Runaway sinus infection 180° turn to health care debate

rongi#401
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southern, CA US
6/21/2018 11:22pm Edited Date/Time 6/22/2018 7:43pm
So for about the past two years I haven't felt right, foggy feeling, lacked the abilitity to concentrate, my right ear started feeling plugged up about a year ago. And my vision seemed off, but I ignored it, I chalked it up to me working graveyard shift and that being the reason for feeling so tired all the time.
I also would get spells of feeling like I couldn't breathe, and my right lung felt like it wasn't expanding the same as my left(I blamed that on smoking too much weed), also my nose would feel irritated and I could smell what seemed like chlorine.
Yesterday I finally went to the doctor when my lymph node behind my ear wouldn't un-swell, I was thinking it was a zit for the past few weeks.

Doc told me if I waited a few more months that it could have killed me -_-
So now I'm all hooked up on antibiotics and I literally feel better already! About 40% better so far.
It was strange because I didn't have any obvious symptoms, no pain, no swelling. Lesson learned.

Any of you guys have similar experiences?
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MR. X
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North Tonawanda, NY US
6/22/2018 2:42am
I always get sinus headaches this time of year from all the pollen . My wife was the same way til she got the surgery to basically roto rooter her sinuses so everything flowed properly .
6/22/2018 5:02am Edited Date/Time 6/22/2018 5:05am
Infected lymph node?

This is why everyone needs a primary care provider and should be seen Atleast once a year.

If you don’t have insurance....Hell most you can negotiate to pay out of pocket for 100-250 if no further tests are required. We spend more money on dumber shit. PCPs catch stuff like this early.

And also people go to the doctor and they’re like “yep feel great nothin wrong” when they got pressure here, some pain in their neck their...etc....get a check up and be honest about how your body feels.
rongi#401
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southern, CA US
6/22/2018 6:35am
Yeah and it never fails, you wake up the day of, and symptoms are at a minimum...I was there two weeks earlier for exhaustion to get a few weeks off work to rest, and I could have saved myself all the trouble -_-
IWreckALot
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Fort Worth, TX US
6/22/2018 8:23am
Infected lymph node? This is why everyone needs a primary care provider and should be seen Atleast once a year. If you don’t have insurance....Hell most...
Infected lymph node?

This is why everyone needs a primary care provider and should be seen Atleast once a year.

If you don’t have insurance....Hell most you can negotiate to pay out of pocket for 100-250 if no further tests are required. We spend more money on dumber shit. PCPs catch stuff like this early.

And also people go to the doctor and they’re like “yep feel great nothin wrong” when they got pressure here, some pain in their neck their...etc....get a check up and be honest about how your body feels.
I started using an HSA and pay 100% out of pocket. We still have insurance negotiated rates, but my bi-weekly amount is $21 rather than $100+. Months that I don't get sick, I save $158. I haven't spent more than $100 over the last year or two in insurance.

Still have a cap out of pocket of $2,500 or so. You can use the HSA savings to invest in a retirement account once it hits a certain balance. I'm done with Health Insurance. It never made sense to me before. They're just a middle man in the billing line.

The Shop

IWreckALot
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Fort Worth, TX US
6/22/2018 8:24am
I had an issue this month actually. Doctor was $100 visit. Got a script, and it was $8.50. . . cheaper than if I had used my insurance plan previously.
dsmith
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way north, IN US
Fantasy
1294th
6/22/2018 9:11am
had my ear plugged for almost a year..ENT dr. said quit smoking and keep takin claratin -D..I cut back and got some $250.00 ear drops and it went away.
motosmith
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Washougal, WA US
6/22/2018 9:27am
Its crazy how well antibiotics work. I was prescribed 30 about a year ago and felt better after taking 2.
Falcon
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Menifee, CA US
Fantasy
765th
6/22/2018 11:23am Edited Date/Time 6/22/2018 11:24am
Infected lymph node? This is why everyone needs a primary care provider and should be seen Atleast once a year. If you don’t have insurance....Hell most...
Infected lymph node?

This is why everyone needs a primary care provider and should be seen Atleast once a year.

