I’m honestly delighted that I can go to a pharmacy & give a quick summary of my issue & often receive something that helps me. My experience before was that I’d go with a complaint, then they’d either request tons of followup tests that would show nothing until I gave up and self-medicated and/or moved on -or- they’d suggest that I take Aleve then I’d give up and self-medicate and/or move on -or- the complaint was absurdly easy to diagnose, like a literal hole in my body and I’d actually receive the services I was paying for (often with tons of followup tests that cost a ridiculous amount of money).
A few weeks ago, I became frustrated with my sleep. I often have a hard time sleeping then wake up several times in the night, and give up when I wake up within 1-2 hours of when I intend to wake up. But it got out of whack recently and I couldn’t even anymore. So I went to a pharmacy and said “I want something for sleep”, they clarified that I wanted pills, and let me choose between two things. I looked up the thing I got on the internet to work out the risks/benefits (because of my language skills). And they were magical. I took them for a very short time then, bam! My sleep realigned to slightly better than normal. ✨
So, fuck the medical gatekeepers. Ain’t nobody got time for that shit. Yes, I understand having trained professionals that can help you – but what about people that they don’t help? It’s tedious to fully research my problem, build out the right speaking points, and try to remember my presentation when I see a doctor. Yes, I did this. Because otherwise it was “Have you tried taking an Aleve? Also, I will hint that you are a hypochondriac”.
Yes! Also, here is my whinge:
I’m honestly delighted that I can go to a pharmacy & give a quick summary of my issue & often receive something that helps me. My experience before was that I’d go with a complaint, then they’d either request tons of followup tests that would show nothing until I gave up and self-medicated and/or moved on -or- they’d suggest that I take Aleve then I’d give up and self-medicate and/or move on -or- the complaint was absurdly easy to diagnose, like a literal hole in my body and I’d actually receive the services I was paying for (often with tons of followup tests that cost a ridiculous amount of money).
A few weeks ago, I became frustrated with my sleep. I often have a hard time sleeping then wake up several times in the night, and give up when I wake up within 1-2 hours of when I intend to wake up. But it got out of whack recently and I couldn’t even anymore. So I went to a pharmacy and said “I want something for sleep”, they clarified that I wanted pills, and let me choose between two things. I looked up the thing I got on the internet to work out the risks/benefits (because of my language skills). And they were magical. I took them for a very short time then, bam! My sleep realigned to slightly better than normal. ✨
So, fuck the medical gatekeepers. Ain’t nobody got time for that shit. Yes, I understand having trained professionals that can help you – but what about people that they don’t help? It’s tedious to fully research my problem, build out the right speaking points, and try to remember my presentation when I see a doctor. Yes, I did this. Because otherwise it was “Have you tried taking an Aleve? Also, I will hint that you are a hypochondriac”.