Harry Tarklar and the Thrifty Hallows

[kitthekat 1,317]

Might just be a placebo thing? It is a bad idea for the whole of society to overprescribe medications.

And this year's cough took weeks for me to get rid of.

um, no. their meds work. it is actually safer to see a doctor, IMO, because they can diagnose whats wrong with you and give you what you need, as opposed to the average joe self-diagnosing and buying OTC, and then swigging down half a bottle because he's not better for a whole week. americans rarely see the doctor for the common cold, i'm guessing, because of the prohibitive cost of healthcare. it's a different culture (and price tag) in singapore, and i miss that.

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

um, no. their meds work. it is actually safer to see a doctor, IMO, because they can diagnose whats wrong with you and give you what you need, as opposed to the average joe self-diagnosing and buying OTC, and then swigging down half a bottle because he's not better for a whole week. americans rarely see the doctor for the common cold, i'm guessing, because of the prohibitive cost of healthcare. it's a different culture (and price tag) in singapore, and i miss that.

No? We usually only pay like $10-20 to see a doctor and you still don't go unless there is something really wrong with you.

For many reasons - #1 we understand that viruses and bacteria mutate with prescription drugs and unless we all want to die of super bugs, it is best to avoid that entirely

#2 Why would we waste time with a GP to tell us the obvious - "you've got a chest cold, drink fluids, rest, and call back if you are dying"?

#3 Most of us get sick at least once a year, if not more, since we were children. I know what the flu feels like, I know what a cold feels like, and I know I'm not going to die.

Can you tell I hate going to the doctor? I've got a routine obgyn check-up today that I'm also dreading and think is pointless as . The only reason I'm going is so they'll schedule me for a gender ultrasound. I think I made good steps towards not overgoing, I went at 5 weeks to get an ultrasound appointment and this next this at 19+4. Perhaps I can put off the next one until 30? *fingers crossed*

[kitthekat 1,317]

No? We usually only pay like $10-20 to see a doctor and you still don't go unless there is something really wrong with you.

For many reasons - #1 we understand that viruses and bacteria mutate with prescription drugs and unless we all want to die of super bugs, it is best to avoid that entirely

#2 Why would we waste time with a GP to tell us the obvious - "you've got a chest cold, drink fluids, rest, and call back if you are dying"?

#3 Most of us get sick at least once a year, if not more, since we were children. I know what the flu feels like, I know what a cold feels like, and I know I'm not going to die.

Can you tell I hate going to the doctor? I've got a routine obgyn check-up today that I'm also dreading and think is pointless as ######. The only reason I'm going is so they'll schedule me for a gender ultrasound. I think I made good steps towards not overgoing, I went at 5 weeks to get an ultrasound appointment and this next this at 19+4. Perhaps I can put off the next one until 30? *fingers crossed*

that is $10-$20 with insurance...and what about without? how much do you spend on insurance monthly/yearly?

i love going to my family doctor, she's nice and spends at least 5-10 minutes making sure apart from whatever i came in with, that everything else is going fine. she knows my medical history (along with my family's) and takes that into consideration. she can tell the difference between a regular cold, bronchitis, and pneumonia, she prescribes meds to catch each one before it becomes worse, etc.

obviously we are never going to agree on this because we've both been brought up in cultures that value and approach healthcare differently (healthcare, not health). but hey, do what works for you. i still miss the accessibility of doctors in my country, and how they play a major part in my recovery, whether it's a minor or major illness.

[Caryh 5,206]

thank you. i haven't tried vicks nyquil, just plain old nyquil...is it more effective? actually at this point, i might just call in sick and go to the doctor, and see what meds he can give me. :\

lol...wait a sec...

nyquil is produced by vicks? i never knew!

LOL yes same stuff.

Nearest tree farm is like an hour and a half way or thereabouts and they are only open dawn to dusk.

It looks like North Dakota around here - flat farms as far as the eye can see. You must be thinking of Northeastern Minnesota.

See that nice pine tree in your neighbors yard? Best done after dark

[kitthekat 1,317]

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/thai-flight-returns-airport-after-passenger-china-throws-hot-water-c

and

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/chinese-passenger-deploys-emergency-slide-get-plane-faster-hainan-20141216#xtor=CS1-10

remind me to avoid flights frequented by fooks, i.e. all budget airlines.

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

that is $10-$20 with insurance...and what about without? how much do you spend on insurance monthly/yearly?

i love going to my family doctor, she's nice and spends at least 5-10 minutes making sure apart from whatever i came in with, that everything else is going fine. she knows my medical history (along with my family's) and takes that into consideration. she can tell the difference between a regular cold, bronchitis, and pneumonia, she prescribes meds to catch each one before it becomes worse, etc.

obviously we are never going to agree on this because we've both been brought up in cultures that value and approach healthcare differently (healthcare, not health). but hey, do what works for you. i still miss the accessibility of doctors in my country, and how they play a major part in my recovery, whether it's a minor or major illness.

Yes, it is a different philosophy, perhaps a more "America today" philosophy. My parents non stop brought me to the doctor as a child and I got all sort of different prescriptions. Pediatricians and GPs today mostly won't do that. It was kind of an expectation in the 90s that if you brought your kid in with a stuffed nose or ear infection that you should leave with a prescription or the doctor wasn't doing their job, but now parents and doctors feel differently. Cultural shift or something.

I think you'll find doctors in America accessible as well, if that is what you are looking for. Most won't expect to be so familiar with a healthy woman in her 20s, though.

