Thursday, May 21, 2009

Fun at the allergist's

I was dying from allergies my first summer in grad school. A chick I was dating at the time suggested I see an allergist to get tested. I got a scratch test and tested positive for nearly every thing except for barnyard animals. I got allergy shots for 5-6 years and it seemed to help quite a bit. I moved to California and went off my meds to see how I would do. I was dying so I hit up an allergist and he put me on Allegra, Nasonex, Singulair and Mucinex (OTC). The three prescription medicines cost me about $80/month. I did ok, but not great. I get to Albany and run out of medicine so I hit up an allergist. I had my first appointment this afternoon and it was an eye opener.

Firstly, I'm closer to 5'10" than 5'11", but more importantly, I tested negative for everything they scratched me with. Even the histamine control didn't itch that much. That means I've been taking an antihistamine for the past two years for no fucking reason. Not only did I waste money, but I exposed myself to drugs/chemicals unnecessarily. Super weak. I think I got a doctor who just throws drugs at the problem or maybe he gets a cut from the drug companies. It turns out that I just need to take Nasonex for the polyps in my sinuses. That was the cheapest medicine of the three. I blame myself for not getting another scratch test in California, but I'm not happy with my doctor. I'm really unhappy with his office because they're charging me $15 to get my records sent over to my new office. I had to go through some bullshit website. I did that about three weeks ago and the records still haven't shown up. I got tested again, but my new allergist wants to see the CT scan done last year.

I haven't been that happy with American medicine in the past few years. Something has to give. It's expensive, but it seems the insurance companies are the ones making out.

Anyhow I've got my Nasonex now so I should be good to go. The good thing is that I'm no longer allergic to cats and dogs so I could get a pet for my new house. Sweet.

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