Posts by nimbleskipper13

Henry Miller2, what’s the actual name and look of that spray? I have a feeling it would be just the thing for me... and if you happen to recall the price, let me know... thanks 😉

Hi everyone...
I was wondering if anyone else here deals with chronic folliculitis, specifically those stubborn hair follicle inflammations, and more importantly, how you actually managed to get it under control...
It’s been an ongoing battle for quite some time now; apparently, my electric epilator triggered the whole mess, so I’ve tried everything from laser treatments to various exfoliating creams... just about every remedy out there...

To be fair, things have finally settled down after nearly two years, but I’m worried because I've heard that permanent scarring is a common side effect, which is the last thing any of us want...😉 so I would truly appreciate hearing about your own experiences or any advice you might have...🙂

Thanks 😁

Scott Allen10, I assume you’ll agree with this: we don't actually need the Social Security Administration as it stands today.
More than 90% of general practitioners could be phased out entirely; an administrator or a nurse practitioner could handle their workload just fine. Most of them just write referrals and pass patients off to specialists anyway—stomach ache? See a surgeon. High blood pressure? Go to an internist. Fever and diarrhea? Just send them to an infectious disease specialist.
Or they just write prescriptions. Those who claim they actually perform physical exams usually miss the mark completely.
Why is it like this?
First, Medicare is constantly auditing them, counting every penny spent—basically checking if they prescribed expensive brands over generics—and tracking how many patients are out on medical leave. They spend so much time on paperwork they barely have time to actually look at their patients.
Second, because they’re buried under endless reports and forced to memorize bureaucratic regulations, they don't have the bandwidth to stay updated on medical advancements or improve their actual expertise.
Third, the Department keeps pouring gasoline on the fire, causing public outrage by constantly exposing various scandals and "affairs," which leaves SSA employees terrified of being sued.
Then there are those, like you mentioned, who are simply malicious or driven by ego.
And honestly, this whole mess is expensive; it’s a direct reflection of the systemic corruption in the country we live in.
When you really think about it, why would I work myself to the bone, getting my hands dirty for $12 an hour, when I can make that kind of money doing nothing? Why did I spend 27 years in school, through undergrad, med school, and residency, when some semi-literate pro athlete makes more in a single season than I will in my entire lifetime?
As a result, people don't care whether Katie Katich gets Granuflex or a generic alternative, especially if her son owns a successful business or a trade—who cares? He's got the money to pay his own way.

So, how do we fix this? When doctors went on strike, remember how everyone was against us?
Maybe this entire situation is just the price we're all paying now....

Michael Cox40 said:But you have to consider the elderly and those struggling with chronic illnesses—people who might not be old, but for whatever reason, just don't have the strength to fight or dig into their legal rights. And often, there's nobody to do it for them. What happens to them? They are the most vulnerable group of all. These are the people who won't ask about the specifics of a surgical procedure or even realize their rights are being violated because they simply don't know better or aren't capable of checking.

See, this is exactly what is broken in our system.
That’s true; that gap definitely exists, and it's significant. But the issue is that this specific group is left entirely dependent on whether an individual doctor chooses to act ethically or not... there really should be a systemic mechanism in place to protect them.
As it stands, they're basically just sheep lost in the fog... if they don't advocate for themselves, no one will. We aren't a social welfare state anymore; everything has shifted toward individual responsibility, leaving it up to how hard someone can fight for themselves. And obviously, that isn't right.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing my profession—quite the opposite... but I truly believe patients should be more proactive and better informed about both their rights and their responsibilities under the Patient Bill of Rights. If they did, things would run much smoother for everyone involved.

Scott Allen10 - Is it really a primary care doctor's duty to follow a specialist's recommendation? What happens when that doctor is uncooperative—or, to use Michael Cox40's point, just plain lazy and unwilling to put in the effort?
My assistant deals with high blood pressure, and his GP refused to prescribe the Ebrantil that his cardiologist specifically ordered. The doctor's reasoning? His blood pressure looked normal at the exact moment it was measured (after he'd already taken his medication, obviously). My assistant tried asking another doctor for the prescription instead, but no luck there either. So, what are his options? Just bury his head in the sand and risk a stroke by skipping his meds?
What is the actual point of seeing a specialist or all this talk about the Patient Bill of Rights if we’re still left at the mercy of a general practitioner who can act like a total Mengele?
Are we supposed to just give up because some doctor says, "Sorry, you aren't entitled to this"?

