Monday, February 14, 2011

Always Ready For Some Good News & Gov’nt Rant…

I went to the Cardiologist today, the office, nix that, the Hospital was jam packed. I had to fill out paper work that was overly redundant which took about an hour but when I finally got in he checked the pulse in my left leg and within 2 seconds said I had one of the strongest leg pulses he has felt in a while, I love good news!

He then ran through the ABI tests I had taken last week, 133% above the norm in the right and 125% above normal in the left leg. He reported there was no sign of PAD but there was clear indication that I played a contact sport for a long time and there was damage to the capillaries on the inner sides of both ankles and that explains the copper color (iron residue) my veins have in that area. The ligaments in both right and left legs under the calf including the muscle that runs through them (damned if I can remember the names) are damaged which explains the discomfort I have when walking long distances. This will affect the hiking I want to do this year but I will do it!

I explained to him how long I played hockey and that both inside ankles and both calf’s were hit by slap shots, checks and hockey sticks for better than 20 years. Plus football, soccer and baseball so yeah my legs are a bit banged up and the knees are junk, blah blah. It’s amazing what these guys can tell just by feeling you up. Smile with tongue out

Long story short, I won’t ever be running again, no big shocker there but he did explain things so much clearer to me than previous doctors had and did several tests including the EKG which still showed an abnormal T Wave but only in the third instance and he said the blip was so small and in the third instance is typically the result of the computer algorithm not reading the third instance properly, he said he wished they would consult with an actual cardiologist when they write them. He ended with saying I don’t need a cardiologist for probably a long time to come and to get more exercise. Whew.

My last 2 doctor visits are March 1st with my primary doctor and March 9th for the eye doctor to check for damage from diabetes to the cornea. After that I should be done for 3 months until the next A1C.

Now for the negative, thanks to the new Health Care bill that nobody in Government read and many bragged about that fact but still signed it into law anyway…. deep breath… I received a notice in the mail today that coverage costs are going up, the number of drugs being covered are going down due to the new legislation. I try to keep my blog politically transparent but I HAVE READ this new law and the fact that it could be passed into law AND SO MANY OTHERS are passed into law everyday WITHOUT being read, to me shows the utter state of incompetence that our Government has gotten too, be it the left or the right part of it.

Does our Healthcare system need to have some things fixed, hell yes but the very geniuses who don’t read the law refuse to allow competition (this would take a whole new post to explain) and then complain they need this law because there isn’t enough competition, the stupidity amazes me. Does it need to be replaced and administered by the same Government that does things so poorly a toilet seat costs $250.00 and it takes a committee to replace a light bulb? NO, but we get the Government we deserve folks and my family insurance has gone up 30% already. On top of that Illinois officials now have 66% higher income taxes to spend at their whim, isn’t that just dandy? I digress…

Guess what, if the new Healthcare bill gets repealed, all the new costs and higher rates the insurance companies are taking in now stay as they are, there is no legislation being put together to give us our money back or to lower the rates and that too says something about the incompetence of our Government. Disappointed smile  Anybody remember the promises made when they instituted Social Security, look how well that has turned out, now they want to run our Healthcare, no thank you.

End of political rant, I bet my BP right now is up there… Annoyed

6 comments:

Diana said...

Welcome to senior citizen world!! I don't even know how old you are Erik but I will tell you this. My 16 year old says once we reach 50, we're seniors, HA!!
I am so glad that your tests came out well. And about the health care issue, I can't even talk or write about it as it just discusses me.
Love Di ♥

Erik's RV Blog said...

I'll be 47 next month and I try not to talk about the new healthcare bill because my brain wants to explode so this should be it for me.

My 7 year old nephew says I'm really really old... I let him live... :)

Merikay said...

My husbands drug coverage doubled this year. The only prescription he takes is on generic high blood pressure pill that we get for $7.00 per month. He never meets his deductible for the year. We consider dropping it, but the big What If comes up. What if he should need some very expensive med in the future.

Erik's RV Blog said...

Merikay,

Don't drop it, trust me, if the new law takes affect (and it probably will) the people it hurts the most is senior's. 50% reduction in Medicare, no matter how the Government or ARRP tries to spin it will hurt retired people big time.

My family comes from a country with socialized healthcare, trust me when I say that the spin boys have sold the USA a stacked deck laden with promises it can't ever hope to keep.

The fact they want to begin funding it for a few years before the entire bill takes effect is one hint at why it won't work, these bozo's borrow from one pot to pay for another and then wonder why it's broke.

For decades they borrowed money from the Social Security fund, look where that got them, people have to retire later and the bozo's who speant the money get a nice comfy pension provided by us, the tax payer.

I could write pages upon pages but it gets my blood boiling so I'll end it there.

Big Matt said...

Been eyeing that mess for a long time now, as I am one of those folks with no health insurance of any kind (the agency does offer a limited plan for only half your monthly income for one person, no thanks, I like being able to pay my rent and eat), that "Must buy Insurance" clause in it is what I've been eying most.

Erik's RV Blog said...

DeanO,

He probably got a bigger hand out!

Matt,

Read the bill, you're in for a real treat and you'll be several steps ahead of the people who signed it into law without reading it but added their pork with a huge grin on their smug faces.