Tired Tuesday

ei34

How's everyone today?

ei34

I woke up around 3:30 and just couldn't fall back to sleep.  I'm fine now, but I know there will be an afternoon slump.  It's my long day at work but thankfully it'll be fairly light once home.  

levioosa

Oof, I hope you sleep well tonight@ei34 

I had a bunch of weird dreams last night. It kept waking me up. I had one dream about a spider that had me wake up with my heart racing and it took me a minute to tell my body that we were not, in fact, under attack by a giant arachnid. 

Work yesterday sucked. I had the rudest patient and usually I'm okay with managing it but for some reason they just got under my skin so badly. I hate the customer service aspect of healthcare. So there's my first bad review in months. The way people treat HCPs sometimes is just...beyond me. I am not a mall. You don't get to dictate what treatments you'll get. Just because you've sneezed for 5 hours does not mean you're getting antibiotics. Getting news you don't want to hear doesn't give you license to verbally (or physically) abuse me. 

Anyways, count down to my (very busy) weekend. 

banana468

Oof @levioosa there are so many who do that it has to be hard in your shoes.  

I'd slept so poorly Sunday into Monday and had to get up without a workout to take Chiquita to PT.  I had previously put in for a half day so after getting her to school I was able to push through and be DONE for the day but I put more effort into cooking.  

I think all of us are fighting the start of a fall cold.  I just feel...bleh and tired and I think the business and sleeplessness is catching up.  Chiquita's feeling it and is supposed to sing the national anthem tonight so I hope her throat is well lubricated!

Casadena

I'm so sorry @levioosa. People are terrible. 

WFH yesterday and got a lot of laundry done and errand run at lunch. Was able to enjoy the gorgeous weather and walked to pick up G from sschool. I dragged his bike too so he could ride it home (I need to order a new bike lock, his is broken!). It was fun. Then we started pumpkin carving but need to get a couple more and keep them in the house - woke up to a nice pile of mouse poop inside one of them. we just have too many critters around for us to keep them outside. 

Tonight the boys have flu shots and we forgot to warn them this morning. Soooo thinking we'll take them out for dinner and ice cream to soften the blow. 

Had a physical and blood work last week and my cholesterol was a bit too high for my liking and i had some elevated liver enzymes, which is a rabbit hole you should definitely not go down. So def changing some dietary things and cutting out alcohol at a minimum until i get repeats done in a month. 

charlotte989875

I forgot picture day at daycare and you have to sign up/ buy a spot in advance so feeling like the bad mom today. Poor second kid.

H is at camp, he left yesterday and comes back tomorrow. J is sick and I’m taking him to the doctor today. Thankfully I’m WFH most of the week to make it just a little easier. 

I’m sorry @levioosa-  as someone who spends a lot of time taking a kid to doctors and doing follow ups on the phones with providers I truly do not understand how people behave at times! We just had a situation where some of his results got lost between the device company and his doctor- and it was almost like the nurse I was talking to was relieved that I was reasonable about the whole thing. Like it wasn’t her fault why would I be upset at her? 

levioosa

Thanks everyone. It just gets so tiring. I want to know how exactly they think a visit will go when I walk in with a smile, a "thank you for waiting," I introduce myself and then then ask for the reason for the visit today and their response is "why should I have to tell you? Don't you know how to read?" Oh, okay, so that's how it's gonna be. I can get telling a medical assistant, "I'd rather discuss this with the provider" but telling me, the provider, the person to evaluate you and diagnose and prescribe for you that you refuse to repeat the reason for your visit or answer questions related to it and then to insult them in the first 5 seconds? Insanity. 

CharmedPam

Wow @levioosa, I understand your frustration with people. Some people can be so grumpy! 

Ice cream will help @Casadena. 