If you don’t have insurance....Hell most you can negotiate to pay out of pocket for 100-250 if no further tests are required. We spend more money on dumber shit. PCPs catch stuff like this early.

And also people go to the doctor and they’re like “yep feel great nothin wrong” when they got pressure here, some pain in their neck their...etc....get a check up and be honest about how your body feels.
IWreckALot wrote:
I started using an HSA and pay 100% out of pocket. We still have insurance negotiated rates, but my bi-weekly amount is $21 rather than $100+...
I started using an HSA and pay 100% out of pocket. We still have insurance negotiated rates, but my bi-weekly amount is $21 rather than $100+. Months that I don't get sick, I save $158. I haven't spent more than $100 over the last year or two in insurance.

Still have a cap out of pocket of $2,500 or so. You can use the HSA savings to invest in a retirement account once it hits a certain balance. I'm done with Health Insurance. It never made sense to me before. They're just a middle man in the billing line.
You must not have a wife who goes to the doctor when she gets the sniffles. Or when she just "doesn't feel good."

Mine "just doesn't feel good" about once a week. Unsure

I like your plan though. I'd definitely do it that way if I was on my own.
IWreckALot
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Fort Worth, TX US
6/22/2018 11:55am
Falcon wrote:
You must not have a wife who goes to the doctor when she gets the sniffles. Or when she just "doesn't feel good." Mine "just doesn't...
You must not have a wife who goes to the doctor when she gets the sniffles. Or when she just "doesn't feel good."

Mine "just doesn't feel good" about once a week. Unsure

I like your plan though. I'd definitely do it that way if I was on my own.
My wife is a nurse and a year away from being a nurse practitioner. Ha. She has her own insurance deal also.
plowboy
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Norwich, KS US
6/22/2018 5:11pm
Infected lymph node? This is why everyone needs a primary care provider and should be seen Atleast once a year. If you don’t have insurance....Hell most...
Infected lymph node?

This is why everyone needs a primary care provider and should be seen Atleast once a year.

If you don’t have insurance....Hell most you can negotiate to pay out of pocket for 100-250 if no further tests are required. We spend more money on dumber shit. PCPs catch stuff like this early.

And also people go to the doctor and they’re like “yep feel great nothin wrong” when they got pressure here, some pain in their neck their...etc....get a check up and be honest about how your body feels.
It would be nice if that's how it worked in my area. Any doc worth a shit "isn't accepting new patients at this time". If you can schedule an appt within 2 weeks it's at one of those "investment house" owned places where you don't get to pick which of the 20 hacks you get to see. Forget seeing the same one twice. 45 minutes of paperwork and you have to document why you are there that day. What's the first question the doc asks...."what seems to be the problem today"? I wanna say, "why did you make me write all that shit down if you're not gonna read it". I don't ask that much from a doctor. I explain/show the problem...he says, "I know what that is and how to fix it"....OR just as importantly..."fuck if I know but here's a referral to a guy who does know". I spent a decade after the first gulf war trying to get rid of some crud on my feet from that shit hole. When I finally pitched a hissy fit, I got a specialist referral...and before I had my sock all the way off the doc diagnosed it. A shot and some pills...boom...cured. Long way around to say the medical system isn't what it used to be and varies by locale.
6/23/2018 7:55am
Just because they’re not accepting new patients doesn’t mean they’re awesome. Ask the ones who aren’t seeing new patients who they recommend you see.....
Nurse practitioners and PAs today are pretty awesome providers.

It’s like anything else you got shitty employees everywhere just because they are a Doctor doesn’t mean theyre good. Same goes for PA and NPs.
JPT
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Cedar Falls, IA US
6/23/2018 7:57am
I'm no hypochondriac but am a believer in getting things checked out if they go on too long.
rongi#401
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Location
southern, CA US
6/24/2018 1:04am
Infected lymph node? This is why everyone needs a primary care provider and should be seen Atleast once a year. If you don’t have insurance....Hell most...
Infected lymph node?

This is why everyone needs a primary care provider and should be seen Atleast once a year.

If you don’t have insurance....Hell most you can negotiate to pay out of pocket for 100-250 if no further tests are required. We spend more money on dumber shit. PCPs catch stuff like this early.

