Big Tommy C
Little Ring
Posts:63
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| 03/30/2008 2:38 PM |
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Well, Thursday morning a little while after I got to work, I started having stomach pain. Not bad enough to make me go home for the day (not when I don't have any sick leave yet, anyway), but enough to make me quite unhappy with life. I thought it might improve after lunch, but this was not so, so after lunch I finally did take off for home.
Friday it felt a little better, but I still stayed home. Around 2:30 though, SEVERE abdominal pain began (3-5x worse than a fractured collarbone on my scale), localized in the lower right. "What", I asked myself, "is in the lower right? Ooooooh. Appendix."
Still being new to the area, I don't know where any hospitals are, so I had to email my brother and sister in law to see who could take off work and take me somewhere. After being looked over at Urgentcare, they confirmed that it probably was appendicitis. This was at about 6:00 Friday. They recommended I go to the ER, so I decided that was probably a good idea.
Got to the ER around 8:00, got a room around 11:30, a CAT scan around 1:00 or so, where they said "Yeah, you probably have appendicitis. By around 3:00 I was seeing a different doctor every hour, all of whom told me I was going to get surgery as soon as the large infux of trauma patients cleared out. Ended up not getting to surgery until 1:30 and getting out at around 6:30. Got released around noon today.
I know hospitals get backed up, but 12 hours in the ER waiting for a spot in surgery? Ick. Oh well, I guess they would have moved me up if the appendix looked ready to burst, and they did have me on a morphine drip. Now I have Vicodin, so I can pretend I'm Doctor House (normally I do that just by being a jerk).
This may have a negative impact on my cycling since I'm not supposed to even lift over 10 pounds for at least the next 10 days. Drat.
Anyway, weight loss total: Hmmm. About zero pounds.
Cost of diet: Going to be a lot because I'm right at a month from my health insurance kicks in. Certain people may remember that I was also a month from insurance when I broke my collarbone. I don't like the pattern I'm setting.
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FireBallKY
Big Ring
Posts:116
Registered Users
Lexington, KY USA
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| 03/30/2008 4:25 PM |
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Cost of diet: Going to be a lot because I'm right at a month from my health insurance kicks in. Certain people may remember that I was also a month from insurance when I broke my collarbone. I don't like the pattern I'm setting.
Quit work all together!!! Good to hear that everything is alright. At least you get plenty of ice cream...no wait, that when the tooth fairy takes out your tonsils. :p
P.S.
I need your information, dude. #, address, email....all the stuff I used to have and don't have anymo!! |
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I'm not fat. That's a fuel tank for the love machine!!! |
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creeping death
Big Ring
Posts:108
Registered Users
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| 04/02/2008 7:34 PM |
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If you really want weight loss get a staph infection. I dropped from 204 lbs to 183 lbs. in 4 weeks. I also pretended to be Dr. House I would get the cane I borrowed, get jacked up on Lorocets and walk around trying to prove how smart I was to my wife. Come to find out I ain't as smart as House or my wife. Strange how ERs are after my first knee surgery on Nov. 2nd. I had to go to the local ER on aSaturday night. I just knew it would be packed with a varity of accidents. I had visions in my head..........gunshot wounds, drunkdriving accidents, drunken husband wife beatings and stab wounds. I was suprised how slow it was for a Saturday night. They just looked at my knee (it didn't look over swelled) sent me home with more pain medication.
http://grayhawkgrinders.blogspot.com/ |
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Big Tommy C
Little Ring
Posts:63
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| 04/02/2008 10:19 PM |
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| I lost 11 pounds in three days with a stomach flu once, but that miraculously came back. |
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russell g
Big Ring
Posts:236
Registered Users
Louisville, KY
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| 04/03/2008 12:01 AM |
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| I got you all beat. I lost 16 lbs in 12hrs. All you got to do is ride your mtn bike 12hrs straight in 90 degree heat. take that slimfast. |
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Rowbear
Big Ring
Posts:186
Registered Users
Lexington, KY
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| 04/03/2008 1:08 AM |
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| that means your were approximately 320 ounces dehydrated. One pound of weight lost equals one 20 oz bottle of water, 16 x 20 = 320 |
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Big Tommy C
Little Ring
Posts:63
Registered Users
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| 04/03/2008 8:01 AM |
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| When I was riding to my kung fu class one summer, 5 miles each way, I was coming home 5 pounds lighter every night. It was a very hot summer. |
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Rod
Little Ring
Posts:80
Registered Users
Morehead
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| 04/03/2008 6:27 PM |
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Posted By Big Tommy C on 04/03/2008 8:01 AM
When I was riding to my kung fu class one summer, 5 miles each way, I was coming home 5 pounds lighter every night. It was a very hot summer.