I got my labs back and oddly enough, this is the first time where my b12 was low. Makes sense, it’s low for my dad and he gets injections. I know I can take a vitamin b12, but I hear they don’t absorb well. Plus, I’d like to not add another pill in my rotation. I know b12 injections are expensive OOP but anyone know if medically necessary how easy it is to get them covered? My Dad’s on medicare already, so his process may be different: 

MNNEBride

@CharmedPam—DH's B12 injections are covered under our health insurance (subject to deductible and OOP maximums). He has it done by a nurse, but you can also do it yourself and get the vials.

banana468

@CharmedPam can you start w/ liquid?  I will have to see if the liquid version I take helps (my B12 was low in my last year physical).  I administer one syringe sublingually for 30 seconds every day.

charlotte989875

levioosa said:

Thanks everyone. It just gets so tiring. I want to know how exactly they think a visit will go when I walk in with a smile, a "thank you for waiting," I introduce myself and then then ask for the reason for the visit today and their response is "why should I have to tell you? Don't you know how to read?" Oh, okay, so that's how it's gonna be. I can get telling a medical assistant, "I'd rather discuss this with the provider" but telling me, the provider, the person to evaluate you and diagnose and prescribe for you that you refuse to repeat the reason for your visit or answer questions related to it and then to insult them in the first 5 seconds? Insanity. 

I’m so sorry, this is so wild to me. I want to tell everyone the symptoms and what we’re seeing with J to make sure I (and they) don’t miss something that I don’t know is important but actually is. 

VarunaTT

I was down for the count yesterday.  I had a massive headache and thought I might've concussed myself by hitting my head on the cabinet door in the kitchen on Sunday.  As I was sitting there, I just kept feeling like it wasn't a concussion (I've had 3 total and 1 bad one).  I finally realized my shoulder/neck was aching and I took the last muscle relaxer I had from when I had fallen and gotten a muscle spasm about a year ago in the exact same spot, same symptoms.  It helped and I can now control the pain with advil.  I've messaged my doctor to see if she'll prescribe me another 3-5 relaxers without an appointment.  I'm not sure she will, but we'll see.  I should probably start getting a massage or acupuncture again.  This spot has always been an issue b/c of where I carry stress.

Harley once again has a tall cat tree.  I'm waiting for my friend to come over to do that last little bit that attaches it to the ceiling, b/c I'm not tall enough.  But then  she'll have 10 feet to crawl up and down.  And, of course, she's just chilling on the lowest platform right now.  But the footprint is a lot smaller than the last tree and she hasn't been yowling/meowing/destructive as much in just the short time it's been up, so I'm very thankful.  I'm taking a chair down to the dumpster this evening and then my apartment is finished.  I can't seem to get the switch I bought for the computers to work, so I still need to do some research/work on that, but it's not building/buying things.  Can I also just say, I'm SO TIRED OF DIFFERENT CORDS AND NOT HAVING CORDS THAT CAN PLUG IN I JUST WANT TO BUY A THING, PLUG IT IN, AND USE IT WITH NO MEMBERSHIP, NO POWER BOXES, NONE OF THOSE THINGS.  It's getting super frustrating.

Work is just an absolute cluster.  It's no one's fault, it's just a bad mix of new people, people taking PTO (as is their right) and people having emergencies.  I think the state of the world is really starting to affect people's physical health now and we're seeing the results.

levioosa

@VarunaTT I'm with you. I'm starting to feel like such a grouchy old person. Why is everything a subscription? Why does it need a log in? Why can't I just buy and use a device? This late stage capitalism stuff is for the birds. 

short+sassy

@levioosa, I'm not doubting there are a lot of awful patients out there because there are a lot of awful people out there.  And typically medical situations are stressful times, so it's not going to bring out the best in people.

But there are also awful and ignorant medical professionals.  I've had a few really bad experiences related to that and one I had in an ER was dangerous.  That's not even counting the 8 sub-par endocrinologists who missed the obvious insulin resistance I suffered from for 20 years.

I've never yelled at a medical person, but I can think of many scenarios where I would potentially need to for my own health's sake.

I know one internist who would have called me an obnoxious patient because I "dared" speak back to him on things he was wrong about.  I did it politely, wasn't yelling, and told him why he was wrong, but he scowled at me anyway and still wrote some of the bad info on my medical record.  He was also visibly taken aback when I politely asked how my thyroid lab test was "inconclusive".  It wasn't.  He LIED because he didn't want to write my desperately needed prescription for levothyroxine.  I argued with him, though still didn't raise my voice because I was too young and submissive.  He agreed to and said he would call it in to my pharmacy, except he didn't.  Another lie to get rid of me.