And also people go to the doctor and they’re like “yep feel great nothin wrong” when they got pressure here, some pain in their neck their...etc....get a check up and be honest about how your body feels.
plowboy wrote:
It would be nice if that's how it worked in my area. Any doc worth a shit "isn't accepting new patients at this time". If you...
It would be nice if that's how it worked in my area. Any doc worth a shit "isn't accepting new patients at this time". If you can schedule an appt within 2 weeks it's at one of those "investment house" owned places where you don't get to pick which of the 20 hacks you get to see. Forget seeing the same one twice. 45 minutes of paperwork and you have to document why you are there that day. What's the first question the doc asks...."what seems to be the problem today"? I wanna say, "why did you make me write all that shit down if you're not gonna read it". I don't ask that much from a doctor. I explain/show the problem...he says, "I know what that is and how to fix it"....OR just as importantly..."fuck if I know but here's a referral to a guy who does know". I spent a decade after the first gulf war trying to get rid of some crud on my feet from that shit hole. When I finally pitched a hissy fit, I got a specialist referral...and before I had my sock all the way off the doc diagnosed it. A shot and some pills...boom...cured. Long way around to say the medical system isn't what it used to be and varies by locale.
I work at the hospital they're place is owned by, the first appointment I went to was what I thought was unrelated, I needed time off to get some rest, was feeling extremely fatigued, it took about 2 weeks for me to get in there from the day I called as a new patient. I didn't even mention my ear or neck as I thought it was related to either my last concussion I got or from working the graveyard shift.

When I called about my ear and neck, they sheduped me for a visit that same day, I went in the next day because I had to get some sleep that day. This guy is not much older than me but seemed pretty thurough. Once I'm off these meds I really hope my symptoms don't come back...if they do then I'm going to have to get blood work and a MRI/CT scan and possibly a spinal tap
level
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Acworth, GA US
7/1/2018 7:35pm Edited Date/Time 7/1/2018 7:44pm
Antibiotics can be a god send sometimes. I’m always on them for sinus infections. I remember my daughter a few years ago had fever and green shit all in her nose. She was miserable and crying. A day on antibiotics and back to normal. of course she finished the script you have to or it will come back worse and be harder to treat.
I went through a period about 4 years ago where I was getting so sick every 30 to 45 days. I mean high fever and extreme teeth chattering chills and then non stop green and yellow stuff coming out. It was bad. It got so bad I honestly thought about just ending it. I was so miserable and tired of getting so sick. Doctors were absolutely no help at all. Just kept getting kn antibiotics to clear up the infection but it would come back in a month or two.

It was so bad I went and stayed with my mom for a month because it thought it was my house and then I just finally sold my house. I think it could of been some mold or something in my house. Plus I was a heavy smoker inside my office.

I did come in contact with a crap load of mold in my house in a unfinished section I was re doing. Don’t know if that was it or not. After I moved out it got better so I’m hoping that solved it. I just can’t go through that again. It was too hard. It was just non stop sinus infections over and over and over for over a year.

Im so paranoid now that whenever I start not feeling right I get on antibiotics right away. It was a traumatic experience that I’m still not over because I’m worried it will come back.
rongi#401
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southern, CA US
7/2/2018 5:50am Edited Date/Time 7/2/2018 5:52am
Shit I got mold in my house that I need to erradicate, got some under my sink and also in an unfinished bathroom I quit working on, also some in my garage. I think I got mine from a few years ago I was replacing a toilet, and was enjoying a cold beer or 8, and absentmindedly picked my nose....YUCK, got sick and it went away, but kept coming and going. I should probly get checked for hepatitis?
rpoint116
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Tempe, AZ US
7/26/2018 11:19pm
MR. X wrote:
I always get sinus headaches this time of year from all the pollen . My wife was the same way til she got the surgery to...
I always get sinus headaches this time of year from all the pollen . My wife was the same way til she got the surgery to basically roto rooter her sinuses so everything flowed properly .
18+ years ago I was getting fevers and sinus infections for 7-8 months. Had the surgery. I may have had 3 minor sinus headaches since.

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