Adventures in Health Care

"Sea Gorillas in the Mist,
Santa Monica Shoreline, California"

My foray into the Public Health system was an interesting little adventure yesterday. The doctor assigned to me is a real little fireball by the name of Helene Alphonso, who I found to be easy to talk with. It really did not take me long to get into see the doctor as I had imagined it would. As part of the exam, they took my blood pressure which was elevated somewhat to what I normally have, which is unusual for me. So I was correct in assuming I was having a problem there due to unusual levels of stress which in turn resulted in my sleeping problems. We talked over a lot of things and Dr Alphonso prescribed Abilify and Trazadone and then sent me back out front to sign up for a primary care physician for thing she could not treat. I also made an appointment for classification for the financial assistance program which is necessary to reduce the cost of care on my part. I then took the prescription to the pharmacy to get the meds. I had to wait only 20 minutes for it to be filled, when they called me to the window they told me the Trazadone was ready but they had to order the Abilify. The Trazadone only cost me 5 bucks which was good and I inquired as to the cost of the the Abilify the lady said 504. I said $5.04? and she said not $504 because I had not yet been classified so I would have to pay the full price. After picking up my jaw and checking to see if my heart was still functioning I was directed to the social worker who unfortunately would not be in for another 2 and a half hours. I left and came back at the appropriate time. The social worker (Bryan was really helpful and arranged for me to get some samples to start off with and told me to come see him when those ran out so he could provide a voucher for some more from the pharmacy, so I got both meds for a grand total of 5 bucks. Relief city! When I got home I took the prescribed amount of Abilify, took care of some other little things then took a Trazadone and got some uninterrupted sleep without weird dreams for the first time in quite a while. So I think I would say my first experience was successful and the first step to getting our health issues resolved. I have registered Will as part of my household, which caused not a ripple, so we will be able to get his needs taken care of also. I had worried about that, but apparently the fact that we are not related by blood does not seem to matter to the powers that be at JPS. Another point for them in my book! I am greatly encouraged by these events which means I can look forward to getting back to normal for me behavior. This is a very good thing for which I am grateful.

Today's eye candy section is brim full of Men In Jeans to get your weekend lust fest started. Thanks for sticking around, we will see you back here on Monday. Until next time as always, Enjoy!