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Today we went in for a visit to Lillian's cardiologist, Dr. W. This was a check up appointment that we scheduled back in December. I had called Lillian Monday night to remind her, and she was ready to go when I arrived. We took a few minutes before we left to check her hearing aids (all good), and then pick up her medication list, insurance information, and HIPAA documentation. We made it to the office in plenty of time to fill out the paperwork.
The office staff were very nice and were glad to see Lillian. I sat in the examination room for most of the appointment, but stepped out for privacy during her physical examination. The nurse was happy to receive her medication list! She said it made her job easier to have a list to check against their records in their computer system.
Since last visit, Lillian has gained a little weight (4 lbs). The doctor is concerned about her blood pressure, because it has been trending high for the last year and it was high again today. (The cardiologist could see blood pressure readings from other times Lillian had been to her internist - pretty cool!) It wasn't at a dangerous level, but higher than he would like for Lillian. He decided to prescribe a new blood pressure medicine called TOPROL XL (Metoprolol Succinate). Other than that, the doctor said Lillian's heart remains in stable condition - no major changes better or worse.
The nurse gave us information about the new medication, and an extra copy for me. She told us to watch out for any allergic reaction, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, swelling, or stomach upset. Lillian is supposed to start it as soon as she can.
They told us they sent the prescription directly to her pharmacy and they assured us that this new medication was covered by Lillian's medicare and her insurance. We decided we would pick it up today and Lillian would start it tomorrow morning. It's a once-a-day pill, and they said it was OK to take it with her morning pills.
We made a follow up appointment for 6 weeks, on March 17.
On the way home, we stopped at the Kroger to pick up the prescription. It was ready when we arrived and Lillian had no co-pay. They also provided us with information on the new medication. They confirmed that it was OK to start it tomorrow morning.
Lillian purchased a few items while we were at the store. It was getting close to dinner time by then, and we headed for home.
We arrived home and after getting settled, we put Lillian's medical information back in place in the notebook and updated her medication list with the Toprol XL. We took out her pill box and Lillian added the Toprol to each day, starting tomorrow. We also wrote the March 17 appointment in her calendar.
My next visit is scheduled for next Wednesday, February 11.
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