Living with MCL

And it’s not just the rain talking. This time I really mean it.

Yesterday was an enlightening time for me. Not only did I resort to writing about absolutely nothing (kind a like the concept behind Seinfeld), but last night, at a birthday party for a friend, I realized there is no hope. The US is doomed, and there is no reversing the course we’re on.

People who I thought were relatively intelligent, and people who I would have thought had much more to lose should we continue down this path, have no clue in the world where we’re headed. They have been blinded to the truth by their own hatred, and the lack of understanding of the true motivations of those skillfully directing us down this path of destruction.

Of course maybe I’m the idiot. Maybe they’re right and I’m wrong. I just don’t think so. I’ve never known my instincts to fail me, and I don’t think they’re failing me now.

So I’m done. No more politics, no more health care debates and no more pointing out the lunacy of others. It’s just going to be bike riding, some wine, a little golf, travel [even work, as long as they want to keep me around], and all the other pleasures I can still enjoy while they last.

I don’t plan on taking the site down though, and I may still post the occasional update on my health status, but that’s about it.

The plan now is to spend every penny I’ve managed to accumulate over the past 60+ years enjoying myself, until I bounce my last check.

My only hope is I make it that long.

It’s been pretty boring lately. I have been doing a lot of bike riding, managing to get 700 miles in last month, despite the week of rain in January, but after a 3 week hiatus, the rain is back today, and I’m house bound. I could have gone to the gym, but I just wasn’t interested.

Have I mentioned before, how much I hate the winter?

Plus there’s been a dearth of idiotic posts on the message boards for me to write about lately, making things even more boring, and leaving me with nothing much to comment about.

So here I sit in front of my computer trying to invent something to write about, without much success, I’ll add, while I wait for Verizon to come and install my new FIOS internet and TV service. I just got fed up dealing with the audio dropping out constantly on my Direct TV whenever I watch something in HD w/Dolby, and Direct TV’s only response is to adjust and remount the dish.

Oh well, I may just end up going to the gym anyways [but I doubt it], as it looks like Verizon isn’t going to get here in time to complete the installation of my new service today. It’s already after 3 PM, and if they think I’m going to sit around for another 4 hours while they install it tonight, they better think again.

At least they called earlier to tell me they were running late. I’m sure the rain is causing some installation issues, and I know I wouldn’t want to be working in this kind of weather. It’s not much of a consolation, but it is something. We’ll see how they handle the reschedule.

Shortly after my diagnosis with MCL, I came to the conclusion vitamins, supplements, immune system boosters, what every you want to call them, are bad for you. They’re nothing more than a scam perpetrated on a naive and unsuspecting public, designed by the pharmaceutical and supplement industries to separate you from your hard earned money.

If you can’t get it naturally from the food you eat, then it’s not worth getting.

Now here’s just one more piece of evidence to support my belief.

Researchers at Kansas State’s [K-State] Cardiorespiratory Exercise Laboratory now believe anti-oxidants may be bad as well.

….what a lot of people don’t realize is that the antioxidant and pro-oxidant balance is really delicate. One of the things we’ve seen in our research is that you can’t just give a larger dose of antioxidants and presume that there will be some sort of beneficial effect. In fact, you can actually make a problem worse.

…………..

K-State’s studies have shown that some of the oxidants in our body, such as hydrogen peroxide, are helpful to increase blood flow.

We’re now learning that if antioxidant therapy takes away hydrogen peroxide – or other naturally occurring vasodilators, which are compounds that help open blood vessels – you impair the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to the muscle so that it doesn’t work properly

You can read the entire article here.

Well at least how we pay for it is certainly in question.

Here’s another in the continuing saga of health care woes another person (from one of the many health related message boards I belong to) just encountered in dealing with his health insurance company.

After receiving IVIG monthly for 1 1/2 years and no problems with insurance paying, had 1st treatment this month and denied. No change with insurance company or employer. Called insurance and they stated the drug is one of 6 that my company has chosen to bill under seperate drug benefit and not medical.  Called pharmacy plan and their notes on the drug state to call my company HR department as the drug is not covered.

Great news to find out friday after everyone is gone for the weekend…  This is the first battle that I have come upon since diagnosis and preparing myself to justify this treatment after I speak with the HR department and then whomever heads the committee that might have decided to not cover the drug. Any advise from others who might have run across similar denials.  Any organizations that people have found helpful to help fight such a thing?  Trying to stay optimistic that this will be resolved as I can’t find $6000.00 per month to pay for this as most will understand.

That certainly isn’t great news, and I sure hope he gets it resolved, but as health care costs and insurance premiums continue to rise, expect this to become common place as patients are expected to bare more of the burden of paying for their own health care.

This is just a perfect example of how little people understand their insurance policies. Most people don’t know how under insured they are until they get sick, and need to use it. Then it’s too late.

If we don’t change the way we pay for and deliver health care in this country soon, only the richest among us will be able to afford health care.