Random 5 for September 21, 2025 – Health, prescriptions, colonoscopies, eyeglasses, Dave Barry

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Now? Really? – September has turned out to be “health” month for me. Lots of checkups, blood and other tests and specialists. It’s not over yet. Friday I get a procedure for my eye (very simple) and hopefully that will close out the eye stuff. I haven’t been so good with the twice daily sinus rinse. I don’t like it, and I’m not convinced it’s helping so my mind “forgets.” In the meantime, we are having some of the best weather of the year while I’m hustling myself to appointments and waiting rooms (or worrying about outcomes!).

And away we go! – I was prescribed a new eye drop. The dispensing pharmacy is based in Ohio about 500 miles from me (in Pennsylvania). The shipping company first sent it to Santa Cara, California for three days (perhaps on a beach vacation?). It seemed to stall there (there must have been lines at the tiki bar). Then it was sent to Jersey City, New Jersey (totally bypassing Pennsylvania and yes we have postal centers here!). It took another two days to get to me. In the meantime, on the same exact day I ordered eye drops from Germany (not available here). They came in five days despite the Atlantic Ocean and customs, three days faster than the one from Ohio. What’s wrong with this picture?

Phooey! – I have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and I get frequent colonoscopies. I’m on a five-year cycle. The five years was up last year but I didn’t hear from the roto rooter guy. My primary care physician picked up on it and we had the discussion. I begged for Cologuard (SO much easier!). He wasn’t happy as it doesn’t pick up issues 100% of the time but he could see I was stuck in my plan. I did the Cologuard and flunked. Now I must get a colonoscopy. Don’t tell me it’s just the preparation that’s awful as I know it better than you. I always have a bad time with it. I have watched my husband do the prep with ease while I am writhing with severe abdominal cramps and nuclear waste flying out of my body. Last round the only time they could schedule before the end of the year was Christmas Eve day.  We’ll see what holiday I get to ruin this time.

On a more positive note – I finally have the new glasses with the correct prescription. I like the frames so that saga has ended. Maybe. Hopefully.

Dave Barry – One final note on colonoscopies. No one says it better than Dave Barry. Here is a link to his article on colonoscopies. https://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article1928847.html

So how was your week?

61 thoughts on “Random 5 for September 21, 2025 – Health, prescriptions, colonoscopies, eyeglasses, Dave Barry”

  2. Colorguard is a scam. Very unreliable, and a majority of people end up having to get a scope anyway..
    (but the company gets a pretty chunk of money from medicare for it first)
    It’s like cats: always get sick/medical needs right at a holiday. Yes, Dave Barry has it nailed.
    Cheers for the new glasses and frames!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Through a miracle, the GI doc had an opening for this coming week (for an office visit not a colonoscopy) instead of the end of October. He wants to see me first. I’m hoping for a miracle. My PC was insistent I get a colonoscopy and I bargained for the Cologuard hoping for the best. My poop let me down.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Kate….I’m curious why your dispensing pharmacy is so far away….could you not just get a Rx filled at your local pharmacy? I enjoyed the Dave Barry article – I never read any of work anymore.

    Liked by 1 person

    • The new eye drop retails for over $800 a month although I may be able to get it for $300 a month. (I know YIKES!) My healthcare insurance doesn’t cover it. My eye doc was able to get me on a special program for $59 a month through a specialty mail order pharmacy. I have no idea how it all works but she has been able to get me great deals on drugs in the past. The practice is very specialized (no routine eye exams) and participates in clinical trials and other programs. My best guess is that they get special deals for their patients based on that.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Wow…..I wondered if you were in a clinical trial. If it’s an expensive drug sometimes the drug company will subsidize the cost otherwise no one will use it. I hope it works for you.

        Liked by 1 person

    • It’s a stool test. If there are no abnormalities, you can pass on the colonoscopy. There are a lot of false positives so I’m not too worried at least not yet. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do the BIG test.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. My story with colonoscopies is similar to yours. I have horrible experiences with prep and the procedures, while my husband just does what is asked of him, no problems. I don’t get it, I do what I’m told… 😒

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  7. Bless you my child…..just the word “colonoscopy” sends my innards into a spin. I have successfully avoided having one for a few years now in spite of the pitiful look my doc gets when I say “NO THANKS!”. At least he isn’t insisting. The prep sends me into bouts of repeating “just kill me now please”. Anyway, glad other things are working out – glasses, etc. Dave Barry is definitely humor for the soul (and nether regions!).

    Hugs, Pam

    Liked by 1 person

    • My doc and I had a spirited conversation on colonoscopies. I was more spirited than usual (the word “nope” was frequently repeated). While the prep meds have improved since the castor oil I had to take for the first one (incredible abdominal cramping), they are too strong for me and I get very sick (and yes pray for relief in whatever form). Afterward it takes a few months for my innards to get to some semblance of normal so for me it’s not a 24 hour process. Unfortunately Cologuard let me down (or maybe my body did).

