What's your first thought when you feel yourself starting to get sick?

[Kitty Herder]

Mine is, "This better not get worse, because I can't AFFORD to see a doctor!!" It sort of hit me the other day how fucked up it is that my main concern when ill is not my health, but the fear that I may have to spend money that I don't really have on a doctor's appointment and an expensive prescription.

I've had a nasty cough and my mother remarked that she hoped I'm not getting pneumonia. (I think she was being a little over-dramatic and worrying needlessly, but that's what mothers do.) The first thought that went through my head when she said it was not, "Oh God, I hope I don't get pneumonia because that would suck," but "Oh God, I can't afford to go to the doctor if I do get pneumonia." How fucked up is that?

I know I'm not the only one who has that reaction to illness. At least I only have myself to worry about. I can't imagine what it's like for parents when their children get sick to be torn between the worry for their health and the worry about being able to afford treatment for them.

And it's not just the uninsured like myself. My mother has insurance through her job with the federal government. As far as insurance goes, it's not horrible, but it's not great either. (That's the insurance our congresspeople have and that they keep saying they'd like us all to have.) She had much better insurance when she worked for the local county. Anyway, even with the insurance, she spends thousands on medical costs each year because she has diabetes. Fortunately, she can afford it. But she was telling me about an older lady who worked as a receptionist in her office, who had the same insurance that my mom has, but made considerably less money. This lady was quite ill for a long time, but put off going to the doctor for months because she couldn't afford it, even with her federal insurance. She ended up almost dying from bleeding ulcers.

This is the wealthiest nation in the world! We can spend billions on bailouts for irresponsible, uber-wealthy bankers, and billions more on an aggressive war of choice, yet we can't provide the basic service of healthcare to ALL our citizens?! That is not acceptable!

SINGLE-PAYER, UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE NOW! No half-way measures to appease the public while still providing huge profits for the insurance companies!

Edited to add:

***Do you all think that if we push hard enough, apply enough pressure, and raise holy hell that we can convince our government to provide single-payer health care for all? As much as I love our new President-elect, his healthcare plan is bunk. We'll have a Democratic President, and Democratic majorities in both houses of congress. We have to push for this while the iron is hot! We can't let them pacify us with bullshit measures designed mostly to help the insurance industry. If we do that, the pendulum of political attitudes in this country may swing back the other way in the meantime, and we'll end up with conservatives in power again, and our chance will be lost on this issue for many more years.***

[rurallib]

1. My first thought also. I am very careful walking because a broken

ankle could be disastrous. I am nearing the end of a bad cold. When it started I had exactly the same thoughts you did. And I always play a movie in my mind telling my kids that "doctors are only for the rich in this country. Just let your old man go peacefully." God is this country fucked up.

[On the Road]

2. My First Thought Is:

My mother says to take massive doses of Vitamin C at the first sign of a cold.

[Kitty Herder]

15. Ironically, I think vitamin C may have caused this cough. (Warning: This is kind of gross.)

I have severe acid reflux because of a hiatal hernia. I can usually keep it under control with prilosec that my brother buys for me in massive quantities in Mexico. As long as I take enough prilosec, I can usually eat whatever I want and take whatever supplements I want.

The other day I forgot my usual daily dose of vitamin c until bedtime, so I took it then. Bad idea. REAL bad idea. I woke up coughing up stomach acid. A little bit of acid must have gotten into my trachea and down into my lungs, because it felt like my entire respiratory tract was on fire. It was quite different than my usual acid in the esophagus. My windpipe was swelling up and filling with mucus, my lungs hurt, and even my ears were burning, as if it had gotten into the eustachian tubes. I thought I was going to die. But it passed after a couple of doses of Pepto and a lot of long, deep breaths to suppress the panic. I've been coughing up yuck ever since.