Right now, we pay $48/year for insurance. Part of that is because my husband is only working part time at apprentice wages so our obamacare is good. If we opted out like we did before, it was about $800/month for 3 people for a really good plan that even covered IVF and fertility treatments (we paid $0 for all sorts of genetic testing and IUIs and stuff once we got the insurance). You pay the same regardless of how much you use it, so logic would say people would be more likely to go to the doctor since they already paid for it.

See that nice pine tree in your neighbors yard? Best done after dark

I bought one at the local hardware store (surprised that they had 5 left), it seems fresh, although they were tied up, so I have no idea what it is going to look like. It is a shorter tree too.

[kitthekat 1,317]

Yes, it is a different philosophy, perhaps a more "America today" philosophy. My parents non stop brought me to the doctor as a child and I got all sort of different prescriptions. Pediatricians and GPs today mostly won't do that. It was kind of an expectation in the 90s that if you brought your kid in with a stuffed nose or ear infection that you should leave with a prescription or the doctor wasn't doing their job, but now parents and doctors feel differently. Cultural shift or something.

I think you'll find doctors in America accessible as well, if that is what you are looking for. Most won't expect to be so familiar with a healthy woman in her 20s, though.

Right now, we pay $48/year for insurance. Part of that is because my husband is only working part time at apprentice wages so our obamacare is good. If we opted out like we did before, it was about $800/month for 3 people for a really good plan that even covered IVF and fertility treatments (we paid $0 for all sorts of genetic testing and IUIs and stuff once we got the insurance). You pay the same regardless of how much you use it, so logic would say people would be more likely to go to the doctor since they already paid for it.

I bought one at the local hardware store (surprised that they had 5 left), it seems fresh, although they were tied up, so I have no idea what it is going to look like. It is a shorter tree too.

well, i really don't find doctors accessible here, especially if i have to think twice about seeing one for what you guys call an "everyday illness". and you're lucky you pay so little for insurance, but most people don't, and a great many can't afford the high costs of insurance, so they don't buy any, and don't ever see the doctor. i work with many of them every day, including a guy who broke his foot and is thinking of staying home and letting it heal on its own...yeah, no. healthcare costs in the US are pretty ludicrous.

i can't trust a medical industry where the people are afraid to consume medicine that their doctors prescribe. singapore consistently ranks in the top ten health care systems by WHO (and coincidentally topped the charts in Bloomberg's ranking this year). i'm sure it's annoying to hear an immigrant say, oh, it's so much better in *my* country, and i'm not trying to do that, but i am glad that my doctors at home have earned my trust, and have proven themselves time and time again by helping me get better, whether it's a minor illness or a serious one. i miss that trust, that reliability, especially when i'm feeling sick and poopy.

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

well, i really don't find doctors accessible here, especially if i have to think twice about seeing one for what you guys call an "everyday illness". and you're lucky you pay so little for insurance, but most people don't, and a great many can't afford the high costs of insurance, so they don't buy any, and don't ever see the doctor. i work with many of them every day, including a guy who broke his foot and is thinking of staying home and letting it heal on its own...yeah, no. healthcare costs in the US are pretty ludicrous.

Why have they not signed up for Obamacare or the new expanded Medicaid?

[kitthekat 1,317]

Why have they not signed up for Obamacare or the new expanded Medicaid?

because not everyone qualifies for a plan they can afford.

[NikLR 13,232]

maybe that's how it is here...

back home, doctors' meds work well for me. i get better in a day or two. this is my 4th day and counting...

I wonder what they were prescribing though. Do you remember?

[kitthekat 1,317]

I wonder what they were prescribing though. Do you remember?

right now, what i miss most is the stuff she gave me to loosen the phlegm...mmm i really do miss that stuff. i would go from having a stuffy blocked nose to having snot shooting out my nostrils in globs (sorry, too graphic?). since the phlegm was what was causing my cough, my cough would disappear shortly after my nose cleared up. i dunno what it was called, though.

the only OTC med that has helped me when i get a stuffy nose is lemsip (temporary relief only though). not sold here though...

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

because not everyone qualifies for a plan they can afford.

Sorry, just curious. I put some numbers into the calculator, and let's say a single, 30 year old man who lives in Seattle and is earning $15,000 a year qualifies for medicaid.

At $25,000/year that single man should only be paying $90-$140/month for health insurance.

It is a balancing act for sure sometimes, but as I am sure you are aware, people are required to get health insurance this year.

[NikLR 13,232]

right now, what i miss most is the stuff she gave me to loosen the phlegm...mmm i really do miss that stuff. i would go from having a stuffy blocked nose to having snot shooting out my nostrils in globs (sorry, too graphic?). since the phlegm was what was causing my cough, my cough would disappear shortly after my nose cleared up. i dunno what it was called, though.

the only OTC med that has helped me when i get a stuffy nose is lemsip (temporary relief only though). not sold here though...

Try mucinex?

[Ontarkie 14,440]

right now, what i miss most is the stuff she gave me to loosen the phlegm...mmm i really do miss that stuff. i would go from having a stuffy blocked nose to having snot shooting out my nostrils in globs (sorry, too graphic?). since the phlegm was what was causing my cough, my cough would disappear shortly after my nose cleared up. i dunno what it was called, though.

the only OTC med that has helped me when i get a stuffy nose is lemsip (temporary relief only though). not sold here though...

You need and expectorant, they're are plenty of them on the market.

One thing I noticed about some ppl here in the US is they will claim to have a chest or sinus infections when it's just a cold. I think what your idea of what needs a prescription and what some ppl here in the US are different.

For starters if it's in your chest like you mentioned earlier and you have pain it's good to see the doctor as you could of developed something more then a cold.

[Ontarkie 14,440]

The active ingredient in lemsip is pretty restrictive here.