BMR Lite

[Swift]

On a sudden return to the topic on hand: What type of prep you get seems to vary by region and by how long the GI doctor has been in practice. When I had my last colonoscopy done they were trying out a prep that did not require you to drink a huge volume of liquid. Unfortunately, I was in the control group.

I overheard an interesting conversation when I was in my GI's office a couple of weeks ago.

There is a type of prep that is just a couple of ounces; I had it once and it is relatively great.

The patient was asking if they could get the prescription for that prep, versus the gallon one. They were told that insurance doesn't cover that prep; if you want to get the "good" prep, you have to pay for it yourself. It was like $100. I think it sucks that insurance won't cover it; I am seriously considering paying it.

[Thumper]

As my friends and I got to do the fun stuff for the first time, I was intrigued at the differences in each of our prep activities.

[pumpkinpi]

So, 42.5 years without a major bone fracture isn't so bad, right? I fell on the ice this morning and broke my leg. It sounds worse than it is. It's a clean break just above my outer ankle bone. I don't have much pain at all. But it's my right leg, so no driving for a while.....more of a pain for MrPi....he becomes the chauffeur of the family for now.

[geonuc]

Ouch! Hopefully it heals fast.

[lady_*nix]

Oh no

*sends sympathies and hopes for fast healing*

[Thumper]

Oh dear.

[Swift]

pp....ow. Get better soon.

[SciFiFisher]

When they said "break a leg" I think they meant you should have a great performance. Glad to hear that it is a simple fracture vs something more serious. Maybe you can talk the Ortho doctor into letting you try the fancy bone stimulator device that speeds up healing.

[pumpkinpi]

Thanks, all. I fortunately do not have a lot of acute pain, just general yikes if I rest it at the wrong angle or brush it against the floor when I'm hobbling on crutches.

So yeah, I'm on crutches and wearing a boot at least until next week when I go see the specialist to find out when I can put weight on it and if I need a pin. Originally I thought I'd be able to go back in to work tomorrow, but I can't imagine sitting at my desk and navigating around the office for 9 hours tomorrow. And this is really not a good time to be out of the office. (When is a good time, really?) But I read a good piece of advice: this kind of thing is why businesses don't run at capacity and managers get paid to manage thing when a team member is out. Or, delegate to team members, as I'm the manager.....

I've got a great support system, though. My coworkers have offered to help out, give me rides, etc. And my Number Onetexted me offering to bring ice cream!

I put out a note to my NextDoor neighborhood site asking how I can find out who is supposed to maintain* the sidewalk I was on and I already got some nice notes from neighbors offering for help!

*it's on the border of two cities, so it could have been one or the other city, or the county. It also borders a golf course belonging to the University of MN. Rumor has it, the latter is supposed to take care of it. And they are my employer.....

[Thumper]

Around here the property owner is responsible for clearing sidewalks and walkways within 24 hours of an event.
So I guess that would be the city or township responsibility if there was no business or residence adjacent to the sidewalk.

[pumpkinpi]

In this case, they "clear" it within 24 hours, but the sidewalks I use to get to work remain snowy/icy. They don't come back after snow plows have mucked up the walk again, or if there is only an inch or so. There hasn't been any snowfall in at least a week.

[pumpkinpi]

And yup, I just discovered that it is my employer that is responsible for clearing that sidewalk. What to do....

[Thumper]

Workers Comp, disability. Cha Ching!

[Sigma_Orionis]

Wow

[geonuc]

Workers Comp, disability. Cha Ching!

I know you're being sarcastic but .... no. I filed a workers comp claim many years ago and it was a nightmare. YMMV but I'd have been much better off just using my regular health insurance and lying about where the injury took place.

[pumpkinpi]

Workers Comp, disability. Cha Ching!

I know you're being sarcastic but .... no. I filed a workers comp claim many years ago and it was a nightmare. YMMV but I'd have been much better off just using my regular health insurance and lying about where the injury took place.

I did check into it. I was walking in to work, and not doing anything work related so WC doesn't apply. So I'd have to sue as a citizen, but that would be more trouble than it's worth. I have a good insurance plan and work support so i really don't need compensation for this.