Another reason that I long for good insurance? I'd love to have this hiatal hernia repaired. When I was twenty, and still on my mother's insurance, a gastroenterologist said that surgery was probably a better option for me than taking prilosec every day for the rest of my life. At that time, I'd just had a lot of scar tissue removed from my esophagus by endoscopy to enable me to swallow solid foods again, and it had been extremely painful. I was in no mood for surgery. So I told him I'd wait a few years, and then have surgery. I really, really regret that now. If I'd had it done then when I was still in college and on my mom's insurance, I could have afforded it. Hell, Mom would have paid for what the insurance didn't cover. That was when she had the truly excellent insurance through the county. I've never had insurance that would pay for that surgery since then.

[123infinity]

18. Linus Pauling was an idiot...and an asshole.

Just sayin'

[Kitty Herder]

36. An idiot? I don't think so.

The man won two individual Nobel Prizes. He may have been overly enthusiastic and just plain wrong about vitamin C (although I do think it has benefits), but that one mistake hardly made him an idiot. As for him being an asshole, I have no idea about that.

[emilyg]

55. No. He. Was. Not.

[Lumpsum]

3. I think sums it up nicely.

[BlooInBloo]

4. I've actually never been sick, so I'd probably freak out and think I was dying.

[Kitty Herder]

27. What's your secret? nt

[BlooInBloo]

29. Just lucky, I guess. lol! I assume we're not counting hangovers, I suppose.

[progressive_realist]

79. Not necessarily all luck

I've noticed that I almost never get sick as long as I have a good drink from time to time. But the periods in my life when I go more than about three weeks without a drink, I invariably come down with a cold. I have no idea why this is, but there is definitely a correlation I've noted over many years.

:shrug:

[geniph]

5. "What asshole gave this to me?!"

My first impulse is always to find someone to rag on for making me sick.

[npk]

89. My bad.

It was me. And you're right I am an asshole.

I will cover my mouth next time.

[DesertRat]

6. My first thought is

Crap! Second thought is I'd better get things ready for a substitute teacher. I work for a large school district so I fortunately have insurance. But I only go to the Dr. if it's really bad. For a cold I take extra Vit. C, Echinacea and Cold-Eeze.

[sunnystarr]

39. Cold-Eeze active ingredient is zinc.

Zand makes an hermalozenge called elderberry zinc which has 5 mg zinc per lozenge. Or you can take a zinc supplement. When I feel a cold coming on I take 500 mg of C every hour the first day and of course echinacea. This kept me from the immediate bronchitis I always get if untreated and I avoided antibiotics for like over 3 years - which is pretty good when you have COPD.

However, I moved to an apartment and my son threw out my stash so I got the dreaded bronchitis and was put on a zpack and prednizone. After a few days another bug got me and 4 days later I was in the emergency room only to find out that if I waited till the afternoon I would have been dead. So I spent 6 days in the hospital and got home a few days ago. Now I have oxygen at home for emergencies.

The good news is that I survived the years of waiting without insurance until I hit 65 this May and finally had Medicare. If I didn't have it I would never have gone to the doctor or the emergency room and wouldn't be here to type this.

We all need to apply as much pressure as possible to have a single payer system so that all people can get the health care they are entitled to. I am convinced that this would be Obama's most important legacy and I hope he has the courage to scrap his original plan for one that will cover everyone. Health care should be a right not a priviledge!

[Demobrat]

7. Do I have any Nyquil?

My cure for EVERYTHING is to drink Nyquil and sleep until it goes away.

[Sal Minella]

11. I used to do that with Blackberry Brandy. Was still sick, but didn't care.

[Art_from_Ark]

37. Nyquil used to be more effective

It seems like they took out the most effective ingredient, but yeah, Nyquil before bed and a good night's sleep can work wonders for me before things really start getting out of hand.

[Kitty Herder]

49. I think they took out the pseudoephedrine.

And no, it doesn't work as well anymore. (I tried it last night. Still didn't sleep well.)

[Art_from_Ark]

64. Ah, that was it

The pseudoephedrine would kill a bad cold even after it had gotten started. But with the new Nyquil, I have to take it as soon as the first symptoms appear.

And there used to be a great hay fever medicine called Triminicin, but it's been off the shelves for a while now. I wonder if it also contained pseudoephedrine?

