Funny, when the DHS (Defense Health Service, to which they recently consolidated the individual services’ health organizations) started this automation thing, I though, oh, another military cluster-f… And indeed it was, for the first year or so, mainly it seems due to the incremental transfer of stuff out of old systems. But then it got better, and right now I’d classify it as “pretty good”. I can log in, see a list of my refillable prescriptions, click on each and hit Submit, and they show up in the Community Pharmacy for pickup two days later. I had an eye problem, ended up at a civilian retina specialist, they diagnosed it as superficial, and their visit report showed up in my military-managed records about an hour after I got home from the visit. Now, THAT was impressive… 
Hi Mart
I’m sorry that due to time pressures during my week thus far I have not had the opportunity to give a reply to your initial post. As you observe, others sharing their experiences can be a comfort due to having some degree of solidarity… though each person’s health journey is unique to them, knowing that others are communicating with you because they feel some degree of compassion (literally suffering with) can be helpful.
I have had and continue to have nerve stenosis in my lumbar spine, but that seems small potatoes compared to your journey. Nevertheless I feel compassion for you.
I agree wholeheartedly that this community truly acts as such. You received more understanding and support here that from anywhere else. I found that also, when we lost our Cavoodle, Hannah, in October 2024.
Others have already expressed their support in prayer for you, but you have mine, too. My primary vocation is ordained pastor in the Lutheran Church, but the Christian God hears the prayers of all who pray to Him, and my prayers and the prayers of any clergy carry no more weight than those of any other.
Thank you for entrusting us with your burden; thank you for trusting us in making yourself vulnerable. Please do also give us updates - good or otherwise - as you are able. I am confident that you will continue to find compassion and support here.
Yeah, I have a couple of maintenance scripts (statin and BP). So despite having a new MAPD / Part C plan every year – often from a different provider – I can still go online, select the refill, click Submit and a few days later it’s in my mailbox.
How much waste, inefficiency, graft, corruption, greed and whatnot is in the middle of all that? No idea but I’m sure it’s impressive to say the least. But for my thankfully relatively simple current needs, it works acceptably. Such is an “open” market, eh?
But the choices shrink every time I have to pick a new plan and at some point there will just be one button: Take it or leave it.
Military was a ‘take or leave’ thing. They got stuck in a recruiting promise, ‘health care for life’, owing to the propensity for base hospitals to service local retirees on their own nickel, so to speak. Since they were paying into Medicare like any other employer, they chose to come up with a wrap-around plan, Medicare pays its 80% and wrap-around pays the other 20%. Still allow retirees to stay in the military system on a space-available basis, we’re on that plan. Confuses Medicare, who wants all to subscribe to their pharmacy program, where I can just go to the military pharmacy.
Here’s one rather amusing, and somewhat disturbing wart: When we military retirees who are in the military hospital system turn 65, we are required to fill out a form requesting retention in the system. Dutifully I filled out and turned it in, asked the fellow at the desk how I’d find out if I was retained. He said, “wait a couple of weeks, try to make an appointment. If you’re not retained, it’ll kick you to the curb.” I guess that’s a way to notify, would have preferred an email…
Small update. Had my MRI, yesterday - brain and back (upper and lower). Just need to wait and see what happens next, now, I suppose.
I hope the results will bring you relief.
Fingers crossed!
Thank you for the update @martbetz. To me, that is not a small update in the context of me taking forever (a decade or more) to convince my doctor to order a MRI for me. And all that was for just the cervical and not the rest.
all the best @martbetz
I hope that it goes well for you
A small update.
Earlier today, I received confirmation of a referal to the physiotherapy (musculoskeletal) team. I’ve still heard no word on the results of my MRI (or anything else for that matter) but from what I can gather online, they seem to be going down the route of mechanical issues rather than any neurological big nasties - I really do hope that’s the case.
My physical issues have become quite problematic, now, and consiquently my mental state is really, really bad. I do hope, though, that the outcome will eventually be a good one, and I can start to get back out there with my camera which I am missing more than anything. Thanks for all your kind words and support, and I hope to be back when I can.
Best wishes, Mart.
I hope you’ll get good MRI results, and that the physio will help.
Mart, sorry I totally missed this thread until now. You have had a long scary ride in this process, and it’s not surprising that it’s taken a toll on your mental state. Waiting sucks! The fact that they believe the issues are mechanical is a big relief. Hang in there, and hopefully the physiotherapy team can mitigate the issues causing the pain and weakness.
Thanks for the update Mart. I don’t doubt that we’re all hoping with you.
And another small update…
I had a message to say I’ve been refered to neurosurgery. Before I could get through to my GP, the hospital rang asking if I was still ok to volunteer for the day to help train medical students. I politely declined, advising that I have no idea what’s wrong with me and basucally had a nercous breakdown from all the worry and stress.
Anyway… the guy that wrong wasn’t ‘allowed’ to tell me anything definative, but was able to tell me that I had been refered because of issues with my back - he said that there was some ‘thinning’ that my GP wanted them to look at; he advised ‘nothing nasty’ was found on my MRI concerning my brain.
So… I suppose that’s something. As to what, exactly, is thinning (discs, nerves, or both) and why, I still have no idea.
I’m sorry about your troubles. At least the brain is OK. But they could really be more informative – it’s your health, after all, why keep secrets from you?
sending positive energy your way, @martbetz hope you get some good news soon!
I find it very strange that you don’t get to access your medical records. Are you sure there is no way to do this? They are supposed to be your records.
Even when I need a specialist to understand an imaging or lab result, I like to go prepared with questions, so I usually compile a list of things I want to ask based on the results. You get very little time with a specialist and it goes by really fast, so I use the Mayo Clinic website to read up on conditions before the meeting. But without looking at my results beforehand this would be near impossible.
Sometimes I wonder if the little teasers our medical profession drops, as we wade through the ‘process’, isn’t more stressful than our diagnoses and treatments. The waiting is the worst. Hope things get better for you!!!