Is it just me, or does it feel like frozenlynx33's old Herbalife "friend" is just showing up in a different outfit? 😈

Michael Cox40, if I’m following you correctly, your grandmother has leg ulcers—likely due to diabetes—that require dressing with alginate or hydrocolloid bandages.
Well, according to a specialist's recommendation (whether it's a surgeon or a dermatologist), she HAS A RIGHT to receive those dressings covered by Medicare, just as she is entitled to home health nursing care.

That’s the core of the issue: people simply don't know what their rights are or how to advocate for them. There is the Patient Bill of Rights, along with specific regulations regarding orthopedic aids and medical supplies provided at Medicare's expense. This includes everything from glucose test strips to urine bags, stool bags, adult diapers for the immobile, and those alginate or hydrocolloid dressings. While the approved list changes periodically, you have to stay informed—there are various patient advocacy groups and Medicare offices where officials are required to provide information or printed guides.

Just like any other profession, there are people in our field who don't do their jobs properly, who don't care, or who simply lack the necessary expertise...

No, Michael Cox40, I think the people with the most impact are the voters—the ones who elect the government that appoints the Secretary of Health and shapes social policy.
Here’s an example: I’m a specialist running a surgical outpatient clinic. We handle pretty much everything, from initial exams and diagnostics to full surgical procedures. Our billing is standardized; essentially, every exam or procedure is assigned a specific number of points. There’s a monthly cap, say 5,000 points per team, just as an example. If we exceed that, Medicare DOES NOT PAY us for the extra work; they only pay for those 5,000 points and not a cent more (a point is worth roughly $2.00). Of course, if we do less than the cap, we get paid for what we actually did. That revenue has to cover our overhead, supplies, medication, and the team's gross salaries.
However, if a patient comes in at the end of the month after we’ve already hit our quota—say, someone with an urgent hand tendon injury—I am required to see them. That’s fine, but I also have to use a significant amount of expensive medical supplies on them. When that happens, Medicare DOES NOT REIMBURSE me for those supplies, which means I’m directly in the red. In short, I’m losing money for my practice.
To put it bluntly, Medicare forces us to limit our patient volume; we can't just see as many people as we are physically capable of treating, but rather only as many as we can afford to supply with medicine and materials.
It’s the same story with primary care. If a patient doesn't visit their doctor often, they don't cost much beyond the standard per-patient fee, but if a doctor has several high-needs patients, everyone loses.
A friend of mine, who is a family practitioner, had a patient with pancreatic cancer who was suffering for a long time. She was providing analgesics, dressing his wounds from being bedridden... basically, the material costs (medication, bandages, gas for the car to make home visits) exceeded $5.00 per month. When she sent a formal request to Medicare asking for reimbursement (she receives about $10 per patient monthly, out of which she has to pay utilities, rent, meds, supplies, and her nurse's salary), she was told she couldn't receive anything beyond the standard per-patient rate. They basically implied it wasn't their problem if she was unlucky enough to have a patient with such intensive needs. Naturally, the patient is entitled to care, and you cannot and should not bill them for it. Luckily, she has a husband who owns a retail business, so she didn't go hungry...
The typical patient looking to claim their rights usually doesn't realize this... though I think people really ought to know. Every coin has two sides....

Switching your primary care doctor or some "socialized" GP isn't the fix—we need systemic reform.
Medicare acts as a total monopolist, whether you’re looking at drug manufacturers or contracted physicians. There is a massive disconnect between what is told to the public and what those actually working in healthcare experience day in and day out.
Even the core concept of collective solidarity—where every patient holds the same rights regardless of their contribution level—is fundamentally broken.
It seems like the rest of the West realized this a long time ago. Somehow, we’ve managed to stay stuck in this loop, doing nothing but complaining and venting without actually fixing anything.😈

frozenpilot2 said:I went to the ER and they gave me one of those plastic mobile splints (the technical term is an orthosis), along with a prescription to take to Medicare so they can cover the costs.
😢

