[Olaf]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Olaf', 'I') don't really consider that minor, especially considering my pretty active lifestyle.

[wisconsin_cur]

This week I met a mentally ill person with MRSA (skin and urine) who couldn't find a place to live.

The mental illness is an artifact of genetics.

99% sure the health care system gave her the MRSA.

So it does kind of sound like you are complaining about getting skim instead of whole organic milk in your latte while children are starving in Burma.

You can vent all you want...

... but you have to accept the responses that your attitude receives.

Maybe if you go to one of those cash only doctors they will be up to your standards.

find a cash only doctor

[Olaf]

Well, in going back and reading what I have written in this thread a fair bit of it seems petty. I'll own that. So I will stand, in part at least, corrected, and chew on it a bit.

A great deal of this frustration stems from being kept from doing a number of things that I love in the short term, and a fear of being kept from them in the long term as well. In the big picture, not so important at all, but for now, it matters to me.

Olaf

[wisconsin_cur]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Olaf', '
')
A great deal of this frustration stems from being kept from doing a number of things that I love in the short term, and a fear of being kept from them in the long term as well. In the big picture, not so important at all, but for now, it matters to me.

Olaf

[smallpoxgirl]

I totally understand your frustration. You're broken and you don't want to be and it sucks. I feel that. I think the problem is, like I said, one of expectations. It seems like a simple thing. "My thumbs broken. I don't want it to be broken. You're the hand doctor. Fix it." The problem is that making it not be broken A: is a very imperfect and fallible art and B: requires an enormous amount of infrastructure. The infrastructure requirements are probably on par with having a new addition built on your house. Such things take time to arrange and coordinate. I don't think people quite comprehend all the processes that go on once they enter the medical system and the complexity of some of the care. It's the same way that I drive by the highway construction project week after week and say to myself "they're not doing ANYTHING!"

Frankly I think a lot of it is a grieving process. You had a perfectly normal thumb. Now you don't. Your thumb may not ever be the same again. The surgery may or may not work. That's a loss and it takes some time to work through. A few years ago I went out shooting with some friends. I ended up partially loosing hearing in my left ear. It SUCKED. Still does. I was desperately searching for anyone that could fix it. Realistically though, there wasn't much that anyone could do besides test my hearing and see if I needed a hearing aid (as if I was going to wear one.) Really it was just a grieving process that my body previously worked normally then it abruptly didn't. One thing that we do very poorly in medicine is that we throw techno fixes at people and don't do very well at helping them work through the grieving process of dealing with a body that no longer works the way it did.

[darwinsdog]

In other words, it's all in your mind. It's the "grieving process," not your thumb, that's the issue. Just lower your expectations, quit whining, & accept that you're not sufficiently rich to have an experienced chiral surgeon take interest in your hand. Accept being a crip, poverty guy. Sheesh, whaddya expect, compassion from the medical establishment? Cash up front buys you compassion & care. Learn to hold your hoe crab style, crip. Tough breaks you maimed yourself, poor loser. This is the US, not some socialist medicine utopia, after all...

To a physician with a hammer, every patient's problem looks like a nail.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('darwinsdog', 'I')n other words, it's all in your mind. It's the "grieving process," not your thumb, that's the issue. Just lower your expectations, quit whining, & accept that you're not sufficiently rich to have an experienced chiral surgeon take interest in your hand.

[emeraldg40]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('darwinsdog', 'I')n other words, it's all in your mind. It's the "grieving process," not your thumb, that's the issue. Just lower your expectations, quit whining, & accept that you're not sufficiently rich to have an experienced chiral surgeon take interest in your hand.

[pedalling_faster]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Olaf', 'T')his has been frustrating beyond belief. I had no idea how difficult it would be to get good medical treatment for something of this nature. I am now faced with a delay for surgery, which will be followed with six weeks in a cast, and many more weeks of therapy. I'm told not to expect to be able to use the hand as I'm used to for at least 3 months after surgery, and quite likely longer. In general everyone has been either uncaring, unresponsive, or unhelpful, and I HAVE insurance. I've had to do virtually all of the leg work and feel like I am beating my head into a wall. If I may, WTF is going on here!!??

