The little things that piss you off

[allegro]

and even then, remember that history is always written by the victors of battles, which means that often times, facts are left behind or forgotten.

Which is why I'm pretty dubious about the Bible, what with the translation and so much opinion vs. fact in the New Testament and some of the authors hadn't even MET Jesus Christ.

Which is also why, once you are in college, they teach you how to do good research and gather enough research and then how to sift through that research and know what is good and not-so-good and to always question the validity of your sources.

I had a friend who got a degree in History and refused to believe most history books for this very reason.

Modern college history texts are written by scholars who just kinda re-barf all of the old texts and then just add on new history, but they're grouped into periods because, of course, there is SO MUCH HISTORY. The problem isn't what is in the texts; the problem is WHAT ISN'T.

[allegate]

The "primary care physician" who i HAVE TO SEE with the only insurance i can get through the marketplace here is A. a NP and not even an MD and B. a fucking moron and an asshole.

I've been having this terrible, terrible pain in my abdomen and i was scared it was pancreatic, so i wanted to get blood work. The first thing the dude did was come in and rudely tell me that i needed to be seeing my "other doctor" who "prescribes all my meds" and that i can't just "come see him for convenience." I was like "ummm dude? do you mean my psychiatrist?"
He was then falling all over himself apologizing. My mother suggested we leave (i was in so much pain that she had to drive me) but i decided to let it slide.

Then, friday, i went for an ulcer test which involves breathing into a bag, and they tried to take my blood again. I told them that they already took my blood and was there for an ulcer test. The lady kept telling me i didn't know what i was talking about and i asked her to please, PLEASE just look at my chart. She finally came and gave me the ulcer test, but no apology or anything this time.

Now, in between those 2 visits, i saw my back dr, who is a brilliant and gifted dr and he examined my abdomen (even though that is not his specialty) and told me he was certain that he knew what was wrong.
He offered a minimaly invasive procedure that promises some relief. I just needed the idiot fucking nurse practicioner to sign a referal. This was just supposed to be a formality.

And the ignorant fucking idiot won't do it! He said "you've never seen me for pain before." I said "dude, that's what i'm doing here. I have terrible pain in my abdomen."

He "doesn't like giving out referals."
But for the insurance to cover me seeing anyone but the NP, meaning for me to see a PHYSICIAN at all, he has to write the goddamn referal.

I am fucking giving up on insurance as it just went up to $500 a month for some reason.

I don't need this fucking idiot in my life or anywhere near me with a needle.

There's a guy at work going through something like this and he wants to blame Obamacare for it, not the fact that the insurance companies would rather bleed you dry than pay for anything.

[elevenism]

Thank you for reading this @allegater .
I'm not blaming Obama.
I think these people are just fucking morons. In my case, i don't even think the request is MAKING it to the insurance company!

Also, can i call you Allegater? :P :P :P

[allegro]

Thank you for reading this @allegater .
I'm not blaming Obama.
I think these people are just fucking morons. In my case, i don't even think the request is MAKING it to the insurance company!

It's true, it's not. With an HMO, they have "capitation" -- see "Care."

"there is greater financial reward in prevention of illness than in treatment of the ill. Such plans avert providers from the use of expensive treatment options."

This is what nearly killed my mother when she had an HMO. She had terrible abdominal pain and her primary physician under the HMO refused to authorize tests (because he pocketed any money NOT spent on tests) and told her to take a Tagamet each day. My mom did that but the pain got worse. She ended up in the ER with a perforated colon, had emergency surgery for the removal of several feet of her colon and she ended up on a colostomy bag for over 4 months which, thank God, they were able to remove and they could piece her colon back together. Which all could have been avoided had her primary doc authorized and upper and lower GI to detect my mom's diverticulitis or at least referred her to a gastro specialist.

You really have to fight this guy, @elevenism . If he doesn't deal with your pain, you might have to either find another primary under the HMO or you have to contact the office of professional regulations. You need a good working relationship with your doctor and right now it's obvious you aren't going to get that. Hell, I had NO INSURANCE for years when I was young and I just told 'em that and they just charged me less and I paid cash, the fucking insurance industry gets the providers to charge MORE.

