Health Issues

A few weeks ago I ran out of my prescription allergy medication, Singulair. I was also out of refills on my prescription and so I made the obligatory call to the Doctor's office to get a new one. Well, they check with the Dr. and he would only call in a thirty day prescription and I would have to come in for an office visit to get a new 'script with refills...and they can't get me in for two weeks.

Does this sound like a scam to anybody else? I'm thinking that the conversation will go something like this:

Dr: How have you been feeling?

John: Fine, when my allergies aren't bothering me.

Dr: How have you been managing your allergies?

John: With Singulair. (unspoken--duh)

Dr: Okay, you can pick up a new prescription at the desk. (unspoken--where we'll also collect your co-pay and bill your insurance for an office visit!)

If it weren't for the job, I'd manage with the over the counter stuff and forget the note from the Dr. to tell the Pharmacist that I said I needed Singulair and (for a small fee) he agrees with me! The air traffic controller gig prevents me from taking anything that might make me drowsy and so I'm somewhat limited. Claritin is better than nothing--but not that much better.

In the end, I'm changing Doctors. I doubt that the policies and practices will change much from one office to the other (they are most likely dictated by malpractice insurance--which drives up the cost of health care, which drives up the cost of health insurance, which eventually increases liability and drives up the cost of malpractice insurance and increases restrictions on doctors, yada, yada, yada. Blah, blah, blah.) But this new Doc is the one that I see annually for my flight physical. I'll start with a real physical in a few weeks, fasting, blood work, the whole bit. That gives me about six weeks to lose some weight and get into a little bit better shape. It gives me some incentive to do what needs to be done anyways.

Here's an interesting article about Baptists and health issues.

In the words of Homer Simpson, "It's a good thing God didn't make gluttony a sin!"

We're all (Southern Baptists) pretty big on condemning the drinking, gambling, abortion and any number of social sins. But eating?! How can that be a sin? And even if it is a sin, it's not as bad as ...(fill in your favorite "I'm not as bad as so-and so's" sin).

At my recent family reunion, I took the "fat boy" award pretty much hands down. At work, I'm the go-to guy for where to go for good eats. Hey, you don't get advice for good food from a skinny guy! It's time for a change. I'm sure I'll still have the occasional indulgence in a ballpark dog and I doubt that I'll miss a rare opportunity for some Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard. For the record, I'm starting at 245 lbs. It's seven weeks until my physical. That will tell the story of just how serious (or not) I really am. My usual weight loss endeavors have been accompanied by a bet/challenge. This time it's just for better health and longer life, which should be incentive enough. Of course, if anyone wants to make it a contest...

John