Something Random

I'd be going to five different doctors by now. See what they have to say at least.
 
I don't have real insurance (catastrophic, yes, but not anything that would actually help), which means I have to find doctors who are willing to see uninsured patients (not all of them will), willing to see new patients, and willing to see patients in a timely fashion.

So I called the dermatologists that are in my area. The soonest I could see one is October 20th, almost two full months away.

Anyway, if this is the best health care in the world, I'm not very fucking impressed.
 
Why wouldn't a doctor want to see an uninsured patient paying cash? :confused:

Doctors love to be paid cash instead of dealing with insurance companies. Usually you can get a pretty healthy discount paying cash as well.

Perhaps telling them you're uninsured is the wrong approach. Maybe you should tell them you'll be paying cash. :-?
 
I think Stereodude has the right approach. When I didn't have insurance, when the secretary asked for my insurance information, my response was "I have cash". That usually worked.
 
Stereodude said:
Doctors love to be paid cash instead of dealing with insurance companies. Usually you can get a pretty healthy discount paying cash as well.
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Worked for me with my recent dental work. I got 10% off, although it still cost me $3445 (2 crowns, 1 root canal, 2 cavities, cleaning). Still waiting for the dentist's finger to heal so he can do a wisdom tooth extraction.

I think the reason some doctors might be reluctant to take cash has to do with the sheer amount most medical procedures cost. They just think anyone who says they have that much cash is lying. Even getting a checkup is well into the 4 figures these days ( I got quotes of anywhere from $3000 to $7000 when I asked, and quite a few were unwilling to give a quote at all). Besides all that, I'm not necessarily sure seeing a doctor regularly actually prolongs your life. In fact, lately I tend to think the opposite.
 
jtr1962 said:
Still waiting for the dentist's finger to heal so he can do a wisdom tooth extraction.
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Wisdom tooth extraction...at 46 years old??? Waiting that long to get rid of something that should have been removed before your twenties deserves the name of unwisdom tooth. Wait another three or four years and the tooth will be in such an advanced rotten stage that the dentist will be able to sip its remains with a straw.
 
CougTek said:
Wisdom tooth extraction...at 46 years old??? Waiting that long to get rid of something that should have been removed before your twenties deserves the name of unwisdom tooth. Wait another three or four years and the tooth will be in such an advanced rotten stage that the dentist will be able to sip its remains with a straw.
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The tooth was sound until the filling came out about a year ago. I still have two wisdom teeth (and all my other teeth except one molar-#31 for those familiar with how teeth are numbered). One was crowned 16 years ago, and the other is on one end of a three-tooth bridge. No reason to have your wisdom teeth pulled unless they're crowding your other teeth, or decayed beyond repair. I know it's a recent trend to have them extracted automatically once they come in regardless of whether they cause problems or not. I'm glad I didn't do that. I would have needed an implant for the missing tooth instead of a bridge had that wisdom tooth been extracted. The bridge cost $1440. At the time an implant would have been about $2500.
 
I have all my wisdome teeth. My top two need to be removed but the bottom two are healthy so I don't see any reason to have them removed.
 
Haven't been to the dentist in a good 10 years and not planning on seeing one anytime soon. If pain gets bad that's the only reason I would get in the chair.
 
Mercutio said:
I don't have real insurance (catastrophic, yes, but not anything that would actually help), which means I have to find doctors who are willing to see uninsured patients (not all of them will), willing to see new patients, and willing to see patients in a timely fashion.

So I called the dermatologists that are in my area. The soonest I could see one is October 20th, almost two full months away.

Anyway, if this is the best health care in the world, I'm not very fucking impressed.
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Best health care system in the world? If you are a millionaire and can pay cash out of pocket without blinking then yes you can buy premium service. But for the vast majority of the population? Perhaps the worst in the world.

Worst case Merc, get into the ED, rip that bandage of and say you have avian flu wings popping out the back of your neck. That should clear a path straight into triage. There are people clogging up those waiting rooms for inane things like coughs and colds, pregnancy tests (soon as the test results are known they are out the door) etc. So don't feel you are abusing the system.
 
Merc needs to move where there are better doctors. The GP would not give a referal for some reason?
 
LunarMist said:
Merc needs to move where there are better doctors. The GP would not give a referal for some reason?
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The GP just wanted me out of his office. No question about it.

I went and got some tea tree oil, which is supposedly a natural antibacterial, and poured the whole bottle in with my body wash, and I spent $40 at a laundromat washing all my clothes and bedding again. At this point I'd just like to know if I'm a topical carrier or if I have some kind of systemic infection that isn't being resolved, but that means getting a physician who will actually do lab work.