[Kitty Herder]

65. I'm not familiar with Triminicin, but you can still get products containing pseudoephedrine

if you go to the pharmacy counter and ask for them. People use the pseudoephedrine to make meth, so they made a law that it has to be kept behind the counter to prevent that. I think that's a good thing. Unfortunately, some brands, like nyquil changed their formulas to exclude the pseudoephedrine.

[Art_from_Ark]

66. Interesting

I spend most of the year out of the States, so I can't keep up with all the changes. On recent trips bask to the States, I did ask some local pharmacies about Triminicin, but they didn't have any idea what I was talking about. Sold in tablet form. I have no idea about what it takes to make meth, but it seems like trying to extract pseudoephedrine from those expensive tablets wouldn't be worth the cost and effort.

[Mojambo]

8. Work is going to suck big time for the next couple of weeks.

No sick days means sickness lingers MUCH longer.

[Vadem]

9. Go to earthclinic.com and find a remedy....n/t

[tabatha]

10. Prevention is the best bet.

Vitamin C is important - also the balance of acidic/alkaline foods:

"Microforms like bacteria, yeasts and fungi create acidic toxins in
your body. Not only do they “show-up” in an acidic body, they also
pollute and further acidify your body. For this reason, it is important
to cleanse & detoxify your body in order to jumpstart the process of
balancing your pH."


More information at:

http://www.phionbalance.com/App_UI/site/pHion/Public/Acid-Alkaline-Foods-Chart-And-Recipes-Book.aspx

It is a free downloadable PDF which is really very neat.

[Cleita]

14. Please don't be so naive.

Prevention does not prevent old age and the diseases that will inevitably come with it no matter how healthily you try to live. It will also not prevent the unexpected accident that could happen that could cause crippling and chronic diseases, nor the cancer that has been lurking undetected no matter how well you take care of yourself.

[tabatha]

41. I was talking about the flu - which I have not had in 10 years.

But good eating habits and lifestyle make old age manageable - as opposed to diseased. All doctors and nutritionists know that.
By the way, what do you base your "knowledge" on - how many books have you read - how much research have you read?

My parents lived as per the standards of their day, and had ulcers, and surgeries that I have never had - because I lived better: no smoking and no alcohol. I hope to live a healthy and active lifestyle well into my old age, and I am at an age when many people are thinking of retirement.

So, I will keep by naivety, thanks.

[Cleita]

44. Your standards are what the health insurance industry have been

pushing on everyone in order to insure healthy people and eliminate those who actually need health care. Yes, the wellness mantra. It's a very cynical ploy they do to find those who are developing a condition that might actually need some health care. When that condition pops up after all the wellness care, like the yearly physicals and labs, then they will do what they can to dump you from the insurance, or make your premium so high your employer refuses to pay it anymore. Please don't spread that here. Sick people need access to health care regardless of how they have lived their lifestyle. I can guarantee you that people I have known who really took care of themselves, no smoking, no drinking, lots of good food and exercise died of cancer anyway and to deny them the health care they needed to get through it is what the insurance companies are trying to do.

[tabatha]

46. Boy, you twist words.

I was not talking about the health care industry.
I was talking about what one can do oneself.

By the way, Obama believes in prevention, too. It will save billions of dollars, and reduce healthcare costs.

[Cleita]

50. Honey, I'm not twisting anything.

What you suggest is only a very small part of health care, but it's a dangerous meme pushed by the insurance industry to not cover people who need health care. Please don't bring it here. Most people really do try to prevent because they can't afford the cost in wages if they have to miss work, so it's really a non-issue.

[tabatha]

80. Where did I say this?

"dangerous meme pushed by the insurance industry to not cover people who need health care"

I NEVER REPEAT NEVER REPEAT NEVER said anything about the health care industry.

You need to read properly.

[Cleita]

83. You didn't, but you believe that the whole solution to health care is

preventive care. If you eat the right vegetables you will never get sick or the flu in ten years according to you as you mentioned. Now tell me you didn't say this? You got this from the insurance industry propaganda machine like in health magazines maybe. Only you know where you received this final message that seems to end all discussion about health care. It's what they do, the insurance industry. We are actually talking about the seriousness of single payer universal health care here for people who through no fault of their own get sick and do need access to health care. When you bring up crap like this many of us will try to correct you.

