Yay for you!
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Iām glad to hear you got the shot, and that you feel back to normal! That heart thing sounds weird (and scary).
I was about to peel off the bandaid for my second shot, when my wife noticed that the technician put it about half an inch below where I got the shot. Iām glad she didnāt miss my arm when wielding the needle.
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Itās times like that I wish I had a primary care physician.
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Everyone should, though, from what I hear, they are in short supply because new MDs tend to go into specialties so they can pay off their med school loans. And, of course, the US āhealthā system.
Can you get one through employment benefits or Obamacare? The older we get the more we need them. (Sigh.)
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In Soviet Russia, vaccine gets shot by you?
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Most of my adult life I have been varying combinations of poor/self-employed/healthy, so I got out of the habit of going to a doctor. But now as I enter the second half of my wasted life, I realize this is a ship I need to get back on.
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I personally hate the idea of a āprimary care physicianā. It seems to be something conned up by the insurance companies - ābefore you seek treatment for anything, you have to first select and go through an appointment with one of our limited list of allowed primary care physicians and only with a referral from them can you get treatment.ā
That might not sound so bad, but then every time you switch jobs or insurance companies, you have to switch doctors. And you have to go through all these formalities that waste time and money and are unnecessary.
Iām old enough, Iāve done that, I donāt want some other random doctor giving me the same lectures and ignoring what Iām there for. Or to waste time on unnecessary appointments where they just tell me to go somewhere else which I already knew Iād need to do.
I just want to go to my doctor if necessary, or otherwise just go straight to the relevant specialist. My doctor already gave me the lifestyle lectures, and heās also a good guy who actually listens and explains stuff. And he knows his limits, so I can just go straight to a specialist if I need to.
But yeah, if you donāt have a doc like that, you should find one. Forget the PCP nonsense, just find a doc you trust and get along with and figure out how to make that work. Itās one less bit of stress when you need medical.
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Good point. Thatās actually what I would want. Iāve been away from the medical world for so long, thatās what I thought a PCP was.
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Oh, no, angel dust isnāt good for you.
I learned this a number of decades ago. One thing Crohnās takes away from you is control over your life. One way you can get some of it back is to decide āOK, I donāt like this MD. Iām going to find another one.ā (Iāve had so many horrible ones.) Of course with the broken US health system this is often hard to do. I was so lucky getting a job with the Federal government, where health insurance was still a benefit with some choice in plans. I first went with Kaiser, but decided after they switched me from one gastroenterologist to another to a third, I said screw this and went with Blue Cross, even though it was more expensive. But by then I could afford it. And I really need a general MD to look at my overall state, given I have so many chronic problems ā making sure drugs donāt interact, looking at what might be missed, etc. Still havenāt really controlled osteoporosis (due to steroids) or cholesterol or hyperglycemia (except by exercise and diet) because Iām on 13 drugs already.*
Speaking of this term āPCPā, when I was in the hospital for the suspected (but nonexistent) stroke a few weeks ago, I came across MDs called āhospitalists.ā Iāve never heard that term before. They used to be called āhouse doctors.ā Two out of three of them were terrible, as was the a-hole who failed to get me my meds the first night. I had to beg for my anti-seizure drug.
*When we first met, one of my favorite doctors looked at my full page of meds and said, āYouāre on too many medications.ā Then he looked closer and said, āBut you canāt get off any of them.ā Sometimes I wonder if Iām worth using so much of the healthcare system!
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They are often doctors who are technically quite proficient but so socially inept that they canāt keep patients. This is especially true at Kaiser in SoCal.
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Actually I thought two of them to be technically inept too ā the guy who took down notes on separate little pieces of paper (I donāt think there were any used envelopes in his hands but I may be mistaken). Then thereās whoever prescribed my meds for 9:00 am and 9:00 pm, which I learned after midnight. I got to the hospital at about 5:00 pm or so. I told three separate people my roster of drugs, one of whom represented the pharmacy. Iām pretty sure I told one of the doctors too.
Oh well, I guess they do their best. 
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Has some interesting background information on the school thatās ordering teachers to not get vaccinations.
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Oh, well, thatās ok thenā¦ Iād never let anyone inject me with covid.
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