What the Drug Abuse Epidemic Costs Other Patients

OK, I admit it, I'm in recovery. So, yeah, I fall in part of this category.

BUT - since I've been in recovery many years, I also don't fall into this category. I now fall into the "regular, old fashioned patient" category.

Regular patients can't get quality medical care anymore.
I have some conditions that I watch. I don't have the disease, but my conditions are well enough advanced that I expect certain blood tests at least every six months. I can't get my doctor to order the tests. Simple things like blood sugar, weight and balance tests....

Doctors aren't being taught medicine. They aren't being taught to think. Maybe it's the insurance industry that messed everything up. I don't know - maybe the pharmaceutical industry.... It's like there's a pill for every ill, and if you aren't sick - actually exhibiting a disease, doctors don't know what to do anymore.

Since I moved to Tennessee, this is particularly evident. I'm used to world-class medical care. California, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Reno....

But in East Tennessee, there is an epidemic of doctor-caused drug addiction. Opiate addiction, in particular. There is also a healthy weight-loss clinic business, which is uppers, downers, painkillers, HCG, and more.

The doctors around here have resigned themselves to patients who are looking for drugs. When they find someone who is interested in changing their life, changing their health, they - the doctors - either don't know what to do, or they get excited by the prospect of someone in their care actually getting better. Unfortunately, we have many more doctors of the former type than the latter. 

So, people like me, who pretty much know what is going on in their bodies, have an idea of what the protocols are, and are working to avoid developing worse conditions, are lost in the system - or not treated at all. I would love to find one of the doctors who get excited about someone getting better.

I had a doc in Knoxville who wouldn't touch me. Not even to check my glands or see how my reflexes were doing in my legs - which work, but have "issues" from past injuries. Maybe he didn't want to be a doctor. It was really strange.

Here, I have a female who will check me, listen to my heart and stuff, but she won't run the blood tests that I need run. I've asked for the tests and they still don't make it onto the orders.

I don't understand this new medicine. There are more specialists than ever, but nobody is practicing medicine. They are all sticking their heads in the sand. 

I'm not trying to game the system or commit insurance fraud. I'm not looking for drugs. I just want certain conditions watched so that they don't get any worse.

There are several medical colleges around this area - Duke being the best, Vanderbilt being next in line. Then there are state colleges like UT and ETSU. I'm sure there are others that I don't know about, since I'm relatively new - even after 12 years - to this area. There are pharmacy colleges, medical colleges, private and public universities. Why is medicine like this?

Maybe 15 years ago, things changed. I had a family practitioner who did everything. She watched my heart, blood pressure, did my pap smears and sent me for mammograms. When it was time for surgery she sent me to a surgeon to be evaluated. Not for surgery - just to see if it was warranted. True, she missed the asthma, but I never said anything about it, so how could she know? She told me to quit smoking, and I finally did a couple years before it was diagnosed.  

But today, good luck! If you find a doctor who will take the insurance you have (if you have any - even with the ACA, it is expensive) and has openings, you may not get quality medical care. Just because a doctor has the papers, doesn't mean they are any good. I've had burned out shells, doctors who won't touch me, doctors who will refer instead of treat, doctors with staff that were rude, and doctors who you can't even get in to see.

Therapists aren't much better. Drug addiction has caused a booming business in the therapy trade. Only it isn't real therapy. It's teaching coping skills to the uninitiated, and doling out head-meds for depression and anxiety to keep the patient under control. That isn't recovery. No more than suboxone is an answer for opiate addiction. It's just state-sponsored drug addiction - whether suboxone/methadone or head-meds. Same thing.

Finding someone who isn't interested in making their patient a zombie on meds - to help the patient find real healing and mental health - that's a therapist worth his or her weight in gold.

Medicine is a business, true. But it isn't a healing business anymore. I miss the hands-on people we used to have who practiced medicine.

So, even a person who is not addicted will have difficulty finding quality medical care. It's all because the addiction costs are so high. Burn out of physicians who might otherwise be quality caregivers, therapists only interested in what drugs one is on... It's a racket! And the poor patient is the loser.

Intuition - Shimon Perez Funeral

President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and former President Bill Clinton are going to attend the funeral of Shimon Perez.

