Radio won't happen this week... or perhaps for the rest of 2021 (update: Radio BACK, but I had terrible ER visit riddled with incompetence)

[Sanlmar]

There is a guy in our neighborhood for whom I have become something of a benefactor.

He has been crippled by gout. He is 50 but shuffles about like he is 90. His fingers are gnarled. He cannot stand upright, etc. He was in a lot of pain when I first started helping him.

He just needed things done. Changing air conditioning filters and common mechanical shit that had long been ignored. He was extremely and painfully lonely and I’d hang out a bit watching a Patriots game together or a movie. I’d buy take out and bring it back.

He used to power lift. I have seen trophies hidden in closets. He went to one of the grittiest, hardcore gyms in our area back in the day. One room literally had a dirt floor. Legendary shit. He knows what racket I’m in.

Sports supplements in the 90’s are a whole topic and I never inquired what he might have taken. (We all wondered what the long term effects creatine and worse might be.) That whole topic would only lead to judgment.

As I spent more time with him it started to become clear to me there was a mental health issue at play. His debilitating gout was the result of ignoring the issue. He just refused to go to the doctor and he was enabled somewhat by a mother who at 90 is spry and lively despite never going to the doctor herself. She’s prolly nuts too.

I cannot understand how he ignored it. The pain Druff is feeling now he lived with for over a decade. Just willing it away. Really a strange tale.

The guy lived in a reality distortion field. Any hint of negativity was avoided by him. I was a problem in this regard. To some degree I wasn’t good for him because negativity and questioning the status quo is kinda my brand. He loved the Patriots and he didn’t want to share my fascination with the Kraft/Belichick Brady drama, for instance. It had to always be happiness and light. I can only do happiness and light in small doses.

So my good will and charity ends up not entirely positive for either him or me. Life is complicated even when you’re working hard at not being a self absorbed douche.

Anyway, he suffered an episode that landed him in the hospital and he later mentioned allopurinol (split knows stuff). Apparently, it’s proven a miracle drug for him albeit too late.

[Dan Druff]

I will say this: IF they prescribed meds without asking him what he was already taking, that is a serious error. So serious that I'm inclined to doubt that it actually happened that way, but if it did then that's something that should be followed up on.

Oh, it happened.

In fact, I wasn't just prescribed them errroneously. I raised an issue about it, told them what I was on, and asked to speeak to the doctor about it.

The nurse went to the PA and told her this. The nurse came back said, "The doctor said it's okay, they're so similar they won't interact. Take them anyway."



I was also told that my potassium levels were "a little low" and to "at least take the potassium pill we're prescribing."

I said, "I'm already taking a prescription potassium pill."

Nurse said, "Oh really? Then I guess you don't need it. I'll remove both."




So they not only failed to ask what meds I was taking, but when I was double-prescribed something I was already on, I was told to take it anyway!

BTW I have since been told that it was good that I questioned it, because taking more of that medication could have made my condition even worse!

This is actually what I plan to be the centerpiece of my complaint, because it's right in their records (or at least it should be) that they have no list of meds for me, tried to prescirbe something, and I refused it.

[Dan Druff]

Anyway thanks to those who wished me well and/or gave gout advice. I have a number of texts from radio listeners, as well, who suffer from gout and are telling me how they are managing it. I appreciate those, as well.

Bottom line is I went to an ER, was refused to see a doctor (or even a PA) the entire way, and the process was such a clusterfuck with basically nobody in charge that I was double-prescribed existing meds, and then told to take them anyway when I objected.

Anyone who defends this is a drooling retard.

[Pablo]

How careful do you have to be with Colchicine?

The big local murder case here was a young woman who killed her employer/ex-boyfriends mother with Cochicine that she ordered off the internets.

She tried to plant evidence in the ex boyfriends car. She was convicted and got 20 to life.

The odd thing was that it didn't appear she had motive. And there was a good amount of support for her because a pretty young woman wouldn't do that.

[Dan Druff]

Regarding medical debt:

If you already have bad or mediocre credit, and there's medical debt on it, then it can affect your credit situation to where it might push some decisions from "YES" to "NO".

If you already have excellent or good credit, you shouldn't worry about it.

Mom-and-pop places which check credit (such as landlords) aren't going to care about medical debt, if everything else looks good. That's long been the case.

Places like potential employers which check credit also will not care about medical debt if everything else looks good. The goal for that credit check is to see if you're a responsible individual, and if you're hurting for money (and thus more likely to fuck them over). If everything is cool except medical debt, that's fine.