Bottom line, though, is that your current doc is not likely to give you a referral to the pain clinic back doc for abdominal pain, that ain't gonna happen. Your primary HMO doc might send you to a GASTRO doc, though. But, if you continue to have this abdominal pain you need to get to an ER. It could be all kinds of serious things that need serious immediate attention.

[elevenism]

Thank you for caring and giving me the advice @allegro

I AM going to fight it, hard. I'm going to sternly explain my situation to him again and ask him if he is able to fix it. And if he doesn't give me a referal, i think i will ask my pain doctor who one of his smart friends is around here and see if i can get him as the pcp.

It's sad that i feel so much better in the hands of my pain doctor, who examined me for this almost like on a lark, and thinks he has it figured out.
He is a DOCTOR. He seriousy has gifted hands and an absurd amount of experience.
This NP, on the other hand, fucking TERRIFIES me.

I might do the same @allegro , just pau cash, because unless i get the primary doctor switched, we will be paying over 500 a month JUST FOR ME TO SEE THIS INEPT MORON.

[allegro]

Thank you for caring and giving me the advice @allegro

I AM going to fight it, hard. I'm going to sternly explain my situation to him again and ask him if he is able to fix it. And if he doesn't give me a referal, i think i will ask my pain doctor who one of his smart friends is around here and see if i can get him as the pcp.

Well, an NP is not an MD, first of all. Secondly, I don't think that a back doctor and/or pain specialist should be your first choice as a primary: Your first choice should have a specialty as an Internist. You don't want somebody who "thinks that he figured it out," really. You want somebody who doesn't try to be a jack-of-all-trades; you want somebody who can say "this sounds serious, Tyler, and I am going to send you to this Doctor I know, a gastroenterologist, who can run some tests."

My dentist? She doesn't do root canals; she sends me to an endodontist. She doesn't do oral surgery; she sends me to an oral surgeon. And my primary physician / Internist also specialized in cardiology but if I had some suspicious heart problems she would send me to a cardiologist. When I had pain in my shoulder, she sent me to an orthopaedic surgeon. Some stuff she handled herself, e.g. when I had breathing problems she did some tests, xrays, gave me asthma meds instead of immediately sending me to an ENT doc, but she knows when it's not in her field (this avoids malpractice, too).

Look online or through your HMO materials and you should have a list of available HMO primary docs; then look them up online, Google them, look at their background, look at their ratings.

[allegate]

Thank you for reading this @allegater .
I'm not blaming Obama.
I think these people are just fucking morons. In my case, i don't even think the request is MAKING it to the insurance company!

Also, can i call you Allegater? :P :P :P

Oh I didn't read that you thought it was Obama's fault. And for all I care.

[elevenism]

Well, an NP is not an MD, first of all. Secondly, I don't think that a back doctor and/or pain specialist should be your first choice as a primary: Your first choice should have a specialty as an Internist. You don't want somebody who "thinks that he figured it out," really. You want somebody who doesn't try to be a jack-of-all-trades; you want somebody who can say "this sounds serious, Tyler, and I am going to send you to this Doctor I know, a gastroenterologist, who can run some tests."

Yes, that sounds fucking great. And i don't want my pain doctor to be my primary, i want to see if he knows someone good, a good MD, who will write me the referal to the pain doctor and the internist.
I hope to god that the insurance company will let me switch.

It feels like i have a knife stuck in my abdomen and it is killing me. I've had bloodwork and nothing has come up. I need to call them now, in fact, to ask about the ulcer test.
The pain doctor thinks that it is a torn muscle and wants to try "trigger point injections." I trust him. He just exudes brilliance.
So i am willing to try what he has in mind.

But my primary care doctor at this point is a fucking NP. He has a little more education than my wife and mother, who both hold nursing degrees. He doesn't know what the fuck he is doing and you can tell. He's the type of guy you'd like to drink a beer with, but not someone you want fucking with your body in any way. That's the vibe i get from him.

And jesus christ, $500 a month to get to see a NURSE who won't write me referals for my pain md, my psych doctor, or a GI doc. This is ridiculous.

[elevenism]

Oh I didn't read that you thought it was Obama's fault. And for all I care.

no, no! i'm not saying it's obama's fault! i suppose i am not making myself clear.