This gave me bad vibes last night after I heard they were going.
If John Kerry were killed, nothing bad would happen.
If President Obama were killed, Joe Biden would step up and finish the term for him.
If Bill Clinton were killed, it could shake Hillary badly and she might mess up in confronting Donald Trump - she might lash out at him for his thoughtless mouth. That could cost her the election. He's in grave danger...
Not Donald Trump - Bill Clinton.

Just need to document this someplace.

As always when I see something disturbing, I hope I'm wrong.

Housework, Preserving and Canning....

Well, it's that time of year. No matter what writing tasks I set myself, the seasons come upon me and I need to "deal with it."

This year, I've re-discovered the local farmers' market. It's about 4 blocks from my home, but I hadn't been there before. They were extremely generous when it came to the peppers. I needed 2 jalapeno peppers. I ended up with a lot of peppers - more than I knew what to do with.

The produce was amazing! I got grapes, a cantaloupe, some tomatoes, blueberries, peppers in profusion, cucumbers, and white peaches. The peaches turned in less than 3 days and I had to toss them. The only loss....

I've been using the blueberries in protein smoothies and eating the cantaloupe. The grapes are concords and have seeds. The skins are a little tough, but they are very sweet. Almost too sweet. I haven't eaten the cucumbers yet, but that's because no opportunity has presented itself. I keep wanting a salad and then cooking something instead. I'm baking off chickens today so I can eat caesar salad for supper tonight.

Here is the canned produce so far.
The jalapenos (2 small jars in the back) are just pureed with sugar. Don't ask me why - I don't know. I just know that's how it turned out. I removed the seeds before I processed them. The pickled peppers in the front small jar are red chiles and yellow banana peppers. The floating globs in the large jar on the right are 2 chiles in a slightly salty pickle and the tall red on the left is 8 peeled tomatoes, plain.

Peppers are a real pain to peel when you only have an electric stove! I used the broiler setting, but it wasn't very effective. And removing the seeds after - BOY! The capsaicin cleared out my lungs and I coughed a bit.  Even under running water.

I had to get some jars, of course. And by the time I got them, the quarts were gone. Only pint and half jars left. Oh well. I didn't have that size. I wanted some jelly jars, too, but decided against them. Glad I did that.

Housework - well, quarterly cleaning, of course!
Had to do the floors and stove, tub and bathroom, and pick up all the flying cat hair. The mess of cat hair is enough to make even the most hardened cat lover (me) have allergic sinuses. I went through 2 emptyings of the vacuum. I have only the living room rug (5x8) and a small rug (3x4) in the bedroom. But when they sleep on the rugs, cat hair just naturally sticks to the rugs....

As for writing, I finished the book I was reading and I have all the information filed and ready to use.  So, I turned the book in at the library. I guess I'm ready to write and write and write.

I've found other ways to avoid writing - like some crochet projects and an online multiple-player game. Like I need that distraction!

Oh well! The book will get finished when it's ready, I guess. As long as I write a little every day, I'm getting closer to the goal of finished.

How We Are Heard....

How am I heard when I speak to others?

Am I coming off like a "know it all?"
Or a "Grump?"
Am I critical of others?

I might just be really sensitive, but I have physical reactions to people and their comments.

Yesterday, I went to the store. I bought groceries and then went to the in-store bank to get a roll of quarters. While standing there waiting for my change, a store floorwalker/security person asked me to pay for my groceries. I went off on him - angrily stating "I Just Did!" and gave the poor guy flack. I showed my receipt and he apologized.

What did the bank teller think?

I realized within ten minutes that I'd behaved badly. I wanted to apologize, but the fellow wasn't around.

***

Where I live, we have quarterly inspections. It's actually one of the good things about this place because nothing breaks down for very long. But the manager is pretty picky about housekeeping, too.

I'm probably not the world's best housekeeper, but I'm not the worst, either. I had a mother who had her own version of "Mommie Dearest." In my case, it was being woken at 3am to wash all the dishes and pans in the house. My sister became OCD about housekeeping, while I became a slovenly mess.

That improved as I aged, but I'm comfortable in less than pristine surroundings - to an extent. I do keep the kitchen cleaned up and the floors swept. I put things away and hang up clothes. But I'm not going to worry about leaving books around or my purse out in the open. I live alone, and these things allow me to feel comfortable.