[Quantess]

92. Prevention is a real issue.

I have to jump in here.
"Most people really do try to prevent..?"

Most people have one or more bad habits that detract from optimal health. Poor diet, no exercise, overeating, not getting enough sleep...and that's just for starters. I wonder what your idea of prevention is, that "most people" actually do? Beyond wearing seat belts.

[Cleita]

93. So when they need health care should they be denied it because

they didn't follow some rules? Really, that is such a hokey argument. I work in health care and I know most people do what they can to remain healthy and keep their kids healthy, but there isn't a magic potion to prevent illness.

[Quantess]

98. No, not at all. I'm not saying that at all.

Suffering poor health from ones own bad habits is punishment enough. To deny health care would be adding insult to injury.

I have been without health insurance most of my life (including right now), and it's a risky situation. I have to rely on my excellent health and good luck to keep me away from the doctor. The health part, I can work on. The luck part is not fully in my control.

We already know that car accidents and scorpion bites can happen to anyone. You're just pooh-poohing good health habits, as though none of it mattered.

[Cleita]

100. All I'm poo pooing is an insurance company talking point that

people are responsible for their bad health. Maybe that's true for 2% of the population. Otherwise, it's a cynical ploy that allows them to deny coverage. That's what the wellness care and prevention memos are about. Most people do their best to be healthy because they have to be. If a person's health fails it's usually due to circumstances beyond their control. No one should be denied health care because they couldn't take care of their health as well as some corporate entity has deemed as a guideline and they shouldn't deny it to that 2% either. I had a friend who was denied health care because he was a smoker. Yes, his disease, emphysema was smoke related but he had started smoking back when everyone smoked, including doctors and the tobacco industry lied about its health effects. He was addicted, in itself a medical condition that should have been treated, however, the insurance company never had a program for that, because it would have cost them money. Fortunately for my friend, he was a WWII veteran and was able to get treatment at the VA.

[Quantess]

104. That's horrible. You're a health care worker so you come face to face with these stories.

I was just relating from my own perspective. I'm not quite a health-nazi, but close. Bad habits are hard to change, and it's not about being judgmental, it's just the truth that many people are worsening their own health by their actions. They can change their ways if they care to, but regardless, if they need health care, they need it.

That is so terrible that insurance companies can deny care to people.
I always thought that health companies stressed "prevention" because it would save them money by their insured not having to see a doctor as often.

[Profprileasn]

102. Prevention is cheaper than a Dr bill

Lifestyle changes and taking care of your body is cheaper in the long run. Hands down. Fell a lot better too. Exercise and eating right have less side effects than pills.

[Kitty Herder]

31. I'm all for prevention, but there are limits to what it can do.

You can't prevent all accidents or diseases. It's impossible. And many people are born with hereditary or congenital diseases.

We live in a world where illnesses can be treated much more effectively than they were in the past. Everyone has a right to that treatment, simply because they are human.

[tabatha]

43. It is better to live healthily where possible.

There are too many people who have eaten their ways into disease.

I was not saying prevention is a cure-all.

[Cleita]

45. Most of the people who eat their way into disease are poor people who

are stuck with fast food, food stamps and food pantrys. They don't have a good choice of fancy vegetables, salads, and fresh fish. But when they get sick, they need health care.

[tabatha]

47. Vegetables are not expensive.

I agree that poor people cannot afford the wide range of food wealthier people can - but I have been poor, too. I supported a child and myself on $40 a week, and managed to remain healthy.

[Donnachaidh]

51. and who supplemented that 40 bucks a week?

Did you live under someone else's roof? And if so, YOU did not deal with the problems of the poor.

[tabatha]

81. No-one supplemented anything.

I did not live under anyone else's roof.

[Hannah Bell]

91. what year?

rent?
power?
water?


I don't believe you could rent a studio, let alone pay bills & groceries, for $160/month, unless you had a special below market deal.

