Transcript

[00:00 → 00:09] Hello Ms. Jones, I'm Dr. Dalton. I think it's the first time we've met. Yes. Good. What can
[00:09 → 00:17] I do for you today? The specialist told me I needed to follow up with you. Okay. That makes me
[00:17 → 00:24] frightened. What did the specialist say to you? Well, it was one of those bone specialists, the
[00:24 → 00:32] ortho guy. He said that my bones were a bit on the thin side and so he doesn't deal with thin
[00:32 → 00:38] bones. He only deals with broken ones. So he said I had to see my family doctor who's retired,
[00:38 → 00:45] so I'm seeing you. Okay. I guess he may or it's this retirement. I'm sorry to hear that you ended
[00:45 → 00:49] up in the hands of Northopaedic surgeon. Did you have some kind of accident or fracture or something
[00:50 → 00:57] it was really minor. I was just climbing down from the forklift truck that I drive and I kind of
[00:57 → 01:03] slipped a little bit on the last step and I reached out with my hand and I guess I put too much
[01:03 → 01:09] pressure on my wrist and I ended up with one of those, it's like a dog fracture, a collie, you know
[01:11 → 01:17] so he put out, I went to the emergency room and everything and they took an x-ray and my
[01:17 → 01:25] bone was broken or whatever and they put a cast on, they sent me to this ortho guy and he said
[01:25 → 01:31] that my bones, I also had to have a chest x-ray because my back was killing me by the time I was
[01:31 → 01:37] I got there and he said yeah, your bones are kind of thin, you need to see your family doctor
[01:37 → 01:47] about it so, you know, here I am. What did all this happen? Oh gosh, six weeks ago, something
[01:47 → 01:56] like that, yeah, maybe a little bit longer. Yeah, so it's kind of fresh, no. I mean, I've been
[01:56 → 02:00] not physiopharages in the physiotherapist said it should have been fixed by now but it's really not.
[02:01 → 02:06] Well, it can take a while. I think what was concerning the orthoedic surgeon was that you ended
[02:06 → 02:12] up with a fracture there which would normally maybe not happen with the kind of fall that you're
[02:12 → 02:19] describing and did you say you also had a little fracture in your back as well? Yeah, I did, like I
[02:20 → 02:25] I mean, I didn't realize it but my back was kind of killing me and he said it was like,
[02:26 → 02:32] you know, your spine bones, they kind of got squished a bit. It sounds painful actually, you know.
[02:32 → 02:37] Yeah, I mean, I don't need the ibuprofen anymore so it's and it's much much better.
[02:37 → 02:43] So it's a pain pretty much under control. You know, his concern would be for something we call
[02:43 → 02:49] osteoporosis and that's the thinning of the bones and it happens to all of us with time
[02:49 → 02:55] but sometimes it can happen a bit earlier in some people and that's a bit of a worry. In your family,
[02:55 → 03:02] is there any history of thin bones or osteoporosis? Yeah? Yeah, my mom broke her up like two years
[03:02 → 03:11] ago and my sister had a fall. It wasn't a big fall and she broke her arm a couple of years ago too.
[03:12 → 03:18] So maybe we all have it, I don't know. Well, you might come by this naturally. How old are you
[03:18 → 03:28] Mary-ask? 57. 57. And when did you have your menopause? I had a kind of early. All of us have
[03:28 → 03:35] early menopause. I was around 40-ish when I, you know, started. Yeah, that is quite early and it
[03:35 → 03:43] can also lead to thinning of the bones if it's happening pretty early like that. Now, you know,
[03:43 → 03:50] we will have to look into that. The orthopedic surgery is right. There are some things that we look at
[03:50 → 03:58] in terms of lifestyle that can maybe also close to the bones. Do you take alcohol at all? Do you drink?
[03:58 → 04:06] Yeah, maybe a couple of beer a week, that's about it. Okay, smoking? Yeah, I do. Don't tell me to quit.
