GLP-1s & Assam Pineapple Shrimp
It’s been an eventful week, filled with positivity and surprise. A letdown or two, sure, but nothing indicative of a final say on whatever. “Deal with it as best you can,” I tell myself, “and move on.” Like with the biggest takeaway from the visit with my primary care physician, Tuesday. Vitals were marvelous, medications needed no adjustments. There was advancement on our discussion of GLP-1s for my weight, which are now covered by Medicare in a limited way under a new pilot program which started at the head of the month. She outlined a few of my health issues she believed were prerequisites for inclusion in the program, including acute sleep apnea. Unfortunately, we learned that this was, indeed, a disqualifier when Walgreens notified me that UnitedHealthcare wouldn’t approve of the prescription.
“We ran it twice,” the pharmacy tech explained, “but it was denied both times.” She advised me to alert my doctor of this, so I shot off a quick message in MyChart and a member of the care team replied, later in the afternoon, saying they’d gotten no denial letter from UHC. That evening, however, I the clinic’s pharmacist on the care team relayed a message of her own, stating that the reason for denial was, indeed, because of my sleep apnea.
“You can still use a pharmacy prescription coupon,” she suggested. So, full price for this shindig is almost $1400 for a month’s-worth of treatment. I checked out discount prices. The median ran close to about a fifty-percent cut – leaving me with a dollar amount that was still too steep for me to manage on my Social Security.
I posted the issue on Facebook and had several friends and family members comment on their own pricing issues and solutions and suggested I try their routes, so there’s something for me to look into, right there. Meanwhile, I really need to reign-in my overeating and mix in some exercise. My sister Amy told me, yesterday, that she and her husband Darrell plan on beginning morning walks, Sunday – today, already; I agreed to join them. Though, at the moment, the last thing I’m in the mood for is moving my fat ass off this chair.
I felt similar, yesterday. After the two of them left the house to go to the Nampa farmers’ market and to do some yard-saling, I dragged my butt out of my seat and into the bath. Wasn’t in the mood for passing out in the shower, so I elected to instead risk slipping in the tub. Bathed, primped, dressed, and shortly thereafter, Amy and Darrell were back with sweet tales of food and beverage cart noshes and yard sale deals. Amy scored a vintage copper teakettle and an old percolator, as well as a very nice silvery butter dish she plans on replacing her old, cracked one with. “It’s even got a knife holder!” she excitedly revealed. Then she announced she wanted Indian food for lunch. “We’ve gotta hurry, though,” she warned Darrell, as the 2:30 p.m. post-lunch closing time for Red Fort was fast approaching.
We normally go to Red Fort Indian Cuisine in Meridian, but they’d opened a second local location in Nampa a few months ago. Being nearer to us, we’ve been meaning to try it. That location replaced a long-standing Chinese restaurant that closed at the turn of the year, maybe, or a bit earlier. Anyway, we finally got around to visiting for yesterday’s lunch and- Jesus. Lemme tell you: they’ve got the place looking great, but the first thing that hits you when you walk through their doors is that wonderful curry scent that’s always heavy in the air of a good Indian restaurant. It floors me how a number of folks I know – including some in my very household – can’t stand the smell of curry. It’s one of my favorite things. Amy’s, too. In fact, Indian is her favorite cuisine. Her go-to is usually Chicken Vindaloo, but she’s shifted over to the masala, lately. Me? I think my favorite is the Assam Pineapple Shrimp, but I also like the Shrimp Coconut Korma as well as the Mango Chicken – all on “medium” heat. Other faves are Mushroom Matar and you must have samosas and garlic naan! The rice they serve with their meals is the motherfucking best shit I’ve ever had in rice; thank God they slip you a ton of it! They also have a pleasant spiced lime juice and soda beverage I love, but didn’t order one, this time ‘round. I opted for the pineapple shrimp, which they were a tad slow getting to me because the chef accidentally prepared pineapple chicken, instead, but caught his mistake before serving; the server apologized upon bringing everyone else’s orders, explaining the delay and assuring me it wouldn’t be long, which it wasn’t.
As usual, our Red Fort experience was amazing, and our consensus was that this new location beats out the Meridian location in aesthetics, comfort, as well as dining – not to mention that it is closer. Darrell, who’s proud of his Google reviews and the eyeballs it gets, told the server that he’d just given the place a glowing one, for which he was thanked. As is also usually true, there was more food than we could eat at our sitting, so we boxed up the leftovers and took them home, earmarked for dinner.
In addendum: Red Fort consistently uses some good-ass shrimp in its shrimp dishes. This is true of the Meridian location and was evident yesterday in Nampa. They are delicious and huge. But, really, the quality of all of their offerings is top notch.
I went out for my first cup of coffee after rolling out of bed around 3 a.m., as I normally do. I always pilfer the remains of the old pot before later making a fresh one for the family ready for them upon their morning rise. Opening the microwave to insert my mug, a heavy, pleasant scent of curry hit me in the face – the primary holdover from last night’s lunchtime leftovers being reheated. I wouldn’t mind if it takes another day or two for the fragrance to subside.
I’d originally had three medical appointments lined up, this past week, three days in a row. Just one in a week is exhausting; I didn’t know how I’d manage the three. Turns out, I wouldn’t. The day following my PHP appointment brought with it an optometry appointment, but I felt too dizzy and exhausted to make it and rescheduled for next week. Thursday was a meeting with my neurologist, which I was kinda dreading, following the recent ambulatory 72-hour EEG. Turns out, the results were good and the appointment was a pleasant one. Dr. Kashirny is, afterall, a pleasant man and very good at what he does. I wasn’t always so sure of him. I first saw him a decade ago, upon the retirement of my previous neurologist, Dr. Ottowicz. I hadn’t really taken to the new dynamic, not at first, but now I swear by the man. Anyway, the EEG results were good and my current medications and dosages are doing well by me, so we’re sticking with that, for now, and I’ll not have to return for another six months, if all remains as it is. I’ll tell you, though, that it’s not the doctors I dread seeing nor just the appointments themselves, but the traveling to and from them. I live out in the sticks between Kuna and Nampa and getting transport to and from these shindigs can be a bitch – especially when my insurance-provided transportation credits go exhausted, which they’ve done, and I’m left to pay out-of-pocket. The medical transport company is too expensive to lay cash on, which is too bad, as they’re my preferred way of getting around to medical shit and back, leaving me with Uber and Lyft. I prefer Uber, but… Uber and Lyft drivers aren’t advised of one’s medical foibles, nor do they necessarily know how to deal with them. Most likely, they won’t. Some drivers don’t like coming all the way out here. And… Will I get a good driver? I’ve had a couple I was amazed hadn’t gotten around to making me into a lampshade before getting me to wherever. But I’m sure some have thought the same of me.
It’s just after six; time to make that coffee I was talking about, earlier. Y’all have an awesome Sunday.
