I keep coming up with more insurance horror stories, so I figured I'd just leave them all in one location. But check these out, and tell me with a straight face that our health insurance system doesn't suck total balls.
Link #1: Navigating insurance billing issues, etc. when you're old and shit:
Read this article, and let me know if you'd be able to figure all this crap out when you're old and senile (like I plan on being)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/health/18tren.html
Link #2: Need a liver transplant? Denied... Wait we changed our mind, go ahead and get the transplany. Oh, you died already? Our bad.... (with no admission of wrong doing)
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fi-cigna25dec25,1,7386134.story
More on this later.
-Shim
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
How Nurse Erika Smacks Down on a Gnarly Cold by: Nurse Erika
Fluid:
I personally prefer to drown my germs. More accurately, when you feel achy/feverish/head-achy/devoid of energy - the symptoms aren't a direct cause of germs, those symptoms are cause by inflammation. Your body mounts an immune response to rid yourself of those germs. If you keep well hydrated, all this inflammation plays out in a diluted environment, the water all the while buffering the horrible effects of inflammation on your body. I do like to imagine the cold bugs drowning, I must confess. Bonus - your day of general malaise will be interrupted by frequent trips to the bathroom to pee. And who doesn't love the relaxation and gratification of going pee?
Take a lesson from your Asian grandmother:
Not sure if this one really helps, but when I get a cold, I bundle up. This is in no way medically proven, and pay diligent attention to your body temperature because high fevers cause organ failure and brain damage. That being said, fever is the body's way of cooking germs. I adopted this practice naturally after years of working with a largely Asian patient population in SF. After I thoroughly hydrate, I put on hat/scarf/mittens/sweater. I get a hot brothy soup. I cook. I do it until I'm uncomfortably hot. I sweat. Once again, I imagine my cold bugs cooking. Downside... all that sweating really cuts down on my urine output.
Complementary Pharmacy
Read the labels of a few different cold and flu pills (thera-flu aside, shimmy...), and you'll notice they are all made of the same basic ingredients, mixed in the same quantities, but baring different names and prices. (Just like the Taco Bell menu...).
Here is a quick and dirty guide. Keep these simple remedies on hand and combine as needed. And buy the cheap store version.
Loratidine: Clears up stuffy nose and watery eyes - the allergic/itchy/sneezy part of the cold. Diphenhydramine: Same family, but this one puts you to sleep. Use to dry up sinuses at night. Pseudoephedrine: AKA Speed. Take this one sparingly and skip the coffee to avoid the shakes at work. 60mg is PLENTY. Pseudoephedrine causes the smooth muscle in the respiratory tract to contract, opening up stuffy noses. Ingested speed keeps you feeling way better than you really are. Take this with a bit of Loratidine to diminish the healthy stream of snot that flows from your newly unclogged sinuses. Anti-inflammatory (Ibuprofen or Tylenol or Aspirin): When you start to shake and ache and are rendered to a ball of dull pain weeping alone on your couch, its time to call time-out. Take an anti-inflammatory and get some respite. Use the downtime to hydrate.
Of course, if you aren't that sick, my favorites are non-medicines. My pharmacist endorses emergen-C over Airborne - I believe in her convictions. Garlic and Onion have natural anti-inflammatory properties. Leafy greens and tomatoes offer anti-oxidants. Berries have antiseptic qualities, as does sage. Okra soothes sore throats. Find a hearty vegetable soup and have at it. I actually add vege-mite for its beefy salty flavor, and its high concentration of B-vitamins. Don't forget the chili flakes to induce sweating. Fuck yeah.
Rest:
You must watch TV, something mind dulling. Don't watch anything that makes you think. Don't work from home. Don't contemplate the meaning of it all. Your cells are all inflamed - don't make things worse for them. Just please don't watch Maury Povich - I'm pretty sure his show causes inflammation on a cellular level.
I hope you take as much pleasure battling the cold and flu as I do. But lets take a moment to give credit to all bacteria - as they are the original life form, and we are THEIR illness. So fight them off at will, but respect your elders.
Fluid:
I personally prefer to drown my germs. More accurately, when you feel achy/feverish/head-achy/devoid of energy - the symptoms aren't a direct cause of germs, those symptoms are cause by inflammation. Your body mounts an immune response to rid yourself of those germs. If you keep well hydrated, all this inflammation plays out in a diluted environment, the water all the while buffering the horrible effects of inflammation on your body. I do like to imagine the cold bugs drowning, I must confess. Bonus - your day of general malaise will be interrupted by frequent trips to the bathroom to pee. And who doesn't love the relaxation and gratification of going pee?