Also, you can be my bodygaurd and i can be your long lost pal, @allegater

Hints and allegations.... :P

[allegro]

Yes, that sounds fucking great. And i don't want my pain doctor to be my primary, i want to see if he knows someone good, a good MD, who will write me the referal to the pain doctor and the internist.
I hope to god that the insurance company will let me switch.

It feels like i have a knife stuck in my abdomen and it is killing me. I've had bloodwork and nothing has come up. I need to call them now, in fact, to ask about the ulcer test.
The pain doctor thinks that it is a torn muscle and wants to try "trigger point injections." I trust him. He just exudes brilliance.
So i am willing to try what he has in mind.

But my primary care doctor at this point is a fucking NP. He has a little more education than my wife and mother, who both hold nursing degrees. He doesn't know what the fuck he is doing and you can tell. He's the type of guy you'd like to drink a beer with, but not someone you want fucking with your body in any way. That's the vibe i get from him.

And jesus christ, $500 a month to get to see a NURSE who won't write me referals for my pain md, my psych doctor, or a GI doc. This is ridiculous.

Yes, it is ridiculous, an NP should NOT be your primary PHYSICIAN because an NP is not a PHYSICIAN. But I don't think your abdominal pain should be written off as muscular, either, nor do I think people should rely on blood work; look at my mom's case: blood work would NOT have diagnosed a perforated colon!! They're only thinking it's something like appendicitis which is true, that would come up on blood work, but not gall bladder problems or a perf'd colon, or even pancreatic cancer! This is ignoring serious PAIN and that's fucking MALPRACTICE.

Dude, no offense but you shouldn't trust doctors with brilliance; you need to have tests run before you trust anybody. You're not a pincushion. You don't DO anything, you're immobile; how the fuck could you TEAR a muscle? We you doing brickwork lately? Really, you need to have more investigative work done by specialist, like an MRI, before anybody does anything. When it comes to anything invasive, I trust no one

[elevenism]

Yes, it is ridiculous, an NP should NOT be your primary PHYSICIAN because an NP is not a PHYSICIAN. But I don't think your abdominal pain should be written off as muscular, either, nor do I think people should rely on blood work; look at my mom's case: blood work would NOT have diagnosed a perforated colon!! They're only thinking it's something like appendicitis which is true, that would come up on blood work, but not gall bladder problems or a perf'd colon, or even pancreatic cancer! This is ignoring serious PAIN and that's fucking MALPRACTICE.

This is true, and this is the way we see it.
I am lucky that my mother is a fiery person who will raise holy hell with righteous indignation when it comes to things like this.
She can be witty and furious and also pulled a 4.0 becoming an RN.
She is going to help me fix this shit with her perfectly aimed fury.

Edit: and yes, pancreatic cancer

i am fucking terrified. But what if the pain doctor is right? he performed a fairly intense (and painful) examination with his hands and feels that he has isolated the pain to a certain place. He told me that i will be okay and he knows what it is.
And goddamnit, i hope he is right

[allegro]

The other problem you are facing is that this guy you like is a pain guy, he just wants to give you pain treatments which bothers me because what if you have some underlying serious condition that he is missing but he's masking the pain by giving you pain meds? What if it's something like cancer, and he's giving you pain meds for what he thinks is a torn muscle by "feeling" something and what if he is feeling something ELSE that isn't what he THINKS it is? This all seems crazy to me. I just don't trust docs, it's all ultimately about them getting $$$$$$.

Yes, my grandfather had abdominal pain and it was pancreatic cancer.

Yes, your mother is a nurse. Listen to your mother.

Get TWO medical opinions, not just from your pain guy.

[elevenism]

thank you @allegro .

I will, one way or another, see a GI doctor. You are right, when this is all written/said out loud, it does sound crazy and precarious.

[allegate]

no, no! i'm not saying it's obama's fault! i suppose i am not making myself clear.

Also, you can be my bodygaurd and i can be your long lost pal, @allegater

Hints and allegations.... :P

It anything, I'm not: I certainly don't think that's what you're saying and I apologize for the confusion. I just pointed out an idiot coworker I thought of when reading that.

