Freyland wrote: ↑Wed Sep 19, 2018 9:34 amI was thinking. Since, prior to just now, you have not been with a PCP for this, who have you been seeing and how did you get hooked in with them? You mentioned "Optometrist" above, but that's a dude/dudette who just figures out glasses basically. Perhaps an Ophthalmologist? Curious, if you know.
I got hooked in with an Optometrist because I work for a group of them. They do a
little more than just check eyes and prescribe glasses - but not much. Foreign bodies, sometimes. Lots of post-surgical checkups. Retinal scanning for issues. They refer out anything else. I could show you a picture of the back of my retina from Monday.
For the last 8 years(?), I've had insurance but haven't had any real good reason to see a doctor for anything. I've been bitten by a cat, which got infected, and was cured by visiting a walk-in clinic to get antibiotics. I had a bout of digestive upset that left me hurting in a bad way,
down there, and after days of it I went to a clinic - only to be told it was very likely viral and I just had to wait. A day later I was fine (if not very sore). So for a decade, I've been pushing money into health insurance and really not doing anything with it.
For the 15 years prior to that, I was uninsured and anytime I had an issue, I went to a specialist in the subject and skipped the hoopla. I paid out of pocket, cash. I had ear issues in my early 20's and saw an ENT a couple times. For a very long time I was bleeding when I did a #2 a few times a month, and after years I plucked up the courage to go to a proctologist who told me I had a fissure. No big deal (that hasn't been a problem in years).
I've was hospitalized once when I was 5, for a severe case of Strep. Apparently I didn't tell anyone I was in pain until I couldn't move my head. Since then, I've never been admitted. I've never broken a bone, but did badly sprain my ankle jumping down over a flight of stairs at school once - my foot caught the last one. I hobbled the few miles home and was taken to a doctor the next day, where I was told I was lucky I didn't give myself a permanent limp. I've had a few occasions to get stitches, but never needed a PCP for that - just the ER.
That's the extent of my medical history. I've never had a reason to get a PCP. I don't feel unhealthy and have always believed I was still young enough that regular oil changes and tune-ups weren't going to do me much good.
Having scooted past 40 now, I probably need to get poked and prodded more as a regular thing.