Take a lesson from your Asian grandmother:
Not sure if this one really helps, but when I get a cold, I bundle up. This is in no way medically proven, and pay diligent attention to your body temperature because high fevers cause organ failure and brain damage. That being said, fever is the body's way of cooking germs. I adopted this practice naturally after years of working with a largely Asian patient population in SF. After I thoroughly hydrate, I put on hat/scarf/mittens/sweater. I get a hot brothy soup. I cook. I do it until I'm uncomfortably hot. I sweat. Once again, I imagine my cold bugs cooking. Downside... all that sweating really cuts down on my urine output.
Complementary Pharmacy
Read the labels of a few different cold and flu pills (thera-flu aside, shimmy...), and you'll notice they are all made of the same basic ingredients, mixed in the same quantities, but baring different names and prices. (Just like the Taco Bell menu...).
Here is a quick and dirty guide. Keep these simple remedies on hand and combine as needed. And buy the cheap store version.
Loratidine: Clears up stuffy nose and watery eyes - the allergic/itchy/sneezy part of the cold. Diphenhydramine: Same family, but this one puts you to sleep. Use to dry up sinuses at night. Pseudoephedrine: AKA Speed. Take this one sparingly and skip the coffee to avoid the shakes at work. 60mg is PLENTY. Pseudoephedrine causes the smooth muscle in the respiratory tract to contract, opening up stuffy noses. Ingested speed keeps you feeling way better than you really are. Take this with a bit of Loratidine to diminish the healthy stream of snot that flows from your newly unclogged sinuses. Anti-inflammatory (Ibuprofen or Tylenol or Aspirin): When you start to shake and ache and are rendered to a ball of dull pain weeping alone on your couch, its time to call time-out. Take an anti-inflammatory and get some respite. Use the downtime to hydrate.
Of course, if you aren't that sick, my favorites are non-medicines. My pharmacist endorses emergen-C over Airborne - I believe in her convictions. Garlic and Onion have natural anti-inflammatory properties. Leafy greens and tomatoes offer anti-oxidants. Berries have antiseptic qualities, as does sage. Okra soothes sore throats. Find a hearty vegetable soup and have at it. I actually add vege-mite for its beefy salty flavor, and its high concentration of B-vitamins. Don't forget the chili flakes to induce sweating. Fuck yeah.
Rest:
You must watch TV, something mind dulling. Don't watch anything that makes you think. Don't work from home. Don't contemplate the meaning of it all. Your cells are all inflamed - don't make things worse for them. Just please don't watch Maury Povich - I'm pretty sure his show causes inflammation on a cellular level.
I hope you take as much pleasure battling the cold and flu as I do. But lets take a moment to give credit to all bacteria - as they are the original life form, and we are THEIR illness. So fight them off at will, but respect your elders.
Managing the Winter Cold - Shim's unqualified opinion
So kiddos, I've been laid out on my ass the last couple days with a really nasty head/chest cold that is running through the Bay Area.
I'm thinking lack of sleep, skydiving, and winter camping in the rain might have had something to do with this. But it got me thinking about my own tried and trued remedies of recovering quickly from a cold.
So for the weekend, I thought I'd offer up my totally medically unqualified opinion and see if E-Rock has any thoughts on this as well. FUN!
Jamba Juice
Necessary? Perhaps not, but whenever I call in sick (legitimately) the first thing I do is beeline for the nearest Jamba Juice. I order two things: the "Coldbuster" with an extra immunity boost, as well as a double shot of wheatgrass.
Wheatgrass is totally disgusting. When they grind it through the juicer, it looks like a giant green turd is squeezing out of a metal anus. It tastes even worse! Like "training wheels" with tequila, the kind folks at Jamba offer up an orange wedge to chase the taste with. And like the manly man I am, I sneer at their offer of oranges and take the shot like a... man.
Is it nasty? Hell yeahs. But for some reason I am convinced that wheatgrass helps my recovery. Just be sure to be within striking distance of a bathroom within 15 minutes of consumption, as wheatgrass has a sort of Drano effect on my digestive system. But I gotta tell ya folks, I feel like I can lift a goddamn bus after I take that shit down.
Theraflu
Oh man, Theraflu is money. Empty out that little packet into a cup of hot water and take it down. Instant recovery! I had some friends in college who got a little overzealous with the Theraflu. They emptied out a packet into a bong and smoked it.
I'm a bit skeptical about the health benefits of this, as they didn't bind it with baking soda or anything like that before smoking it. But hey, I'm not a professional. Maybe E-rock can weigh in on the benefits of this.
