Health Updates (for both the pooch and myself)

It has been a while since I wrote anything about the Pooch, and since yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment re. the sleep apnea I figured I’d make one entry for both bitches in the house!

Downtown Montreal at the moment is pretty hectic, between having streets closed for different festivals and the never-ending road works driving downtown is… let’s just say challenging. So, after farting my way to the Montreal Chest Institute and finding (expensive) parking I made it to the clinic. The reception area at the clinic is a glass wall with 2 little holes covered with some type of wire mesh – basically only sound (and germs) can go through. It looks a bit like some banks do. That place is very busy. I had only been there once before. Here you’ll have to excuse me but I have a need to vent a little.

On my first visit I had to go to the admission office to get my hospital card and for them to give me a file (filled with blank papers), then back to reception to take a number and wait. When my number got called, I handed the file and hospital card and then they sent me to another floor for a chest x-ray. At the radiology dept. the receptionist asked for the card (that they kept downstairs), looked in the system and told me to have a seat. Waited there some again, when finally a nurse saw me and told me I had to announce myself. I guess communication between front and back wasn’t on that day. I was called in for the x-ray, told to re-dressed and go back down. When I got back down I had to ask if I was supposed to take yet another number or simply sit and wait. I was told to wait. Then the doctor called me in, blah, blah, blah.

Yesterday was the follow-up appointment about my sleepless night at the Sleep Clinic.

Since this was only my second visit, I wasn’t sure how to proceed, so I asked one of the ladies (behind the glass wall) if I had to go back to Admission or simply take a number and wait. She looked puzzled, and then it started:

Lady: Do you have your file?
Stinkypaw: No, not with me…
L: Then you need to go to Admission to get it and your hospital card
S: But I have my card…
L: So you have your file?
S: No, I have a file, here, but I don’t have it with me…
L: I don’t understand…
S: I came here a few weeks ago, got a card & file.Today is a follow-up, so I have my card but you should have my file.
L: But I asked you if you had it
S: You asked me if I had my file, I don’t. I have A file.
L: ... I'll take your card...

That conversation was confusing and if this lady doesn’t know the difference between a card and a file, no wonder our medical system is as messed up as it is! So I sat there and waited. Dr. Z (funny name, isn’t it, for a doctor specializing in sleep disorders?) showed up, after his rounds, and called me in – I was first! Woohoo!

Blah, blah, blah, looks at my file, takes a few notes, and then looks at the report for the Sleep Clinic. Turned out that despite my lack of sleep and the technician statement the test was conclusive. During the night I went into REM sleep (deep sleep where your body and brain completely relax and dreams occur) at three different times: once at around 1am, 3am and 5am. I knew that at 5:30 when I was woken up I was sleeping well. During those 3 times you could see on the chart that there was little episodes of apnea. So, the doctor was right, not the technician. Go figure!?

Since I only got the CPAP last week I didn’t get a full printed report showing my “episodes” (provided by the company where I got the machine from), which the doctor wanted. BUT every morning I did note the data provided by the CPAP and brought it to Dr. Z. He was happy about the results. For the last 3 mornings when I wake up I don’t have a headache, which had been the case for a while now. Already the machine is helping me and that’s a good sign. He wants to see me again with a printed report in a month. He gave me a paper where he wrote that, and said: “ahh, shouldn’t have written that on there, it will confuse them up front. Just tell them it’s a note for you.”
Sure enough, I make my way to reception to book my next appointment and I see that the lady is wondering about what he wrote, so I tell her that is it a note to remind me to bring my report. What does she do? Calls the doctor, who didn’t sound to please!

Lady: Is Sept. 1^st ok?
S: Sure
L: Is 2:10pm ok?
S: Do I have a choice?
L: …humm… not really…
S: Then why offer?
L: … (confused look on her face)
S: It’s perfect!
L: Oh! Thank you!

When I told Hubby about it he simply said that I was mean to play with their brain that way. Mean? Me? Naaah!

Now about the pooch! On July 18^th I went to the vet to get her “evaluated”. I needed to know if I was getting attached and hopeful for nothing, so brought her in for a little check-up.

She weights 7.4 lbs. Her lumps are breast tumours, but their not malignant; if they were she’d be dead by now. She can still be in “heat” and have her periods, basically until she dies. Unlike us, they don’t go into “menopause”… He did some stool analysis and some blood tests. According to him she’s good for another 20 years. Yeah ok!

At one point he took her back to clip her nails, and came back in the office where I was waiting, and said “She’s go character the little one. She just bit a technician” – that’s my girl!

Here’s a picture of her, sleeping (like she is now) on the office floor, while I’m sitting at my desk. I put my foot next to her for you to realise how small she is. She’s just a micro dog with macro attitude as Hubby often says.

We will be going away for a week and she’ll be staying at a spa-chalet (for pets). We went to check out the place, seems ok and the owner really seems to enjoy pets. Cathy, the pooch, isn't welcome everywhere because she never receieved a shot - my parents didn't believe in that, so the kennel option was out of the running, as well as a lot of other places. I could only find 2 places where they would accept her as is, if I sign a disclaimer... And at the spa the lady told me that they will take her since the big Holiday rush will be over by then. A lot of little issues with that pooch...

I must say that it worries me a little, yet another change for her. I hope she doesn’t regress, but we don’t really have a choice. We can’t take her with us, and I don’t want my mom to take her for that week, that would just confuse her even more. Especially that my mom’s place is no longer the place that she has known as home… I’m trying to wean her off my mother, so exposing her back to my mom I think would only “relapse” her, and I don’t want that.

So many things to think of... and it's only a freakin' dog! At times like these I sure don't regret not wanting a kid... the worrying I would do... ahhh! Much better this way! ...for me at least!