Blog Archive

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Why Politics Matters

I Screwed up.
I keep the week’s Pills in one of those things that have the days, and am/pm, on little compartments.
I’ve always had problems with Time…and, in this case, it matters…so I embrace the usual fact…that by 10 am, I don’t remember if I’ve taken my meds…often at 4am. Was that today? Yesterday? Last week?
I guess, on the one hand, this is indicative of the –non-effectiveness of the meds.lol.
…which is what I’m on about…
on the other hand,it is indicative of what all I do to try and feel better.
My Green Box goes from Sunday to Saturday.
Ergo, Saturday is when I fill it.
I screwed up, this week, by forgetting that the Vicodin would run out on Friday.
Every other month, I must call in to my Doctor for a refill.(the Influence of DEA Hysteria, and the resultant inhumane way we do Pain Management)
One cannot call the Doc, or his Nurse, directly…one must press 2, and leave a message.
So , Monday morning, I did so…and she got back to me that afternoon…
They deal with this class of chore at the end of the day(I’m not the only one)…so, it’s Tuesday Morning…and I must wait till around lunchtime for the Pharmacy to get their end accomplished.
Almost 4 days without Vicodin.
Objectvely good for me…I used to go without voluntarily…to guard against the Addiction that one hears so much about…despite the actual Clinical Evidence(folks who take this crap for Pain, are unlikely to become Addicted)
I have noted No, Zero, signs of Withdrawal/
What I have noticed, is PAIN.
The Meloxicam,Mthyl Salycate(sp-2), and even Magic Brownies can’t touch this, it seems.
The Brownies make me want to get up , and move around…nothing unusual, there.
But I find that this is more difficult than usual.
To break up the Monotony of Bed, I hobble down here…to the Library, and sit Painfully in the Massage Chair, at my desk, for a time.
Bed isn’t really any less Painful.
It is a distinctly different Quality of Pain, than the usual…
It’s not the Crushing kind, that comes with Hurricanes, and Cold Fronts…Thankfully, even with the recent rain, we’ve had little in the way of Pressure Differentials.(less that 5 points, between the Highs and Lows).
It’s not the Dull Full Body Ache…the feeling of being Stacked Wrong…of what I term “a Good Day”.
It’s not the Acute, Stabbing Pain in various Joints….like I’m being pulled apart, as on a Medieval Rack… like when I “Overdo” it.
This is Different.
This is both Sharp and Dull…Crushing and Pulling…Acute and Diffuse…all blurred together…Undifferentiated.
Any semblance of Comfort is even more elusive than normal.
The “Restless Leg Syndrome” is back…in every joint.
I cannot Sleep.
The Crazy thing is, I can remember what Vicodin was like….I thought it was bad enough, with it…
Going without is…Untenable.

When I’ve gone without, before…Voluntarily…for 5 days at a time…I have found that the expected effect of “Resetting” has been beneficial. Your body Resets, and the Hydrocodone is more Effective, for a time….until Tolerance sets in, again.
I sure hope that this will be the case, (Hopefully) this afternoon.

I am the Poster Child for our Byzantine, Compassionless System.
Medicaid Expansion is the portion of “Obamacare” that will affect me…I had hoped, in 2014.
The “Christian” Rick Perry has all but shot that down…I guess to appeal to his “Base”…all the Rabid Tea People, and PseudoChristians in Texas, who continue to vote for him…..many of whom enjoy their own Socialised Medicine…in the form of Medicare, or Veteran’s Benefits.

As it stands, the “Income Cutoff” for Adult Medicaid, in Texas, is $231 per Month…for a Family of Four.
Think about that.
The Disability System is set to default on "Deny"....and they are up front,that it is NOT Doctors who make the "Determination"...but "Experts"(!?!)
Even to get Foodstamps, there are myriad Hoops to jump through…the Default Assumption on all state run “Welfare”, in Texas…is the Assumption of Fraud.(of which, I have determined to my satisfaction, there is No objective Proof)
Even the hated IRS operates on the Assumption of Good Faith…with a corresponding Threat of Audit.
The way it’s set up. in Texas…well…they’d be more Honest and Forthright, to just abandon all Pretense, and have No Welfare, at all.
Obamacare is not a Perfect Fix, by any standard….Universal, Single Payer, like in all the Civilised Countries, is as close as we can come to that.
That will never happen, as long as Hatred of the Poor, Distrust of the Injured, Meanness to the Lame, is countenanced in this country.
I am in this unhappy state, today, due to an unhappy Accident, more than 20 years ago….compounded, exponentially, by my inability to gain access to Reasonable Healthcare, when I needed it, 6 or so years ago.(it could happen to You)
When you have the Opportunity to Vote, this November(assuming proper Identification…sigh.)…Remember me.
It should not be the Business of Government, at any level, to Punish the Poor, the Lame.
That is, currently, the Effect of these sundry Policies.

3 comments:

amfortas the hippie said...

the Mental Sountrack:(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOojAUFJgj8)

Willow said...

Dull body ache.. the feeling of being "stacked wrong"... restless leg type stuff... that all sounds like me. But I think mine might be from anemia. I half expect, when I finally see a doctor, that he's going to give me a transfusion. I feel that bad.

Perhaps I should start a blog too. Vent some of this rage I have about being punished for not being rich, traditionally employed, etc, etc. I used to think the punishment was just not ever getting to climb that social, corporate ladder and not being have the shiny new toys (BFD) but these bastards are getting more cruel and sinister by the day. Now we can't even see a doctor unless we play their game.

amfortas the hippie said...

It ain't 1560.
Health Care should be a Right.
We can Create all this $$$$. ...literally, Out Of Thin Air.
We use it to blow up Brown People, who are unfortunate enough to live atop Our Oil.
But I can't access 40 year old medical Tech(hip)?Prolly more trouble than it's worth, now....6-7 years after I needed it.
Hip is just a part of it, now.
But by all but forbidding me access, the Machine has assured that I would be this way, today.
It didn't Have to Be....it was the effect of a Political Choice.
Thanks fer commenting, Dear.
I almost don't know how to act, when someone shows up in my Well.lol.