For Fuck's Sake - WHY!?!?!? (annoyed)

[clare]

from here
http://www.lastplanetojakarta.com/forums/index.php/topic,12193.475.html

I'm grumpy today. Incredibly grumpy. I stood in the shower this morning raging against the inefficiency of our so-called health insurance. We are paying $300/month for something that does nothing, and does it badly because we live a long way away from it. The bloke has been corresponding with them for months, trying to get them to approve something for him, and the fuckers just keep stalling, looking for excuses to reject it. I've just embarked on the process for myself, and it's total crap. They won't deal by email, which means we're stuck staying up late/getting up early to ring them during their business hours, or waiting weeks for the snail mail that they like to send, via the bloke's office where it gets caught up in bureaucracy and finally (if we're lucky) mailed to us here, where we discover that they have (yet again) rejected the claim because their staff are too stupid to look in their files. Their ideas of what a claim entails doesn't gel well with the Aus medical system either, where you visit your GP, who says "you'll need to see a specialist about this. I'll write you a referral" which isn't an open thing that you can send to your health insurance - it's a letter _to a specialist_ saying "please see this patient" in a sealed envelope. Which does me no good, if I don't even know that my "health insurance" will cover the visit, because they won't even talk to me! Luckily the appointment isn't until March, so there's plenty of time for them to fuck around.

Anyway, it's fucked, and we'd be better off saving that $300/month for our undoubtedly large loan so we can get the fucking asbestos out of our house and make it into something livable. And BCBSIL is why I won't be going to the US in January, and why I haven't had a holiday in the last 3 years.

Grumpy? Oh yes. And yes, we swear a lot here.

[YojimboMonkey]

fuck a fucking doctor and burn every health insurance company to the ground

[clare]

Thank you. Health insurance is for the birds. Socialised medicine, what are you waiting for? (not you, personally, obviously)

Doctors aren't much better - they charge too much, but that's another rant. And actually our health system is OK. The boy's knee adventure has cost us nothing, except to buy some dressings, though the whole exercise is about 8 hours that I won't get back. And as the bloke keeps telling everyone, we paid nothing for Erik's and my pre-natal/birth/ante-natal care. Ante-natal care that lasts until he is 4, including physiotherapy, speech therapy, vision checks, dental, and hearing checks, and countless other things, should we need them....

[diesel_powered]

I'm grumpy today. Incredibly grumpy.

[Anne the Man]

I'm grumpy today. Incredibly grumpy.

Yes, and also who the hell doesn't deal by email in this day and age? Good luck, clare, that's all suckage.

[Ignatius]

That sucks, clare. My friend recently had to arrange a conference call between a hospital administrator, two former doctors and an insurance bureaucrat to prove that an ER visit was not the result of a previous condition. It's such horse crap. I hope you manage to sort things out in spite of such inane obstacles.

[kadiekatRN]

Health insurance is unnecessarily unwieldy.

Meanwhile, I slept for maybe an hour last night.  Vomited about seven time, still having watery poops, slowing down from every hour to now every other.

Ventured out to the local grocery store to get items for my clear liquid diet--powerade, popsicles, sprite, and then some chicken noodle soup for when I'm ready to advance.  I felt like I was about ready to fall over at the store; I'm sure my lytes are all messed up.

Hopefully this is the beginning of the end.

[cold before sunrise]

powerade, popsicles, sprite

this is your medicine? corn syrup. haha... i'd rather be considered a nut then mistake this for a good idea.

ultimate cleanse: hot water with fresh lemon juice (from real lemons, not a plastic squirt bottle), a dash of maple syrup and a pinch of cayenne.

[Ignatius]

Why would a sick person already losing fluids by the gallon need a cleanse? Easily absorbed sugars (and sometimes bubbles) are a completely appropriate response to that sort of illness. Also, that's absolutely no way to show sympathy to someone suffering. Come on, now.

[elpollodiablo]

Iggy, seriously

[Ignatius]

oops.. I thought we were trying to rehabilitate her. Like My Fair Lady or something...