[04:06 → 04:14] I smoke about a pack a day and I have since I was like in my teens. I'm going to tell you to quit.
[04:14 → 04:21] Maybe some other day, but we will talk about that, you know. One of the other things that can sometimes
[04:21 → 04:27] cause it is a lot of caffeine use, but I don't think that's as important as some of the other things.
[04:28 → 04:35] Do you drink a lot of coffee? Yeah, I love my coffee. I have two or three before I even go to work
[04:35 → 04:43] in the morning and then I have another two or three at work. And you know, it surprisingly doesn't
[04:43 → 04:49] bother bother my nerves, you know, like you think you'd be watered, but I'm wired up anyways.
[04:50 → 04:54] You're wired up anyways. Yeah, I'm just feeling anxious all the time.
[04:55 → 04:58] Yeah, do you think that's because of this accident?
[05:00 → 05:06] Well, you know, it's partly the accident. Like, okay, so here's the thing. I love driving the
[05:06 → 05:12] forklift. I love it. And you know, you're zipping around the warehouse. It's so cool. I have all
[05:12 → 05:18] the friends and, you know, and I'm really good at it. I don't even want to prize, right? And
[05:19 → 05:24] and since I've been off with this fracture, I guess it was longer than six weeks. It must have
[05:24 → 05:30] been a couple of months. Like, I've been on this work thing where the physiotherapist kind of
[05:30 → 05:38] gives you a modified job, right? And that she's tied me to this frigging desk and it's awful. I hate
[05:39 → 05:46] it. And it and like, I have to use a computer and stuff and that just like totally freaks me out
[05:46 → 05:52] because I'm really not a computer person at all. And it's so frustrating because I want to get back.
[05:52 → 05:59] And and now she's, you know, she just last week she had me go through like all these physio
[05:59 → 06:05] things where you try and steer and they have a practice gearbox and all that kind of crap. And
[06:05 → 06:11] like I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it with my wrist. And so she's got this big meeting schedule
[06:11 → 06:17] next week with like workman's comp. And and they're going to and they're going to say, you know,
[06:17 → 06:22] I can't drive a forklift anymore. And they're probably going to put me on a desk job. And the only
[06:22 → 06:31] desk job is is the receptionist. God help me. If I have to do that job, it's like all computer work
[06:32 → 06:39] and book in program like book in products and and shipments and crap like that. And I lose my
[06:39 → 06:49] mind. I really would. It's got me drove it really has. I can hear the frustration in your voice.
[06:49 → 06:55] It really is difficult to look at something like this happening in accident that could lead to
[06:55 → 07:00] you having to change jobs. And I guess that's what you're afraid of right now is there might be
[07:00 → 07:06] a permanent change. Yeah. Well, that's I mean, that's just one thing that's on my mind for sure.
[07:06 → 07:11] But that's a big one. Yeah, it would be. It would be. You know, the
[07:14 → 07:19] that whole workman's compensation thing is is a bit of a treadmill, too. It can be.
[07:20 → 07:27] And it can be quite difficult to sort all that stuff out. So, you know, if you can see a place
[07:27 → 07:33] where I can help you with that, you should let me know. Yeah, go ahead. No, I was just like hoping
[07:33 → 07:40] that maybe you could you could make my bones better. And then I, you know, then I would be able to do
[07:40 → 07:45] the physio test. And then I wouldn't have to take that job, right? Thank you. It's certainly we're
[07:45 → 07:48] going to have to look at your phones. We're going to have to see what we can do to strengthen them.
[07:48 → 07:53] I think you're you're absolutely right. Do you take a lot of dairy products? Are you
[07:54 → 08:00] no? No. No. Don't take any calcium vitamin D. Do you take any? No. So, the other thing you're
[08:00 → 08:06] taking is understand or things for pain or do you take any other medications? I don't take anything.
