Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Code for the Day: Culture Shock F43.23

How I spent my summer vacation...
Today is my first day back at work after vacation.  Yay.  As you can probably tell from my previous blog postings, I love my job.  But I also love sandy beaches, exploring new areas, sunsets over the Pacific Ocean, and just generally goofing off with no specific agenda.

I spent the first few days of my vacation working my little tail off around the house and getting ready for the payoff: 4 days on Oregon's northern coast.  Our trip involved a very scenic tour of Astoria and surrounding areas and, as you can see from my little photo montage here, it was simply breathtaking.  We visited 2 beaches, hiked, visited 2 lighthouses (saw a third from afar), hiked, watched the seals, hiked, visited filming locations for three movies, and hiked some more (and yes, that is a shipwreck you see in the bottom right picture!).

But now I am back in Denver where it's hot and dry instead of cool and comfortably damp.  Colorado is a beautiful state too, it's just different.

And then this morning, there was something else different - an alarm clock.  I became reacquainted with the snooze button.  And even though I love what I do, it was with trepidation that I made my way back to my office, turned on my computer for the first time in over a week, and started sifting through emails and to do lists.

It was culture shock.

And yes, my friends, as it happens, there is an ICD-10-CM code for that!

When I looked up culture shock in the ICD-10-CM code book, I wasn't expecting much.  But there it was - a code for culture shock... in the mental and behavioral health chapter.  Hmmm.  I was happy to see that it actually codes to an adjustment reaction, which simply means, I'm having trouble adapting to something new.  And I had choices for accompanying symptoms.  Today I chose both depression and anxiety.  I'm both happy and depressed when I look at my vacation pictures.  I wish I was still there.  And I'm anxious when I look at my to do list.  So here is the code for today:
  • F43.23, Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood
I know it's a temporary condition, but for today, I am living in the culture shock of being home and back to work.