If I had to go to the emergency room, I've been assured just being a MRSA carrier assures white-glove treatment.

I sent Adcadet a PM for any advice he might have but he hasn't been on in ages.
 
Mercutio said:
My ex is telling me I need to see an infectious disease specialist.
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I ain't a doctor, but I agree with her. Once is ok, twice is cause for concern, but if it is recurring, you need the heavy duty treatment. As LM said, you should seek treatment in a bigger city. Don't ignore it Merc.
 
mubs said:
I ain't a doctor, but I agree with her. Once is ok, twice is cause for concern, but if it is recurring, you need the heavy duty treatment. As LM said, you should seek treatment in a bigger city. Don't ignore it Merc.
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The infections on my neck are quite painful and have implications for my ability to turn my head (and therefore to drive) and lay my head on a pillow. I couldn't ignore them even if I wanted to.

The fact that they continue to appear on my neck, where they're very close to lymph nodes and some rather important parts of my circulatory system is cause for considerable concern.
 
I got a, I don't know if "date" is the right word, but a female-type person is driving over 1,000 miles to visit me next month. And go to a Cubs game.

Anyway, whatever that is, I got one today.
 
timwhit said:
Congrats! You'll be 2 blocks from my condo...
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Great. Do you have any idea where I can park when I'm up there? Last time I went to a Cubs game I was about 11 years old and I think my dad paid like $25 to park in a vacant lot like 6 blocks from the stadium.

ddrueding said:
Sweet. The only times I've driven 1000+ miles to be with a female-type person who wasn't my grandmother were certainly dates.
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This is a female type person who might very well be more clueless about this stuff than I am. I don't THINK she's thinking about it that way...
 
Mercutio said:
This is a female type person who might very well be more clueless about this stuff than I am. I don't THINK she's thinking about it that way...
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Here is an interesting tip. Women don't think of it like that. If they do, it's in a paranoid/weird way. Comparing notes with my wife after we were dating, the first couple months of my maneuverings/tactics were completely undetected by her. From her point of view, we were friends and "just happened".
 
Mercutio said:
Great. Do you have any idea where I can park when I'm up there? Last time I went to a Cubs game I was about 11 years old and I think my dad paid like $25 to park in a vacant lot like 6 blocks from the stadium.
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My first recommendation would be not to drive. Take the South Shore downtown and get on the Red Line at State and Lake. Get off at Addison.

If you insist on driving, there are very few places to park for free, you will end up paying $20 minimum. There are many pay lots in the area, it shouldn't be hard to find one within 2-3 blocks of Wrigley. Make sure you get there 30-60 minutes ahead of time to secure parking. I curse people that drive to games on a daily basis.
 
timwhit said:
My first recommendation would be not to drive. Take the South Shore downtown and get on the Red Line at State and Lake. Get off at Addison.
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The good news is that it will be Friday, during the day. I hardly ever drive on the North side, but the game will probably finish someplace in the 4PM - 5PM range, and I'm thinking I'm thinking that trains or car are going to save basically nothing as far as traffic misery. I'm not sure what to do about food, either, which is why I'm still kind of leaning toward car.

I've never been on the El at all.
 
Damn, good news! Leave a day early and seek medical treatment. She'd probably like you better without the infection. ;)
 
LunarMist said:
Damn, good news! Leave a day early and seek medical treatment. She'd probably like you better without the infection. ;)
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She knows about it.

I don't know how well she likes me, exactly, but at least enough to come visit some guy she's just talked on the phone and emailed for a year and a half.

She's over six feet tall.

And I met her through another forum site, really because of a couple of goofy things that happened there that led to an E-mail exchange that just sort of didn't stop once it got started.
 
Mercutio said:
The good news is that it will be Friday, during the day. I hardly ever drive on the North side, but the game will probably finish someplace in the 4PM - 5PM range, and I'm thinking I'm thinking that trains or car are going to save basically nothing as far as traffic misery. I'm not sure what to do about food, either, which is why I'm still kind of leaning toward car.

I've never been on the El at all.
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Well, at least on the train you won't be sitting in traffic. I don't know if there are express trains on the South Shore line, but taking the Metra out of the city around rush hour is almost always faster than driving, especially on a Friday night.

If you took the El to the northside you could take it back downtown and eat at one of the many restaurants, before you head back home. If you want restaurant recommendations let me know what kind of food you are looking for.
 
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