lawndart, the kind that go to prison are the ones who perforate your colon, or miss when drilling your tooth atnd drill into your jaw, or do some other form of malpractice, and then discharge you without telling you, so when your survivors go to court, it's their word against the hospital's insurance companies.

My friend, the nurse, tells me that at the large hospital she works at, the docs are briefed to never admit to a mistake, no matter what, as it increases the lawsuit settlement.

On the other hand, I owe the life of my oldest child to a neurologist who just happened to be hanging around when my child was admitted with an accidental perforation of her skull. (FREAK car accident) The guy specializes in separating twins conjoined at the head, (you can specialize in that????) and just happened to be slumming at a Des Moines hospital (I think he is enamored of a young lady who works there) and he saved my girl's life without even working up a sweat. The normal on-call physician just about humped the guy's leg, he was so effusive with being around his level of talent. The doc and I then sat down and watched a football game and drank a beer. (I was buying.)

Doc's are a lot like lawyers. There's good ones, and bad ones, but it's when all of them circle the wagons that it's tough for the rest of them to like any of them.

quote:

Cholesterol levels are mainly a function of age, and especially of who we picked to have for parents. Only 15% of our circulating cholesterol is from our diet, the rest is built by our body, mainly while we sleep.

I feel vindicated and will continue to fry my Sunday morning bagel in bacon fat and cover it with cream cheese with chives. I eat red meat 3 times a day, 7 days a week and hope to die quickly from gun shot wounds from my girl friend's husband....don't tell my wife!!

Seriously, I had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast done in the toaster, bean soup for lunch and grilled chicken and green beans for dinner and loaded and unloaded 20 bushell of corn, watched my kids drive 60 T posts and pulled about 550' of 4' fence fabric..yeah I helped.

I gained 30 lbs since I stopped smoking and my doctor says I need to loose some of it...I can eat rabbit food for weeks and not loose an ounce. I'm happy the way I am and I hope I die that way!! Doctors and dentist and have done a fine job putting my body back together after I broke it and I'm happy they did....all hail doctors!!

As a former fatty, I found the way to lose weight involved 3-5 aerobic workouts a week, combined with 2-3 20 min weight workouts a week. I've lost 40 pounds and counting....

quote:

Doc's are a lot like lawyers. There's good ones, and bad ones, but it's when all of them circle the wagons that it's tough for the rest of them to like any of them.

I had a bad outcome in 1992. My patient was 82 years old. Worked for seven hours, but lost her. I immediately picked up a phone, called her brother and told him exactly what had happened. He asked, "did you do your best for her?" I said that I had. He said, "thank you for trying; go home and get some sleep young man." The next morning the hospital chief of staff reminded me not to talk to anyone.

Once again, I invite anyone to come on out for a week. Bring your roller skates.

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart:

Hey Dan,
We can get rid of the fungus completely, finally, safely and comfortably. Shoot me a PM when you get back.

Lawndart,
Don't keep this info to yourself.
Lamisil didn't work for me.
If you know the answer, I'm all ears.

Never thunk this thread would turn into such a good read...back from our travails and travels, heavy frost on the ground today. Bless you all, I'm headin' for the woods today, me and Ravage...even though he hasn't been properly finished yet.

Crats beware!

Dan

Pres., TYHC

http://www.Winter.Wonderland

Toenail fungus? My Grandpa, born August 1900, said to keep it wet with vineagar. It worked. Just had to not be distilled. One Doc almost killed me. He no longer practices medicine in this state. I allowed him to come close to ending my life. I take a greater part in my own treatment these days. LD is right about being informed as possible. Packy

I don't care much for the Lamisil that is advertised. I use it only as a third line agent. The big issue is that it is taken so frequently. It is also pretty spendy.

I had fungus in my toenails for a long time courtesy of a trip to Panama in 1975. I almost had some nails surgically removed multiple times. In 1994 I tried Diflucan (fluconazole) at 200mg per week for a year. Cleared them up and it has never returned.

I get baseline liver enzymes on my patients, and then re check at one month, three months, and six months. I haven't had to discontinue anyone yet. It is generally well tolerated, again because of the once a week dosing schedule. Diflucan is now generic, and costs about $2.50 per pill. That is $10.00 - $12.50 per month. It is the same stuff that is margeted as a one time pill for female yeast infections. The blood test should only cost about $20.00 plus the drawing fee.

For the more herbally inclined, I have one patient who is taking capsule of "wild oregano concentrate". I'm not sure what is really in that stuff, but his nails are indeed clearing.

For the more mechanically oriented folks a weak bleach in detergent/water solution is said to penetrate the nails from the outside; apply twice daily. I used to grind my nails down with a dremel. I surely knew it when I got down to live tissue!


The main thing to remember is that our toenails grow pretty slowly. You have to keep up with whatever treatment you choose for about 9-14 months. I ask people to stay on their medicine for 2-3 months after their nails are completely pink and healthy looking.

lawndart

I ran over one of my toes several years ago back in college when I was working at a grocery store, with a pallet jack hauling a full pallet loaded with cans of dog food.