And Thumper, I typed this on my phone with gestures. Not perfect but if the phone doesn't get a word right on the first try, it's either in autocorrect or shows uo on a second try. Add toy can see, short words are the trickiest.

[Thumper]

I was on disability for 3 months, many years ago. So not worker's comp. It was a nightmare, explaining things to people, learning then teaching them their jobs. Bugging my Dr over and over to write another letter to the disability board. Luckily, at the time we weren't real hurting for cash and I had gobs of leave time to supplement my checks. They were so far behind in approving disability, I'd have gone easily 2 months without a paycheck. That would have been disastrous because even with "Cadillac" insurance as some morons referred to it, I had thousands and thousands in Dr. and hospital bills.

It would be nice if the people in charge of sidewalk cleaning at least would find out about this and try to do a better job in the future. Someone more feeble than you could have suffered catastrophic injuries. I'm sure the folks that plow/sweep the sidewalks would be devastated if that happened. At least I know I would feel horrible. Heal well!

[pumpkinpi]

I made the call to the person in charge of the landcare department. Their department's page lists they are responsible for snow removal. I hope this leads them to take better care of the sidewalks, so that their neighbors can walk safely!

[Thumper]

I hope too. Most people I know are proud of the their snow removal work. Hopefully this was an anomaly.

[pumpkinpi]

I just realized I'm not going to be able to ice skate, probably for the rest of the winter. The kids and I were just starting to get into it.

This is going to be quite a burden on MrPi. 8 years ago he had shoulder surgery so I had to shoulder the burden with Buster, then a toddler. For a couple weeks he couldn't be home alone with him because he couldn't pick him up. At least I can stay home with my kids. But he has to get them everywhere they need to go. I don't feel guilty or anything, he's willing to do so of course. But I do have empathy.

[Thumper]

I had a buddy that learned to drive left footed. Not saying you should or could, or that he was safe. He got his right knee destroyed in a football game. Back then that meant hip to toe cast for 6 weeks then another cast, then a brace. He had to get to school, and his job, and his bustling social life. So he figured it out.

[SciFiFisher]

I just realized I'm not going to be able to ice skate, probably for the rest of the winter. The kids and I were just starting to get into it.

This is going to be quite a burden on MrPi. 8 years ago he had shoulder surgery so I had to shoulder the burden with Buster, then a toddler. For a couple weeks he couldn't be home alone with him because he couldn't pick him up. At least I can stay home with my kids. But he has to get them everywhere they need to go. I don't feel guilty or anything, he's willing to do so of course. But I do have empathy.

Be sure to be sitting on the couch very comfortably eating bon bons when he comes home from one of those trips.

[Swift]

I just realized I'm not going to be able to ice skate, probably for the rest of the winter. The kids and I were just starting to get into it.

This is going to be quite a burden on MrPi. 8 years ago he had shoulder surgery so I had to shoulder the burden with Buster, then a toddler. For a couple weeks he couldn't be home alone with him because he couldn't pick him up. At least I can stay home with my kids. But he has to get them everywhere they need to go. I don't feel guilty or anything, he's willing to do so of course. But I do have empathy.

No, you probably won't. When I had my fracture/dislocation of my ankle, I was in a cast and then a walking splint for about 8 weeks. But it probably took a solid 6 months to get all the strength back in my leg. And I suspect, if after you are out of your cast, your doctor won't want you to ice skate right away, even if you can.

It was my right ankle and I did try, once, to drive with my left foot. I went about 2 blocks and decided that this was a very bad idea.

Sorry pp.

[Swift]

On another note, I had a tooth pulled this afternoon; right, top wisdom tooth. Only second wisdom tooth I've had pulled; the first was maybe a decade ago and it had cracked. This one had a big cavity and my dentist didn't think it productive to fill. The pulling didn't hurt and it only kind of aches now, but I had to chop down on gauze pads for hours to stop the bleeding and my jaw aches from doing that.

Dinner was mashed potatoes.

It really isn't all that bad, but I feel like whining.

[pumpkinpi]

Ouch, ouch. Sorry to hear that!