[Greg Nog]

My roommate did the Master Cleanse.  It sounded hilariously midguided beforehand, but I was not prepared for how much more comedy it was going to involve once it actually happened.

[mixed cats]

One of our friends did it and kept a sort of messageboard diary to keep us updated
I felt bad for him but "butt pee"

[cold before sunrise]

Why would a sick person already losing fluids by the gallon need a cleanse? Easily absorbed sugars (and sometimes bubbles) are a completely appropriate response to that sort of illness. Also, that's absolutely no way to show sympathy to someone suffering. Come on, now.

because her body is clearly trying to flush itself out, i can't imagine a better way to help it along it's goal of cleaning the system while refueling with a gentle natural sugar. if it weren't for being compassionate i wouldn't say anything, i wouldn't care, but oh my god i can't believe you think sprite is a good cure for anything.

[DCDave]

Why would a sick person already losing fluids by the gallon need a cleanse? Easily absorbed sugars (and sometimes bubbles) are a completely appropriate response to that sort of illness. Also, that's absolutely no way to show sympathy to someone suffering. Come on, now.

because her body is clearly trying to flush itself out, i can't imagine a better way to help it along it's goal of cleaning the system while refueling with a gentle natural sugar. if it weren't for being compassionate i wouldn't say anything, i wouldn't care, but oh my god i can't believe you think sprite is a good cure for anything.

The symptoms of influenza do not indicate that the body is trying to "flush itself out."

[elpollodiablo]

Probably her chakras are all screwy

[andronicus]

Why would a sick person already losing fluids by the gallon need a cleanse? Easily absorbed sugars (and sometimes bubbles) are a completely appropriate response to that sort of illness. Also, that's absolutely no way to show sympathy to someone suffering. Come on, now.

because her body is clearly trying to flush itself out, i can't imagine a better way to help it along it's goal of cleaning the system while refueling with a gentle natural sugar. if it weren't for being compassionate i wouldn't say anything, i wouldn't care, but oh my god i can't believe you think sprite is a good cure for anything.

Physician, get thee to an AA meeting.

And stop deleting your posts.

[jess]

CBS was right though that influenza has nothing to do with stomach symptoms. Influenza is a respiratory virus. The "stomach flu" is a myth, and it's either food poisoning or a non-flu virus (like a norovirus). While stomach symptoms can indeed be your GI tract trying to get rid of a pathogen, that doesn't mean it needs any help with that/further irritants. You need hydration and a way to still get energy, and liquids infused with simple sugars do exactly that.

[DCDave]

Novel H1N1 causes diarrhea and vomiting.  H3N2 causes diarrhea and vomiting in pediatrics.

Per the CDC:

Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, also can occur but are more common in children than adults. Some people who have been infected with the new H1N1 flu virus have reported diarrhea and vomiting.

[jess]

Novel H1N1 causes diarrhea and vomiting.  H3N2 causes diarrhea and vomiting in pediatrics.

Per the CDC:

Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, also can occur but are more common in children than adults. Some people who have been infected with the new H1N1 flu virus have reported diarrhea and vomiting.

Ok, yeah, I was thinking about the regular flu—people having been conflating that with "stomach flu" for ages mistakenly, but it still doesn't seem like you are going to generally see extreme GI symptoms with any sort flu and that your original statement calling those "the symptoms of influenza" makes a whole lot of sense. Also, I assume Katie has been vaccinated for both flu viruses anyway, being a healthcare worker, so in her case it would be unlikely to be that anyway.

[DCDave]

Novel H1N1 causes diarrhea and vomiting.  H3N2 causes diarrhea and vomiting in pediatrics.

Per the CDC:

Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, also can occur but are more common in children than adults. Some people who have been infected with the new H1N1 flu virus have reported diarrhea and vomiting.

Ok, yeah, I was thinking about the regular flu—people having been conflating that with "stomach flu" for ages mistakenly, but it still doesn't seem like you are going to generally see extreme GI symptoms with any sort flu and that your original statement calling those "the symptoms of influenza" makes a whole lot of sense. Also, I assume Katie has been vaccinated for both flu viruses anyway, being a healthcare worker, so in her case it would be unlikely to be that anyway.

