Friday, May 12, 2017

Off Topic...

Just this week I changed doctors. I didn't have any issues with my doctor other than the fact that both my doctor and I have relocated over the years and the drive was getting to be a little much. I generally needed to take an entire morning or afternoon off, just for something like an annual check up.


So I have been looking into a clinic closer to home (there happens to be one less than five minutes from my house) and it is a reputable national clinic. I called, made an appointment. Got in, answered some questions, got right in, saw the nurse, the doctor was just a couple minutes later, got a shot in the arm, some blood work, and I was back home in about an hour.

So as a new patient they ask you a bunch of questions. In this case the nurse did most of the questioning. When the doctor came in and was going over some thing we had a dialogue that went something like this:
Doctor - So I see you are a former smoker.
Me - No, I have never been a smoker.
Doctor - You told the nurse that you have smoked cigars in the past.
Me - Yes, she asked me if I had "ever used tobacco" and I told her that when I was much younger I had an occasional cigar on special occasions with friends.
Doctor - You also stated that you had a cigar more recently.
Me - I shared a couple of clove cigars/cigarettes with my wife while we were in Paris (when in Rome).
Doctor - Okay. Thanks for the clarification. 
(To be clear, when I state that I have smoked an occasional cigar, we are talking like perhaps 8-10 cigars over the course of my lifetime - but neither the nurse or doctor ever asked me how many or actually how often)

So the clinic sent me information about getting access to a website where I could see test results, etc. While looking through the site, I went over my personal information.
Smoking tobacco use: Smoker
I contacted the clinic, believing this was obviously a mistake. They told me to contact the doctor through the message center. So I sent her a message. Her reply was that while we were talking, that I had told her that I occasionally shared cigars with my wife and friends and therefore I am considered a smoker.

Shared a couple of cloves
with the wife.. 
I replied that my use of cigars (with the exception of the recent Paris trip) were back in my twenties and were very limited. I told her that I had no intentions of smoking anything again  as the Paris thing was a one time deal. (although truth be told I probably would smoke another clove or two if we went back to Paris).

Long story - but the short of it is that my wife is an ex-smoker who no longer likes the taste of real cigarettes, but felt like the nicotine would help alleviate any stress of a wedding, etc...  So she brought a pack of cloves with us to Paris. Plus like pretty much everyone smokes in Paris, so you almost feel obligated!

So anyways... after sending the second message back to the doctor with further information... I waited for a reply. After a while, I also chose to check up on the website to see if the status has changed, and low and behold!
Smoking tobacco use: Former Smoker
So I literally went out to the Minnesota Department of Health and got the official definition of what is considered smoker and non-smoker. The official definition is 100 cigarettes. Smoke more than 100 cigarettes in your life and you pass from never smoker to smoker (current or former). Moreover, it actually states that the occasional use of cigars does not apply to a smoker status, unless the use is fairly consistent (as in more than one a month).

So I sent the definition from the Department of Health, along with the clarification that I have smoked perhaps 10-12 cigars in my life. The doctors reply:
As per your request, you are now listed as a "never smoker". 
As per my request? Ahem. As if she really is just doing it to appease me. Not because it is right.

The moral of the story... when the nurse or doctor asks you about tobacco use. Never tell them the truth. Don't tell them you tried a cigarette once and hated it. Don't tell them you took a puff off your dad's pipe when you were 12. Don't tell them you were a social smoker. Don't tell them you smoked when you drank. Don't tell them you sometimes smoked a stogie at poker night. Don't tell them you chewed when you played baseball. Don't tell them you were once curious about Swisher Sweets. Don't tell them you had a cigar when a friend celebrated the birth of a kid. Don't even tell them you were around second hand smoke.

Just say no...  and leave it at that.


10 comments:

Loretta said...

"Just say no... and leave it at that."

Same with the question, "Do you own a firearm" - just say no.

Young people are generally safe saying "yes" - but you won't be young forever.....

Anonymous said...

Same with the question, "Do you own a firearm" - just say no.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


absolutely. my primary care doc is a great guy and i count him among my friends. but when it comes to my guns, he hasn't a clue and never will. it's not that i don't trust him personally, but if he's required to enter that info into my medical record that ultimately feeds some database somewhere, that's a bridge too far for me.

doctors and patients used to have a clear and personal and confidential one-to-one relationship.

then the fucking government got involved...


Honest, decent, truthful Rev. said...

Paranoids, all.

Anonymous said...

James said...
Paranoids, all.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

not at all, unlike a small child when YOU enter the room.

opie said...

rrb said...
not at all, unlike a small child when YOU enter the room.


god you are a flaming asshole. Go eat a loretta shit sandwich......

Loretta said...

Pedo

Loretta said...

You forgot LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

Loretta said...

Four Pinocchios

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/05/10/kamala-harriss-claim-that-129-million-people-with-preexisting-conditions-could-be-denied-coverage/?utm_term=.9f40200881eb

opie said...

Loretta the twat Russo said...
Pedo
May 12, 2017 at 7:45 AM
Blogger Loretta Russo said...
You forgot LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
May 12, 2017 at 7:46 AM

The string of worthless waste of bandwidth continues from the dolt of kansas. If brains were dynamite, you couldn't blow your nose......Idiot.

wphamilton said...

"Limit access" for those with pre-existing conditions, no. But it sure as heck allows them to send the rates sky-high, which in the end achieves the same thing.