Life in Smallville

So, based on my previous post, we are all pretty aware of how I have been feeling, right? no? ok, let's recap: three weeks ago I left work because I was feverish (cold and shivering and achey). After that I noticed some sinus pressure on one side preventing me from breathing on that side. I figured it would pass, so I took some Tylenol, NyQuil, and Nasal Decongestant. It didn't go away. I figured I would give it some more time because I didn't want to go to the doctor. I was avoiding that because without insurance, everything that has to do with your body is expensive. Last week I was getting sick of being sick, so I did some web research and diagnosed myself with a sinus infection based on my symptoms. Since I thought it was an infections, I knew I needed an antibiotic, so I was ready to break down and see the doc. Well, before I did that, I decided to consult my sister who is a nurse (why this didn't occur to me in week one is beyond me). She recommended a saline nasal spray or sinus irrigation. You can read more about that in the previous posts, but that gave me hope I would be better without the assistance of a doctor. Come Sunday I was still feeling terrible, so on Monday I went to Emergi-Care. There I waited in the waiting-room for 45 minutes before a nurse took me in, performed the general height, weight, blood pressure tests and told me the doctor would be in shortly. Twenty minutes later Doc comes in asking why I was there. Here's how it went:

Me: Well, I have had some sinus pressure on the left side preventing me from breathing. It's been going on for several weeks and I have tried all kinds of things. Last week I had some soreness in my teeth on that side, and after I did some research, I suspect it is a sinus infection. I think I need amoxicillin to get rid of the infection.
Doc: Interesting, let me check some things out. [Doc pokes in my ear (Dude, I said the problem was with my sinuses, why are you in my ear?), checks up my nose and down my throat. Then puts his cold stethoscope on my back and tells me to breathe deep, you know the drill.)] Ok, Ryan, it seems you have a sinus infection. I'm going to right you a prescription for amoxicillin, and that should clear up the infection in a few days.
Me: Thanks Doc, here's the $85 I owe you for that diagnosis. [While calculating in my head that that took 10 minutes. So $85 x 6 (for 60 minutes) = $510/hour. Well done Doc, well done.]

So, with a prescription in my hand for amoxicillin (required to kill the infection) and Flonase (advised by Doc to help with symptoms) I head to Walgreens and prepare to fork over another hefty chunk of change. When it was ready to be picked up, I glanced at the labels looking for the most important thing: price. Much to my surprise the first item I saw was $13.99, however, I was gravely disappointed when the other one showed up as $94.99. I took a deep breath and handed over my bank card as I said to myself I guess this is worth it to get better. As I am walking out, I hand over the drugs to My Girl with a seriously depressed look on my face. Luckily for me, she pays a bit better attention to detail and realizes that it's the Flonase that costs so much and not the antibiotic. Shocked, I turn back to the pharmacist asking if this is correct and ask for a more detailed summary of what Flonase does. After finding out it only treats the symptoms, I prompted returned it. I am happy to live a few more days with a stuffy nose and keep my $95.

Posted by supermn on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 at 10:09 AM | Permalink