 3 Qs(using 2 different computers since you can only print 2 per computer).
$3-.75¢=$2.25 OOP and earn $1 worth of Plenti pts.  So effectively $1.25 for 3 bottles of Dawn.
And remember to get a rain check if they are out!

* I sold another piece of fabric on Etsy this week. rah. 
That makes 7 pieces sold since I relisted a bunch of fabrics earlier this month.  Once August gets here and they all expire I'll see if I want to relist any of the 60 or so fall/winter fabrics I still have.

* I am slowing getting through my daughter's things she left here when she moved to Louisiana.  They are still all strewn about my living room but the piles are getting smaller.  I've bagged up 3 more piles of stuff for Salvation Army and thrown away another bag full of old worn out clothing.  Some of the items I was going to bring to her(clothes and toiletries)I had bought for her, she now can't wear(underwear) or doesn't need(tampons). So I guess I'll be putting that stuff up on eBay once my Summer traveling is done.  Or if I just don't want to bother it can go to Salvation Army(underwear) and the food bank(tampons).  Thankfully I no longer have need for tampons.... ;-)

* I am chomping at the bit to do my Savings Challenge numbers for April and my May 1 net worth.
We had a third paycheck this month and kept our expenses low, so the savings will be MASSIVE!
Can't wait to post that one since it will be a big kick in the pants toward our goal.

* I found my phone charger cord!  It has been missing for ages......I hardly ever use my cell phone.  I just turn it on to make a call or if I am anticipating receiving a call.  Last week I used the phone quite a bit and the battery died, so suddenly, finding the charger was a big deal and on my radar.
I dug through the bookcase by my desk where I shove stuff like that and found it.
I also found the plastic casing piece for one of the end of it that came off in my car last Summer(while traveling)so was able to duct tape that back on as well.  My phone is now fully charged and I know SONYA ANN is ruing the day I found that charger.  Maybe I should prank call her while she's in Vegas.  I should wait until 7am tomorrow when she is hung over and trying to sleep, right? ;-)
And speaking of Sonya Ann.....

* Sonya is having a $25 Amazone gift code Giveaway on her blog while she is partying hardy in Vegas.  So go on over and enter it HERE and tell her I sent ya!
Oh, and you have to split the winnings with me if you win it. 8-)

And speaking of giveaways--don't forget that my Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway is open until May 10th and you can enter every day on that one too!

Sluggy
 

WBGOACS....What's Been Going on at Chez Sluggy

I was going to put a photo up of a cataract surgery but most people would get skeezed out by it, so you get the treat of seeing one of Sluggy's eyes up close and personal which hopefully doesn't skeeze anyone out nearly as much. 
I've got chameleon type eyes.  They changed color depending on how the light hits them.  They can appear to be anywhere from green to blue green to hazel in color.  Their bloodshot quality never changes however.....lol

I survived the 3 hour cataract consultation surgery marathon Monday.  Well most of that was sitting in either the purple chair section, or the blue chair section or the red chair section and having to listen to bad daytime network tv which was far worse than the actual dr. exam and all those eye drops.

I have multiple options on how to proceed with this operation.
I can have the standard slicing your eyeball up with knives operation or the new laser operation.
Then I have to choose between 3 different lenses--regular lens, or one of two corrective lenses for seeing distance or correcting my astigmatism.
Decision, decisions.......

The bottom line is this............
The standard lens with the standard bladed surgery will cost nothing OOP after insurance.
The laser surgery will up the cost to $1,500 OOP after insurance.
The laser surgery with corrective lens will up it more to $2,500 OOP after insurance.
And that's for one eye.

With my eye prescription it will also mean having the right eye done a month later because the difference in prescription between the eyes after surgery will be too great for my brain to process the visual information between the eyes, so even though the right eye isn't bad yet it's gotta go too.
Lovely.....

So it's OOP, $3K or $5K OOP when all is said and done.

With my health issues I am leaning toward the laser surgery no matter which lens I choose because it is said to make the healing time less than the standard surgery.  I am NOT a fast healer.

As far as I am concerned, I am quite happy that being in our financial position gives me wider options without putting stress on our income.  We can afford any of these choices easily so I don't have to "settle" for the basic option if one of the other ones makes me happier.
Of course, being frugal I am having issues with spending money on upgraded procedures but that's just MY issue.  ;-)

I am scheduled for surgery the end of April no matter which one I decide on. 

This date has put a kybosh on my Spring travel plans however.
I had wanted to travel to LA to visit my daughter, then Hubs was going to fly home when his time off from work was over and I'd stay longer down there, then drive myself(with my new eyeball)home and be able to meander around and visit some folks who don't mind having me around.  ;-)

But now, I have to be back 1 day, 1 week and 1 month from my surgery date for check-ups, meaning I can't linger in the South and need to be home by the first week in June.
This means a 2 week trip to LA and back home with Hubs.