[08:06 → 08:11] I don't even need the ibuprofen anymore. It's good. Nothing else. You're not taking any
[08:11 → 08:15] medications. I really can't. Nothing at all. Okay. No. No, it gives us something to work with.
[08:16 → 08:21] I guess you mentioned a couple of times that it's one of the things making you anxious.
[08:22 → 08:28] Man, I've just got so much going right now. Like, okay, so my youngest daughter just got her
[08:28 → 08:34] GED. That means that she's going out for this better job. So she moved away. Now she got pregnant
[08:34 → 08:41] really early and there's two kids, right? Two my two grandkids. Their, you know, Billy is 10 and
[08:41 → 08:47] and Genie is like nine. And anyways, they're living with me right now. Okay. Now they're great kids.
[08:47 → 08:52] It's not that's not the problem. It's, it's all the school stuff that they have to do. Like,
[08:53 → 08:57] I'm having to teach them their schoolwork and they're taking these tests all the time. It's like
[08:57 → 09:04] all the teachers do is like organize tests and I gotta tell you. Like, I had a real problem with
[09:04 → 09:11] taking tests when I was a kid. Like, so much that I actually had to leave school early. Like, I just
[09:11 → 09:16] couldn't do it. I would get myself up and not. And I just spend the whole time in the bathroom
[09:16 → 09:24] being sick. And now it's like, it's all coming back. It's like, it's crazy. I don't, I don't,
[09:24 → 09:31] I don't even know what to do. Like, I break out into shakes and I'm, I'm just all caught up in
[09:31 → 09:39] knots and I can't sleep and I'm having nightmares and all because of like between the job not being
[09:39 → 09:45] able to go back to the job I love and dealing with my grandkids. Man, I just don't know.
[09:47 → 09:53] Well, it's a lot all at once for sure. You know, the idea of dealing with, you know, your
[09:53 → 09:58] grandchildren at home having to tutor them, combined with being off work and not sure what
[09:58 → 10:03] your future is going to be. And the whole combination is certainly very stressful. I can understand
[10:03 → 10:09] that. It sounds like you do have a bit of a history of anxiety. Would I be fair in saying that?
[10:10 → 10:15] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, nobody ever gave me any drugs for it. I never saw a doctor for it. Maybe
[10:15 → 10:22] I should have when I was a kid, but man, I'm just, I'm so anxious now that I was just kind of
[10:22 → 10:31] hoping maybe you'd be able to do something about that. I feel overwhelmed. I gotta tell you,
[10:31 → 10:38] I feel anxious if I had to teach, um, do homework with a 10 year old as well. Um, so I don't think it's
[10:38 → 10:43] easy, you know, um, getting back into that. It brings back some unhappy memories for you like that.
[10:43 → 10:51] It sounds like school was the best time for you. Um, how long are the grand kids going to be with you?
[10:51 → 10:56] They could be with me for another several weeks. I don't know. It's up to my daughter when she
[10:56 → 11:02] gets settled in a new place and gets a new job. I mean, I hope it's not much longer, but you never know,
[11:02 → 11:08] right? Is your daughter on her own or does she have, uh, no, she's on her own? She's on her own.
[11:08 → 11:12] So it is hard for her as well. She's lucky to have you. She's lucky to have you.
[11:12 → 11:15] Really to be able to look out to the kids, you know. Thanks.
[11:16 → 11:21] So it's, it's, uh, it's a bit of a mess right now. Uh, you know, that one of the things I would say,
[11:21 → 11:26] though, from what I'm hearing is that some of the things that are happening to you are time limited,
[11:26 → 11:32] right? And the grandchildren are not going to be with you forever. Um, this work problem is going to
[11:32 → 11:39] have to get settled. It can't go on forever and never. So, you know, the anxiety you're feeling now is
[11:39 → 11:43] it's going to come to an end. It's going to get, it's going to get better. It's what I'd like to say,
[11:43 → 11:47] you know, maybe we can help with that and give you some suggestions, but, you know, in the long
[11:47 → 11:53] one, I think it's going to be okay. What kind of support do you have yourself, uh, your husband?