Large entites checking your credit, such as banks, will usually only care about medical debt if it's either very large or indicative of a great problem (such as a ton of other debt). This will be reflected in your credit score anyway, typically.

If I owed the hospital $500k, and I went for a home loan, it's possible that the bank might balk at it, even without other debt, because they'd worry that the hospital could take legal action, and affect my ability to repay the loan. However, if they saw a debt for $500, there's little chance they would care.

In short, yes, it can affect your credit score, but in practical life applications, small-to-medium medical debt will not hinder your life or credit situation, if the rest of your credit picture looks at least decent. This is in fact why I advise cash-strapped friends to pay all other debts first, and virtually ignore the medical debt until they're fully back on their feet, and even then refuse to pay if the price was either super-inflated or erroneous.

This is also why individuals like me with good credit shouldn't be terrified of "collections" threats, and rather stand firm on their principles. BTW, I don't have any medical debt, in case you're wondering. In any dispute, I have always been able to come to a resolution.

[Dan Druff]

How careful do you have to be with Colchicine?

The big local murder case here was a young woman who killed her employer/ex-boyfriends mother with Cochicine that she ordered off the internets.

She tried to plant evidence in the ex boyfriends car. She was convicted and got 20 to life.

The odd thing was that it didn't appear she had motive. And there was a good amount of support for her because a pretty young woman wouldn't do that.

Never heard of a problem with it if taken as directed.

I'm actually going to ask for this tomorrow at the doctor, for the next time this occurs.

I'm guessing the murderer got a ton of it.

[splitthis]

Colchicine is given short term for gout attacks only because prolonged use causes kidney damage.

[limitles]

Colchicine is given short term for gout attacks only because prolonged use causes kidney damage.

I hate to join the pity party but I've just been diagnosed with triple COVID and raging anal fissures. Surprisingly I've never felt better and have been asked to model Haute couture by a popular online clothier.

[khalwat]

Hope you get this addressed, and get on the mend soon, Druff.

Would recommend focusing on getting better, and not wasting too much time/anxiety on the ER room trip.

Once you're feeling better, you can revisit the ER.

[GrenadaRoger]

best cure for Druff is to rub a $50 bill against his forehead

[jsearles22]

I’m only halfway into this abomination of a thread, but I had to say this B2B post by Druff made me chuckle:

I walked in fearing a heart issue

Anyway, thanks for the well wishes. The past week has been quite difficult. You don't know how awful it is to not be able to walk until you can't walk.

[jsearles22]

Anyway thanks to those who wished me well and/or gave gout advice. I have a number of texts from radio listeners, as well, who suffer from gout and are telling me how they are managing it. I appreciate those, as well.

Bottom line is I went to an ER, was refused to see a doctor (or even a PA) the entire way, and the process was such a clusterfuck with basically nobody in charge that I was double-prescribed existing meds, and then told to take them anyway when I objected.

Anyone who defends this is a drooling retard.

From my limited knowledge, most ERs have pretty basic intake paperwork. Are you currently on medication has been on every form and asked every time I’ve gotten medical treatment my entire life. I simply can’t fathom it was never asked either in writing or verbally.

[Dan Druff]

Anyway thanks to those who wished me well and/or gave gout advice. I have a number of texts from radio listeners, as well, who suffer from gout and are telling me how they are managing it. I appreciate those, as well.

Bottom line is I went to an ER, was refused to see a doctor (or even a PA) the entire way, and the process was such a clusterfuck with basically nobody in charge that I was double-prescribed existing meds, and then told to take them anyway when I objected.

Anyone who defends this is a drooling retard.

From my limited knowledge, most ERs have pretty basic intake paperwork. Are you currently on medication has been on every form and asked every time I’ve gotten medical treatment my entire life. I simply can’t fathom it was never asked either in writing or verbally.

I didn't fill out any paperwork at all. You're correct that it's always on any intake paperwork at any doctor's office.

A nurse took some info from me shortly after I showed up, in the triage area. I think they forgot to ask it, left it blank (as if I was on no meds), and then that was assumed for the rest of my visit.

Even worse was the PA's instruction to "take it anyway" when they double-prescribed the meds I was already taking, and I informed them of their error. Keep in mind that it wasn't the identical medication (but did the exact same thing), so I only discovered the problem when I asked what type of meds they were asking me to take, and realized it was something I was already taking. Also the PA was refusing to come out and talk to me about any of this, and was just sending messages back and forth through the nurse.

In general the entire visit had a vibe of a combo of incompetence, arrogance, and apathy. Pretty much everything I tried to explain or asked was ignored, and they seemed to just be looking for keywords, such as "ankle swelling".

