WTF is with the Colorado medical community and the "walk it off" "if it hurts to do that, don't do that" mentality. I realize I came from NY where they'd do an MRI for a splinter, but Colorado is SO far to the other end of the spectrum. Also the insurance interrogation before they'll even let you finish the 2nd sentence? Is fraud so rampant here and NY has none?

I had a bad head cold, and I nursed it for a week, well the 2nd week it turned into a sinus infection, so after 2 wks of suffering I went to my local urgent care, evenings and same copay as a general physician. Well the woman doctor on duty diagnosed my sinus infection, gave me a 5 day Z-pack of antibiotics and in 2 days (I finished the full 5 days) I was back to health.

So after that lesson, I vowed after 2-3 days of suffering, I'd just seek medical help. So Monday I go to work, Tuesday wake up feeling like a truck ran me over, slept 2 days straight, burned 2 paid time off, had to go back to work, went to urgent care to seek help. This time I got the angry old white guy, who said I had a viral, nothing could be done, laughed, said I had to just suck it up 5-7 days. He did do some strange flu test to boost the bill. WTF. Did I not smile enough, crack enough jokes, do enough cart wheels to impress the Mccain guy (trying to coin a new slang).

Another time I went there I got another middle aged white guy who acted like I was wasting his time. Asked him to look at my thumb which I had cut open as a kid, he said "I dunno" and shrugged.

WTF is with middle age white guys in this fucking state?
Is it some cowboy macho bullshit?
I've been good since moving out here, I talk slower, and drop no F bombs to be polite. I've about had it with these guys.

From now on, I'm asking what doctor is on duty, if its a middle age white guy, I'm turning around and walking out.

Why's he gotta be white, I dunno, just describing the cowboy pricks I'm running into.

The West is a lot different than the East and Midwest in terms of people.

I am originally from Detroit area, lived there around 26 years or so before moving out west to Phoenix. I have the stereotypical "Midwest work ethic" and am always on the go and moving. What a culture shock it is to come out this way- the life is a lot lot slower paced, and there is little to no sense of urgency. People are far more concerned about what bar or party they are going to after they leave their job than what results are accomplished that day. Unfortunately I tried to instill some sort of passion/desire/work ethic into some of the people I managed initially and ended up turning most of them away. I learned to adapt; however, it is personally hard to just give up your core roles and values and just not care anymore about work.

I know this doesn't pertain to Colorado medicine, but just wanted to share a personal experience on the differences between East/West people. There is a difference, and it shows...

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I described to friends that in Western CO "people are not in a hurry", where in Southern (ie Atlanta) they just "slow as fucking hell".

I'm cool with people being more life and family focused out here, especially now that I have a family. I'm just trying to discern the angry white cowboys I'm running into. Do they feel we're out of state carpet baggers? We ADD to the tax base, and promote growth. Without us Denver would be fucking Topeka, a real shit hole.

The other day I got my hair cut, and a guy was walking out with the full achey breaky heart mullet, and I just looked in shock. He paid to have that done. I didn't say anything like "Give me a mullet too" or "real men wear mullets", but come on it's fucking Denver.

You had the flu in December in Colorado and went to the emergency room? I don't think the problem is with Colorado medicine.

I got a brown recluse bite in Colorado Springs.

For 80 bucks I was told to get some anti-biotic cream and band-aids =P

For 80 dollars you would at least think they would provide that.

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If I have a cold I usually suck it up for at least a week or two before going in for treatment. If it is viral, the angry white dude is correct that antibiotics won't do anything about it, and if your body can fight it off naturally, that's better for the long term effectiveness of said antibiotics. You want those antibiotics to work when you have some real nasty flesh eating bacteria yes?
Stop using them for mickey mouse stuff.

Haven't really had any problems with Dr's here in Denver. They've caught unprompted some things that my Dr's in Florida did not catch despite me asking specifically about them. They even gave me vicadin when I went in for my biennial do something stupid and sprain my ankle again trip, which I thought was kinda overkill, but hey :>

I'm in agreement, but I come from the suck it up school of medicine. That said, when dealing with Denver cowboy types, just do what I do, stand up straight, remind them that you're bigger and that they should shut the fuck up, stop speaking, and to find someone with a brain to assist. Of course, that's only a general rule. There are some good ol' boys out here who are willing to help you in a no bullshit manner. Hit or miss there.

