Hard copies...

I recently received my routine bone density test results with an incorrect summary conclusion. 

Had I not done some digging prompted by what appeared to be (and ended up was) an error, would we have caught the mistake? 

Maybe, maybe not...

I do not know if the error was Pattern Engine (aka Artificial Intelligence) generated or a human error in data entry or calculation.

May we not dismiss our questions when a result or conclusion looks, feels, presents like it may be askew. 

But neither does that mean we should dismiss test results or conclusions... 

However, to quote Audubon:  "When the bird and the book disagree, ... believe the bird." 

~*~

My phone rings. It's my General Practitioner's office. 

Oh, this must be about my bone density test results. They must be worse. Dr. GP has told me that if any test result ever shows "bad" news, the office will call me before releasing the results via my portal...

I answer the phone.

"Hey Mrs. Welch. This is Nurse from Dr. GP's office. How are you today?"

"I'm doing okay, thank you." 

"I'm calling about your bone density results. They show that you now have osteoporosis. Dr. GP wanted to check about your Boniva; she's pretty sure you aren't taking it anymore?"

"That is correct. I think my last dose was sometime in 2023, maybe? I dropped it because my jaws had worsened, shifting more. And because jawbone loss is s side effect, I got spooked and wanted to experiment."

"Okay. Maybe you could try Fosamax or another medicine."

"Maybe. I'll talk about it with Dr. GP at my appointment next week."

"Yes. That works. Thank you. I hope you have a great day."

"Thank you. And the same to you."

After the call I think... 

Seems I tried Fosamax and experienced a side effect.,,, 

But lord, I can't remember what the side effect was.... 

Maybe Dr. GP has it in her notes...

Later that day I log into my portal to view my test results. My eyes immediately go to the bottom conclusion statement under my "proximal femur" results which reads, "Comparison: Decrease of 5.7% compared to 6/6/2023." 

Then I remember, Oh yeah. It wasn't just because of my jaw that I dropped Boniva... Since I was no longer receiving steroid epidurals and trigger point injections, I thought maybe I'd improved...

[I received my last steroid injections in 2022, after receiving them every six weeks since around January 2014. Bone loss is a typical side effect of long-term and/or high-dose steroids.]

My eyes wonder up to the top of the page which states, "IMPRESSION: 1) Osteopenia/low bone mass..."

What??

I wonder why Dr. GP's office said, "Osteoporosis?"
I bet she just saw that bottom line and did a quick surmisal that logically I had gotten worse. That's understandable. Or maybe the nurse simply misspoke...

Regardless, it's nice to see that I'm still in the osteopenia stage and not osteoporosis... 

~*~

Per my normal mode of operation, I pull up my 2023 results and compare them with 2025.

Oh my gosh. I've improved in three scores and held steady at one score. 

[Two scores for "lumbar spine" and two scores for right "proximal femur."] 

How can there be a decrease when I've improved and held steady?

Over the following week, I do some digging into my hard-copy paper files. I find a file, "Bone Density," which contains hard copies of my bone density tests going back to 2013. And I find notes I'd typed back in 2017 with the side effects listed when I tried the Fosamax and then Actonel. I check my computer, but those notes are no longer in my computer. 

Oh wow. This is great. I'm so glad I keep all these notes and have hard copies... 

My notes have paid off more than once... 

I gather this information and design a bone-density, at-a-glance chart. I include some history notes for contexts. I don't expect anyone, including my medical practitioners, to be able to remember all the details and repercussions of this wild ride with polyradiculitis. 

I also type a question on my chart as to how can that summary conclusion be correct when three scores have improved and one has held steady. Should it state "Increase" instead of "Decrease?" Or should the "2023" state "2014?" The 2025 lumbar tests state they are compared to 2014. My 2023 results state both femur and lumbar are compared to 2014. And my decrease comparing 2025 to 2014 shows improvement when compared with my 2023 to 2014 scores.

As I am putting this all together over the following week, I feel some anxiety...

Will this be the last straw with my GP? What if she drops me for non-compliance? 

She and I have been through these types of conversations before -- my refusal to get vaccines, taking myself off of blood thinners, taking myself off of Boniva...

I navigate this jungle gym of thoughts and worries... 

My health history is so complicated; I have no desire to find a new GP.

What if Dr. GP insists that I go back on a bone-building drug? 

I just can't do that now. 

My 2025 test results have improved from 2023, and 2023 improved from 2021. 

I'm biking again after an over-28-month, forced hiatus and am doing so without intervention from increased steroids; that's huge. Really, really, really huge...

I do not want to interrupt this trend by reintroducing a drug into my system. 

I journal. I think through how I will respond if GP tells me she can no longer see me as a patient, and I journal my possible responses.

As I'm journaling possible responses, I think...

Gosh. This reminds me of when I officially left The Way. I thought of every angle that leadership might respond with and wrote out my responses to those possible statements/questions. And the leadership responded almost exactly as I had predicted in my journal. But I was prepared. That's all I'm doing here, preparing. If GP drops me, I can use Dr. Neurologist until I find a new GP...

I accept the possibility of having to find another doctor.

 

Then, the night before my appointment I reread a blog post I'd written in 2013 about being an advocate for my own health. I didn't search for the post; I just clicked on a link of what a visitor had read on my blog the day before, and "Voila!",,,

After rereading it and the comments, I feel grounded and at peace... 

(The link: I shall rise... two, too, to...)

~*~

With my notes in good, easy-to-read, user-friendly order, I go to my appointment. Nurse checks my vitals, we chat a moment, and I give her my notes. She asks if it's okay for a student to be with the doctor for my appointment. This is also something I'd thought through; I respond that a student being present is fine. 

A few minutes later, Dr. GP walks in with my notes in hand... 

"You are correct. That concluding statement is an error. I think it should probably read '2014' instead of '2023.' I agree that right now, let's not reintroduce any medication..."

We have a very pleasant visit...

~*~

Again, to quote Audubon:  "When the bird and the book disagree, ... believe the bird." 

And I'll add, "Especially the canaries in the coal mines..."

~*~