General Update · Rant

Got My Cranky Pants On

TJ Fox

I have no photo for you today because I spent almost all of my morning and a chunk of my afternoon dealing with the absolute nightmare that is trying to get someone to kill my cough. There are so many reasons why I quit going to the last doctor’s office and why I hate urgent care. Today just reinforced ALL of those reasons.

I quit going to the last doctor we had because I could NEVER get in when any of us were sick because the next available appointment was always 3 or 4 days out. When you are sick, you normally can’t wait 3 or 4 days. Even worse when it is your kid and they are running a fever. That and when I did go, I could easily be there waiting to actually see the doctor for a couple of hours or more. Again, a massive nightmare when it is a sick kid. I started going to urgent care because at least I could get in the same day, even if I did have to wait.

Then I began hating even urgent care because they treat me like I’m lying and drug seeking because the ONLY thing that ever helps kill this damn cough is a round or two of steroids and the cough medicine that has codeine in it (most times a couple of rounds of that as well.) Because, yes, that lung I attempted to leave on the floor is obviously a fake cough.

When I started having some pretty obvious signs that I might have a UTI (anyone that has ever had one knows what I’m talking about) and they didn’t go away after large amounts of water and cranberry juice (seriously, my eyeballs felt like they would start floating), I caved and tried to get an appointment at the new place I found and have taken the kids. Even though the website claims same day appointments, they didn’t have anything for 3 days.

Fine. I’ll go back to urgent care. And wait. And wait. And wait. Finally get in only to have them tell me there are no indications of a UTI (WTF are all my lovely, not fun symptoms then??) but, they will give me an antibiotic and a steroid for the cough. Cue the “you are wasting my time” attitude and the slight sneer when I explain, after asking about a cough medicine and she says she’ll give me what amounts to an expensive OTC, that it never works. She finally caves and agrees to give me what I know works, but very reluctantly. She so grudgingly gives me enough to maybe, if I’m exceptionally frugal and don’t actually take it as recommended, get me through 3 days.

I’m really tired of coughing, so I’m putting up with it. I have a feeling I’ll be calling back the office that couldn’t get me in today and trying to get in for a secondary appointment next week. I’m so sick and tired of people in the medical profession that don’t actually give a crap if they get you feeling better. They just shuffle you through like you are in an assembly line and toss a few antibiotics your way to make it look like they did something.

Having dealt with this for probably 20 years (yes, I deal with this exact same cough every single winter, all winter and have for at least that long) along with a few other issues I’ve had over the years, it is no wonder I cannot stand having to go to a doctor for any reason. I can say that the office I couldn’t get into has a nurse practitioner that I LOVE and doesn’t seem to have that attitude. I just need to be able to get in to see her.

Ugh! I’ll try to put my sick and tired cranky pants away for now. I have cranberry juice to drink, eyeballs to float, and a graphics project to work on.

Published by TJ Fox

I am a slightly sane artist, amateur photographer, book addict, wife, mom and raging introvert. I have more hobbies than I can count, so it is beyond shocking that I manage to find time to do any of them, let alone most of them and still have time to do anything else. Of all the talents I claim, writing wasn’t one of them until my muse dropped the idea for a book on my head.

19 thoughts on “Got My Cranky Pants On”

  1. Cough and a UTI! Great combo. My husband has asthma and has a wonderful cough every year, it responds to OTC stuff but he did have a doctor that gave him an antibiotic every time and now that he has a new doctor the cough is better. I am now trying to get my doctor to convince my insurance company that 6 pills a month for my migraines doesn’t work. Of course 6 pills have a retail of 299.00 for generic!

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    1. I’m always absolutely blown away when I see how much some people end up spending on prescriptions. I will never, ever understand the disparity between what our insurance pays for and what others pay (or won’t). The whole setup is stupid. I got 3 different ones filled and paid $12 total. Sure, my husband works for an amazing company that is willing to invest more in health coverage, but come on! There is zero excuse for the differences between companies.

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  2. If you get the bladder issues on a recurrent basis I might suggest looking into interstitial cystitis .
    That cough thing sucks, lasting as long as it does. Fungal or bacterial infection maybe, but finding the overall cause is imperative!!
    On a positive note, long waits for treatment mean more reading time 😉

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    1. I hadn’t had any UTI’s since I was a teen, but I absolutely remember how they feel!

      You are so right on the reading, except, I was there way longer than I expected and finished my book and still had to wait. Of all the times to forget to make sure I had a backup ready to go, today was a huge fail.

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  5. Ug, yeah I was gonna suggest steroids, too. When I lived in chicago, had a cough so disgusting and lengthy that they kept calling in students to watch whenever I showed up. I had it six weeks once before ‘roids finally fixed it!

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    1. This usually last from around Halloween until March or April, even with a couple of rounds of meds. It sucks rocks so bad. I really wish we could figure out what triggers it so I can do something to prevent it.

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