I would waste away if I lost weight like that. That's crazy! |
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Big Tommy C
Little Ring
Posts:63
Registered Users
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| 04/03/2008 10:54 PM |
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Well, it WAS all water.
Besides, I've got a little extra weight. |
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FireBallKY
Big Ring
Posts:116
Registered Users
Lexington, KY USA
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| 04/04/2008 5:54 AM |
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Posted By Big Tommy C on 04/03/2008 10:54 PM
Well, it WAS all water.
Mostly HOT water at that!!! |
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I'm not fat. That's a fuel tank for the love machine!!! |
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Big Tommy C
Little Ring
Posts:63
Registered Users
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| 04/04/2008 9:42 AM |
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Why Fireball, I never knew you felt that way.
I'm not sure we should camp any more. |
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FireBallKY
Big Ring
Posts:116
Registered Users
Lexington, KY USA
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| 04/04/2008 10:26 AM |
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You know, full of hot air...hot water. Geeez, no need to threaten our relationship. LOL |
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I'm not fat. That's a fuel tank for the love machine!!! |
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Boonerider
Granny Gear
Posts:22
Registered Users
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| 04/04/2008 6:25 PM |
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| How you feeling? Hope you heal quickly. I had a broken collar bone and if it was worse than that I would have been freaking out. |
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Big Tommy C
Little Ring
Posts:63
Registered Users
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| 04/04/2008 9:30 PM |
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| Oh, I'm good. There was a little bit of curling up on the bed screaming before I managed to get to the hospital, but now I have Vicodin. ;-) |
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creeping death
Big Ring
Posts:108
Registered Users
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Big Tommy C
Little Ring
Posts:63
Registered Users
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| 05/05/2008 7:37 PM |
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In case anyone's wondering, I got the hospital bill over the weekend.
The total's around $42,000. Anyone have any advice for negotiating it down? I figure I can pay $100/month for the next 33 years, 4 months or so.
Aside from talking them down, I think some of the charges are a bit questionable. $3200 for a CT "Body scan"? According to their web site, abdominal w/contrast is about $1400, so I think either I was mischarged or they did an unnecessary test. Plus other insane stuff....$9000 for having an IV plugged into me?
I think when I get the itemized bill I'm gonna contact a doctor I know back in BG. Some of this just don't seem right.
Their idea of reasonable payments was the 84 month plan....480something a month for 7 years. Ugh. |
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OCguy
Little Ring
Posts:94
Registered Users
Oldham
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| 05/05/2008 9:34 PM |
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When I had my appendix removed many moons ago they didn't offer such luxurious treatment. They just said "Cut him open and see what's goin' on in there. Isn't modern medicine wonderful(lly expensive)?
Of course, when I had to come back into the ER ten days later thinking I was having a baby that's when the fun started. Too bad the Heavy Hitter wasn't around or I would have sued the idiot that decided I didn't need a drain put in until the infection settled (let's see...about ten days after the surgery).
Thirty days of changing dressings in a 6 inch X 2 inch deep incision later... and I was never the same at running, riding, or other fun things that require abdominal strength.
Anyway, I bet you can get about 30% knocked off quickly through the "financial counselor" (aka collection department) at the hospital. I hope you don't have a bunch of third parties in that total or you have a lot more hoop-jumping.
I would definitely Google it because there are plenty of people that do the negotiation for you based upon the look of the bill. Good luck |
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Big Tommy C
Little Ring
Posts:63
Registered Users
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| 05/05/2008 10:24 PM |
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Yeah, 39k of it is just the hospital, the rest is doctor, anesthesia, pathology, etc.
I'm definitely hoping to negotiate them down, 'cause I don't see them seriously expecting me to pay that much. Especially when ins companies pay way less. I would LOVE to get a look at their fee schedule to see how much I'm being screwed.
Somewhere I read that they aren't allowed to make you pay more than the rate they charge their main provider, anyone know if that's accurate? |
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