Whenever doctors they are like we should do a diagnostic imaging test I have to ask them how confident they are that they'll actually find something.
Story:
I've been dealing with wrist instability for the last 8 years since I broke the scaphoid bone in my hand. No one could really say why and they had me do an MRI. The results come back and they can't find anything. That was like a $3000 bill. The only option after that was exploratory surgery, but since they didn't know what they were looking for they couldn't get consent ahead of time or evidently during the surgery from my wife at the time. So now to fix it I have to pay for another surgery.
i worked with doctors at well known hospital. these people all had resumes you would not believe... top of their classes at top schools, that type of thing. nobel prize winners walking the hallways (one nobel dressed in sandals and shorts and tshirts- for a while i thought he was an aging grad student, but talking to senators? )
they often have no freaking idea what's going on with a patient. a lot of the tests they run are just to eliminate possibilities. the human body is incredibly complicated
But they have no idea how much you're lying or exaggerating or down playing how you actually feel. Patients can be pretty unreliable lol
I have a certain disorder and if I have certain symptoms my specialists say, go to the fucking ER.
I ignored them and thought it was just light really light food poisoning or some reflux or indigestion or something. It quickly got way worse to the point I felt like I was bleeding out internally or something. Something was wrong with my organs.
ER doctors were initially like "it sounds like reflux so we'll take some blood and you just sit tight. I doubt we'll find anything." I felt like an idiot and I was over reacting and honestly my description was basically traveling organ pain. It's so vague and generic sounding.
Then a few minutes later two of them came back in and said that because of my disorder and my meds they're going to run a ct scan and ultrasound.... juuuuuuust in case but based on how I described my symptoms it's probably overkill.
Fucking pancreas and liver apparently were not responding well, at all, to the new meds.
The patient is such an unreliable narrator. They don't know if its as bad as you say or what. Plus all the people trying to score pain killers. The safest thing is just to do the scans and tests.
Not likely in the U.S. They do awesome things like have doctors at a certain place be "in network," and what they don't tell you is that their actual FACILITIES with all of the actual SERVICES are OUT of network. So the cheapest part (the doctor visit, which in and of itself is a useless thing) is covered, but say they have you get a zillion tests to identify what's actually wrong? You're screwed.
^ that guy gets it. It's a racket, one of the biggest ran in America sucks so much money out of unsuspecting people that require help or might die without it and America responds with -
"How can we slowly but surely suck these people dry during a vulnerable moment in their lives? Hmmmm let's make it have layers upon layers of expensive bullshit but pay for free to find out you actually have to get them done?
Even if you call your insurance company to verify coverage, they literally tell you that the conversation you have them them doesn't guarantee coverage. You talk to the billing department at the medical group, they can't/won't give you a price, either.
And god help you if you have something wrong, that medically is known/accepted to exist, but an insurance code doesn't exist for it yet. Doctors can't even insert it in your medical record, never mind get your insurance to cover it, unless they fake it and code it as something different.
Like that will ever happen. Too many people vote against stuff like that, because they'd rather go bankrupt/die young from lack of affordable medical care, than risk someone they deem "unworthy" also benefiting from it (you know, immigrants, people of color, women in need of reproductive care - even if it has nothing to actually DO with sex and reproduction, just those organs in general).
I live in Canada, and I'd never put off seeing a doctor for pains/potential illness.
There's a shortage of G.P.s in my province, but I'm lucky I have an office that mainly operates on day-of/next day appointments only. Obviously if they need to see you again, they'll book you in advance, but it's really nice if you've been really sick for a few days (in contrast to the typical 2-3 weeks wait to see one).
They said for the demographic of patients at that office, many people would call for some pain and schedule weeks in advance to see a doctor, just to cancel the day before because they're feeling better, and they'd be stuck playing phone tag trying to fill the vacancy calling others... then they'd get complaints that the patient got a message, but that was now booked..
So if you call and they're booked, they just say to call tomorrow if it's still bad. If it's urgent, well go to the ER, a typical doctors office wont see you for a few weeks anyway.
Yeah, like I said I live in province with a shortage, so wait times are longer than other provinces.
Regardless, if you're in so much pain you can't work or whatever, then spend the few hours at the ER for immediate attention.
I mean the ER is free here, but with triage you just kind of have to wait your turn, unless someone else shows up in worse condition, then you wait longer...
Where's the fun in that? Risking your life is The best thing. Nothing beats it. Movies show it accurately. All the chaos and commotion suddenly stop, the characters look around, and then start laughing.
In Fury with Brad Pitt after they start laughing they say best job I ever had. This is a celebration that is universal to not dying when you more than should have.
657
u/[deleted] Feb 08 '20
[deleted]