If so, that is not most people's situation. So quit patting yourself on the back.

I've got an MS, RD in Nutrition. Most people's ill-health is not from "eating themself into it" & won't be cured by nutrition either.

[Cleita]

53. Good for you and as I said

most people really do try to be healthy because they can't afford to be off work. So the need for universal health care is really about when it goes beyond that.

[undergroundpanther]

71. poor people

are hated in this country and blamed for the situations they face.And I get really sick of middle class people telling me I can afford food I can't afford.
Live on around 300 bucks a month,pay the bills and tell me what you can afford than.






What can you eat for $3 a day? Mostly carbohydrates. Oakland Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee's diet consisted primarily of crackers, a loaf of whole-wheat bread, tortillas, and brown rice. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, filled up on 19-cent banana-and-peanut butter sandwiches. Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., said he would've killed for a candy bar or a cup of coffee. "I've had enough lentils for three years. For us, this is an exercise that ends Tuesday. For millions of people, this is their life," he said.


Feeling full on $3 a day is one challenge; eating nutritionally is virtually impossible. Illinois Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky's week's worth of fruits and vegetables consisted of one tomato, one potato, a head of lettuce, and five bananas.


Health problems are a likely result of the food stamp diet because the cheapest foods are carbs: bread, tortillas, crackers, rice, beans, ramen and noodles. It's easy to see why type 2 diabetes is an epidemic in America. No longer is it called adult-onset diabetes because it affects so many children. Eric Schockman, president of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, noted other problems after a week eating a lot of canned beans and generic macaroni and cheese (because his childhood favorite brand was too expensive). The diet "was physically debilitating and emotionally exhausting. I was lethargic and found that I lacked my usual enthusiasm for getting through the day. I had difficulty reading, writing, communicating - doing anything other than anticipating (and, in some ways, dreading) my next meal."


Certainly, not all poor, diabetic, and overweight people make wise food choices, but for the poor, wise choices aren't as available. Unlike those who took the one-week challenge, they don't have a newspaper to search for sales or a car to drive to the stores featuring them. In Sunnyvale, there are only two supermarkets north of El Camino Real. Rather than paying bus fares for themselves and children, our clients usually walk to smaller neighborhood markets that don't carry the volume of fresh fruits and vegetables necessary for affordable prices
http://foodstampchallenge.typepad.com/

[Kitty Herder]

75. Thanks for that informative post.

It's hard to understand what it's like if you haven't been there. I've had to survive on ramen noodles, rice and beans, and peanut butter sandwiches in my life. It ain't exactly healthy.

[undergroundpanther]

82. yeah I know.

But government cheese, it actually tastes good.It isn't velveeta. I'm not sure what it is made of. Maybe it's like margarine or sausage making,a mystery better left unknown?..
We got these blocks of govt.cheese because my father was military,and we were poor.When I was a kid my mom would make us grilled cheese and tomato soup.But that was in the 70's. Now I am disabled,and it's really hard to eat decent now,a can of the same soup now costs over a buck a can.Seemed wealth was more evenly distributed back than.. Sometimes I luck out,get some donated fruit,a gift or something.

[FirstLight]

78. Thanks, you just outlined much of MY issues

I don't have diabetes, but I have auto immune issues that are out of control because of the "poverty diet"...my poor kids get good meals from school free lunch at least (sarcasm)

I have taken nutrition classes, I also believe ALOT in Holistic medicine and prevention...but when the chips are down, I am exhausted from survival and all I can scrape up is the cheep 3 for a dollar mac-n - cheeze and some baby carrots. not much for the kiddies, but sometimes all we have is frozen vegies and carbs...

[Cleita]

84. You are preaching to the choir here now let

tabatha know that too. She seems to think getting fat is people's fault who don't eat properly.

[Profprileasn]

103. Vegetarian

A vegetarian lifestyle is very inexpensive. Beans and rice are very cheap.

