Why I am a cranky motherfucker
 

Why am I so cranky today?
Well, if it were 20,000 years ago I’d be a puma snack I’m sure.

Last year I tore my rotator cuff and in the space of four weeks I re-injured it about five more times. I stopped counting when it became what seemed like an everyday habit.

Since I don’t have health insurance and I can’t afford to have it fixed, I’ve learned to live for the most part without much strength or mobility in my dominant arm. I looked at this as a good time to switch careers from construction back to photography.

There are still a few unfinished things in the house from our big construction project of a few years ago and I’ve been chipping away at them slowly. Yesterday I was moving some drywall and, favoring my bad shoulder, managed to partially tear my remaining good shoulder.

Fun!

Now I can’t even put a shirt on by my self.

So what's your position on national healthcare?

*Pulls pin on grenade and throws it into thread*

Look at the bright side - at least you can still type.

It'll never happen in this country. You've got a better chance of seeing a schvartze elected presid- umm, never mind.

This guy is my brother in law, he's fighting the good fight:

I'd be cranky too.

Can you at least still hold a camera?

holy fucking eyebrows!

HOF material

Yeah, but the question is can I hold it still?

I'm not sorry about ur shoulder. ;)

(I am actually, but I'm trying to be funny)

Should have added that I feel for you foot. I tore my rotater when I started learning to play upright bass. But mine cleared up after nine months or so.

Pardon my asking, but how old are you? You might want to start looking for a job that includes health care.

ouch. or a job that doesn't include shoulder rotating!

Ouch Foot. That's horrible. You have my sympathy.

I guess that's going to seriously limit your ass-kicking abilities, which explains this.

Ed Zachary! and for the record I am 48, but my shoulders are like 197.

@ Dar, I have been self employed for, oh going on 25 years. I'm not even sure I'd know how to work for someone else.

"Time clock? Don't all clocks tell time? Is this some sort of web 2.0 stuff?" It seems grim at best.

Why are guys usually cranky? Duh! ;)

OK footy, what do you plan to do for healthcare when you get older and more decrepit? Maybe it needs a higher priority level.....

sorry your shoulders hurt, though.

can you find a Doc who has a daughter about to get married needing pics, maybe?

Time to suck it up and pay the price for health insurance, then. Those 197 year old shoulders are not going to get any younger -- and you're going to want them some day.

better yet, find a doctor who has a daughter about to get married needing a hubby! In for life!

I can tell he's never had to deal with a HMO, or he'd know 1 & 2 are gone. :(

I pray for the day when I can be independently wealthy. When I can pay $100 or whatever for a doctor's visit and get some real quality time with him or her. When I can whip out my debit card and just pay for an MRI or whatever and just get the shit done, and not have to worry about getting a bunch of paperwork from the hospital and the doctor's medical group and the insurance company to fill my medical binder.

My last doctor in Philadelphia was kind of a dick, but he always took the time to really make sure I was doing OK, and would cut me slack financially when I didn't have health insurance. I've never forgotten that. So Dr. Rick Mandel, thank you.

I cannot imagine being barred from accessing healthcare because of a lack of money/insurance. Even when I wasn't able to make a prescription charge, the chemist let me pay later.

Are you able to get health insurance whilst self-employed, or does it become way overpriced if you've no employer to contribute?


[eta] one thing i don't get about the insurance system for health, is the whole 'pre-existing condition' thing. When you get insurance for your house, or your car or your dog, you are getting insurance based on things that are both unwanted and unlikely to occur. Most people don't get burgled, most people don't back-end a neighbour's car. But needing healthcare isn't unlikely. In fact most people will need their doctor at some point. So the whole tone of insurance is off-kilter. If you can't get insurance because of a pre-existing condition, who pays for your necessary healthcare? You're not insuring against an unlikely event you are insuring against something most people will need.

End up with a system in which the people least able to get their healthcare paid for are those with recognised and diagnosed health problems.

Medicare & Medicaid

"Are you able to get health insurance whilst self-employed, or does it become way overpriced if you've no employer to contribute?"

It's available but expensive. I have a policy for my wife and myself that I refer to as "hit-by-a-bus" insurance. No visits, no co-pay, no drugs, but it's SUPPOSED to kick in if you really need it. It does cover physical therapy after the fact though, something that many policies do not. I can float the $100.00 or so to visit a doctor, but that and any testing up to the deductible I have to pay. Oh, and it's about $12,000.00 a year. When I mention that to other business owners, they all say "Yeah, that's about right". At my age (54), I don't quite dare not having a policy, even though I have only put in one claim since 1984.
I know that we are very fortunate to have our health, but you would think that we could get a better rate because of that.
Oh, and it is deductible from the taxes as a business expense, but I still have to pay it out first.

I actually tried to get care this way. The doctors I tried in Northern Virginia wouldn't do it.

Really? Wow...fucking socialists. ;)

F3 I feel your pain! Not in my shoulders ;) but being self employed is teh shit for health insurance.

Can you join some organizations? AFAIK they have options on groups. The Chamber of Commerce for one has some plans for its members.

I have a double today and I am sleepy. The f'ing cook that can't spell told me I was smart sarcastically.......People are getting on my nerves. Because...I'm sleepy...Only 6 hours to go...And counting.

Yikes. Hang in there Cic. Don't throw anything at anyone! :)

Hello, foot. I'm a noob here, so you don't know me, but let me introduce myself. . .

Hi, I'm Jill, aka Clara Klutz. :)

I fell off my bike nearly 2 years ago and landed on my right palm and the force of the fall was absorbed by my jammed shoulder. It hurt, but wasn't that bad -- until I re-injured it. Guess how. . . sleeping! How retarded is that?

For weeks I couldn't even lift my elbow away from my side to raise my arm. To this day, even after more than a year of physical therapy, I still live in 24/7 pain, though I'd now rank it a 1 or a 2 most days, whereas in the beginning it was off the charts.

Though I am not a doctor, and therefore am unqualified to give you medical advice, I can tell you what my doctor and therapist had me doing to help the healing process.

Ice
Anti-inflammatories like Ibuprofin (I took 800mg 3x/day, whether it was one prescription pill or 4 over-the-counter Advil each time (which my doctor recommended because it was actually cheaper than the 'scrip)).
Massage -- deep tissue if you can tolerate it.

I hope you're feeling better soon!

ETA: Heh -- I love my new title - rapscallion! :D

I remember when my ex dislocated his shoulder really badly. They had difficulty getting it back in and he was left with very little movement in that arm. Couldnt lift his arm up away from his body at all. Was almost a year of physio and weight training to get movement back.

Hi Jill, welcome and thanks. I could add to that. and will later.

Ouch! Sorry to hear, Foot. Don't know what to say cuz what you're going through truly sucks. Hope the pain lessen soon.

(You're probably still in major pain and cranky, so please don't cuss at me if I inadvertently sound like an ass. :blush: )

What is your current status, foot?