The Girl Who is Never Well

[wednes]

Still sick.
Scratchy throat, runny nose, voice mostly there but it hurts to talk.
I'm not gonna let that stop me though. My thinking is that it's NOT the flu shot making me sick. I'm basing that on the fact that H is also sick as of yesterday afternoon. So, hopefully we will both be well soon. I'm working today and tomorrow at the day-job, but H is off until Weds.
Customers are getting on my last nerve already. The weekend was slow, but a few terrible customers. Why do people think screaming will get me to send you free stuff? It won't. In fact, it makes me dig in my heels and not give you things I would normally give to people when they're being polite.

I got precious little work done over the weekend.
Couldn't even watch Boardwalk Empire last night because HBO Go is a bitch full of suck.
Too bad too, because Nucky's family is totally turning on him. That's the kind of stuff that can only happen on TV. See what I did there? Hahahahahaa!

In other news, our medical bills are giant. Just got another bill telling me I don't owe the dentist $50, which I was totally worried about coming up with. Actually, we owe them $300 for reasons I am still unsure of. If it turns out to be for the Xrays they lied to me about, we are going to have a problem.
My CPAP mask hurts my face, but it's $120 to try the other kind. *sigh* If anyone tells you our health care system is fine, they're obviously rich. Please push them and take their money. Ha! Oh, c'mon. It's a JOKE. Whenever you give me THAT look...it's a joooooke. You know, like electrocuting Mexicans. Lulz. Someone on FB last night suggested that if people don't like their health coverage, they should negotiate it themselves away from a company. Joke is, once you have insurance and then switch, anything you were ever diagnosed with is now a "pre existing condition" which means they can't give you medical care/coverage because you are NOT physically well.

You guys ready for another shitty year of deceitful politics and idiots flaming away online?
Yeah...me neither, but there doesn't seem to be much choice. I can say that if OWS is still happening after the (lame, gregorian) new year, I'm totally going. The cops should have all their anger worked out by then, or at least their beating arms will be too tired to pack much of a whallop.

TV season is still pretty great.
Never Fear, Dexter. I see the light in you.

Comments

[nicoli_dominn]

Another one for Team Sleep Apnea, huh? Those masks are a pain in the...well, face. No matter which ones you try. All I can say is that I definitely sympathize with your plight. I ended up having surgery for my condition, but it took about two years to convince my insurance company to cover it. I think they were just trying to stretch me out until I was no longer a qualified beneficiary of my parents' plan.

Out of curiosity, what kinds of specialists have you seen for your condition? General ear/nose/throat, maxillofacial surgeons, or orthognathic surgeons? Have you tried any other devices besides CPAP/BiPAP? If you like, I may be able to give you some advice. It also kind of depends where you live and what kind of insurance plan you have, but I can try my best...

[wednes]

That's much appreciated, thanks!

My regular doc had me do a 2-part sleep study at the local sleep center. I've been using it a few weeks and my compliance has been good except when I'm sick. Then I feel like I'm suffocating and end up ripping it off in my sleep.

However, the mask itself hurts my face when I adjust it tight enough so it won't slip if I turn on my side. I suspect that the one with the gel foam insert would be better, but i won't know until I try it.

[nicoli_dominn]

One type of mask no one recommended until I was well on my way to having surgery scheduled was called "nasal pillows." Although you still have to strap it around your head, it doesn't hurt your face like a full mask over your nose and mouth, or the smaller variations. This is what it looks like. If surgery is not a viable solution for you, this would probably work a lot better than what you have now. I think everyone who uses the style of mask you have now ends up getting nothing out of it because, like you said, they end up ripping it off sometime during the night. And half the time, even though the oxygen levels are supposedly correct, the air gets forced into their stomachs rather than their lungs and they wake up with really uncomfortable gas. Though the pillows still technically allow you to breathe through your mouth, the oxygen being blown into your nasal passage would make mouth-breathing awkward enough that your muscles would adjust in your sleep.

The other thing my ear/nose/throat specialist mentioned back in the day was a mouth guard worn on the bottom teeth that would force the lower jaw forward. Because I already had issues with TMJ, it wasn't a good idea for me, but he did say it had worked for many people whose apnea symptoms were not as severe. If your symptoms have been deemed life-threatening, though, you can ask your doctor(s) about orthognathic surgery to move one or both of your jaws forward. It would probably be just as much of a battle with your insurance company as my experience was, but if nothing else is working for you, it might be worth it. Of course, depending on your age, they may recommend another course of action because of your recovery time or the condition of your tooth alignment and bones, but you can always explore the option.

[wednes]

Thanks for the info.

:-)

[opaqueplanet]

"Why do people think screaming will get me to send you free stuff? It won't. In fact, it makes me dig in my heels and not give you things I would normally give to people when they're being polite."

Ugh, TELL me about it! How hard is it to understand that I don't feel like doing you favours when you treat me like shit? If you're really nice, I'll probably do everything in my power to help you - including trying to convince my manager to do everything in their power.

[wednes]

*nods* That's the thing, I'm awesome at what I do. But awesome can be used for good AND evil.