Re: Some sh-t never changes


QQQte@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
oh rose your sis is very pretty as are you but your sis has what i
can't spell right but also have called Rosecia
(red nose and cheeks) and the right med from the dermo takes it away.
princess Diana also had it... dory

Dory, that was something I wondered about too. My sis is in a plan
where they're set on *not* referring anyone out to a specilist for any
reason short of impending death, so she has to see the GP for
*everything*. I *thought* it looked like it could be Rosacea (I *think*
that's the correct spelling, but not sure), but the doc she saw at the
clinic said no, it was plain old acne, and gave her a topical cream to
apply, which peeled off skin layers, but didn't get rid of the redness,
then they switched her over to Tetracycline, and she got sunburned,
which just gave *more* redness.

I've thought that a dermatologist would be much better, but the clinic
docs say it's plain old acne, and they won't give a derm referral for
plain old acne. No $$$ for a non-approved, self-paid doc visit.

I need to get my nasty mouth back to the dentist, but Medicare has no
dental coverage, so it's *always* a major big deal, something we've
actually got to save up for. I was reading this article by a dentist
online the other day, and she (the dentist) was blathering and bitching
about how people are fools, because they let a simple extracction go
till it becomes infected, and then it's more difficult to fix. The
dentist's whole focus was on people's "foolishness" and they let fear
of the dentist keep them away. Schyeah -- it costs more just to walk in
the door of a dentist's office, than it does to get treated for all
kinds of physical problems at the community clinic. Lots of us don't
have any dental insurance. If just the cost of the visit and exam is
$100, and any work done is mor than that...it's just not something
we've got the money to do on a regular basis. Prednisone has royally
screwed up my teeth. The new dental clinic I went to after getting
hozed around by "Dr. PAAAAIIINNNN!", the dentists told me it would take
probably $6-7,000 to fix everything. I said there was no way, I had no
dental coverage -- the dentist said "Then I suggest you start saving
right now." ARGH! And of course they no longer give uninsured patients
payment plans, but expect either all the money, or a substantial chunk,
up-front, before even beginning any work.

It didn't used to be like that -- when my daughter had dental work done
in her mid-teens, the dentist was more than happy to work out a payment
plan with me, $50 per paycheck, $100 per month, and he fixed everything
and used all the best modern methods. Over the years, I've worked out
all kinds of payment plans with all kinds of docs and dentists, and
I've never, ever stiffed any of them. These days, hardly any of them ae
willing to give you a chance to prove your debt-repayment ethics, it's
cash in hand or learn to live with the rotten teeth in your head.

Y'know, I used to laugh at stereotypes, because I felt that I was a
living example of their fallacies, in many cases. Now, I feel like a
walking stereotype -- the poor, blue-collar, wrong-side-of-the-tracks,
un-edu-ma-cated white trash chick with the bad teeth.
Hmm...self-consciousness hasn't stopped me from laughing or smiling,
though, so I guess I am still ahead of the Game....

XO,
RD

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