I hate fucking doctors.

[murielm99]

Their nurses are not much better, and their receptionists act like they are guarding Fort Knox instead of working for some fartface who treats the labs rather than the patient.

That is all. Thank you.

[mopinko]

1. +1

is pretty much all i can say. in the midst of one more stab at figuring out wtf is wrong with me, and got the youngest lined up for a slew of shit as well. makin my skin crawl. and my head hurt.

[Warpy]

2. I just got out of the hospital after 4 days of being treated for septic shock

so I'm feeling pretty grateful right now.

I ran into one asshole hotshot intern and am seriously considering getting him written up. It's a writeup that could adjust his attitude now so he won't get sued in the future, because that's just where the guy is headed.

The rest of them, every single one of them, were absolutely wonderful to me. They all knew I was uninsured and they all made sure I had the proper paperwork to soften the blow.

Had it not been for my former colleagues, I'd be dead by now.

That is all.

[marybourg]

3. Glad you're still with us. Get well soon. nt.

[murielm99]

4. I'm glad you are getting well.

I am just in a bad place with all these people right now. My family practitioner is the only one I like at the moment.

I am fortunate to be insured. That does not mean that the out-of pocket is easy, but the bulk of my care does get covered.

[Warpy]

5. I had to tell them which workups I'd go for and which I wouldn't

because the empiric treatment for the latter was the same no matter what the origin is. They all pretty much agreed I'm an immunological nightmare, but it's been nice to be off blood pressure meds for the duration. We'll see if the pressure creeps back up again. Probably will.

Autoimmune diseases can be extremely frustrating to diagnose because there is so much overlap from one to the other. My own best guess is that they're all the same disease, mediated into differing profiles by our own genetic susceptibility to it. There is mild evidence for an extremely elusive little retrovirus as the culprit. It's certainly easy to get angry while all the great experts are scratching their heads and trying to determine exactly which profile you have and how best to treat it.

That's the good news, though, most of them can be managed for a very long time. Don't forget, I have been sick since my early teens and have only gotten to the nightmare part very recently.

Just hang back and realize that you've been sick for a long time and it will likely take a long time to get you better. They're really not a bunch of idiots who are out to get you. They're confused professionals who are out to get you better once they figure out how to do so. They're frustrated by this thing too, you know.

[mopinko]

6. very glad you are still here, warpy.

hang in there. we need you around here.