I guess my point could have been "Yes, because what someone needs when they have a norovirus is to drink a stomach irritant, not hydration." 

And man, I would not wager on the effectiveness of the H1N1 vaccine when working in a pediatric ward. 

[cold before sunrise]

the body is doing it's damnedest to eject whatever the symptom is a product of. this is less a symptom of disease as a mechanism for fixing the problem. it's like when you get a fever, your body does it intentionally to kill off bacteria since the organisms can't survive in temperatures even a few degrees higher or lower than the human body normally operates on. this is why steaming is not only skin purifying but effectively assists in the treatment of sickness. detoxification treatments are simply amplification of the body's natural processes.

flooding the system with high amounts of processed sugar is never a good idea and to toss your blood sugar onto a roller coaster when you're already sick is hard on the system. why are hospitals so hopelessly out of touch with the powers of nutrition and quality food? if the goal is to stabilize as quickly as possible i would help the body finish the process of elimination with haste and then introduce fresh juices before plain pureed vegetable soups and toast, once the symptoms have subsided. coconut water is the best for rehydration but it's expensive and you'll need lots, where as water with a pinch of mineral-rich sea salt and tbsp of glucose (available in bulk sections) will do the same job as gatorade but extremely cheaply and without the dye and low grade sweetener.

andronicus: i've decided to punish myself for drinking last night by doing the master cleanse. it's really unpleasant so i figure this will reinforce the idea that booze = bad, while serving to purify. it was the only time i slipped up in almost a month and that was staying sober through christmas parties and free drinks even so i'm doing a-okay. having a hot blonde offer to order my fave champagne up to her room at the hilton last night was too much for me to refuse.

[andronicus]

andronicus: i've decided to punish myself for drinking last night by doing the master cleanse. it's really unpleasant so i figure this will reinforce the idea that booze = bad, while serving to purify. it was the only time i slipped up in almost a month and that was staying sober through christmas parties and free drinks even so i'm doing a-okay. having a hot blonde offer to order my fave champagne up to her room at the hilton last night was too much for me to refuse.

Being an alcoholic doesn't make you a bad person, it makes you a sick person.  You don't need to punish yourself for drinking, as much as you need to acknowledge you don't have as much power over your drinking as you think you do.  Every time you post in about your drinking on this board, it's like Alcoholic Logic to the max.

[DCDave]

the body is doing it's damnedest to eject whatever the symptom is a product of. this is less a symptom of disease as a mechanism for fixing the problem. it's like when you get a fever, your body does it intentionally to kill off bacteria since the organisms can't survive in temperatures even a few degrees higher or lower than the human body normally operates on. this is why steaming is not only skin purifying but effectively assists in the treatment of sickness. detoxification treatments are simply amplification of the body's natural processes.

flooding the system with high amounts of processed sugar is never a good idea and to toss your blood sugar onto a roller coaster when you're already sick is hard on the system. why are hospitals so hopelessly out of touch with the powers of nutrition and quality food? if the goal is to stabilize as quickly as possible i would help the body finish the process of elimination with haste and then introduce fresh juices before plain pureed vegetable soups and toast, once the symptoms have subsided. coconut water is the best for rehydration but it's expensive and you'll need lots, where as water with a pinch of mineral-rich sea salt and tbsp of glucose (available in bulk sections) will do the same job as gatorade but extremely cheaply and without the dye and low grade sweetener.

andronicus: i've decided to punish myself for drinking last night by doing the master cleanse. it's really unpleasant so i figure this will reinforce the idea that booze = bad, while serving to purify. it was the only time i slipped up in almost a month and that was staying sober through christmas parties and free drinks even so i'm doing a-okay. having a hot blonde offer to order my fave champagne up to her room at the hilton last night was too much for me to refuse.

Almost as good as claiming that it's because of body thetans.

[elpollodiablo]

Next time I get sick, I'ma go get steamed