I am hoping once I get the other eye done I can take a solo road trip again to some destination in mid to late Summer.

In happier news, I made a money transfer from the bank account to the credit card yesterday and paid off the car we put on the c/c.  My balance is now $79 on the MasterCard with 2 weeks left until the statement closes.
I was in car debt for THREE DAYS!  It about drove me crazy I tell y'all.  But I got lots of CC points for it and it won't cost me a penny of interest.  8-)

Hubs did pay some "stupid tax" 2 weeks back on the MasterCard when he mistakenly went through a third party vendor to renew his car registration online, instead of going directly through the PA DMV site.  By the time he realized what he had done it cost an additional $23 to get the car registration finished.  Duh.

In other financial news.....Our credit union changed it's online banking website, putting up a new one.
As a result I hadn't been able to access our accounts online for about a week now.  And no, they didn't let anyone know on the old website that they were changed the access. bleh.
So after 2 in-person attempts to get this straightened out(both Hubs and I went into the CU to get the info, then I emailed 2 times and was never responded to and then I called the branch yesterday and they never answered the phone!)I went in to the branch AGAIN! and let 'em have "what for" and told them if this EVER happens again I am taking my millions elsewhere.
I MUST HAVE online access to my accounts.
Period.

This CU has turned out to be a rinky-dink two-bit operation.  They have slowly decreased their hours so that now they aren't even open to 5 except 1 day a week, they close for lunch for 1 hour in the middle of the workday because they only have 1 or 2 personnel in the branch at their busiest and now they have done away with Saturday hours.  Hubs with his schedule has to take off work early to go to the CU and can't bank on weekends.  They are trying to drive everyone to ATM cards and I refuse to be herded into one!
I would leave them right this minute except that we just paid for new checks so they have until these are gone to win back my love......and I don't see that happening.

We are suppose to hit 57F here tomorrow.  I have threatened to get out my swimsuit and flip flops and parade about the neighborhood in them so none of you may wish to come visit me tomorrow as I am known to snap "selfies".  Just be sure you aren't eating when you open up my blog post.....you have been warned!  ;-)

Sluggy

 

The Health Trial is Over.....Well Almost

The recent biannual check-up at my doctor's office necessitated a round of blood work and other lab tests.
It's only February but we are still working on satisfying the high deductible $4K of our insurance plan here.
After the last 2 weeks however we won't be working on that for long! 8-(

The blood work was over $300 alone.  Then I refilled a $350 prescription only to be told by said doctor 3 days later(BEFORE I used any of this refill mind you)that he was taking me off that medication.
Thanks doc!
Anybody want to buy some prescription drugs!? lolz

Once I got in for my appointment the blood work was good(excellent cholesterol levels here!)except for one item so he put me on a new even more expensive drug(with no generic equivalent yet)BUT......he gave me a card with the script and the manufacturer is going to cover the cost of it for the next year.
I "heart" this drug company!
We will worry about the cost of this one drug next year..... ;-)

I also had to go for a spirometry test(haven't been billed for that one yet), a CAT scan of my lungs(ditto on that bill)and a Mammogram.  I know the mammo will be paid 100%(it's considered preventative)but the other 2 will be billed to us at full price.  We've got the money to pay them so that's not a worry and between these, the blood work, doctor's OV charges and that $350 drug refill we should meet our yearly deductible for 2015 now.

No word yet on the breathing test(I suspect it's fine as I haven't had to use the asthma inhalers for a YEAR now!)but the CT and Mammo results already came back with negative results(negative is good).

When I had my heart scare 2 years ago this week, in all of the testing that was carried out, someone noticed a spot on one of my lungs.  Since then I have had to go in for follow-up CTs at regular intervals to make sure it isn't a sign of cancer.  The only way to know for sure what the spot was would be to open me up and visually eyeball it but they aren't going to be so invasive just for that.  As some suspected all along the spot is just a bit of scare tissue and has not grown at all in 2 years since it was noted.  My lung is now in the clear. 8-)

The mammogram came back clean  as well so I have survived to live another year.
I just have my yearly check-up with the sleep disorders doc this Summer but everything is well in "sleep apnea land".

And I am hoping that this new $$$ med along with upping the dosage of another med will take care of the 1 test result that was still out of whack.

The only item left on my medical list is eye surgery.
I have a wicked bad cataract in one eye which will be taken out mid March. 

After that heals it's on to smooth sailing.....Sluggy is taking names and kicking butt again..... and watching what she eats and exercising more.

Yeah, it's always something, ain't it?  8-))

Sluggy