It’s not a "langeta," it’s a LONG-eta!
Just a small correction... 👋

Look, I’m a doctor, and I am nothing like the "genius" who started this thread: I don't kill people just to clear the hallway, I don't eat children, I don't strip my patients of their life savings before surgery, and I certainly don't dismember bodies and bury them in secret. 🙂
And as for eating kids, I prefer them rotisserie style. 🙂

Ali, I wouldn't let Walter Garcia6 wash my car if I were on my deathbed, let alone ask him to make the bed or carry a watermelon—the sheer level of stupidity here is practically infectious. 🙂
moderator, call the exterminators!!! Get rid of low-life provocateurs like this guy. 😈

That’s just a disinfectant—chlorhexidine in an alcohol base. If you use it too often, it’ll absolutely wreck your skin. It dries your hands out so badly they start cracking and developing erosions. You'd need to be extra diligent about using heavy moisturizers afterward, and honestly, Lysol shouldn't be part of your daily routine.

And if you're dealing with psychological issues, like a phobia of germs or sickness that forces you into compulsive hand-washing... well, then you should probably go see a psychiatrist.

Guys, are we perhaps avoiding a discussion here about Guillain-Barré syndrome ? 😈

Karen Brooks, :klap: :klap: :klap

I honestly think we’ve covered everything on this topic already. It’s time to finally close the book on it. Period. Done. Nothing left to say.
😈:

silverraven95 said:Everything you just wrote is completely incorrect. From how you define a cycle to when ovulation happens and the window for conception.

It's all wrong.

The first day of your cycle is the first day of your last period. For a regular 28-day cycle, ovulation typically occurs around day 14, though you can never know the exact timing beforehand—you only know once your next period arrives that ovulation happened 14 days prior. An egg is viable for about 24 hours after ovulation, but since sperm can live for 48 to 72 hours under ideal conditions, conception can happen if intercourse occurs up to three days before or a day after ovulation.
If you had sex and then started your period two days later, there is a very high chance you aren't pregnant from that encounter. If you had sex again 10 days later, it depends entirely on how you are counting those ten days and how long your period lasts.

Peter Myers29, menstrual cycles don't last the same amount of time for every woman.
Do some reading on this; don't spread misinformation. Someone might take your advice, and you'll have to live with that. Or maybe you won't.😉

👍 👍 👍

I absolutely agree!

I don't know why, call me stupid, but when my washing machine breaks, I call a repairman, not a random person off the street.😈

Because a random person isn't qualified to fix an appliance. It’s only when health is on the line—which is clearly the case here—that suddenly everyone thinks they're more of an expert than a doctor. 🙂

And why would you even "scan" lungs in the first place?
To be clear, an X-ray of the lungs—or any diagnostic test involving exposure to ionizing radiation—isn't just some casual thing you do on a whim; it has specific limitations.
Because of that, there needs to be a legitimate medical reason for it.

It’s not exactly like booking an appointment at a salon or getting a haircut... 😈

Peter Myers29 said:The reality is that a woman's body ends right where the baby's begins.

Peter, that was incredibly profound.🙂

A woman's body and the fetus are physically connected by the placenta (though I doubt you've ever heard of one). So tell me, where exactly is the line on a placenta?
Is it right in the middle, or is it somewhere on the left or right "shore"?😈

Scarlet Letter said::

#2 And no, I'm not even going to bother asking who you think you are. 🤣

To me, this just sounds like a fourth nickname from MacGregor, Hummer, or Fuller 😂 😂 😂

by the way, I managed to secure my villa as permanent property 😬

It's a shame MacGregor/Hummer/Filler doesn't have enough grasp of English to actually read this... and honestly, he's still missing quite a bit when it comes to understanding it 😈

Ladies and gentlemen of the Forum (or should I say "ignorant masses," as the Multi-level marketing crowd likes to call us), MacGregor—aka the Hummer—has just opened yet another account: Punoser 🙂

So, I guess we’re stuck here reading more "expert" lectures on "cellular nutrition" and how vital these Herbalife powder concoctions are for achieving eternal health, longevity, and spiritual beauty 😈

I just wish I knew when or how this whole thing finally shuts down... 🙂