Medical procedures solo

[Olbidness]

Please can you clarify which procedures you are thinking about ?

To be specific, colonoscopy.

In the past few years I've been taking a more active role in maintaining my health. I had a good friend, about my age, die of heart attack and it served as a wake up call.

I'm very creative in thinking up excuses if I'm afraid of something. The larger issues as to whether I'll die or become disabled are beyond my control so I focus on things I can control.

I've been blessed in the past with good health so this is something new to me.

So colonoscopy for now but with an idea to be better prepared for something down the road.

 

[obgyn65]

It sounds like you are concerned about the risks of the procedure itself more than anything else. I am sorry you feel that way, Olbidness. Please note the risks of complications are very, very low.

I'm very creative in thinking up excuses if I'm afraid of something. The larger issues as to whether I'll die or become disabled are beyond my control so I focus on things I can control.

 

[Alan]

So colonoscopy for now but with an idea to be better prepared for something down the road.

I think you are wise to do a trial run with this upcoming procedure. A few years ago a friend asked me to drop him off and pick him up for his colonoscopy and I was happy to do so.

A few months later he called me from the Emergency Room one Friday evening and asked if I would come pick him up as he couldn't drive home. (I got my wife to drop me at the hospital and drove him home in his own car).

Emergencies happen so it is good to think of these things ahead of time.

 

[razztazz]

I don’t want to say “I’m so happy” to have come across this thread, but maybe it has something to do with misery loving company. I’m in the same boat. My personal experiences have been:

A) Unless you and your friends are the type who would all jump on a grenade for the others (preferably with some romantic attachments involved) .…do not rely on your friends. (When you’re young and retired it’s hard enough just to have any really close friends anyway. The rest of the population thinks you’re weird/suspicious and married men don’t want you around their wives. In fairness to them I’m tired of hearing them complain about their husbands/wives/and being broke)

B) Even a colonoscopy could not be performed because I had no ride. I had asked 100 question of my doctor when he scheduled it because he didn’t think I needed to know anything other than “It’s easy and safe, you’ll be OK”. Luckily I called the colon Doctor the Friday before to verify all the details. At THAT time I was told “Oh No, unless you have a ride and someone to wait for you we won’t do the procedure”. It’s a good thing I didn’t waste my time on the prep and show up on Monday morning!

C) After researching the procedure and its benefits the conclusion I came to is, when they tell you anything has a low risk of complication what they mean is 1) It’s larger than they want to admit and 2) no matter how low the aggregate risks are its gonna be 100% for somebody

And this was just for a colonoscopy. There are probably scarier procedures out there.

I could not believe that I am the only person so alone in the world that I’ll have to just sit here and die someday for lack of a ride or a few days of home supervision. But apparently I am…? There must be some easy and affordable way to do this. But nobody connected with the system had anything helpful to say, just "too bad, I'm sure you'll find something". I suspect without any proof that if I were 65, 70, 75 yrs old they would have provided some assistance for geriatric people, but who knows?

 

[W2R]

You may want to consider the services of a Homemaker / Companion Service in your area. For about $20 / hr someone will come in to your home and provide non-medical assistance such as the mail, groceries, cooking, until you are back on your feet.

Maybe someone like this would drive a single person to/from a colonoscopy.

When my mother was in a continual care facility, there were people available for hire, by the hour, to take old people to buy clothing and so on (when they were so old and frail that they felt unsure about going all by themselves, but still young enough that they did not want to look bad). So I know there are people who do this for a living.

I am single too, although F took me for my colonoscopy (and I did the same for him). But if he was not available, I would get on the phone and call some of these continual care places to see if they could recommend someone. Jobs are hard to find so I'm sure someone reliable would be happy to take your money to drive you to/from a colonoscopy, and to wait for you while you had the procedure.

 

[MichaelB]

Many municipal and county health departments deal with situations such as these and can help in two ways. First, by providing transportation to and from health care facilities. Second, by providing visiting home health care nursing services. Even if they do not provide all these services directly they often interface with providers and can give references.

Edit to add: Don't go alone, even if you are confident things will work out well. During my college years one summer I had two wisdom teeth cut out. I couldn't afford to be away from work so both were done in one visit and I went right back that afternoon. All doped up and bloody mouthed, I got on my fork lift and drove right into a wall. They called home, my mother and brother came by to pick me up take me home. Everything ended well (except for the wall) but it is easy to overestimate one's own ability to deal with things and underestimate what can go differently than plan.

 

[Alan]

All doped up and bloody mouthed, I got on my fork lift and drove right into a wall.

Don't tell me - you forgot that you were an office worker, not a fork lift truck driver.

 

[MikeD]

To be specific, colonoscopy.

Hey! I have a great idea! Someone should start a thread about those! Oh, wait...

