Sick of Being Sick!!

Here we go again, ANOTHER bout of illness that I simply cannot seem to shake.

I’ve been ill more in the last 2 years than in the previous decade, easily. Maybe even longer.

I haven’t seen (or even have!) a “primary care” doc for I don’t know how long. I’ve got insurance, that isn’t the issue. I just haven’t needed one for so long that I didn’t bother jumping through all the necessary hoops to find a new doc when my insurance changed 6 years ago.

I started this current job in February ’18 and I believe I got sick once between then and 2020 with some stomach issue that kept me down for a day or two.

Then “the Plague” happened in early 2020, and I held out on the jab as I didn’t trust it. As I’ve mentioned before, my job is “Healthcare Adjacent” and I was in and around several waves of C-19 throughout the year and well into 2021.

Finally, on July 22, 2021 I succumbed to the pressure and got the jab in the face of certain employment termination. Company policy, don’tcha know!?!

Then, after two YEARS of being neck-deep in Plague infested facilities, I got C-19 myself in January ’22. Weird, right?

I’ve never been so sick in my life, I seriously thought it was the end for me. At that point I’d been struck with suspicion. How was it even possible that I worked for 2 years around all these sick folks as we ramped up precautions and EVERYONE was masked and gloved and distanced and the entire world was turned on its head to “stop the spread” and NEVER got sick? But then less than 6 months AFTER INOCULATION I get the WORST sickness of my entire life?!?!

Fast forward two years, I have now had 3 confirmed cases of the Plague, I’ve had two really terrible bouts of flu, and I’m currently on day 7 of some new illness that just whooped me, and badly. It still isn’t over. I’m back to work but suffering a serious “brain fog”.

I was so bad this time I went to an Urgent Care clinic, only to discover (not having been to a doctor for ages) that my blood pressure is dangerously high, I put on considerably more weight than I realized (figured I needed to drop about 20-25#, but in reality it’s closer to 50!) AND I’ve got a nice start on arthritis in my left shoulder. Yay.

Keep in mind I had NONE of these ailments the last time I’d had a check up. I was in great health. Before the jab I was at the gym 4-5 days a week, eating (relatively) healthy, and the future was looking pretty rosy.

So I decided, maybe it’s time to relent and go see a western med doc, get myself a new primary care physician. Maybe have my heart checked out, get some bloodwork done, you know, actual Boring Old Man stuff… After a grueling time on the phone getting passed from one operator to the next, to the next, I finally got passed to the right person. I told her, no preference on docs, just please give me the FIRST AVAILABLE appointment for a new patient, and a couple minutes later I had it set… for JULY 31st!!!

Yeah, you read that correctly. July thirty-first. Six and a half months from now until the first available appointment for a new patient.

WTAF?!?!

So for now it’s back to the Chinese Medicine doc I’ve been seeing the last couple years in hopes she’s got some potion that will help lower the BP, or at least hold it steady while I shed some pounds, change up the diet and attempt to avoid any further crud getting in my system.

A lot of people were saying ’24 is going to be a doozy, and now I’m starting to agree… Lifestyle changes are generally not fun even when it is necessary to continue life.

If I could go back to July ’21, I’d let ’em fire me… I think in the long run I’d have been better off. Should have trusted my gut.

Thanks for stopping by my personal dark cloud today… Beware the snake oil salesmen. Stay safe out there!