birth defect.

Well i was surprised to learn last week that i have a congenital anomalie. This is how it all started:

last year, when i first got military insurance, i went to the doctor for a physical. i had him check my throat because i kept feeling this lump in it and knew it just wans't right. he checked it and told me it was nothing. so i left it alone. then a couple months ago, i started to feel it again (i think because i was taking the vital stim course) and, again, knew it was not right. so i made an appointment.

i asked for a referred to an ENT when i called base to make an appointment. but that was a joke! i would have to been seen first by the base medical before i could be referred. so last monday i went for my appointment. i was so nervous because i just kept thinking the worst. while i was there, they did an ultrasound of my throat (the lump mainly) and ran some blood work.

figures that i would go on a week with a holiday (veteran's day). luckily the results of my ultrasound were ready by wednesday. the dx: thyroglossal duct cyst. what is that you may ask? well apparently when you are a fetus the thyroid gland "migrates" from your throat to your neck. if the duct doesn't close properly, a cyst can form. it can form when you are still in the womb, right after birth, or when you are a toddler. per the internet (probably wikipedia or something) the cysts usually happen in toddlers and "rarely" happen in adults. actually one website said "a Thyroglossal duct cyst is a rare but occasional cyst"... i'm wondering in what language that makes ANY sense at all. Regardless... the nurse interpreting the radiologist report said the dr. said i would need it to be removed and referred me for an ENT appointment. this is where it gets simply annoying.

why does it take so long to process a referral over the internet? aren't we moving forward with technology? not backward? the lady in the referral dept. told me that they were backed up due to the holiday. I wanted to punch her in her face. You should have planned for the holiday. It was not a surprise.. you knew it was coming, plan accordingly. now a snow day... maybe i could see how you could be backed up... but a federal holiday? come on.

so it's now a week and half since my initial appointment and i have yet to receive a referral to get my appointment. i called today to the ENT office and it still was not in yet. it's quite annoying and a giant waste of  time to follow the referral dept around to make sure they do their job. but that's what i plan on doing until i can get an appointment. meanwhile, the cyst has gotten a little bit bigger. the initial report said "it appears to be benign" but you never know. i'll just keep waiting and hoping to get this thing removed in the next month.

i'll keep you posted if i ever get my appointment! grrrr...
mood: annoyed. :/

until next time.