 

[MikeD]

I have few friends. My wife of 36 years is really my best friend. (We were friends first, etc) The few friends I do have are really good friends. One of my strangest looking friends is also single and a confirmed lifelong bachelor. I have my wife to take me to my many, many medical appts that require a ride home. He has no one and around here they won't let you use hired people. I often give my friend Scott rides to and fro his colonoscopies and hip replacements. Once, at Fairfax hospital, a giant suburban hospital, when I picked him up from his colonoscopy, they mistook us for "life partners." He didn't notice because he was still all doped up from the procedure but we found it hilarious later on. Life is weird.

Mike D.

 

[Texas Proud]

Would they allow you to use a taxi to/from or is this expressly forbidden. At least you wouldn't be driving or have to make decisions like when taking a bus. Or do they consider you incompetent to tell the taxi driver where you live?

Yes, they consider you incompetent/addled.
I asked about a taxi and they said a driver was a necessity. This is for any procedure where you have "conscious sedation".
So I will have to start a "colonoscopy club" amongst my friends...

When my wife went in for her procedure, they said a taxi or any other paid transportation was not acceptable...

I can see the headlines where someone got raped or killed after the hospital turned over a drug induced person to someone they did not know..... and just think of the lawsuits....

 

[Texas Proud]

To be specific, colonoscopy.

In the past few years I've been taking a more active role in maintaining my health. I had a good friend, about my age, die of heart attack and it served as a wake up call.

I'm very creative in thinking up excuses if I'm afraid of something. The larger issues as to whether I'll die or become disabled are beyond my control so I focus on things I can control.

I've been blessed in the past with good health so this is something new to me.

So colonoscopy for now but with an idea to be better prepared for something down the road.

Well, since you have said what it is.... there is another option...

My boss did not want to get his wife to come pick him up.... so he had his colonoscopy done without any drugs... so, he was not impaired when it was done...

 

[zinger1457]

Yes, they consider you incompetent/addled.
I asked about a taxi and they said a driver was a necessity. This is for any procedure where you have "conscious sedation".
So I will have to start a "colonoscopy club" amongst my friends...

When I had my colonoscopy done it was during the day and all my friends were at work. The medical office had no problems with using a taxi as long as he waited there for me. It was a short procedure so I just paid him an additional $10 to wait for me.

 

[Walt34]

All doped up and bloody mouthed, I got on my fork lift and drove right into a wall.

Hmm. I was going to suggest just lying to the staff and riding a motorcycle home but perhaps I should reconsider.

 

[MichaelB]

Hmm. I was going to suggest just lying to the staff and riding a motorcycle home but perhaps I should reconsider.

No need to reconsider - as long as you can stay off the roads and below 5 MPH.

 

[Olbidness]

As Col Klink and others have suggested I contacted a home healthcare service provider and these are my findings.

There is surgery aftercare available 24/7/365. The serivce will provide transportation to and from the facility, standby during the procedure, and most important, be the "responsible party" to sign out the patient.

The service dosen't appear to be covered under my insurance but the costs are : 2 hours $59.00, 3 hours $69.00, 4 hours or more $18.00 per hour. Transportation costs .50/mile if the caregivers vehicle is used. If the patients vehicle is used there is no mileage charge and the caregiver has seperate insurance to cover the patients vehicle.

The healthcare service has been in business for 27 years so I would assume to be relatively reliable and stable.

This may be a FSA eligible expense but I'll have to research it further.

This appears to meet all the requirements I've been looking for but would require testing.

 

[W2R]

As Col Klink and others have suggested I contacted a home healthcare service provider and these are my findings.

There is surgery aftercare available 24/7/365. The serivce will provide transportation to and from the facility, standby during the procedure, and most important, be the "responsible party" to sign out the patient.

The service dosen't appear to be covered under my insurance but the costs are : 2 hours $59.00, 3 hours $69.00, 4 hours or more $18.00 per hour. Transportation costs .50/mile if the caregivers vehicle is used. If the patients vehicle is used there is no mileage charge and the caregiver has seperate insurance to cover the patients vehicle.

The healthcare service has been in business for 27 years so I would assume to be relatively reliable and stable.

This may be a FSA eligible expense but I'll have to research it further.

This appears to meet all the requirements I've been looking for but would require testing.

Wonderful! Glad to hear that you have found a solution to this problem.

 

[Bestwifeever]

That sounds very reasonable, Olbidness.

It can't be that unusual for patients to not have personal transportation and resources available for many reasons, so good there are services like these.

 

[Alan]

Wonderful! Glad to hear that you have found a solution to this problem.

That sounds very reasonable, Olbidness.

It can't be that unusual for patients to not have personal transportation and resources available for many reasons, so good there are services like these.

+1

Thanks for the feedback Olbidness, I'm sure this thread will have been reassuring for those in similar circumstances.