I was unloading the pallet off the truck and it got out of control and was going to slam into the wall of the building. Being the noble sap that I am, I interposed myself between the pallet jack and the wall to protect the merchandise. I put my down out of instinct to stop that jack, and it ran right over my foot, squashing my big toe, and the toe adjacent.

I could feel the blood in my shoe and the bones when they crushed. The manager comes running over and asks me if I'm ok. "Yes sir. Fine sir!", and I hobbled off - happy in my service to Winn Dixie.

I got home that night, peeled what was left of my toe out of my shoe and sock, and soaked it for a while. It was pretty rough, but I didn't go to the doctor. It eventually healed with my grandmother tending to it. (Of note, my grandmother's an RN, and my father was a field medic in 'nam.)

Now, the nail just grows sort of sideways and cork-screw like ... it grows down into the side of my toe, and around towards the bottom, so every now and then I have to take a pair of hemostats and pull the nail back out. I talked to my doctor about it, and he told me to just cut a 'V' into the end of it and see if it ever corrects itself (that's been about 8 years ago), and it's still as mangled as ever.

What I do, whenever the nail grows into the side of my toe enough that it really hurts to walk on it, and it needs removing, is first off - down a couple swigs of a good scotch, then soak the whole end of my toe in Anbesol, even with a Q-tip and liberally drizzling it all over the nail and under it as best I can, then latch on with the hemostats and grin and bear it.

The odd thing is -- the toe adjacent to my big toe reformed and healed normally, and the nail is absolutely fine today... you'd never tell it was even smashed.

That sounds like one half of a smashing good tail... 'cuse me while I go barf... oh yeah, don't y'all EVER put your digits between a boat gunnel and the dock...EVER...NEVER... And don't you go volunteering to crew a 12 meter on a windy day if they want you to be a sheet monkey.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

http://www.ImTurnin.Green

Not that I believe anyone was seriously thinking about doing it, but I wanted to caution everyone NOT to put your index fingers between the stationary ball and the returned ball at the bowling lane. Both right and left trigger fingers were crushed at the first joint. Impaled on the horns of a....problem...I chose not to go to the emergency room at the hospital where there would be a record of the results of my stupid actions, I sought out a friend who just happened to be a flight surgeon. Using tape, tongue depressors and lots of scotch, he realigned my fingers just fine. I kept my hands in my pockets for weeks, but eventually they healed just fine. As I recall the biggest problem was the proper appication of toilet paper throughout the recovery period.

Nice to see ya back Dan!!

quote:

What I do, whenever the nail grows into the side of my toe enough that it really hurts to walk on it, and it needs removing, is first off - down a couple swigs of a good scotch, then soak the whole end of my toe in Anbesol, even with a Q-tip and liberally drizzling it all over the nail and under it as best I can, then latch on with the hemostats and grin and bear it.

Your nail arises in a zone called the matrix (yep). If that gets smushed; well you know what happens now. In lieu of 5 ounces of scots whisky I do a digital block to numb the entire toe, remove the nail and then apply some phenol to the matrix area. Voila, no more nail.

I must also recommend strongly against knocking the little compressor for your airbrush off of a high shelf if your toe lies in the path along which gravity will suck the compressor down toward mother earth.

When pulling rocks out from underneath a boulder so your faithful German Shorthair Pointer can get at whatever creature lives there; do watch to not have a family sized rock roll back an smush your right little finger against the side of the boulder.

On your first full fledged hang gliding flight off of Grandfather Mountain in NC (circa 1975), do let go of the cross bar prior to contacting terra firma.

And we all wonder how we know when a low pressure front is rolling in before the weatherman says anything.

Damn, I was hoping you were answering the tonail fungus question.

He did, look up about a foot worth of scroll...

Dimocrat Republican

Crat hunter

Don't ever take a knife to a gun fight.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

http://www.SizeDOES.Matter

In the same line...

Don't ever get into the habit of using your steel toed work boots to break the fall of everything you drop...cause when you make that quick trip to grab something from your workbench and knock off a prized chunk of oak destined to be carved...you'll be wearing sandals.

I amputated the tip of my right thumb working in a kitchen. Saved some big bucks my using the rubbing alcohol, kleenex and electrical tape solution. Damn cats ate the tip of my thumb, though. Well, I guess I wasn't using it

Lawndart--I'm an old Huey Dustoffer from the VN era. I flew "crash hawks" my last "flying job" as a bn cdr, but only because there weren't any Hueys. I am living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks, as I learned to herd the Hawk around the traffic pattern in a respectable enough manner that the young guys weren't afraid to fly with me.

Dustoffer,

When you needed one they were mighty pretty and not an "UGLY HOTEL ONE"

dustoffer,
As a grunt medic a long time ago I fell in love with slicks. Used to skydive out of them on the weekend at Fort Bragg. I wanted to go to the WOC course, but division was short of medics, so the paperwork had no chance of getting a decent endorsement at battalion.

