I thought most insurance would pay for removal and biopsy of anything that might be cancerous, as a preventive measure. It’s sure cheaper for them than dealing with cancer later.
It was identifiable as a specific type of tumor (starting with an ‘l’ that I can never remember). I think they sent it to the lab, but I’m not sure. That type of tumor is always benign. But the doc was really excited that he’d found one in a toe – apparently, that was quite weird.
Not “angioma” I suppose? I have a few of those, one I had removed.
Lipoma? They are virtually always benign. I have a bunch of them.
I had cataract surgery with plain vanilla lenses. My distance vision is now near perfect in one eye and perfect in the other.
Near vision is another kettle of fish, though.
mmm
When my gf was dealing with breast cancer, there was a test that could be done on the tumor tissue to determine wether chemo was necessary. It was a very expensive test that not all insurance plans would cover. The insurance plans that didn’t cover it paid for possibly unnecessary chemo because it was cheaper than the test.
My gf decided to pay for the test out of pocket if needed, but her insurance covered it and she did not need to go through chemo.
Nope.
Nope.
Argh, You’re making me look it up! 
It was a leiomyoma.
I found one benefit to being an old man. While in for lab work, the technician said “no pee in a cup today” just blood draw, so I went to the can. Ten minutes later he looked chagrined and said “I was wrong, we do need a urine sample for this.” I assured him it was no problem and he wouldn’t be waiting long.
Sigh.
In recovery after a knee replacement op 3 hours ago. No general anaesthetic, no pain so far. Just had a light, late breakfast and good coffee.
This hospital is fabulous. Go on ask me how much it cost and who’s paying.
My first affliction is relatively minor but not yet addressed in this thread - Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), e.g., esomeprazole, which is generic Nexium, which stops production of stomach acids. I’ve been on it for 20+ years, due to GERD and Barrett’s esophagus. The med sheet used to say take it a half hour before a meal. Now it says at least an hour. After 2-3 wake-ups to pee and to pass gas+, I wake at about 4:30 -4:45 a.m. and take a PPI pill, then hope to sleep for an hour+, and eat the banana that I keep on the nightstand, to start my breakfast. Then my alarm sounds at 6 a.m. and I go to the kitchen and fix a bowl of raisin bran and/or Special K, (or oatmeal) with 3 spices, honey, dried cranberries, apricots, walnuts, and chopped dates, with Almond Breeze non-milk (in case I’m lactose intolerant), then my a.m. vitamins (Multi, B12, D3) and other a.m. Rx meds (prostate & a statin). Then I get ready to go to work M-F.
My question is, how important is that one hour period between PPI and breakfast? If my circadian timing is off, is a half hour better than two hours, or is that unimportant? Is the PPI really time-released all day?
PPIs are better absorbed on an empty stomach. If a patient of mine still has significant breakthrough symptoms of reflux while on PPIs I remind them to take it at least 30 minutes before eating anything, on an empty stomach to see if that improves things. You can probably get even better absorption by waiting at least an hour after taking it before eating.
But is it necessary? If the med is only to control symptoms, I’d say if you can take it 10 minutes before you eat and it still relieves your symptoms then you’re ok. BUT: talk to your GI doc about your Barrett’s. To really reduce the risk of Barrett’s turning into esophageal cancer, your GI expert may really want you to get maximum med absorption and acid reduction from the drug.
You could also ask them if it’s ok to take the med in the wee wee hours of the morning, when you’re up to pee anyway. That might be the best solution. It should cover you for 24 hours no matter when you take it, so you can take it at 2:30 AM and roll out of bed later and eat sooner if you want.
Are you local? Because round these parts, i’m betting it’s pricy.
OPP: people start dropping like flies. so the feeling does from intense emotional shock to ‘awww, that’s too bad.’
Ignorance fought, @Qadgop_the_Mercotan. This I didn’t know. I don’t take that particular PPI, but I do take one and success has been hit or miss. Now I know why.
I had an anal fissure at 45. It took a bit more than 4 months of treatment with a compounded cream, which had to be applied 4 times a day, before it healed. Applying the cream wasn’t fun, but I am glad that I didn’t have to have surgery.
It ended up being a good thing, because I got sent to a gastroenterologist who went through my history and decided that I should get my first colonoscopy as soon as the fissure healed. The gastroenterogist still wanted me to wait a few months after it was healed before going ahead with the colonoscopy. The gastroenterologist found a polyp that time. My second colonoscopy, 5 years later, found another poyp. So it looks like I will be on a 5 year plan, just like my father.
Oh my god! 
I’m having a bad day.
I don’t even pay attention to the timing of my PPI - I take it with my handful of morning pills (another Old People thing). I figure it all evens out. Ditto the meds for hypothyroidism. Supposedly those are to be taken on an empty stomach… but if some days I’ve had a lot of food and other days I have not eaten, it’ll sort itself out.
I too have reflux. No Barrett’s here: the doc did the upper GI back in 2010 when I’d had what appeared to be worsening reflux symptoms. By the time I saw him, I knew for certain it was a med side effect, not reflux, but since I had that history even before the med, he wanted to go for it. Had a colonoscopy at the same time (er, a few minutes after, I expect) which turned up scary stuff. So I made my husband go in for both of his - and HE has the Barrett’s.
I saw a new primary care doc a year or so later and told him about that, and he said that of the two (precancerous polyps vs Barretts), the Barrett’s was scarier, to which I responded “Yeah, but the prep for the scope is a HELL of a lot easier”.
Don’t MAKE me COME OVER THERE and SLAP YOU STRAIGHT!!! (y’all knew I’d respond to that one…).
I had mine last year, mid-COVID, and everyone wore masks and it was no big deal. My ride could not wait in the waiting room (nor could I wait inside, when my husband had his upper GI a couple weeks ago). If you’re immunized etc., it’s not worth delaying. Obviously, as someone else noted, a fissure might need to be treated before the procedure. Or perhaps you’re a candidate for ColoGard or similar.
I gave myself a deadline of Valentine’s Day to do something about my butt problems, so it looks like I’ll be calling the doctor next week. Rats. 
I have a pair of tennis shoes that look like my other pair of tennis shoes. One pair is lovely and like walking on a cloud, the other presses a certain nerve point on my foot and causes pain and consternation, like, 20 minutes after you start wearing them. I don’t throw them out because they look new, and. honest, I’ll do it the next time I see them. If I can tell them apart. Probably.
(In this Thread, Blank both makes fun of the stupid things the nerves in his left foot are doing AND that his memory is fading! It’s a two-fer!)
You know you’re going to throw 1 from each pair out. Because that’s what old people do. So your future is going to be ahhhh, ouch, ahhhh, ouch…
You’ll get lost in the mall and walk in circles because of the pain.
Just thought of a new one today.
I love cats. We both do. We have adopted very many over the years and are famous at our veterinarian’s office, where they sometimes ask us to adopt special cases (we’ve had them missing an eye, diabetic, dislocated hips, been through fan belts, on subcutaneous fluids, etc etc).
But I just realized if we adopt kittens we can’t promise to keep them for life. Our oldest cat died at 23 years, and our life expectancies aren’t that long, to say nothing of how long we can remain independent enough to handle pets.