Okay, so 'verdict' is probably too strong of a word, but I did get an 'emergency' second opinion today (via husband via his doctor, who saw me for my DVT after I was treated in the ER). He and my husband actually have a text-each-other-regularly type of relationship. My husband recently had some routine lab work done as part of his annual physical, and he told me Dr. A just texted him the results telling him he was fine. Oh I'm so jealous.
Anyway. Dr. A stuck by his original suggestion, which was to take the Xarelto for six months. He hadn't looked at the report (because I'm not even his patient), but said that he would, but that it basically didn't matter. Six months, and he was going to stick with that. Add into that the fact that the clot isn't even gone - it's just 'better' (supposedly?) And even if it were gone, you continue taking the medication for a period after it's gone to make sure it stays gone.
And then he asked my husband, 'How do you hide a dollar from a surgeon?' (See answer below.)
On a related note, I was talking to a friend today who also has hip pain and has been taking meloxicam as well. I asked her if she was still taking it and she said no, her doctor told her she shouldn't take it for more than a month because it can cause heart problems if you take it for too long. WTF? I've now been taking it for two months. This made me seriously wonder if my orthopedist flunked pharmacology in med school! However, when I got home, I consulted Dr. Google, who didn't say anything about adverse long-term effects. In fact, Dr. Google told me that meloxicam is indicated to treat pain for rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, which makes me think it must be (relatively) safe long-term, given that these are permanent conditions. (???) Maybe this means my doctor isn't the only doctor out there who failed pharmacology in med school. LOL.
And by the way, the answer to my Dr. A's riddle: You put it in the patient's chart.
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