I truly stumbled into the USAF flying slot while going to college. I was one of the very last allowed to go to pilot training with only two years of college. Thank God for the expansion of the Cold War!

I can still hear a Huey from a loooong way off. During STABO familiarization down at Ft. Sherman in the canal zone we (ok, I) flipped off the crew we were rewarded with a dunk in the lagoon. Too cool.

I think the slick was/is the DC-3 of its time. I could fall asleep in a Huey, but the Crash Hawk really jiggled my guts. And all those damn instruments. What more do you really need than pitch, collective and two big brass balls.

Thank you for your service. I dropped a few bombs, but you guys saved so many lives.

lawndart

Yeah Dustoffer, my forth chopper ride in Nam was with one of yous guys. Three rides in a LOH, one in a dustoff...kinda has a catchy beat; Wop-Wop-Wop, dropped me off at the Marble Mountain evac shop, don't remember the number.

Lesson learned: They will stop shooting at you when you take 30' out of the top of a really big tree, the LOH will keep flyin', and you ain't gonna like it after the fact. Note to self: Explore other defensive strategies.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

http://www.Ooooooh.Darn

We still have a pretty fair number of UH1 types up here but they call them Bell 214's and such. That main rotor noise is like music and when it gets closer the buzzing is cresendo! derf

I have lost a lot of respect for doctors over the years. Mostly for their ears -- 'cause they seem to spend a lot more time writing than listening.

I'll take exception with Lawndart on the Doc-in-a-Box outfits. At least around here. Most of them are either stocked with fresh-out-of school docs getting lots and lots of experience with runny noses, or with (semi) retired old farts, that have pretty much seen it all.

What I like about them is that they don't ASSUME anthing. They listen to my history, and they come to reasonable conclusions. They have no financial incentive to milk me for three more visits. If they don't know, they send me off to a good (physical therapist / bone doc / psychiatrist).

Also, I don't find the doctors as offensive as the lawyers, and the lawyers less offensive than the insurance people.

RANT ON: Insurance exists to cover situations that you cannot predict and cannot afford. Paying for a dental cleaning is pretty affordable and predictable! Why are we saddling the system with a 50-75% surcharge on all minor procedures by running them through an insurance system? RANT OFF

A local doctor here (I believe it was local) has stopped accepting any kind of insurance. You go see him, pay $25 bucks for his time, and go home. He answers his own phone. You file your own insurance papers, if you want. From what I understand, his net income just about doubled from before.

There's a lesson there, somewhere. JMO, Dutch.

quote:

RANT ON: Insurance exists to cover situations that you cannot predict and cannot afford. Paying for a dental cleaning is pretty affordable and predictable! Why are we saddling the system with a 50-75% surcharge on all minor procedures by running them through an insurance system? RANT OFF

I'm not allowed to have a separate fee schedule for cash payers and insured patients. It is basically legally mandated cost shifting. I am allowed to make adjustments to charges, which I do all the time.

What I am allowed to charge is mandated by the insurance companies and medicare.

I see people every week who had gone to one of the doc in a boxes over toward the city. I worked for one of those outfits back in Illinois. At the time I was paid on an hourly rate, and could take care of patients appropriately. Now I have learned that the outfit has put the doctors on a purely commission basis. Human nature being what it is, the docs there are now hanging on to people too long, scheduling more follow up visits, etc.

The cash and carry option works for people from 25 to 60. It is not the best option for kids or the over 60 crowd.

In the end, I have to serve my patients needs and desires. My hours are from 13:00 to 21:00 so people can come in after work or school. Most of my patients (by a wide margin) prefer the insurance concept. I give cash payers a significant break, and I see straight medicare even though my younger patients are subsidizing their visits.

No easy choices or simple answers.

LD

I've found that application of diesel fuel to the cuffs of my pants speeds me through the whole routine,,expecially the waiting room,,then the little exam room,,,even my eyes are watering,,,,Clay http://www.rentaluniformsaretossedinthebedofthetruck.com

Lawndart, I took the liberty of linking this discussion to a post over at http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php
in the BPCR forum. Dunno if you do any of that but there is some interesting characters over there too, one of them sort of a neighbor..."up north of the Cascades"...well, it's closer than Yankeetown. Anyhoo, if you're inclined or interested you might drop in and say 'Howdy'. Some of them talk kinda funny...like calling bullets 'Hindenbergs'...and whatnot.

BTW, worked my toes over with a dremmel last night...damn that tickles! Wife thinks I'm nutz, my toes say 'Thanks!'. They can flex once more in the bed area.

Dan

Pres., TYHC

http://www.TapDanceLessons.NextWeek *


* Hey 120mm, you ever try tap dancing with fresh slippers on?

Dan,
I get over there every now and then. Nice guys.

claybuster,
I like that diesel trick. We have so many ranchers and dairy farmers around here that we might not notice.

LD