Update

[plutherus]

Well, I gave up trying to deal with the pain and went to the emergency room.

Turns out it wasn't my sinus at all. I have a Severe Dental Abscess With Facial Cellulitis, according to the care instructions the doctor printed out for me.

I got prescriptions for antibiotics and vicodin, and a referral to the dentist.

The doctor was very good, and actually kept my budget in mind while putting my health first. "Definitely" see the dentist tomorrow, whether it feels better or not. Normally, they would have done an X-ray at the hospital, but it wouldn't have been any faster than waiting for the dentist to do it tomorrow.

So, relatively simple treatment, so the cost should be comparable to last time, and I'll be able to structure a payment plan that'll let me pay it all off over the next several months, so I'm not going to go bankrupt over it.

The previous post still stands, though. I was in pain and angry when I wrote that. Reading back over it, I was also right about everything I said. People are playing politics with this issue, while real people are really suffering. They are deliberately causing and prolonging suffering either so that they can make billions of dollars (if they're an insurance corp), or because they blindly believe the propaganda the insurance companies put out and would rather feel all pleased with how righteous they are.

I mentioned Christianity specifically, and I mean it. There is a sect of Christianity in this country which focuses on politics to the exclusion of any kind of spirituality. They have a strong tendency to conflate Capitalism, America, and Jesus, to the point where they can't imagine any one without the other two. They have such an obsessive fear of Communism, thanks to Joe McCarthy's pandering and a generation of the teachings being entrenched, that all one has to do is mention "communism" (or "socialism", which they tend to believe is exactly the same thing) to get them to vote the way they want. It is these people that the insurance companies play to keep universal health coverage out of America.

There are also, of course, the libertarians, who would rather pay $300/month for health insurance that only they can use than pay $200/month for health coverage for everybody. Those people are just stupid, but there's really not enough of them to worry about.

Fortunately, I am at a point in my life where I can afford to pay for this. Fifteen years ago, I would have toughed it out through the night to see if it got any better, possibly taking a few pain killers such as I could find, and put it off for a day or more.

If I had done that, at the rate the infection was spreading, I could have died and would almost certainly have lost the eye.

There are millions of people in this country who are in that exact situation. Some of them have houses, and family. Risk losing the eye, or risk losing the house? Hell of a choice to be forced to make.

And, had I had insurance already, I would have gone to a doctor last week about this, and it never would have gotten this bad.

So, for those people who can't afford it, and for my week of tooth pain followed by three hours of intense overwhelming pain, every Fuck You on the previous page still stands.

Comments

[reynard52.livejournal.com]

People who support the current health 'system'. or buy into the myth of us having the 'best health care system in the world' believe that health care is a privilege, not a right. Hey, at least you rearended a bush tonight, that's got to be worth something, right? I still say your abscess is Karl Rove moving into your gum line.

[solis93.livejournal.com]

Dude... your last post SHOULD stand. Most people don't think about this shit at all unless it happens to themselves or some one they love. Well... being as I care about you a great deal... let 'er rip, man. And take care of yourself better.