So I have an ulcer. I dry heave at least once a day and I haven’t eaten in 21 days. (Please do not give me advice, I hate it, I don’t want medical advice from people over the internet. At best, if you do, I’ll respond with a “thanks.”)
I’m in a somewhat smaller town, not really small, about 80,000 people maybe. There is exactly one gastroenterologist in this town. I went to him when I hadn’t eaten in 6 days. For a $50 copay, he said to take some Mylanta along with the Protonix I was already taking and call him in two weeks if I wasn’t better. So I call him yesterday. I talk to the nurse. I tell her all my symptoms, none of which have changed. She sounds very concerned.
I hear nothing all day. This morning, I call again. The doctor hasn’t even gotten to my information. So the nurse sends a message that I called again, which he probably also won’t see.
I have tried to get a second opinion, or just another prescription for something, but there is not a single gastroenterologist within a 90 minute drive that would see me within three months. I’m pretty sure if I don’t eat for three months, I’ll be pretty dead. I mean, I’m living on Ensure and Gatorade, but I doubt that will get me to three more months.
Oh, and this is the second time this has happened. The first time, I had to take a bunch of tests like a CT scan and an X-Ray and a blood panel and they found nothing. I had a scheduled colonoscopy anyway, so they just went down my throat as well and that’s when they found the ulcer. No one even suggested an ulcer before that.
Why am I saying all of this? I’m not even complaining about all of this. I’m complaining about the fact that this has cost me almost $2000 already and I feel lucky because I have good insurance. I’m not poor, but I don’t really have $2000 to spare. I’m paying it off in installments, but god damn, I have to pay all of this money and they have stopped even giving a shit about me.
What would someone in my position without insurance even do? Die? That’s what conservatives fucking want.
We need universal healthcare and a complete overhaul of the healthcare system now.
And any time you hear someone complain about how long a wait you have in Canada or the UK to see someone to help you and how America has the best healthcare system in the world and how people from other countries come here for treatment, send them to this post before telling them to get fucked.
TL;DR No one gives a shit about you in American healthcare except maybe the nurses and all they do is suck money out of your bank account.
When I talked to the nurse yesterday, she asked how much Ensure I was drinking. I said I had a bottle twice a day. She said, “that’s all you’re having?” I asked if I should drink it more often and she said, “I would, but don’t take my advice because I’m not the doctor.” Gee, thanks lady.
I know you don’t want advice. I know, but, there are meal replacements, that aren’t nothing but sugar, corn and soy crap, and are much more nutritionally complete. May be worth looking into them. Huel and Soylent (sold in Target for sure) are the first that come to mind. I understand if your reply is “thanks” just wanted to throw that out there, because I feel your pain.
I have ALL kinds of GI issues. The latest GI I saw, after waiting like 2 years during covid (had one appt before lockdowns, and then had to wait), and then another like 4 months after I called to book an appointment, ran a HIDA scan, which came back as low/abnormal. His answer? Oh, well it’s too close to normal to do surgery, so just take miralax and don’t eat fatty foods. Gee thanks, why didn’t I think of that, professionally trained guesser extortionist? When asked if there were going to be long term effects from taking a laxative, like, idk making constipation worse, his answer? IDK, maybe?
Good luck
I don’t think I could handle Soylent from what I’ve seen and read about it. I can just about take the Ensure without feeling too sick. I think the sweetness actually helps.
But now I’m just stunned. The gastro’s nurse just called me back and said first thing, “he wants you to have small and regular meals.” I don’t know how many more times I have to tell this asshole that I’m not eating.
That’s a severe calorie deficit. A friend who had ulcers told me about ensure plus, it’s like 350 calories per bottle vs 220 for regular ensure. 3 or more a day should help keep you from wasting away while the medical system does what it does. The nurse probably isn’t legally allowed to give medical advice, but they absolutely know their shit and I would definitely listen to whatever “suggestions” they give you.
Not defending the American medical system, or your specific provider, some are truly just in it for the money. However, the system kind of makes you complicit if you want to keep your doors open.
Providers are leaving the field in droves, especially the specialist. Management usually has full control over your time, and tends to pack in more patients than it’s really possible to treat and follow up on. The compensation isn’t really a huge motivating factor, especially for younger providers. There are plenty more financially rewarding jobs out there that require a lot less schooling and working hours.
I’m not saying that you need to do this, but if there are others in your situation who would like some advice…
Two teaspoons of sodium alginate, one teaspoon calcium carbonate, and one teaspoon of baking soda mixed together via electric hand frother will create a thick slime that helps coat your stomach lining. It’s been proven to reduce the symptoms that cause ulcerations, and proven to aid other treatments for peptic ulcers.
It also has the benefit of expanding in your stomach to make it feel as if you have eaten, which tends to help with some of the nausea.