earthbelow

And no, I'm not referring to the refreshing change in our government coming this January, although I will say that my joy at seeing Barack Obama elected president will stay with me for the rest of my life.

No, I'm talking about healthcare in which the doctor is actually helpful.

( Short story: I finally got my meds. Longer tale of woe and eventual victory beneath the cut. Some mild medical/girly TMI. )

So that's finally resolved (thank god!).

Now if I could just find a job that I'd actually enjoy going to, or sell a novel and make a fortune, and figure out this wedding thing, I'd have everything in my life pretty well fixed. Which kinda points to how good I have it, in comparison to others.

But fear not, because a new day is on the horizon. We have hope, we have strength, and eventually, we'll have solutions.

The Boy dragged me to a walk-in clinic that is in a Duane Reade pharmacy in Manhattan. They're cheap enough that we could afford it.

The doctor there confirmed - after looking at an actual specimen of what I've been coughing up - that indeed it is a very bad sinus infection. Because I'm allergic to penicillin and derivatives, he had to prescribe me Cipro (which is fairly heavy duty stuff). He also prescribed me codeine cough syrup (bless him).

For a male doctor he was very nice and non judgemental. Fairly business like. Which was fine by me because I was only half conscious.

I will now take my medicine, pass out on the couch, and consider this week written off because I need to rest for the next 3-4 days (per doctor's orders). If my job wants to fire me for being sick, then fuck them. It was an internship that technically is already up anyway and the lousy pay I get does not justify me making myself sicker. Especially since I put in a 40 hour work week and still don't get health insurance for it.

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice. You guys are the best in the world.

I'm in a better mood than this morning and feeling a little bit more optimistic.

But I didn't even get to see a doctor. I went down to the clinic and it turns out that they don't actually have a doctor there until Thursday and Friday. The rest of the time, the place just has a midwife.

Which doesn't help me any because my problems directly relate to me *not* wanting to be pregnant. It worked out great for all the other women there who had giant bellies and herds of small children - but since I neither have nor want that, I'm out of luck for today.

The nurse that saw me was super nice thought and apologized that they couldn't help me. I felt bad because I got kind of upset at her, but there was a gasket in my brain that just went *splodeflail* when she told me that I'd have to come back. And I almost started crying and said, "I just want birth control!"

So I have an appointment on Friday when an actual doctor will be there. On the plus side, I don't have to pay for the second appointment. Which is good, because I don't think the girl at the desk who took my info liked me very much at all.

On the upside of life, it was a fairly nice day out and the place was easy to find and I navigated the subway system with surprising ease and did not get lost even *once*. I'm starting to get good at this whole finding my way around the big city thing.

And the other good side is that I think doctor I'll be seeing is female, and that makes me feel better. I know it's irrational, but I just do not *trust* male doctors at all. Especially in this particular area.

As I have said repeatedly: I'm sure male doctors are great and all, but they just read the manual. I want to deal with someone who actually owns the equipment.