I’ve had an issue with my right shoulder for over 7 months now.
It hurts sometimes to raise it in victory when I’m running and posing for a photo along the course. It hurts sometimes to lift things. It hurts sometimes when I’m lying in bed. It hurts. And I don’t like it.
I can distinctly recall the first time I noticed it — it was as I was running a marathon on July 3, 2015. I didn’t do anything weird — I didn’t fall, I didn’t deadlift an elephant, I didn’t do anything other than just run. There was no injurious inciting incident other than it just, ya know, hurt. And not all the time either. That’s the more frustrating thing, like when something rattles or goes awry on your car but seemingly heals itself when you pull into the mechanic. And sure enough, the moment you pull out of the garage’s parking lot, the rattle and hum returns, the emergency light illuminates, etc.
After seeing a doctor in LA and being given a mild muscle relaxant prescription, plus the odd Physical Therapy advice, I carried on. It never really got better. It would come and go — seemingly worse at nights and when it was about to rain and that made me think it was the onset of arthritis. But further tests from ever more doctors led to ruling out arthritis. The general consensus was tendonitis and inflammation and just general advice to rest and try not to lift too much into the overhead compartments of the various aircraft I keep finding myself on as I traverse the globe.
I finally resolved at my yearly physical to ask again about it. My doctor sent me to get an MRI and I went to a place that not only broke HIPAA protocols and gave me somebody else’s medical records (and gave mine to another patient) but also had me waiting for hours on end to be treated so poorly. Violations have been logged and attempts to remedy the problems continue. Long story short is that the place subcontracted out the actual reading of the MRI to a place in of all places Los Angeles, CA. That radiologist claimed there was a 25% tear in my rotator cuff along with various other inflammations.
I made an appointment to see an orthopedist here at home upon my return from the Disneyland Star Wars Half Marathon. It was with a guy I’d seen previously when my ankle swelled to the size of a grapefruit. His office cancelled the appointment I had made weeks in advance with little or no notice and I quickly rescheduled it before my trip back out West for the Surf City and Los Angeles marathons.
Today I saw the doctor and what a waste of time and energy this all has proven. After being told to turn up at 2:15 I found out later this meant the real appointment wasn’t until 2:30 but they wanted me there early to do paperwork. I had arrived at 1:50 a little early admittedly but that was because I thought the 2:15 time was the actual appointment. They took me back to a room at 1:55 PM and left me there. At 2:40 PM I walked out and said I was leaving as frankly I had waited long enough without anybody bothering to speak to me. Maybe I was being unreasonable in assuming my time was as valuable as the doctor. I was told he was a really good doctor and I said he could be the greatest doctor in the world but if I can’t see him what’s the point. They told me the doctor was on his way and really was only slightly behind. Ultimately, fearing I would proverbially be cutting off my nose to spite my face, I walked back to the room and did see the doctor within a few minutes. The whole exam took all of 4 minutes and 33 seconds — I timed it. He said he reviewed the MRI results I had brought along on CD and in examining me he didn’t think I had a torn rotator cuff at all. Even if I did, he’d still prescribe Physical Therapy before something more invasive.
So ultimately what came out of my healthcare visits?
The initial consultation with my doctor in December 2015 had a $35 co-pay.
The MRI had a co-pay of $200, a HIPAA violation, and ran 90 minutes late. I haven’t yet gotten an invoice for the radiologist’s “reading” of the MRI results, so who knows what that will ultimately cost. But I do know the orthopedist disputes that radiologist’s reading.
For that opinion and for wasting 50 minutes before I was seen for less than 5 minutes, I paid the doctor a co-pay of $75.
The ultimate prescription was to a Physical Therapist who will charge $75 per session with a treatment plan of 4-6 weeks of 3 times per week. Ultimate projected revenue for this PT then is approximately $900 to $1350.
And now not only does my shoulder hurt but so too does my head.
Ah, the joys of healthcare. I can do everything right and still wind up paying a small fortune for advice perhaps no better than an old wives’ (or old husbands’) tale.
And that’s why this post is called “Adding Insult to Injury.”