Doctor Appointment
Nov. 22nd, 2005 12:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
naomikritzerI went in for a checkup today. No pap required this year, so I saw an internal medicine doctor instead of one of the NPs in OB/GYN. She was from somewhere in South Asia, I think, and had an accent. I don't normally have trouble understanding accented English, but at one point she was going through the standard questions, and she asked me if I used a seed bear. I said, "what?" She repeated it. I didn't had no idea what she was saying. Finally she added, "in a car" and I realized, oh, she's saying seat belt. I should have been able to figure that out simply because it's mostly the same questionnaire every time.
(And yes, if you're wondering. I always wear my seat belt. In fact, since having kids and learning how to properly install and strap a kid into a carseat, I've gotten a lot more meticulous about tightening the belt properly so that it rides low on my hips and goes over my shoulder, not across my upper arm.)
They did all the standard stuff doctors do at physicals, like listen to my heart and look down my throat and prod me in various places. However, she also had me walk toe-to-toe (like I was taking a sobriety test), then on my heels, then on my tiptoes. Then she had me stand still for a few seconds with my eyes shut. She said this was to test my balance. I assume this was to screen for something, but I've never had a doctor have me do this before -- was she checking me for something that would normally turn up in your 30s?
I then went through my list of questions. She diagnosed my hand tremor, which shows up exclusively when I'm eating (something about the weight and angle of silverware) as a benign essential tremor. She said that these can be treated with beta blockers, but only if they're really causing problems. Mine is only really annoying when I'm trying to eat soup. And I usually do okay if I consciously relax, or use my left hand, which doesn't have the tremor. Go figure.
(And yes, if you're wondering. I always wear my seat belt. In fact, since having kids and learning how to properly install and strap a kid into a carseat, I've gotten a lot more meticulous about tightening the belt properly so that it rides low on my hips and goes over my shoulder, not across my upper arm.)
They did all the standard stuff doctors do at physicals, like listen to my heart and look down my throat and prod me in various places. However, she also had me walk toe-to-toe (like I was taking a sobriety test), then on my heels, then on my tiptoes. Then she had me stand still for a few seconds with my eyes shut. She said this was to test my balance. I assume this was to screen for something, but I've never had a doctor have me do this before -- was she checking me for something that would normally turn up in your 30s?
I then went through my list of questions. She diagnosed my hand tremor, which shows up exclusively when I'm eating (something about the weight and angle of silverware) as a benign essential tremor. She said that these can be treated with beta blockers, but only if they're really causing problems. Mine is only really annoying when I'm trying to eat soup. And I usually do okay if I consciously relax, or use my left hand, which doesn't have the tremor. Go figure.