Pho
Vietnamese equivalent of chicken noodle soup! A little well done brisket and rare flank steak served with rice noodles, mung bean sprouts and Thai basil swimming in a delicious beef broth. Add some Spiracha and lime, and you got a little bit of heaven. It cures what ails ya. Matter of fact, the only reason I came into work today is that there's a kickass pho restaurant within 2 miles of my office.
E-rock's one of those "vegetarians" so will probably poo-poo my pho idea. I counter with one of the slogans from the American Beef Rancher's Association: "If God meant us to be vegetarians, why did he make animals out of meat?"
Well, E-rock? Got anything to say about that?
Daytime television
I think there's some sort of government conspiracy going on between the TV networks and the rest of corporate America. If daytime TV was any good, I'd call in sick all the time. But I gotta tell ya, having to choose between the "Tyra Banks Show", "Judge Judy" and reruns of "The Pretender" makes me want to go back to work faster than anything.
I fucking hate daytime TV.
On that note, time to be productive. I gots things to do today!
Ta,
-Shim
I'm thinking lack of sleep, skydiving, and winter camping in the rain might have had something to do with this. But it got me thinking about my own tried and trued remedies of recovering quickly from a cold.
So for the weekend, I thought I'd offer up my totally medically unqualified opinion and see if E-Rock has any thoughts on this as well. FUN!
Jamba Juice
Necessary? Perhaps not, but whenever I call in sick (legitimately) the first thing I do is beeline for the nearest Jamba Juice. I order two things: the "Coldbuster" with an extra immunity boost, as well as a double shot of wheatgrass.
Wheatgrass is totally disgusting. When they grind it through the juicer, it looks like a giant green turd is squeezing out of a metal anus. It tastes even worse! Like "training wheels" with tequila, the kind folks at Jamba offer up an orange wedge to chase the taste with. And like the manly man I am, I sneer at their offer of oranges and take the shot like a... man.
Is it nasty? Hell yeahs. But for some reason I am convinced that wheatgrass helps my recovery. Just be sure to be within striking distance of a bathroom within 15 minutes of consumption, as wheatgrass has a sort of Drano effect on my digestive system. But I gotta tell ya folks, I feel like I can lift a goddamn bus after I take that shit down.
Theraflu
Oh man, Theraflu is money. Empty out that little packet into a cup of hot water and take it down. Instant recovery! I had some friends in college who got a little overzealous with the Theraflu. They emptied out a packet into a bong and smoked it.
I'm a bit skeptical about the health benefits of this, as they didn't bind it with baking soda or anything like that before smoking it. But hey, I'm not a professional. Maybe E-rock can weigh in on the benefits of this.
Pho
Vietnamese equivalent of chicken noodle soup! A little well done brisket and rare flank steak served with rice noodles, mung bean sprouts and Thai basil swimming in a delicious beef broth. Add some Spiracha and lime, and you got a little bit of heaven. It cures what ails ya. Matter of fact, the only reason I came into work today is that there's a kickass pho restaurant within 2 miles of my office.
E-rock's one of those "vegetarians" so will probably poo-poo my pho idea. I counter with one of the slogans from the American Beef Rancher's Association: "If God meant us to be vegetarians, why did he make animals out of meat?"
Well, E-rock? Got anything to say about that?
Daytime television
I think there's some sort of government conspiracy going on between the TV networks and the rest of corporate America. If daytime TV was any good, I'd call in sick all the time. But I gotta tell ya, having to choose between the "Tyra Banks Show", "Judge Judy" and reruns of "The Pretender" makes me want to go back to work faster than anything.
I fucking hate daytime TV.
On that note, time to be productive. I gots things to do today!
Ta,
-Shim
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
OOH Exciting!
So Erock and I are going to start blogging together. This is the first post of our new joint venture. My member is unfurling out of excitement just thinking about THE POSSIBILITIES!
Erock rules. She makes me laugh. A Southern nurse from Florida who does jujitsu in her spare time. This is the definition of "badass."
So if you don't like me that's all good. I'll have Erika tie you into a pretzel while I administer you a barium enema.
You're lucky I don't have her stick a camera up your ass! She's done it before you know...
Punk.
Erock rules. She makes me laugh. A Southern nurse from Florida who does jujitsu in her spare time. This is the definition of "badass."
So if you don't like me that's all good. I'll have Erika tie you into a pretzel while I administer you a barium enema.
You're lucky I don't have her stick a camera up your ass! She's done it before you know...
Punk.
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