But I have a physical reaction to the manager's comments. I get angry and defensive.

I've learned that I need to absent myself from my dwelling during these inspections. I might say something in aggravation that could make life here unbearable or possibly even give her reason to evict me. It's a safety mechanism.

***

Then there was the time a woman was loudly complaining about a man she was divorcing and I mentioned that there was something she loved about him once, and to allow her aggravation and forgive herself while not tearing him up in front of their kid. The child was not present at the time.

I had heard her complaining more than once, and it seemed like she was stuck in her anger. I was tired of hearing it. While this doesn't excuse my behavior, at the time I felt I was saying the right thing.

***

So, how do our comments and opinions affect others?

I recognize that I have some pretty strange ideas and that I'm probably overly-sensitive. How do my ideas compare to others? What can I do differently?

Yesterday, I could have eaten before going shopping. Really, that's a good idea any time you grocery shop.

But how are my comments hurting others, and how are others comments hurting me?

***

In this political season, when everyone has an opinion, I've turned off my receptors online. But how do I do that offline in the real world? How do I ignore bad behavior and not react to it? And how do I stop behaving badly myself?

Comments, anyone?

Saying "Yes"

OK. I've been thinking about this for a LONG time, and the Universe got behind me and provided the coach I needed. I'm starting a training program for Triathlons. Not that I intend to compete, but I want to change my body and my outlook. I've always stopped myself before.

A friend turned out to have been in the same health position I find myself in -without the injuries, which is nice for her - and she turned it around about 9 months ago. Yep, A1c of 7.0+, fasting sugars in the 300s (both my numbers are lower) and weight creeping up. She and I both have sympathetic doctors and have not been "diagnosed" as diabetic. So that's a blessing of a sort...

She began training and lost the weight. She dropped her sugars and A1c to "normal" ranges. She's agreed to coach me into health using the Triathlon training model. 

There's a training model "Couch to -" which takes the subject from a couch potato to competing in some sport - whether it's a 5K or a Triathlon, or even Olympic sports... We are using the "Couch to Triathlon" model found at the Couch to Sprint Triathlon website. It's a simple, accelerated program. 

Since the "competition season" just ended, I'll have nearly a year to get into shape for my first competition - IF I choose to do so. 

I'll post updates as I progress. First is to get into the rhythm of doing it.

My first exercise is going to the pool and swimming 100 meters. I got signed up today. I don't have a suit that fits, but I have a form-fitting tank with a sportsbra and cotton swimming shorts. That will have to do.

A friend has offered me her bike, so I can ride the Tweetsie Trail as part of my biking requirement. I also have a stationary bike in the apartment building I can use.  

As for the Running - well... Doctor England, my knee doctor, doesn't want me on a treadmill. I don't intend to run on this knee, either. So, I'll "speed walk" as best I can to get my hips moving. That will be on the concrete sidewalks around here and the Tweetsie Trail. 

I've mentioned the Tweetsie Trail. This is one of the "rails to trails" projects found in the southeast, and is a pleasant little trail between Johnson City and Elizabethton, TN. It's gravel, packed dirt and concrete. I think there might even be some asphalt patches. It's been popular since it was completed. I live near the Appalachian Trail, so it may become possible that through this training I can hike some of it later on.  

Well, that's the news. Hope I don't disappoint myself by my results. I also hope I can keep up the training and don't flake on myself. I have a LOT of fear about this. Most of the fear has to do with body-image stuff. I get emotional and eat to keep myself heavy so that I don't feel "sexy" and attract men. That is why most of the "diet programs" I've tried haven't worked. There is a lot of emotional baggage that I carry which needs to be worked through. 

Having my coach will help. I have someone I'm accountable to. I have another woman I can talk to about the emotional issues. And truly, both these women can help me with the emotional baggage. I trust them. I also need to trust myself. At times, there WILL be tears. It's OK to cry and go through the pain. It's always better having been through it, when I come out the other side. The issues I'm dealing with are the biggest issues of my life. These are the things that have held me back over and over again. 

How does all this tie back to my book? Well, it's all about Type 2 Diabetes. A body that is overweight has a much higher chance of becoming diabetic. I'm severely at risk. The best example I can provide my readers is a successful outcome.