Good news.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday that, surprisingly, went very well.

I've lost 18 pounds since my last visit. 

Everyone asked me what my secret was. I fumbled through the question because I wasn't expecting it.

The truth is, I've gained four or five pounds back recently. I have a bag of candy I've been munching away on. When I was sick with whatever I had for about a month, I didn't exercise at all, not even a little bit.

Oh well. I'm not aiming for perfection here, just a little progress.

I guess I'll call 18 pounds a success for now.

My drama with my pharmacy is now officially over, because my pharmacy is no longer my pharmacy anymore. 

I explained the coupon/prescription savings program problems to my doctor (nurse practitioner, technically).

Yes, she says, pharmacies don't really like it when people use those.

Well, you know, I kind of noticed that. How about we change some medications to something I can actually afford?

It turns out that it's cheaper for me to get my medicine the next town over. One of my medicines got switched to a prescription that's $4 a month. Another got switched to $30 a month.

The $30 a month medicine is a name-brand drug. In my hometown, that medicine is $137 a month and the generic is $67 a month.

Holler!

I'm saving tons of money here. More importantly, I'm saving myself the headache, anxiety and stress that comes with putting up with people who don't want to honor that prescription savings program and/or coupon.

Side rant: The medical office I go to gave me the information about said programs, I didn't specifically ask for it. When I have trouble at the pharmacy, it makes me feel like shit when they don't give me the price they're supposed to.

I'm not asking for a free handout, and I don't expect one. That piece of paper was given to me. Is it really necessary to shame me in front of five other customers for trying to use one of those programs, hometown pharmacy?

(I can't imagine what it's like to buy groceries with an EBT card, and having people notice. People, stop being shitty to each other. Life is hard enough as it is without people's ill-placed comments.)

Anyway, I thought I'd share a bit of good medical news.

I'm getting a tooth checked out next week. That appointment will probably not be as happy as this one. The specialist I go to has only told me once in seven years that I did not need a root canal, and that was because the tooth was toast and needed taken out.

Oh, joy. 

But I do plan on wearing my lucky socks, so we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, let's celebrate the good news in life for a change.