Thanks for listening to me b!tch.

Olaf of the busted hand

[joelcolorado]

My wife, a doctor, sees all kinds of patients butmostly older ones. MOST are obese like the rest of America and have hurting knees, diabetes, or other issues related to the weight. They ALL want a pill to heal their woes.

What a shame. Most of them would be fine if they just SHUT their mouths at the supper table and walked every day. BUT no....they wont. Easier to complain and see the doc.

Wife was overweight and I told her it would be hard for me to tell ppl to lose weight if i couldnt do it myself. She lost down to her wedding day weight pre-kids etc and is one HOT mama. hah..

[WildRose]

Still, all things considered, as Olaf stated in his OP, he does have insurance. So, what is he paying for, exactly? I'm Canadian, so I'm not familiar with the in's and out's of the American medical system, but paying for insurance must mean you have access to services when you need them. A thumb with damaged ligaments isn't a serious injury, but it could still affect a person's livelihood.

How are services delivered in the US? In Canada, we may have longer wait times because we don't pay for office visits, operations, etc. Still, though, if a person was involved in a car accident or sports injury and came to hospital emergently, he or she would have x-rays, CT scans, and even MRI's in short order, if they were necessary to make a diagnosis. Sometimes, in our system, you have to be the squeaky wheel. I have advocated for care for my dad on a few occasions when he has needed to be seen more quickly with complications from COPD. It works, having someone else call specialists on your behalf.

Olaf, maybe your primary care physician is the way to go. If you keep presenting to him/her (that is, if you have no improvements in your symptoms), perhaps you'll be directed for an MRI. In Canada, a doctor referral will get you in for the test you need or to see the specialist you need to see. I don't know if it works the same way in the US, though.

[joelcolorado]

WIFE had patient from canada here in kansas and he had heart attack. canada flew a plane here and tookk him home. would not let him get treated

[darwinsdog]

National Public Radio (NPR) has been running a series comparing health care delivery systems in various countries. It's amazing how how much better the health care delivery is in every nation featured, compared to the US. US health care simply sucks. You're lucky to be Canadian, WildRose. It's a measure of how sheep brained American citizens are, that they put up with the exorbitant costs they pay for such poor service.

Once I needed treatment in an Argentine hospital. While the technology may have seemed crude relative to a US hospital, I was seen promptly, treated competently & with respect, and the procedure was absolutely free. In the US I would have had a long wait, been treated prefunctorily, and would have paid out the ass.

Many people here in New Mexico cross the border into Mexico for medical treatment, especially dental care & to purchase prescription drugs. Mexican doctors are well trained & competent and while the settings in which they practice medicine may appear crude, they do good work for a minute fraction of the cost you'd pay in the US. If you live anywhere near the border, Olaf, I'd suggest you seek care for your thumb from a Mexican doctor. It may even be a good idea economically to fly to Mexico for treatment. The cost of the plane ticket plus the cost of care combined will probably be less than what you'd pay for treatment alone in the US.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('darwinsdog', 'N')ational Public Radio (NPR) has been running a series comparing health care delivery systems in various countries. It's amazing how how much better the health care delivery is in every nation featured, compared to the US. US health care simply sucks.

[Farknight]

On overseas medical care I was sold over 25 years ago.

In 1981 I was a college senior working for my professor at an archeological field school on the Caribbean island of St. Eustaius (Staia); a GREAT place BTW with a large ex-at community. Anyway, I was sent to explore the "Quill", the large, supposedly extinct volcano on the island. (As an aside, the Quill was the model for the cover of Jimmy Buffet's Volcano album).

I climbed up trough jungle and a very dangerous trail to become within about 100 meters of the rim, the height of the rim is about 1900 meters. The final 100 meters consisted of volcanic rock scree. Some idiot, higher up and near the top starting slinging boulders down our way and the next thing I knew the ENTIRE rock scree slid as one toward us! I will NEVER forget that sight as long as I live as it is totally unbelievable and inconceivably terrifying.