Yes, that sounds fucking great. And i don't want my pain doctor to be my primary, i want to see if he knows someone good, a good MD, who will write me the referal to the pain doctor and the internist.
I hope to god that the insurance company will let me switch.

It feels like i have a knife stuck in my abdomen and it is killing me. I've had bloodwork and nothing has come up. I need to call them now, in fact, to ask about the ulcer test.
The pain doctor thinks that it is a torn muscle and wants to try "trigger point injections." I trust him. He just exudes brilliance.
So i am willing to try what he has in mind.

But my primary care doctor at this point is a fucking NP. He has a little more education than my wife and mother, who both hold nursing degrees. He doesn't know what the fuck he is doing and you can tell. He's the type of guy you'd like to drink a beer with, but not someone you want fucking with your body in any way. That's the vibe i get from him.

And jesus christ, $500 a month to get to see a NURSE who won't write me referals for my pain md, my psych doctor, or a GI doc. This is ridiculous.

Coming into this as I have just now, I have missed what caused this pain in the first place. Have you had surgery on your abdomen recently?

[elevenism]

No @allegate , i had some sort of freak seizure like a little over a year ago. i was in a small bathtubb and crunched my body and it broke my back in six places. so i live with chronc pain now and i'm insanely weak. it tears me apart, honestly. I'm supposed to be the MAN, you know?

The abdominal pain started a few weeks ago.

Someone ran over a cat i had had for ten years, and with terrible adrenaline and unholy anger and grief, i tried to dig a grave for the cat.
This is about the time that the pain started, so i am hoping and thinking that it IS a torn muscle or something.
We are talking about atrophied, weak muscles that i tried to use to put a hole in tough west texas dirt.
I have been totally fucked off since then but didn't mention it to you guys until today.

[allegate]

No @allegate , i had some sort of freak seizure like a little over a year ago. i was in a small bathtubb and crunched my body and it broke my back in six places. so i live with chronc pain now and i'm insanely weak. it tears me apart, honestly. I'm supposed to be the MAN, you know?

The abdominal pain started a few weeks ago.

Someone ran over a cat i had had for ten years, and with terrible adrenaline and unholy anger and grief, i tried to dig a grave for the cat.
This is about the time that the pain started, so i am hoping and thinking that it IS a torn muscle or something.
We are talking about atrophied, weak muscles that i tried to use to put a hole in tough west texas dirt.
I have been totally fucked off since then but didn't mention it to you guys until today.

Ah. I ask because my wife had hernia surgery two summers ago and they screwed her abdomen up and is in the same kind of constant pain. She's taking nerve blockers for it, and it helps 75% of the time. The other 25% she can't move and has to be high as a kite just to feel like she's having period cramps.

It's emotionally draining for both of us.

[elevenism]

@allegro that story is fucking heart wrienching and terrifying.
Jesus. I was a CNA/PCT for like five years and i saw some awful nurses.
Once, at a like wound care hospital where i was working, this poor woman had a fever of like 104.
I, of course, could not administer medicine. I told the nures and she said "oh. it must be hot in that room."
I was fucking shocked. I filled up gloves with ice and put them under the lady's arms, and brought her fever down. i possibly saved her life,
I SHOULD make myself a cerificate,

So sorry about your mother in law.

It's terrible when you realize that a hospital staff is just a bunch of motherfuckers with regular human failings. It's weird being on the other side. It's terrifying actually.

Goddamn, i need to get this shit looked at.

[elevenism]

@allegate , btw, both my mother and wife had botched gall bladder surgeries.

this shit really scares me y'all.

i've been crying a little bit, to be honest.

i'm terrified.

[tony.parente]

This Rocky Horror abortion that's on tv right now. Everything but Columbia is fucked.

[tony.parente]

This Rocky Horror abortion that's on tv right now. Everything but Columbia is fucked.

This is so stupid. Everything. How does someone fuck up Sword of Damocles? The song sings itself.

[Dra508]

I can hear snoring in the next hotel room. FML.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jinsai]

I'm breaking down the gear for tonight at the bar for their karaoke system, and I pull my car up to load the last speaker into it.

