Is it time for Random Thoughts - Part 4?

[Vahsek]

Do you like italics, helixe??

LOL

Italics looks cool though!

 

[Yanick]

I was ravaged by an oral surgeon today (wisdom tooth extraction) and the pharmacists apparently decided to leave their brains at home. It took them 5 hours to fill amoxicillin and oxycodone/acetaminophen, I guess pain management is not high on their priority list. I literally had tears coming out of my eyes ~3-4 hours post-op, when the local anesthetic wore off. That state was extended for one whole hour because the pharmacist or tech couldn't verify my insurance. Someone wrote me in as a female and the insurance company said no dice. Instead of calling me, my doctor or the emergency contact (my wife), they just put the prescriptions to the side and then fought with my wife for several hours when she came to pick up the meds.

I am extremely fed up with the medical system. I know I shouldn't generalize, and I'm in the field myself, but it just seems like I get to hear about my insurance more than my actual health from any and all practitioners who I see.

I asked for a thyroid shield thing when they did the tooth X-rays, they refused, then proceeded to explain that the machine doesn't use radiation. They then promptly retreated behind a lead shield several feet away from me to scan me with 'radiation-less' X-rays.

I am beginning to believe that I am the crazy one.

I shall now retreat to my opiate induced stupor while I hold frozen quinoa to my battered jaw.

The best part is, the guy wouldn't extract both sides on the same day. I get to do this all over again next Thursday! This time I will have the opiates on hand for post-op pain management. Did I mention that I asked the surgeon for a day or two worth and he wrote me for 15 pills! No waste in the system at all.

 

[Evo]

I was ravaged by an oral surgeon today (wisdom tooth extraction) and the pharmacists apparently decided to leave their brains at home. It took them 5 hours to fill amoxicillin and oxycodone/acetaminophen, I guess pain management is not high on their priority list. I literally had tears coming out of my eyes ~3-4 hours post-op, when the local anesthetic wore off. That state was extended for one whole hour because the pharmacist or tech couldn't verify my insurance. Someone wrote me in as a female and the insurance company said no dice. Instead of calling me, my doctor or the emergency contact (my wife), they just put the prescriptions to the side and then fought with my wife for several hours when she came to pick up the meds.

I am extremely fed up with the medical system. I know I shouldn't generalize, and I'm in the field myself, but it just seems like I get to hear about my insurance more than my actual health from any and all practitioners who I see.

I asked for a thyroid shield thing when they did the tooth X-rays, they refused, then proceeded to explain that the machine doesn't use radiation. They then promptly retreated behind a lead shield several feet away from me to scan me with 'radiation-less' X-rays.

I am beginning to believe that I am the crazy one.

I shall now retreat to my opiate induced stupor while I hold frozen quinoa to my battered jaw.

The best part is, the guy wouldn't extract both sides on the same day. I get to do this all over again next Thursday! This time I will have the opiates on hand for post-op pain management. Did I mention that I asked the surgeon for a day or two worth and he wrote me for 15 pills! No waste in the system at all.

Here in the US they insist on doing all extractions at once under general anesthesia. Wisdom tooth extraction is dangerous, so they do not want to do it more than once.

If you are in the US, I assume your dentist would not do this, they would have referred you to an oral surgeon. If your dentist is doing this, is he old? I have had my wisdom teeth removed and those of my two children and in three different states, and each time we were referred to an oral surgeon and put under general anesthesia, with an anesthesiologist and emergency medical care there. Obviously, mine was done decades before my children were even born.

Yanick, if you went to an oral surgeon here, I would check to see how many complaints have been lodged against them before going back. Seriously. Did they tell you how dangerous it is?

 

[HeLiXe]

I was ravaged by an oral surgeon today (wisdom tooth extraction) and the pharmacists apparently decided to leave their brains at home. It took them 5 hours to fill amoxicillin and oxycodone/acetaminophen, I guess pain management is not high on their priority list. I literally had tears coming out of my eyes ~3-4 hours post-op, when the local anesthetic wore off. That state was extended for one whole hour because the pharmacist or tech couldn't verify my insurance. Someone wrote me in as a female and the insurance company said no dice. Instead of calling me, my doctor or the emergency contact (my wife), they just put the prescriptions to the side and then fought with my wife for several hours when she came to pick up the meds.

This is so awful. I had my wisdom teeth extracted and I know the pain can be maddening. I am so sorry that you had to experience this.

On a lighter note acetaminophen and hydrocodone is AWESOME you will feel better soon...chin up!

 

[HeLiXe]

Here in the US they insist on doing all extractions at once under general anesthesia. Wisdom tooth extraction is dangerous, so they do not want to do it more than once.

They do insist but I had mine done under nitrous oxide.

 

[Yanick]

Evo, I'm in NYC and the surgeon was trained at NYU (supposedly a top notch program). It was done under IV general anesthesia and was pretty much pain free. His explanation about separating the extraction was a non-sensical statement about possible damage to the mandibular nerve. It's really just a scam to bill my insurance for two separate procedures. I am moving in a few weeks and really don't have the option of hunting around, especially since my insurance leaves few options for surgery.

HeLiXe, once the meds kicked in I was treated to some pleasant euphoria and pain relieve as well as waves of nausea and dizziness. I'll take that over the incredible pain any day though.

At present I feel like I was hit in the face by a baseball bat. Atleast its tolerable when the meds are working.

 

[Evo]

They do insist but I had mine done under nitrous oxide.