I just had time to duck under a ledge as the rocks hit and literally turned the day dark as they blocked the tropical sun. My hand holding onto the ledge was smashed up real bad and then I did a stupid thing. As the rock fall petered out I decided to look up over the ledge to see if that was it. Well, of course, as soon as I raised my head I see a large rock headed right for me and BAM it whacks me on the right side of the head as I instinctively turned away to shield my eyes.

I bled everywhere and my buddy took his t-shirt and wrapped it about my head which felt like a cracked egg. I also smoked about a pack of cigarettes to keep from going into shock up there (I have been and remain a total non-smoker...but NOT that day). My buddy and good friend took off to get help so I had to somehow make my way down on my own. How I did that I have no idea but for what you wish to make of it, I PRAYED BIG TIME to the Lord to get me down in one piece and still breathing.

When near the trail out I was met by my friend, professor and other students who then guided me to a waiting car and straight to the island's one clinic. Being a Dutch island, Staia had one doctor and there was also a nurse. The clinic was in a small building with no ac and only ceiling fans. I was told they had no local anesthetic but that I need multiple sutures. I agreed to the treatment and my buddy handed me a bottle of Mt. Gay Rum, And not unlike like John Wayne (in a move) I drank about half the bottle and then he operated. He cleaned the wounds and stitched me up.

Never was there once asked how I would PAY for treatment, insurance, etc. Everyone on the island had free health care and so did I just for being physically present there. Yes, unlike the US, there was no anesthetic and it hurt but injuries DO hurt and maybe we are too desensitized by our modern medicines to reality.
When I got state side I went to the local hospital to get my stitches out and wounds examined (insurance required of course). The doctor said the guy on Statia had done an excellent job and that my scars would all but totally heal and vanish.

That doctor on that island really cared for his people and even a total stranger and foreigner who he recognized was helping his island by uncovering their past and increasing tourism. Yes, they did not have the latest and greatest technology but they compensated and did top notch work. Rather than the greed system of modern US medicine they still took the Hippocratic oath to heart back then. Now, well, I cling to my insurance card for dear life and hope it will be enough should disaster ever strike again.

I wonder who really has the better quality of like? The Rastas on Statia with a benign climate, no crime, endless tropical fruit and fish, gorgeous scenery and nice people and free medical care or we harried Americans in the PO twilight of our civilization.

[frankthetank]

Joel-

Thats right. So many come in with problems that don't need attention. Its ridiculous what people will go into the clinic for.

Olaf-
Any chance of going to a different hospital? Maybe you should pony up the cash and get yourself a ticket to India. I heard they do stuff for pennies on the the dollar.

That state of health care is near collapse. I'm guessing most doctors will probably have a place in Dubai ready to go...

[joelcolorado]

Wife had woman come in with splinter in hand. Said it doesnt matter as she has welfare with free health care. GOOD LORD>
Same for medacare old farts. They dont think bout what it does to the system. BY GOD they are entitled to it.

father in law had over $3 million dollars health care after age 65. NO WONDER its broke. Good lord ppl. wake up and smell the roses.

When ppl come in just to visit or cuz they are lonely or to have blood pressure checked it costs EACH of us a lot of money. They never consider that it has to come from somewhere. Or a lot of them come in to tell my wife that they didnt poop today. GOD....How bout eating some fruit and fiber and waiting a day or so. OH NO, have to poop every day or you go to doctor. geesus

[frankthetank]

Think if there were no insurance companies and everything was cash or credit card? I bet care would be a lot cheaper and people wouldn't go in to have their cankles looked at.

[gwmss15]

Another way would be to find a good private hospital in your city and pay for it directly yourself. This is what i do for most things. If you have insurance you can claim it post treatment with some documents from the hospital.

Another way is if you dont like or dont trust the medical service in your area then travel to another area to find one that is good even if this means taking a flight 10000 miles away.

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joelcolorado', '.')

When ppl come in just to visit or cuz they are lonely or to have blood pressure checked it costs EACH of us a lot of money. They never consider that it has to come from somewhere. Or a lot of them come in to tell my wife that they didnt poop today. GOD....How bout eating some fruit and fiber and waiting a day or so. OH NO, have to poop every day or you go to doctor. geesus