I see two cop cars stalled in the street and the leftmost driver staring at me. They turn the lights on me and pull in and ask me to lace my fingers behind my back. I'm pushed over the hood of the car while they empty my pockets. I was never read my rights, I was never asked for permission for a search of myself or my vehicle. Furthermore, I was not even in the vehicle when they pulled up, so there's that, and the fact that I wasn't drunk or under the influence of anything.

Guy tries to pull this good-cop routine on me, saying repeatedly that the only thing he doesn't like about me is that I'm a liar, and I need to tell him the truth about where I was coming from and where I'd been. Saying he could smell the alcohol on me (fuck you, you lying fuck). Saying things like "oh, so you're handling the sound here? You a musician? I thought so! What do you play? Ah, I figured you for an axe man!" Fuck you. Stop telling me that you're gonna let me off easy, and that you know I'm the drunk who was swerving all over the road ten miles from here. You can tell I'm not drunk! You even said it while you were trying to get me to confess to a crime I didn't commit! If you smelled alcohol on me it was because I'm in a rowdy bar and people spill drinks. All over me. All the fucking time.

"You want me to believe that I got five calls about a gray Volvo station wagon swerving around on the road, and it wasn't that one you're standing outside of, putting stuff into?" Yes, sir, I want you to fucking believe me, I can prove it, for fuck's sake, I work here.

They take my keys, park my car into a spot, ask me to verify that it's secured, and order me to walk home. Hey dipshits, I live a fucking mile from here. You want to make sure my super-non-drunk ass doesn't drive my car home? Give me a ride down the street, you useless assholes.

The power flaunting and the ego games that motherfucker tried to pinion me with, and the frustration I saw on his face as it dawned on him that I wasn't the guy he was looking for was poor satisfaction, especially with how he handled letting me go. I have good hearing, it's what I do for a living. So I hear you outside the car asshole, whispering to your partner (who is telling you "man, this isn't our guy, it's not him.... I believe him.") and then you whisper back "yeah, but why not practice the routine? I need some practice right? You need to intimidate a bit to get the truth out... some of the time"

crickets. No answer from his partner.

"Ah, sure, we're gonna let him go, let's hassle him so he knows he just can't get away with this shit."

Partner: "What shit?"

"Part of the routine..." then he whispers "like this" and loudly exclaims "Loooooooooks like you're riding deuce tonight bro, sorry, gonna need the back seat for our guest here." And then back to whispering "See him squirm?"

Fuck you officer.

[Swykk]

Not liked because of what happened to you. Liked because you are smarter than them and didn't fall for their bullshit.

[allegate]

See, I don't have the patience nor control over my mouth to not have a much different ending than you did.

Also, how do you walk home if you're not finished working yet?

edit: There's a workstudy in my office who is literally laughing out loud at something she's watching on her phone. And she's got a donkey laugh so every five minutes or so I hear this braying coming from down the hallway.

[elevenism]

See, I don't have the patience nor control over my mouth to not have a much different ending than you did.

Also, how do you walk home if you're not finished working yet?

edit: There's a workstudy in my office who is literally laughing out loud at something she's watching on her phone. And she's got a donkey laugh so every five minutes or so I hear this braying coming from down the hallway.

same with me.
this sounds like some of the situations that wound up with me getting the shit beat out of me and going to jail with a fake paraphernalia charge.

i'm always like "oh, so do you feel like a big man now?"

They frown on that type of shit.

You are a gentleman and a scholar @Jinsai

[elevenism]

while i'm here, my mother wants me to drive round trip 180 miles to go get her medicines because "she doesn't feel like it."

We only have one car at this point and i don't have a driver's license so if i get pulled over, i'm getting locked up, probably for some actual time since i've already got arrested for it once, and she won't be able to get her fucking car back. siiiiiiighhh.

[Jinsai]

See, I don't have the patience nor control over my mouth to not have a much different ending than you did.

Also, how do you walk home if you're not finished working yet?