[Cleita]

12. I used to feel like you until I got old enough for Medicare.

Then I felt some health security. But now the neo-cons are doing their best to break Medicare and I fear that I won't find doctors in the future who will take it. If that happens the big disease that eventually all elderly people get before they die won't be treated, and that would be awful for old people with end stage diseases.

[123infinity]

20. Life is a sexually transmitted, terminal condition.

Yeah, it really does suck. :-)

[Trajan]

13. "I cannot miss work ..."

[Mind_your_head]

16. In a similar vein, I don't 'do' some things, b/c I can't afford to slip/fall

and break something. For instance, I have some heavier outdoor summer items that need to go up into the garage attic for the winter. Right now those items are in my garage waiting for my kids to come home from college on Thanksgiving break to put them up in the attic for me (they have insurance - I don't).

Even though I PROBABLY could put that stuff up there without injuring myself, I don't want to take the chance ~ wouldn't be worth it. The kids are more nimble and just as strong, if not stronger than I am....and they are insured.

So, yes, when you don't have insurance, there are a WHOLE LOT of things that you look differently at/constrain yourself from doing because you don't want to run the risk of injuring yourself while you are uninsured (there are many different other examples I could give along this line - I'm sure I'm not alone with this either and there are others who could share their stories).

[laststeamtrain]

17. First thought: Where's Cheney? n/t

[codjh9]

19. Me too, because I have ins. with a big deductible. n/t

[Earth_First]

21. Zinc + Vitamin C

But otherwise: "Oh sh*t! I can neither afford the office visit nor the time off from work."

[Kitty Herder]

23. Blecchh! Don't talk to me about vitamin C!

See my post #15. If you're brave.

[Ready4Change]

22. "It's ok. He'll be out of office in January"

After I remember that all traces of nausea and headache vanish!

[Kitty Herder]

24. LOL!

[Dervill Crow]

25. Dammit, why didn't I opt for long-term disability?

I have health insurance, but I'm getting a bit long in the tooth and have risk factors where things can start going wrong beyond the usual cold and flu. Co-workers around my age have been felled by heart attacks and strokes and broken bones, and I simply cannot afford time off work.

If I had really considered the fact that I would live beyond 50, I'd have taken much better care of myself in my 30s and 40s!

[Donnachaidh]

26. I worry more for family members with NO insurance.

Living in an area that *hides* it's unemployed, we cannot find a doctor willing to take less than full payment upon walking in the door.

[EFerrari]

28. Denial. n/t

[TripleKatPad]

30. If I get the slightest twinge or sniffle

All my friends can predict my reaction: it's a brain tu-mah! (What they don't know is that 75% of the time I believe it could be true.)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

32. My first thought is

Where is my monolauren and arabanogalactin? These are two items that can help with the kind of sicknesses I tend to get.

I'm lucky in that I work for a non-profit health education foundation. We help everyone.

[Kitty Herder]

33. Huh?

I'm not familiar with those two things.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

56. Arabanolgalactin

is a sap from the larch tree, and has been found to be an anti-inflammatory among other things. The brand we use is called Immune One--you may wish to google it to find out more. Monolauren, or lauric acid, works to keep viruses from being able to make a coating around themselves so that our immune systems can take care of them.

[Kitty Herder]

60. Thanks for the info.

I hadn't heard of those, which is strange, because I like to keep up on nutritional and health info.

[bonito]

34. K&R n/t

[gristy]

35. My only thought is that I'm going to feel like hell for a few days

I rarely need to go to the doctor when I get sick.

[Mira]

38. It is precisely what I think, and I rarely go to the doctor even if need to.

It enraged me that I pay close to 500 a month for health Incurance, but the deductibles are always making me have to pay. I have an accident rider, and a badly sprained foot that had to be put into abeyance in a boot that made it immobile cost me about 500 bucks 3 months ago because of the deductible for the accident rider and because I did not have a rider for "hardware" (the boot)

When I talk to my family members in Germany and they say they went to the doctor to get something checked out, or the hospital for tests, I'm glad for them but really envious.

What we are having to put up with is utterly disgraceful.
Health care should be about caring for people's health, not about a profit.

