Bad medicine, poverty and obesity as causes
By Seaclans
@Seaclans (215)
United States
August 9, 2007 10:40am CST
I am currently in the midst of a snafu situation with health care. I have a skin condition with a possible diagnosis of HS. I've had it for many years, and up until this July, no one mentioned a possible diagnosis, just said to use antibacterial soap. I have been, but it doesn't help much.
So anyway, due to the poor level of care I receive at my current clinic I try to use the urgent care clinic as much as possible, one of the doctors there is very good and seems to care about what she is doing. It was she that offered a possible diagnosis for what is going on with me.
They also have gone out of their way to make referrals for me. The first was to a surgeon, since some of the cysts will need to be removed that way, in order to keep they from continually returning. Unfortunately this surgeon was primarily a bariatric surgeon, (stomach stapling and related procedures) and since I am quite over weight, he gave a cursory look at the sites where the skin condition is and proceeded to do a hard sell for me to get the surgery. My support person who was in the room at the time described it as like being with a used car salesperson. When I told the doctor that I only had state medicaid for insurance he backed off slightly. When I tried to steer him back onto the subject of my condition, he dismissed the diagnosis since I do not currently have cysts in the most typical area associate with the disease, despite the fact that the areas I do have it are other places it occurs, according to what little info I could find about it on the internet. As far as he was concerned the skin problem was caused by my weight. As to actually treating the condition, he said I needed to see a dermatologist and sent me on my way without a referral.
So. when I had finished my current course of antibiotics and my condition flared again, I went back to urgent care. I didn't get to see the really good doctor this time, instead it was the one who when I first went in to deal with the abscess one of the cysts had turned into, she freaked me out by saying the only time she had seen something like it before it turned out to be cancer. After a bit of flaky behavior on her part and a recommendation that I quit smoking, (smoking slows healing apparently, but also keeps me saner than any psych medication I've been on) she settled down and did the research to find out how to treat it. She started me on suppressive antibiotics, and gave me a shot of steroid in the area that was currently causing the problem. And put into motion a referral to a dermatologist.
About a week later I get a call from them, saying that apparently there is not a single dermatologist in the state that accepts medicaid. They recommended I contact medicaid for a possible out of state referral. Medicaid has yet to return my phone calls.
The moral of the story is, since I have been on SSI my entire adult life, and cannot work, the level of health care available to me is really very low. Added to that, since I am obese, most of the doctors I can see write everything off as "it's because of your weight," and often provide no other treatment than to suggest I diet and exercise more. I do actually watch what I eat to the best of my ability without making myself crazy over it. In addition, I've been loosing inches, if not pounds, suggesting that I am doing enough exercise in my daily life to be building muscle. And since much of this weight was put on due to years on various psychiatric medications, now that I am tapering off the last of them, I can expect more weight to come off, assuming the medications haven't permanently damaged my metabolism.
Is anyone out there in similar situations? And if so, what do you do about it? I'd really like a way to unlock better health care for myself.
3 people like this
4 responses
@GardenGerty (160978)
• United States
16 Sep 07
There is nothing like a closed mind to perpetuate an injustice. I am sorry that you ran into someone like that. Yes, people who are on medicaid have to settle for second or third best treatment, often. On the other hand there are many good services provided for poor people, if you can find them. I am not in your part of they country,but my sister and niece receive some treatments at reduced cost at clinics in a larger nearby city. I do not know how you learn about these clinics, but often they are staffed by excellent physicians who are motivated by altruism. I would also look into other eligibilities. For instance my family members are eligible for tribal support and services of a certain Indian tribe. We are biologically very far removed from appearing to be native American, but have family members on the Dawes Rolls of 1907, perhaps you or your family have some kind of affinity that would make you eligible for treatment. I know that you are on SSI which translates to a very low income. I know that there are many plans that are fairly reasonably priced to provide health care, and they are more like memberships than insurance. I wish you well, and I am listening to what you say about smoking, but I also read what all of the websites say about smoking causing a delay in healing, as well as being bad for your lungs. I hope you find something else that will help you as well. Congrats on your progress in building muscle. We know that muscle weighs more than fat.
@Seaclans (215)
• United States
17 Sep 07
Thank you for your kind remarks. I will keep the possibility of free clinics in mind. I was recently able to find out that there is a hospital associated clinic in the area that does take medicaid. I hope to find the quality of care better as well as more accessible. I'll find out later this month.
As far as the substitute for smoking, I don't have much hope at this time. There would need to be a shift in attitudes in order for there to be research into reasons why someone might be drawn to smoking, despite the risks, beyond the idea of nicotine addiction. I'm sure as with many other plant based medicines, the one ingredient focused on (nicotine in this case) is not the only one that is actually active in the body. If it were, people who uses patches and such to help them quit would have a much easier time of it.
@humbleme (1004)
• India
10 Aug 07
Hello Seaclans, Sorry to hear your suffering.The link below
is the most latest HS Research Report,you can print out the entire content and can pass on the printout to your doctor as it might help your doctor.
www.truenaturalweightloss.com/HSResearchReport.html
@rogue13xmen13 (14402)
• United States
10 Aug 07
I have Kaiser Health Insurance and my doctors have told me time and time again that if do not take care of myself, if I do not exercise, and I do not do what I should do to keep healthy, I will not live a long life. I do everything that I can to keep and stay healthy.
@Graphictruth (11)
• United States
9 Aug 07
This is one of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of examples why the profit motive does need to be removed from the practice of medicine - and I say that as a devout libertarian. Actually, what we most need to do is eliminate middlemen who have any say about our medical care, and we need to somehow de-link best practices and good preventive care from money.
How we pay for it is more of a philosophical problem than a practical one - as a nation, the United States can easily afford universal health care.
I suppose this is not a directly helpful response, but Seaclans is in a situation where the shortest route toward effective treatment is political.