Diagnosis: ARRRRGH
After watching a commercial for DirecTV with Pamela Anderson, I decided to look up "hepatitis" on Wikipedia to check which of the three strands hsve a vaccine, because I have been vaccinated for Hep B but not the others, and my doctor, happy to note that I don't have any hepatitis and never have (good, at least there's ONE disease I don't have), encouraged me to get vaccinated for any strain I haven't yet. (For those playing the home game, Hep A and Hep B have vaccines, while Hep C, which Anderson has, does not, but you get that through exchange of blood.)
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Then I noticed a disease name that sounded like I should check it out, and I clicked the link. Lo and behold, it listed every one of my symtoms down to the most obscure. It is not so much a disease as a condition that can be caused by any one of three diseases, two of which I have (well, had...the penicillin is killing one of them and the antibiotics I start next week will get rid of the other). The latter disease, for which I have not yet been treated, causes ALL the symptoms I have. I was relieved to see that the treatment for this condition is precisely what Dr. Cone has prescribed.
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But how hard would it have been to diagnose this earlier? How hard would it have been for the doctor in the UK to look up my symptoms instead of dismissing me by saying "I have ten minutes...pick one thing that's wrong with you and we'll see how far we get." No joke. How long have I needlessly suffered because a national, free health care system creates lazy doctors who don't care and don't have the resources to help anyone. So keep that in mind when you go around lauding Michael Moore's hilarious attempt to make Britain's health care system seem like the ideal model. I'm (barely) living proof that all that is, simply put, bullshit.
.
Then I noticed a disease name that sounded like I should check it out, and I clicked the link. Lo and behold, it listed every one of my symtoms down to the most obscure. It is not so much a disease as a condition that can be caused by any one of three diseases, two of which I have (well, had...the penicillin is killing one of them and the antibiotics I start next week will get rid of the other). The latter disease, for which I have not yet been treated, causes ALL the symptoms I have. I was relieved to see that the treatment for this condition is precisely what Dr. Cone has prescribed.
.
But how hard would it have been to diagnose this earlier? How hard would it have been for the doctor in the UK to look up my symptoms instead of dismissing me by saying "I have ten minutes...pick one thing that's wrong with you and we'll see how far we get." No joke. How long have I needlessly suffered because a national, free health care system creates lazy doctors who don't care and don't have the resources to help anyone. So keep that in mind when you go around lauding Michael Moore's hilarious attempt to make Britain's health care system seem like the ideal model. I'm (barely) living proof that all that is, simply put, bullshit.