Then there was the nurse who tried to rush me when I was giving myself my first insulin shot ever.  NOONE had showed or explained to me how to do it.  She rolled her eyes at me when I held up the syringe to verify I'd done the dose correctly.  Everyone had been telling me all day how dangerous it is for my blood sugar to drop too low.  It was a rare moment of bravery back in the days when I was too afraid to advocate for myself.

100% agree that people shouldn't be jerks and there is never a reason for physical violence.  But people need to advocate for their own healthcare and their children's because nobody else is going to do it for them.  Don't be afraid to ask questions and keep asking questions if you don't understand or the doctor is being dodgy with answers.  It's easier said than done, I know that the very hard way.  If doctors keep blowing you off and/or don't have answers, do your own research.  Assuming that "if doctors don't know the answers, then I won't either" was one of the biggest mistakes I've made in my life.

levioosa

@short+sassy there are shitty people everywhere. I’ve dealt with way more shitty car salespeople than nice ones, but I’m not an asshole right off the bat to someone I’m meeting for the first time just because the last dude sucked. I don’t care how disillusioned you are with healthcare, telling me to shut up and prescribe you a med without even being willing to discuss your symptoms with me is going to be a no. That’s not me being a bad insensitive provider, that’s being a safe provider. 

Casadena

Yeah, there's a huge difference between advocating for yourself/questioning things and being an asshole to a provider. You can do the first without the second. 

charlotte989875

Casadena said:

Yeah, there's a huge difference between advocating for yourself/questioning things and being an asshole to a provider. You can do the first without the second. 

This exactly. I have to do a lot of advocating for Jack (yesterday especially) because we hear different things from different providers and I’m not a medical expert but I am an expert of my own kid. Even yesterday his ENT told me to keep pushing to get answers and told me I was doing everything right. And I was polite and respectful. 

short+sassy

levioosa said:

@short+sassy there are shitty people everywhere. I’ve dealt with way more shitty car salespeople than nice ones, but I’m not an asshole right off the bat to someone I’m meeting for the first time just because the last dude sucked. I don’t care how disillusioned you are with healthcare, telling me to shut up and prescribe you a med without even being willing to discuss your symptoms with me is going to be a no. That’s not me being a bad insensitive provider, that’s being a safe provider. 

I wasn't questioning your actions and I'm sorry my post came off that way.  It hit a nerve for me on a broader spectrum and it wasn't directed at you, but rereading it I can see I wasn't clear on that at all.  

This isn't directed at anyone.  The "medical worship" and "providers are ALWAYS right" attitudes that our society has really grates on me.  The majority of my medical experiences have been really bad and occasionally dangerous, from doctors being ignorant and/or dismissive of major health concerns I have.  It hasn't just been one provider here and there.  I have trauma and deep anger/betrayal from what I've gone through.  I don't take it out on my providers and it isn't an excuse for other people either.  But I understand where it can come from.  

levioosa

The "doctors are always right" has kind of been dead for awhile. Honestly misinformation and villainization is one of the really big threats right now in health care. I'm not saying we know everything; we don't. I'm not saying there aren't bad providers; there are. But the days of "my doctor is the end all be all" are pretty much gone. People trust Gwyneth Paltrow and RFK more than they trust someone who went through 15-20 years+ of school and that's dangerous. And I get it. I also have some big chronic health problems that were ignored for years and I have post COVID issues that just get written off and it's really frustrating. But there's space for both realities, that patients are being entitled, rude, sometimes violent and that sometimes there are providers who are rude and entitled and dismissive. But I can tell you, overwhelmingly from a provider perspective, the way we are being treated is causing massive burnout. People are leaving in droves. We are about to see a healthcare access crisis the likes of which we have never seen in this country because we can't take abuse from patients and administration and insurance companies and then not break eventually. (and we're not even touching on the devastating Medicaid cuts) We didn't go into healthcare to be dicks to people but we also didn't go into healthcare to be abused and spit out of a system all in the name of "care."