[adamantium]

Anyway thanks to those who wished me well and/or gave gout advice. I have a number of texts from radio listeners, as well, who suffer from gout and are telling me how they are managing it. I appreciate those, as well.

Bottom line is I went to an ER, was refused to see a doctor (or even a PA) the entire way, and the process was such a clusterfuck with basically nobody in charge that I was double-prescribed existing meds, and then told to take them anyway when I objected.

Anyone who defends this is a drooling retard.

Pretty sure the bottom line is you had no business visiting to the ER in the first place

[Dan Druff]

Anyway thanks to those who wished me well and/or gave gout advice. I have a number of texts from radio listeners, as well, who suffer from gout and are telling me how they are managing it. I appreciate those, as well.

Bottom line is I went to an ER, was refused to see a doctor (or even a PA) the entire way, and the process was such a clusterfuck with basically nobody in charge that I was double-prescribed existing meds, and then told to take them anyway when I objected.

Anyone who defends this is a drooling retard.

Pretty sure the bottom line is you had no business visiting to the ER in the first place

Was late Saturday night and it was either that or nothing. Too many signs of something possibly dangerous. It turned out not to be, but it's very standard for people to go to the ER for this sort of thing at my age.

If it were like 5am Monday morning, I'd wait a few hours and just go to a regular doctor.

Besides, they weren't busy at all, so this wasn't taking anything away from anyone. It's actually their job by state law to provide competent care, and they failed. The problem isn't on my end for deciding to go to the ER when a Norwegian Nazi and a Reb Lobster obsessed plumber disagree.

[splitthis]

You always have a right to question your medical care. You have a right to accept or reject any medical treatment (sorry Fauci).

Many many successful lawsuits are a result of poor er treatment.

My exes friend recently went to the er with one sided weakness and high blood pressure. They sent him home and he stroked.

Unfortunately, the money he will receive will not compensate for his permanent disability.

I had to chuckle when I saw a law office open up directly across from an er.

[gimmick]

How careful do you have to be with Colchicine?

The big local murder case here was a young woman who killed her employer/ex-boyfriends mother with Cochicine that she ordered off the internets.

She tried to plant evidence in the ex boyfriends car. She was convicted and got 20 to life.

The odd thing was that it didn't appear she had motive. And there was a good amount of support for her because a pretty young woman wouldn't do that.

Never heard of a problem with it if taken as directed.

I'm actually going to ask for this tomorrow at the doctor, for the next time this occurs.

I'm guessing the murderer got a ton of it.

Just find out if you have any interactions with your existing meds and don't eat grapefruit. It's potentially lethal with certain other meds and/or if your kidneys don't function properly (renal impairment).

Without any of the above you need like 20-30g to kill someone.

[Cerveza Fria]

Never heard of a problem with it if taken as directed.

I'm actually going to ask for this tomorrow at the doctor, for the next time this occurs.

I'm guessing the murderer got a ton of it.

Just find out if you have any interactions with your existing meds and don't eat grapefruit. It's potentially lethal with certain other meds and/or if your kidneys don't function properly (renal impairment).

Without any of the above you need like 20-30g to kill someone.

Grapefruit can definitely cause problems when taking certain meds.

[limitles]

Anyway thanks to those who wished me well and/or gave gout advice. I have a number of texts from radio listeners, as well, who suffer from gout and are telling me how they are managing it. I appreciate those, as well.

Bottom line is I went to an ER, was refused to see a doctor (or even a PA) the entire way, and the process was such a clusterfuck with basically nobody in charge that I was double-prescribed existing meds, and then told to take them anyway when I objected.

Anyone who defends this is a drooling retard.

Socialized health care you drooling moron

[Crowe Diddly]

Druff, goddamn, you are falling the fuck apart. Multiple battles with gout in 10 years, the LPR, elbow bursitis, etc so forth...

Earlier in the thread, you talked about the outside chance your bursitis was vaccine-caused, but you already have a history of gout, a super well-known and common cause of bursitis. Did you not put those 2 things together?

I don't know if you still eat those super late big meals, or drink those daily pepsis, or what your eating deal is or even if you get any daily activity or exercise at all, but brother Druff, at some point you have to realize that you are doing a ton of this stuff to yourself. You have super-discipline when it comes to some things, and you have tremendous energy for causes that you think are worthwhile and important, you gotta turn that inside and concentrate on your body, which is giving you a TON of signs that shit is not going well.

I wish you all the luck in this, the whole situation sucks, and we've all had health issues of some sort of the years.

If only you could treat your own body with the level of customer service you demand from others in all other aspects of your life, you'd be a lean, mean, goutless machine.