Hi! hope you had a better week than I did. Took two days off because of my blasted arrhythmia. Usually I have a bout once a month or so, lasts a day or less and I'm good for another month. Well Tue. it started and Wed. it was still going so I made an appointment with the doctor. He started telling me that we needed to start thinking about another alternative, as the drug route wasn't working. So that means surgery, they go in and snip a special nerve that regulates the firing of the heart valves and then he said USUALLY that takes care of the problem. Well I said ya know I was doing just fine until you changed the medication on me. He fumbled through the chart real fast and talked about what was happening, he finally decided that the drug was inducing the arrhythmia. Sheeeeeesh....when I got the drug the pharmacist told me they had changed the prescription (at least he was doin his job) and told me it was the same drug except that it is a fast release instead of long term release. As it happens the fast release with the same dosage builds up one on top the other (3 pills a day) and it's just too much. The slow release is so slow that the overlap is very gradual and you don't even notice it. I found that out the hard way. The doctor didn't tell me he was changing the prescription. I told him that I didn't know if it was changed by him or the pharmacy, he shrugged and said the insurance pressures them into it. It happens to be a generic and is of no cost to me. Insurance companys like generics I guess. Well anyway he showed me the EKG we did and it was just little bumps no spikes and looked like a near death EKG to me. I'm now on the original medication and dosage and every things rosey again. Bastard cost me two days off work, a lovely near-death experience and the prospects of surgery because the insurance pressured him. sheeeesh again....I got all of 17hrs of work this week, just got paid for the end of Feb. which of course is a small check and now I'll be getting another small check because of this. I could take some vacation time I guess to help out but this month the Dr. is taking about a week and 1/2 off.....ya never win. So I had some time to myself.....I made a nice rifle clamp, complete with leather clamp jaws so I won't mar the rifle finish, and I also reworked my bench rest with a clamp on it also. I have a die and tap to make wooden screws and nuts and I just love things that have wooden screws and stuff you can play with. So I made 2 screws and used them on each of the rifle clamps, came out great! I had a couple leather belts that I never wear and used them to line the clamps. Got some use out of them finally. Also did some research on the internet and found plans to make a jig for making perfect dato joints. I have to make one for me and one for my bro. I'd be plenty busy if I didn't need to work for a living. Who invented that s%*t anyway?

Livin HIGH
Suz

Hang in there Suz. I think I'm having a similar problem with medication and some irregular heart beats. Now I just have to convince the doctor...

I've found that I could get a lot of stuff done when I wasn't working, until the money ran out. When I'm working there isn't time to do anything productive. Seems there ought to be some middle ground somewhere. Maybe the lottery...

Hey Suz....you hang in there mate....don't want to loose you, or your wonderful sense of humour. And...who is gonna keep us guys honest and in line if you ain't here mate???

Seriously though...you take it as easy as you need to and take note of the lesson you have just learned...ALWAYS check your prescription when you take it into your Pharmacist. I always check my regular prescriptions to ensure that they haven't been changed in any way...my Dr also knows to ask me about it if he wants to change them.

Is there anything you can do about the Insurance clowns? Out here we have an Insurance Ombudsman...they keep them honest.

Cheers, Vince

Vince wrote:

Is there anything you can do about the Insurance clowns? Out here we have an Insurance Ombudsman...they keep them honest. Cheers, Vince

I think Suz almost got her .270 ready, also a mighty good medicin even when the ombudsman failes... he won't do it again

If that doesn't help, bring your doctor. I think I'm not the only nut who likes a moving target.

And remember: always keep it high and don't let it hang,
and when the ricketick orders you to slow down, take it easy and change doctor and pills.

I hope it gets straightened out for ya Suz. Hang in there

Joe

Fer-cryin-out-loud I'm not dieing!!! just whimpering. I have the good fortune that my brother is a pharmacist and he said it's common for a prescription to be messed up. (although the dr. did this on purpose) He said they have a rule about sending electronic prescriptions rather than hand written ones to elemanate mis-read scripts, faked scripts and so on. This new rule has actually caused more problems than anticipated because the software that they use is very user friendly and fast so they tend to rush through it and sometimes highlight the wrong dosage, the wrong drug or whatever and the pharmacist ends up being a fail-safe (if they catch it) for the dr's mistake.

Yeah Vince I got my 'Insurance Ombudsman' right here, locked and loaded!! Just tickle my palms. No I'm ok, back to normal and feelin frisky, got my old meds back and might try out my homemade gun-sled today. As far as insurance goes round here, you mess with them, they cancel your insurance. Then try to get another insurance to cover you, and you're up a creek. They have us by the short and curlys......guess I could shave...(nasty aren't you)....I know what yer thinkin


This budsman's fer you
Suz

stop it you naughty wench. I was feeling simpathy for you right up till that last line. you are getting frisky alright. back to work with you pronto. nose back to the grindstone and all that...

Elvis wrote:

stop it you naughty wench. I was feeling simpathy for you right up till that last line. you are getting frisky alright. back to work with you pronto. nose back to the grindstone and all that...

That is one thing that really annoys me about insurance companies...they are run by bean counters and their primary aim is to make as much money as they can for the company and its shareholders...not look after its clients.

Cheers, Vince

Interesting tho Vince that you have a means of keeping them in line. As far as I know they have us by the tail feathers and really there's nothing you can do. Wonder how successful your system is at reining them in. Really what I said was true, if you give them the slightest grief, they'd just as soon drop you for some lame reason and then to get someone else to cover you is impossible because one of the questions they ask a prospective client is if you've ever been dropped by an insurance company. Now why in the world should that be of any of their business? It's a risk factor like being overweight or something- too many risks and they can't insure you.

Thank you all, for your kind words, I love to rant sometimes



(use me like a grindstone Elvis)
Suz

I got my 'Insurance Ombudsman' right here, locked and loaded!! Just tickle my palms.

Glad you're feeling better, Suz. bloody insurance companies will damn near kill you to make a quick buck.
. . . . speaking of tickling . . . .

......guess I could shave...(nasty aren't you)....I know what yer thinkin

Well, got to go - need a cold shower now. Thanks, Suz

PS:
Nice clamp, Suz