Not sure I get this rant.

A sinus infection is not a reason to go to urgent care. As Neesha noted, you probably got attitude because the guy was thinking "why is this moron in urgent care?" That is the type of thing that should be handled by an office visit to your primary care physician. This sort of thing is what makes medical insurance so expensive for everyone.

As for the thumb thing - was it gushing blood? Did it need stitches? Or, were you just showing them an old wound?

And just curious - what does this have with them being white?
Are you black or something? If so, that at least explains why they wanted payment+insurance upfront.

On the subject of tuff guy doctors, I got told to tough it out when I was getting a cavity drilled and could still feel it. So while I was gripping hard enough to shake the chair arms and eyes watered up and lip trembling he said "All done, see?"

I had enough control not to beat the shit out of him, since he was like 50. I don't know what his problem was. Maybe he didn't like that his needle shots missed their mark.

Your initial visit (sinus infection) was clearly an infection. Your second problem where you went in early...wasn't. It matches viral. And since doctors are urged NOT to give out antibiotics now just because patients demand them, which fucks it up for everyone when they stop working...everything that fits the 'viral' list of symptoms AND you haven't had for 2 weeks...gets nothing.

If you're sick two weeks later, you've probably gotten a secondary infection. Since you didn't mention (and I'm sure you would have) that you were still sick...they were correct and it was viral.

PS: Please don't use urgent care unless you get deathly sick during off hours. Though at least you didn't go to the ER. I fucking hate those assholes who go to the ER with their snotty children because they were too lazy to take them to the doctor sooner and their welfare makes it just as cheap for them to drag them to the fucking ER. When my head hurts so bad I need morphine I do not want to listen to your screaming infectious brats!

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Thank you, Dr. Tarot.

Moral: Next time you feel under the weather, just come to the boards for a diagnosis.

Hey it's not my fault you went blind, I told you to stop playing with it, but noooooooooo.

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I also come from the school of suck it up medicine. You won't catch me taking pills or seeking medical attention unless I can't stop the bleeding myself, or I'm getting close to "permanent brain damage" levels in body temperature.

Insurance companies love me.

My parents were friends with a guy who fixed electronics for a living, a few years back. He had a small but annoying ache in his back for over a year, never went to a doctor, never thought anything of it. Eventually it got bad enough that he had to, he thought he'd really put the muscle out or something...turned out it was late-stage Pancreatic cancer. Terminal.

He died a month later.

Don't play games with your health. Or do, fuck I don't care, it's cheaper for me. But I'm not gonna.

My wife is slowly chipping away at that attitude I have and making me care more and more about my health.

It seems there are two (poor) schools of thought:
1. Go to the ER at the first twinge
2. Never see a doctor

Maybe the right answer is:
3. Go to your primary care physician when you aren't feeling well, get some tests if needed

Just one more case I pray for medical savings accounts to actually take over our broken health care system... sorry not politics

Not that it's any consolation, but that form of cancer tends to be terminal any way, though there's no way to know if he might have been one of the lucky few to respond to treatment.

We've had a few relatives and friends die from it, and in every case it was 1-2 1/2 years of hellish medical treatments. Patrick Swayze is the first person I've seen (though I don't 'know' him obviously) to be surviving it. Maybe they have better treatments now, at least hopefully. I know I'd rather at least HAVE a chance, but it's not a given that it's better off had he found out sooner or rushed in with the first backache.

On the other end of it...a teacher in our local school district was getting ready to coach football, young (in his 30s) prime of life, fantastic shape etc...he went in for his physical it turned out he had lukemia (I know I'm spelling that wrong). Four days later he was dead. It wasn't that advanced they caught it before he had any symptoms, the treatment just killed him. It happens, but it was a shock to everyone. And there was no medical fuck ups or anything, you can die from the treatment. I'm not sure what treatment he went with but since he died so quickly I'm assuming they had a bone marrow match in the family and had killed off his immune system and he died to infection or graft v host or something (but I'm not sure).

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Last time I went to an ER for myself was after being hauled there in an ambulance. I totaled my bike at 50 mph and had a compression fracture of my T-6 vertebrae, a broken wrist, and a concussion. Took my percocet for 3 days and just advil for the next two months. That was year ago last July and was back to work in under 3 months.

Went to urgent care, showed the doctor you thumb with a scar on it from years pervious.... yeah... I'm going with the white doctor on this one.