[11:54 → 12:00] You've got three minutes. You've got three minutes. Yeah, my, my husband's great. He's, um,
[12:00 → 12:06] he's the long distance truck driver. Um, so he's gone for, you know, three, four or five days at a time,
[12:06 → 12:13] kind of thing, but he's, he's always being super supportive and, uh, so there's no problem there.
[12:13 → 12:19] And I'm, and I'm close to my family and stuff, you know, like it, it's not like I'm totally alone,
[12:19 → 12:24] but I'm not going to ask my 80 year old parents to come and help with the grand, the great grandkids.
[12:25 → 12:33] You know, are you thinking of retirement anytime soon or is this, uh, oh god, I wish, but we've,
[12:33 → 12:38] we've looked at our finances and I've, I've got at least six or seven years that we both want to get
[12:39 → 12:48] a fair bit of money tucked away before we can. So, yeah, no, no, you want to get back to your child.
[12:48 → 12:53] So, you know, um, in the interest of time, let's talk a bit about the osteoporosis situation at
[12:53 → 12:58] that thinning of the bones. It certainly sounds like you have that. And there are tests we would do,
[12:58 → 13:04] like a bone mineral density test to see how thin they are. But in fact, I can tell you already
[13:04 → 13:09] that you have osteoporosis just from what you've been telling me of these fractures, you know,
[13:10 → 13:15] there are some things you could do without medication, like maybe cutting down on smoking. I know
[13:15 → 13:21] we don't want to go there. Um, we calcium, vitamin D can help regular exercise. It's a good
[13:21 → 13:27] thing to do as well. It would also help with your anxiety, you know, um, it might help sort of
[13:27 → 13:34] calm things down a bit. Um, there are medications we use for osteoporosis. They're in a family called
[13:34 → 13:40] disphosphonance. But we talk about that after we got these results back and saw what was going on.
[13:40 → 13:45] That just helps the calcium get into the bones, you know, helps strengthen the bone. The anxiety is
[13:45 → 13:50] a different issue, you know, it's really hard. The thing I would say it's temporary, uh, you know,
[13:50 → 13:55] a lot of what's happening to you is because of the situation. The work with compensation board
[13:55 → 14:01] often there is a rule for a doctor in that. And if you can see how I could help you with,
[14:01 → 14:05] you know, saying, you know, she, we hope she'll improve. She's not ready to go back.
[14:06 → 14:10] She isn't suited for this particular job. Perhaps another job would be better. You know,
[14:10 → 14:16] there are things we can work with. Yeah, perhaps with an occupational therapist as well.
[14:16 → 14:20] You know, I don't think medication is going to help you with anxiety. I don't think that's something
[14:20 → 14:25] you want to deal with. You know, especially since this anxiety, I'm pretty sure it's going to
[14:25 → 14:32] come to an end in the end once these things start settling down. Yeah. Yeah. That would be great
[14:32 → 14:38] if you could help with that worker's compensation meeting. That would be fabulous. Well, you know,
[14:38 → 14:44] just go in with the idea that the doctor is there if you need medical notes to help you with one
[14:44 → 14:48] decision or another. So, you know, I'd certainly be there to help you with that. We're going to have to
[14:48 → 14:53] meet again because our time is running out. But is that kind of a fair plan for where you want to go
[14:53 → 15:01] at the moment? That's a great plan, actually. That's a great plan. Well, let's meet after you have
[15:01 → 15:06] your appointment with the workman's compensation board. We can see how that goes and we can also make
[15:06 → 15:13] those other plans for what's going on with the bone test. Okay. Thanks. Nice meeting you,
[15:13 → 15:17] and I look forward to seeing you again. Bye. Bye now.