We'd just closed up the bar, and I'd taken the last of the audio equipment outside so they could lock it up. Everyone had just left and I had loaded the last speaker into my car (which was parked and turned off). I was standing next to my car checking a text message I got, and then I look over and there they are. They wanted me to admit to doing something they knew I didn't do. Saying shit like "oh, so you do music? Man, let me tell you... I grew up around a lot of musicians, so I know the way they roll. Music guys like to party, right?" The craziest part was the bit where he said "Hey, I majored in physics in college, so you're not going to be convincing me any time soon that it's possible there's another gray volvo in this area being driven by a white guy with scraggly hair..."

What the fuck does physics have to do with this? Did he mean "I majored in statistics?!!" If he did, he'd understand that it's entirely likely.

[Dryalex12]

I'm breaking down the gear for tonight at the bar for their karaoke system, and I pull my car up to load the last speaker into it.

I see two cop cars stalled in the street and the leftmost driver staring at me. They turn the lights on me and pull in and ask me to lace my fingers behind my back. I'm pushed over the hood of the car while they empty my pockets. I was never read my rights, I was never asked for permission for a search of myself or my vehicle. Furthermore, I was not even in the vehicle when they pulled up, so there's that, and the fact that I wasn't drunk or under the influence of anything.

Guy tries to pull this good-cop routine on me, saying repeatedly that the only thing he doesn't like about me is that I'm a liar, and I need to tell him the truth about where I was coming from and where I'd been. Saying he could smell the alcohol on me (fuck you, you lying fuck). Saying things like "oh, so you're handling the sound here? You a musician? I thought so! What do you play? Ah, I figured you for an axe man!" Fuck you. Stop telling me that you're gonna let me off easy, and that you know I'm the drunk who was swerving all over the road ten miles from here. You can tell I'm not drunk! You even said it while you were trying to get me to confess to a crime I didn't commit! If you smelled alcohol on me it was because I'm in a rowdy bar and people spill drinks. All over me. All the fucking time.

"You want me to believe that I got five calls about a gray Volvo station wagon swerving around on the road, and it wasn't that one you're standing outside of, putting stuff into?" Yes, sir, I want you to fucking believe me, I can prove it, for fuck's sake, I work here.

They take my keys, park my car into a spot, ask me to verify that it's secured, and order me to walk home. Hey dipshits, I live a fucking mile from here. You want to make sure my super-non-drunk ass doesn't drive my car home? Give me a ride down the street, you useless assholes.

The power flaunting and the ego games that motherfucker tried to pinion me with, and the frustration I saw on his face as it dawned on him that I wasn't the guy he was looking for was poor satisfaction, especially with how he handled letting me go. I have good hearing, it's what I do for a living. So I hear you outside the car asshole, whispering to your partner (who is telling you "man, this isn't our guy, it's not him.... I believe him.") and then you whisper back "yeah, but why not practice the routine? I need some practice right? You need to intimidate a bit to get the truth out... some of the time"

crickets. No answer from his partner.

"Ah, sure, we're gonna let him go, let's hassle him so he knows he just can't get away with this shit."

Partner: "What shit?"

"Part of the routine..." then he whispers "like this" and loudly exclaims "Loooooooooks like you're riding deuce tonight bro, sorry, gonna need the back seat for our guest here." And then back to whispering "See him squirm?"

Fuck you officer.

Im glad that shit never (from what ive seen) happens in Oregon

[allegro]

while i'm here, my mother wants me to drive round trip 180 miles to go get her medicines because "she doesn't feel like it."

we only have one car at this point and i don't have a driver's license so if i get pulled over, i'm getting locked up, probably for some actual time since i've already got arrested for it once, and she won't be able to get her fucking car back. Siiiiiiighhh.

don't
do
it

[elevenism]

don't
do
it

i did it. and we got pulled over.
and thank GOD my wife happened to be driving, and thank GOD the cop decided to let us go ahead and drive home.
but now she has a court date. she already has one driving without a license, but she gave her married name so they have not yet put two and two together.
but i bet they will, and in texas, the second one is jail time.

Luckily, she's tough-she'd have to be pretty fucking tuff to put up with me :P
She doesn't really care too much about a couple of months in jail if that's what it comes down to.
And if it's just a ticket, i kinda feel like my mother is sort of obligated to pay it.

Right now we are just thrilled that the cop let us drive home. We were FOURTEEN MILES FROM HOME.
This is Murphy's Law in action, or is it the Grim Law?