Injuries after preventive medical checkup – Part I
As I mentioned in post Crest Night Effects – Part XVI, I not only developed injuries shortly after undergoing some preventive medical procedures in Bellevue, I didn’t receive adequate treatment either, after consulting with several physicians in this area who supposed to examine the cause of these injuries.
I’ll shortly describe my experiences concerning this matter in chronological order, too.
At the beginning of November 2004 I consulted with Dr. F. from the Bellevue Women’s clinic. Since a mammogram was due, Dr. F. wrote a referral for it. She also recommended a bone density test. A bone density test helps to detect the early stages of osteoporosis (decreased density of normal bone). Therefore I received from her two referrals: mammogram and DEXA scan. Both medical procedures were done within a month (November and December 2004); twice I was exposed to medical machines using x-rays (radiation).
The mammogram was done in November, and the bone density test at the Overlake Hospital facilities on Wednesday, Dec 8th. Though I had to wait for the DEXA scan in section 260, for the actual medical checkup I was summoned to room 200, which was outside section 260. While I was waiting in section 260, I saw nobody inside this area leaving this section for being examined at another location. Every person before me was called to a room inside this section. No wonder that I felt a bit uneasy.
When I left section 260, two women greeted me. It appeared to me that one of the women spoke with an accent, and at some point I thought I heard them speak in a foreign language with each other. They both operated the machine while asking me some questions. They also asked me a few questions about my operation in 1976. I not only had almost died that year because of a physician’s negligence, in the same year one of my cousins lost his life in a very dramatic way.
After these two procedures Dr. F. notified me that both checkups hadn’t come up with any health problems.
But suddenly in middle of January 2005 I noticed that a third of the top of my nail from my left thumb had turned grayish-black. Since I hadn’t injured myself, I was stunned to see an almost black nail. Therefore I knew that something else must have caused the discoloration. And at that time I had no idea what could have been the cause of this injury. But I was worried because I remember my mother telling me that my uncle Alfons had had cancer on one of his thumb, and he had to undergo radiation treatment.
Immediately I made an appointment with a physician to have my thumb examined. I called a family physician, Dr. P. on Monday, 17th January and received an appointment at his practice on Wednesday the same week. Later I’ll describe my office visit with Dr. P. and other physicians in other posts.
Here I would like to mention that during the following months I developed other symptoms of radiation overexposure. And I’ll describe these experiences in more detail, too. Keep in mind I wasn’t undergoing any radiation therapy; I only had undergone some preventive medical procedures at the end of year 2004 (mammogram and bone density test).