[Kitty Herder]

40. Absolutely!

Profiting from illness and accidents is immoral. I'd like to see the insurance companies put out of business.

[graywarrior]

42. Same here.

[SmileyRose]

48. I can't afford to miss a day of work for a cold, let alone something doctor worthy.

I accepted long ago that I will die young and poor.

[Spectral Music]

52. My first thought: 1/20/09

Then I feel better. :)

[Mari333]

54. I think "Oh good maybe I wont outlive

my retirement funds."

[dysfunctional press]

57. if even 10% of the uninsured in the u.s. were to converge on DC- they'd notice.

they might even listen.

[Kitty Herder]

59. I think you're right.

But most people who don't have insurance, can't afford to go to D.C., so it would have to be limited to those who live in the area.

[dysfunctional press]

61. as more and more people lose their jobs- it's not like they'll have anything else to do.

people could carpool their way there.

[Kitty Herder]

63. Good point. nt

[OxQQme]

58. Cayenne powder - It won't help for broken bones

but for a lot of other maladies:
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/cayenne.htm

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/cayenne.htm

[Kitty Herder]

62. Cayenne is a big no-no for me, unfortunately.

Taking something that exacerbates my acid-reflux (vitamin C) is what caused the cough in the first place. Cayenne scares the bejeebers out of me.

[Berry Cool]

67. My first thought (it usually begins the night before I'm going to wake up with a cold) is

"Aw, crap. This means I'm going to have to have total recall of every project I'm working on that has to keep moving while I'm out sick, and drag myself conscious in the morning long enough to call/email in sick, write a description for my boss of everything I'm working on and how to find it so someone else can keep it moving, and change my email message and voice mail messages at work to indicate that I'm out of the office. Because God forbid someone should email me or call me and expect me to do work and not realize that I'm not around, and it should fall through the cracks and not get done, and I be blamed for that state of affairs. Oh, and I have to make sure I do that for every day I stay out."

And then, after doing all that and falling back into bed to try to sleep my illness away, I think to myself, "Having to do all that before I can just crawl back into bed and rest is a pain in the ass...but at least I have a job. And glory be, they actually PAY me when I stay home feeling like this."

[undergroundpanther]

68. I remember when I had no insurance

and my cat bit my hand. I was yet to learn he had cancer and I was giving him prednisone so he could get a biopsy..Prednisone made him loopy and he bit my hand. I tried to home doctor it.(DO NOT EVER DO THIS WITH A CAT BITE BTW.)The next day my hand was aching red,swollen and very hot.I went to patient first. I saw the doctor there and she said I had to go to the ER for IV antibiotics ASAP..I cried my eyes out in her office hearing that.I begged her for oral antibiotics instead .She said the infection was too serious and deep in my hand...for that. I cried,more..At the hospital I was told I would be staying overnight.I cried again..

Not because I might have lost my hand,or got blood poisoning that could have killed me,(there was a red streak making it's way up my arm too) but I cried out of fear over the hospital bill.
I didn't cry over the danger I was in,or fear of losing my hand or dying,I was crying over the DREAD of the BILL.
when I got home I found out my cat had cancer and he was dying.
I cried again. He died three months later.

In a situation like a cat bite or any other health issue , no one should be crying in dread over the bill.
This is the fault of the greed of the wealthy.Their insatiable greed WARPS even your own health priorities into nonsense because of the threat a medical bill represents..
It's evil this lack of health care situation.Really.

Now when I get a cold it is, oh shit, my throat is swelling up. I have to go to the doctor because when my throat swells huge bone spurs could scrape my esophagus open and there are big arteries in there.(I have huge bone spurs in my neck.) But luckily I have MA now.I am so glad I do because every time my throat swells it could kill me,It has swollen to the point I could not drink anything,and it has cut my air intake to 70%.So if it swells I could rapidly bleed to death, drown in my own blood if the spurs dig into the esophagus.. And I am not kidding.
If I had to deal with this issue without insurance every cold would be a terrifying time for me.

