I have had a massive headache for about two weeks now. Why, because I ran out of allergy medication. I went to the pharmacy to get a refill and they informed me that while I still had about five refills left on my prescription their policy is that I have to have the prescription updated yearly. Since this prescription was written over a year ago, it is now expired. This means a trip to the doctor. I have been getting notices that I am overdue for a pap smear and that I am in need of a mammogram. I am sure if I ask for more drugs they are going to demand that I take care of the other stuff. And I don't want to. I hate going to the doctor.
I was so good while I was pregnant. I went to all the appointments. I got there early and waited until sometimes more than an hour after the scheduled appointment. I peed in cups, got stuck with needles, filled my bladder full of 1,000 ounces of liquid and held it for hours while I waited patiently 20, 30, 40 minutes past my appointment time. Went in and was chastised for not having a full enough bladder. The extreme discomfort not taken into consideration or the fact that the ultrasound was completed, information was obtained. I personally think this is just a big joke that men play on women that there really is no physical reason a pregnant woman has to have a full bladder to see inside the womb. A) They always tell me mine isn't full enough and B) they are always able to do the test even though they just said it wasn't full. If it isn't full enough why can you see the baby? Either you can see it and it is full enough or you can't see it and it isn't full enough. I hate going to the doctor.
Every day I read the paper, I watch the news, I read magazines; you know what they all tell me? I have to be my own health care advocate. I have to ensure that my doctor is diagnosing me correctly; that I am taking the right medication, to be careful or the doctor will get me. If I think about it, I have never been diagnosed by a doctor. I have never gone in and said, I don't feel right and been given a reason for my illness and a remedy. I have gone to the doctor not knowing what was wrong with me, but in those instances, I have always come away with a misdiagnosis. When the treatment doesn't work, I have to do some research, figure out what is wrong with me, and return to the doctor. When I go to the doctor knowing what is wrong with me, I have to arrive early, wait until late, get naked, sit in the room naked for hours, finally the doctor arrives and I have about four minutes to convince him of what I have and what I need to fix it. I have to make sure I use the correct medical terminology too because otherwise they will misdiagnose me again and I will have to rinse and repeat the process until I can get a doctor who will listen to me. Why can't I just tell the pharmacist what I need or send an email? I hate going to the doctor.
I feel that we are all being treated so poorly but that doctors only police themselves so they will never improve. They only way to fix it is if we all band together and refuse to go to the doctor. Sure, a few of us will have headaches and a few of us will die, but we will make the world a better place for our children. A world where they can go to the doctor and they doctor sees them at the appointed time. A world where they are treated with dignity and respect. A world where the doctor figures out what is wrong with you and gives you a treatment or your visit is free and he will come out to your house and keep trying until he gets it right. Are you with me? Are you ready to boycott western medicine?
My dear and lovely blogging buddy Laura, her mom passed away when Laura was very young. Her mom when diagnosed with a terminal illness decided instead of going to the doctor she would let Jesus heal her. Laura grew up without her mom. Maybe the doctors could have saved her. I would walk through fire for my girls. I don't want them to grow up without a mom. Not that allergies will kill me, but the whole Pap smear thing. I tell you I would much rather walk through fire than go to the doctor. Nevertheless, go I must, go I shall. I hate going to the doctor.
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I Think I May Have A Screw Loose
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I saw my podiatrist yesterday. One part of my foot is still hurting (it's
been almost two months since the surgery). He thinks it may be one of the
screws ...
4 comments:
First thought -- another pretty redesign.
Second thought -- I love doctors. They give me someone to fight with.
Third thought -- I don't like copays.
Fourth thought -- not going in for you pap smear? Why? Why would you intentionally miss the opporturnity for someone to touch your girly bits? (okay, Laura, that just crossed a line. a very definate line. you just crossed it)
Hopefully, when you get to the states, you'll find better doctors. It takes a lot of effort to find a proper doctor and it's a lot of work. But once you do find the right doctor it's totally worth it. Kinda like a soulmate.
I don't like doctors either. When I was a nurse I learned that 90% of them don't know what they're doing, and they just want to sell tests and procedures, because that's how they make their money. They don't make enough just giving you an exam unless they can add the pap smear and mammogram and hopefully some more tests and procedures they can bill for. I've even had some internists come out and TELL me this.
Okay, I'll stop ranting. The best idea is to do lots of reading and stay in touch with your body, and take good care of yourself.
If doctors told men that the best way to prevent prostate cancer was to squeeze their balls between two plates and expose them to radiation once a year, do you think they'd buy that? Hell no!
That's why i go to a physician's assistant instead of a doctor. She listens to me, she is a woman so she gets it, and she can write prescriptions. I want to marry her, and as we've already been intimate, no wedding night nerves.
marian, i burst out laughing at the image from your last thought.
My rant was not meant to be about the military doctors here in Misawa or anywhere else. My personal experience has been that the military doctors are much better than any doctor I have encountered on the outside civilian world. They listen more, the waiting room time is less, and thier kids play with my kids at the playground. In other words I feel like they see me as a person instead of as a object. My issue with doctors is from my experiences in the civilian world and I have been scared for life from those experiences. I don't believe that even the fact that I know the doctors here are not like that diminishes the initial gut reaction of, I hate doctors.
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