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        • Many colonoscopies ago, I was given 4 pills to take. Then it was followed by tons of water. Not sure it was easier. I’m convinced there is no easier. Last time I had to drink 8 ounces of stuff twice, following with a glass of water every so often (can’t remember the time frame). You can be sure there will be a conversation when I’m scheduled. Spirited of course.

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  9. The saga of the travel of your eye drops is crazy. How do these things happen? I’m glad you got your new glasses and you like them.

    I also seem to be in the season of medical appointments. My next one is for a DEXA.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Well, your eyes are going to be in tip-top shape with all the drops and your new glasses. So, after the ordeal, assuming your plumbing is A-OK, you’ll be set for the rest of the year. I like Dave Barry. For years I listened to Mitch Albom’s daily radio program and Dave Barry is a good friend of Mitch Albom’s and he often called in and their on-air conversations were very funny. Dave Barry, Steven King, Scott Turow, Mitch Albom and some other not-as-well-known authors play together in a rock band called “The Rock Bottom Remainders” and occasionally they featured some of their songs on the program.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Dave Berry’s column was so funny… thanks for sharing it. I had to get colonoscopies several years in a row until they stopped finding polyps. Not fun. BUT, the last time, I asked to switch from the liquid prep to pills. It was so much better. The liquid stuff is terrible and made me barf. I recommend going that way if at all possible.

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  16. I forget just how funny D Berry can be. He lived down the street in Miami from my best friend and even mentioned my buddy’s dad in a column once upon a time. I hope your Xmas Eve visit is a successful one.

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  17. Put off a colonoscopy and took the Cologuard and ate a lot of fiber the day before so I had a “healthy” sample to send them. Something about sending crap through the mail amuses me.

    Glad they finally got you the right glasses. What a nightmare that’s been!

    Seriously though, I dread doctor appointments in my old age because they usually don’t go smoothly and I end up with at least one follow-up and a referral.

    Liked by 2 people

  18. Loved Dave Berry’s column . . . but, I didn’t have the same experience:

    “For more than a decade I avoided getting a procedure that was, essentially, nothing. There was no pain and, except for the MoviPrep, no discomfort. I was risking my life for nothing.”

    I had plenty of discomfort. First, the prep was horrid. All the expected stuff, plus I threw up. But even worse? They couldn’t perform the colonoscopy because they couldn’t get the scope past the sigmoid even though I was as empty as could be.

    As they tried to “force” the issue, I was moaning (OW, OW, OW) even though I was under anesthesia and pretty out of it. They stopped the procedure and sent me down to radiology (with a headache the size of Montana) for a barium enema.

    All for naught. No polyps. No cancer. Since then, I do Cologuard every 3 years. So far, so good.

    Sorry you flunked, but at least you know that they have a reason to “go in.”

    Liked by 2 people

    • I’ve had barium enemas. They were the forerunner to colonoscopies. You are awake for the probing (at least I was). Of all the colonoscopies I’ve had they only found a very small polyp once but it was on my last one. That jacked me into risk (although I was already there because of my IBS and being a cancer survivor). They need to come up with something easier for cleanout or a way to do a scan.

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        • Back in the old days, the hospital had a nice food tray set up for colonoscopy patients with bagels donuts, fruit juice, cookies, etc. for afterward. That went by the wayside a decade ago. I think last time my choice was water or apple juice (despite liking apples and cider, I don’t like apple juice!) handed to me by a staff person. I can’t quite remember but I imagine I would make my husband detour to the nearest Starbucks! 🙂

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  19. Colonoscopies are the worst. That stuff you have to drink is disgusting. You have my sympathies. Om the plus side, it sounds like you’re plowing through the health checks. Just think soon you’ll have any outstanding ones in the rear view mirror. All the best getting there.

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  20. I had friends tell me a colonoscopy wasn’t so bad. HA! I couldn’t even get down the last part of the prep and threw it up. Very unpleasant. But at least the doctor was able to perform a colonoscopy–I listened to multiple other patients have to reschedule because THEY did not do the prep (or do it properly) and the procedure couldn’t be completed. It’s amazing to me how many people cannot understand cause and effect…although it shouldn’t be, after the elections of 2016 and 2024.

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    • I can never finish the prep liquid and it never presented a problem. Last time, with a new type of cleanout stuff, I had to take in two doses several hours apart. The last dose was about 4 hours before the test (so at 6 a.m.). I was so sick from the first round, I called the office emergency number. The nurse said to mix the full second dose but only take half. That worked better but I don’t think I needed the full dose on the first round either. I do the best I can because if they can’t to the test, I’m back at square 0 with having to do everything over again. Perhaps people are better understanding cause and effect in elections better now although it’s a little late.

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      • It’s the most important thing Kate. These tests grate on me too. Sometimes I wonder, are they needed so often? New York Hospitals solicit business in a way that truly makes me want to run the other way. I’m sorry they’re insisting you have a colonoscopy, but this too shall pass. 🙂

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  22. Colonoscopy prep is just miserable. I’m sorry you have to go through it every five years. I’m due next October (2026) and am already dreading it.

    Liked by 2 people

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