[StanD]

Well, no caffeine for me now. Went to the doctor because I was having some stomach problems and she said that it was acid reflux. She said I had to avoid caffeine, coffee in particular, as well as other things (chocolate, fruit juices, tomato based products, dairy, etc) so looks like I'll have to take a break from caffeine altogether for about 2 weeks.

Oh well, I haven't been able to drink coffee for weeks anyways, so avoiding Dr. Pepper is the only thing I really have to do. Something tells me that the next few days won't be very fun.

2 Weeks is like forever.....You'll get a pill and can probably resume your bad habits.

 

[StanD]

   
At least they didn't tell you you're allergic to caffeine.

 
Drinking too much energy drinks or soda (which, for me, usually means more than one in a day) can make my stomach feel like it was stabbed.
 
I once went to the doctor years ago because the lower part of my abdomen was puffing out a bit. The only cause I could think of was all the Rip It Power energy drinks I had on a daily basis. (Again, I rarely exceed one in a day.) They referred me to a hospital, in which I got a thorough ultrasound scan. Nothing was wrong with me in this area, though they did find a gallstone, which could cause problems years in the future. And then they sent me the bill...because even when you have insurance, you still have to pay like a thousand bucks. So basically, money wasted on nothing.

(This is one reason I don't want to go to the doctor or hospitals unless my life is in danger. Too much of that industry is a money-making scam.)

These days a $1K deductible is small, however, you probably would prefer putting that into a headphone.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

  2 Weeks is like forever.....You'll get a pill and can probably resume your bad habits.

I wish. But if laying off of all that for a few weeks and taking a bit of medicine does the trick then I'm fine with it. It'll only suck for two weeks at worst. I just wish I had found out after I got a chance to try some cold brew after hearing everyone talking about it.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  These days a $1K deductible is small, however, you probably would prefer putting that into a headphone.

 
The point is, they charged me for basically nothing, and it doesn't cost them nearly that much to operate that machine for a few minutes.

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

The point is, they charged me for basically nothing, and it doesn't cost them nearly that much to operate that machine for a few minutes.

I can understand that. They once thought my brother had some kind of terrible problem with his stomach when he had a virus. An X-ray and a hospital visit later, we ended up just keeping him hydrated while it passed. Sometimes doctors are just incompetent. You just have to find one you trust.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I can understand that. They once thought my brother had some kind of terrible problem with his stomach when he had a virus. An X-ray and a hospital visit later, we ended up just keeping him hydrated while it passed. Sometimes doctors are just incompetent. You just have to find one you trust.

 
We have so much in common. haha. My little brother had some sort of condition years ago that made his blood many times thicker than normal. The nurses were crying and screaming at him, "You're going to die!"...but he was just kind of laughing at them because he was more or less fine despite his condition. He told me about how they tried to subtly add all sorts of frivolous things to his bill then. He had other conditions in the past. One of my earliest memories is a helicopter rushing him to a specialist hospital when we were really young. He randomly fainted once, and we had to bring him to the hospital then too. And at one point, he had pneumonia. On another note, he has never had an energy drink, but has always been a soda drinker.
 
It's not about incompetence, but the fact that they are often charging ridiculous sums of money for a whole bunch of nothing. They know that they're scamming people. (Some of the time.)
 
Funny story about a virus, though: When I moved to Florida in 2003, I had a wart on the sole of my foot. Turned out it was from a virus. (Possibly from when I walked on the beach barefoot in Virginia and/or Florida.) They removed it with a laser, leaving a chunk missing for awhile. That part didn't hurt. The crazy part was when they stuck a giant needle into my foot beforehand and froze it with some chemical. The virus came back with a vengeance not long after, with seven smaller warts in its place. That time I used a similar chemical to freeze them off, but with something that looked like a cotton swab...which hurt even more than the needle.

 

[serman005]

   
We have so much in common. haha. My little brother had some sort of condition years ago that made his blood many times thicker than normal. The nurses were crying and screaming at him, "You're going to die!"...but he was just kind of laughing at them because he was more or less fine despite his condition. He told me about how they tried to subtly add all sorts of frivolous things to his bill then. He had other conditions in the past. One of my earliest memories is a helicopter rushing him to a specialist hospital when we were really young. He randomly fainted once, and we had to bring him to the hospital then too. And at one point, he had pneumonia. On another note, he has never had an energy drink, but has always been a soda drinker.
 
It's not about incompetence, but the fact that they are often charging ridiculous sums of money for a whole bunch of nothing. They know that they're scamming people. (Some of the time.)
 
Funny story about a virus, though: When I moved to Florida in 2003, I had a wart on the sole of my foot. Turned out it was from a virus. (Possibly from when I walked on the beach barefoot in Virginia and/or Florida.) They removed it with a laser, leaving a chunk missing for awhile. That part didn't hurt. The crazy part was when they stuck a giant needle into my foot beforehand and froze it with some chemical. The virus came back with a vengeance not long after, with seven smaller warts in its place. That time I used a similar chemical to freeze them off, but with something that looked like a cotton swab...which hurt even more than the needle.

I have often said that if patients and their families truly understood how little those of us in medicine actually do to heal/mend/cure people from these illnesses and conditions, they would be filled with terror. You guys speak the truth. We don't do very much. Even an intensive care unit, where the full-court press is put on, is nothing more than an elaborate babysitting exercise. We sit and wait for people to get better. That's what we do. Surgery is the same thing--we tee people up so they can get better. It's really just not that impressive.
None of this is going to matter in a few years. Computers and machine are going to be practicing medicine and they will do it far better than physicians and surgeons currently do. I look forward to it.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I have often said that if patients and their families truly understood how little those of us in medicine actually do to heal/mend/cure people from these illnesses and conditions, they would be filled with terror. You guys speak the truth. We don't do very much. Even an intensive care unit, where the full-court press is put on, is nothing more than an elaborate babysitting exercise. We sit and wait for people to get better. That's what we do. Surgery is the same thing--we tee people up so they can get better. It's really just not that impressive.
None of this is going to matter in a few years. Computers and machine are going to be practicing medicine and they will do it far better than physicians and surgeons currently do. I look forward to it.

 
My best friend actually recently became a doctor. (And, sadly, he doesn't have nearly as much free time anymore.) I didn't mean to downplay all the heart and effort that goes into being a health professional, so I hope no one interpreted me that way. It's obviously very important. I guess I'm trying to say I don't like the negative aspects. I'm just lucky I never get sick. My brother jokes that the energy drinks kill off all the germs. XD

 

[serman005]

   
My best friend actually recently became a doctor. (And, sadly, he doesn't have nearly as much free time anymore.) I didn't mean to downplay all the heart and effort that goes into being a health professional, so I hope no one interpreted me that way. It's obviously very important. I guess I'm trying to say I don't like the negative aspects. I'm just lucky I never get sick. My brother jokes that the energy drinks kill off all the germs. XD

More energy drinks!

 

[wink]

Moar liquid plutonium......   

 

 

[StanD]

I was reading all of this doctor stuff while drinking cup of brew thinking about the future course of healthcare, one treatment will cure everything and prevent all future illness, euthanasia. Very cost effective, no preapprovals. Mark my words, Soylent Green is coming, Now, where's that cup of Joe.

 

[wink]

 

 

 

[StanD]

@wink Do you mix vegemite into your soylent green?

 

[wink]

...... you mean,     you shouldn't.........      

       oopsies..........   

 

[StanD]

Making another batch of cold brew. The last batch went down real good, I'm liking this and might be drinking more coffee than before, in two forms.