[flvegan]

69. Keep clicking PAST Fox News.

[Kitty Herder]

70. Sorry for being dense, but what does Faux News have to do with it? nt

[flvegan]

72. If I pause on Fox, I start to feel sick. Common happening.

[Kitty Herder]

73. LOL

I understand now. Fortunately, I don't get Fox on my T.V.

[flvegan]

76. You lucky so-and-so.

This fantasy, Fox-free world you live in...is there an alien king?

[Kitty Herder]

77. Come, join me in my fantasy land.

Unfortunately, I think you have to give up your cable or satellite. That's why I don't have fox news. I only have an antenna.

Edited to add: If I'm gonna have an alien king, this is the one I want :loveya::

[FirstLight]

74. How about the hours missed at work due to a sick kid or self?

I can't aford to miss another day of work because they kids get sick, and then they usually give it to me and I have a compromised immune system and I end up being down for over a week!

Right now I am on 'probation' at one of my PT jobs because of too much time missed, and then they are cuting my hours to 10 a week come January. I don;t know how we are going to make it. There were only 10 jobs in the classified section today, nobody is hiring!

[marlakay]

85. My first thought is shit I have no sick pay!

When i worked full time in the city i did but now i am semi retired in small town and work 4 days a week part time hourly work with NO, Nada, zero benefits other than hourly wage.

I have medical through my husband so thats okay but when i get sick first thought is i hope it doesn't get bad enough i have to stay home.

[aroach]

86. It's not just you.

I recently took antibiotics that belonged to my 60 pound dog when it looked like I had pneumonia. (I would know as I'm very prone to pneumonia.) If the kids get sick I worry far more about the possibility of needing a doctor than I do the child.

On edit: I know someone will wonder how come the dog has antibiotics if the people can't go to the doctor. The vet costs less than $30 for an office call. Last time I went to our doctor it cost nearly $200. No one has been back since.

[mb7588a]

87. Now also imagine if you found a nasty mole or a lump...

This fear of going to a doctor because of the potential cost causes people to DIE. Eff America for that.

[Quantess]

99. Yes. It causes people with no insurance to skip the doctor

until the condition gets so bad that they have to go to the ER. At least in the Emergency Room, they will usually treat you even if you don't have insurance.

And if they can't or don't pay the bill, the cost gets passed along to others.

Pretty rotten situation.

[leftofthedial]

88. "60 fucking days until the inaugural!

"I'll never make it that long!"

is usually what I think.

[orleans]

90. my first thought: SHIT! n/t

[bluecollarcharlie]

94. My first thought is..

Fuuuuuck! Then my second thought is "Thank God i've got a union that went to bat for me to get and receive good health care".
Although lately it's been more like "We will all be fucked if the Republicans succeed in getting help from the Demo-cowards to break the UAW and throw the country down the toilet." for some reason every time i think of that i get a blistering headache followed by being VERY pissed-off.

[JJ]

95. I can't find a doctor.

I have insurance, but haven't had a doctor since my last one moved away in 2004.

[Skittles]

96. panic

I don't get sick very often - 7 years it took last time - but when I do I get very, very ill indeed :(

[ravencalling]

97. What happens when they get sick?

An old co-worker of mine when I used to work for a lumber company. She was raised with pretty much a silver spoon and was blissfully ignorant of those who were less well to do. She asked me one day as she was watching the minimum wage workers arrive - the company did not have insurance benefits for them, what do they do when they get sick? I stated that if it was really bad, they would go to the local emergency room for treatment. She didn't believe me. "But they don't have any money! Why would the hospital accept them! That's not right!".She said who pays for it? I replied, we do. I was left wondering if she just thought they wandered off in the woods to die. ??!!.

Anyways she would watch these people as if they were bugs in a jar. Less then human. Well probably in her mind not human at all, just some other species of animal working outside of her office window.

I will never forget this rather bizarre exchange. Health care - it's not for the little people.

[LibDemAlways]

101. My husband recently had some very minor surgery on

his hand. We are insured, but between the usual premium, the deductibles, and the co-pays, the insurance is a complete joke. The out of pocket expense is already close to $1000.00 and counting.