It's the general anesthesia that wears off within minutes of when they stop administering it. Within 20 minutes of them finishing, you can go home. Both of my girls did great with it. Knocked out, woke up, all done. They were really scared before hand, so knocking them out was great. Evo Child had at least one impacted tooth, so it was scary. With impacted teeth there is a very high chance of facial paralysis if the doctor nicks a nerve, so having the patient completely immobile is very important.

Helixe, you're brave.

 

[AlephZero]

Makes me glad I never fell ill while in the USA!

Dental treatment in the UK isn't free on the national health service, but the fixed cost for a "course of treatment" (independent of the number of sessions) for any number of fillings and extractions (but not bridges, crowns, etc) is £49 (about $80). No health insurance required - just pay cash.

I don't understand the logic about risk. Surely the risk of something going wrong is per tooth, independent of how many are done in one session?

The most dental work I've had done in one go was 7 extractions, to clear the way for a set of dentures. All done in one session under general anesthetic, and I woke up with the dentures in my mouth. (That wasn't a completely new experience, since I had a partial set before). No oral surgeon involved, my regular dentist did it in his own surgery. IIRC he had one day a month scheduled for general anesthetic procedures, with an anesthetist from the local hospital. No extra painkillers required, and you went home as as soon as you could walk around without falling over (as Evo said, about 15 minutes after waking up). There was probably something fairly strong in the anesthetic though, because having gone home I didn't want to do anything more intellectually or physically challenging than sleep for several more hours, and woke up from that a bit sore but otherwise pain free.

 

[Yanick]

Makes me glad I never fell ill while in the USA!

Dental treatment in the UK isn't free on the national health service, but the fixed cost for a "course of treatment" (independent of the number of sessions) for any number of fillings and extractions (but not bridges, crowns, etc) is £49 (about $80). No health insurance required - just pay cash.

The surgeon I was first referred to, who didn't accept my flavor of dental insurance, quoted me $1500 for the extraction out of pocket. He would've gotten some money from my insurance too, but because he was "out of network" he was able to monetarily violate me.

I don't understand the logic about risk. Surely the risk of something going wrong is per tooth, independent of how many are done in one session?

That is exactly my thinking and why I am nearly convinced its simply a way to scam a bit more money from my insurance. Two visits means he can bill for two "check-ups," two anesthesia sessions etc. I don't see how spacing the extraction in time will have change the outcome in any way. He will either damage the nerve in anyone extraction event or he won't.

I'm just stuck right now because the wisdom teeth have not erupted and are growing sideways into my molars. I had to put this off for a while to get some important things done but I am at a point now that I may not have any insurance in a month and I may not get a chance to get the work done for many months. That will make things much worse in the long run.

The most dental work I've had done in one go was 7 extractions, to clear the way for a set of dentures. All done in one session under general anesthetic, and I woke up with the dentures in my mouth. (That wasn't a completely new experience, since I had a partial set before). No oral surgeon involved, my regular dentist did it in his own surgery. IIRC he had one day a month scheduled for general anesthetic procedures, with an anesthetist from the local hospital. No extra painkillers required, and you went home as as soon as you could walk around without falling over (as Evo said, about 15 minutes after waking up). There was probably something fairly strong in the anesthetic though, because having gone home I then had a sleep for several more hours, and woke up from that a bit sore but otherwise pain free.

I was in the recovery room for maybe 10-15 minutes but definitely woozy for several hours after. Once the pain started kicking in, I snapped right out of my stupor.

I don't necessarily consider myself intolerant to pain, I really avoid pain meds whenever I can, but this was intolerable to me. The surgeon never really spoke with me after the procedure, but I suspect the tooth gave him some trouble and he really needed to do some dissection, sawing and wrestling to get it out.

On a positive note, I doubt he did any damage to the mandibular nerve. A small part of my lip is slightly numb (maybe, hard to tell) but otherwise I have full feeling in my tongue, teeth, face etc. So there's that

 

[Evo]

Makes me glad I never fell ill while in the USA!

Dental treatment in the UK isn't free on the national health service, but the fixed cost for a "course of treatment" (independent of the number of sessions) for any number of fillings and extractions (but not bridges, crowns, etc) is £49 (about $80). No health insurance required - just pay cash.

I don't understand the logic about risk. Surely the risk of something going wrong is per tooth, independent of how many are done in one session?

The most dental work I've had done in one go was 7 extractions, to clear the way for a set of dentures. All done in one session under general anesthetic, and I woke up with the dentures in my mouth. (That wasn't a completely new experience, since I had a partial set before). No oral surgeon involved, my regular dentist did it in his own surgery. IIRC he had one day a month scheduled for general anesthetic procedures, with an anesthetist from the local hospital. No extra painkillers required, and you went home as as soon as you could walk around without falling over (as Evo said, about 15 minutes after waking up). There was probably something fairly strong in the anesthetic though, because having gone home I didn't want to do anything more intellectually or physically challenging than sleep for several more hours, and woke up from that a bit sore but otherwise pain free.

I think here there is a definite issue of malpractice lawsuits. A regular dentist isn't skilled at oral surgery and if something comes up unexpectedly, an oral surgeon is much more qualified to deal with it. Since I had insurance, I definitely wanted an experienced oral surgeon in a fully equipped facility for my kids. For me, I have a very low threshold for pain, so chose to go the oral surgeon route, especially after that first dolt dentist that tried to do an extraction with the root of another tooth wrapped around the tooth that he wanted to extract. He was completely unqualified. He couldn't even read the x-rays that clearly showed a highly unusual circumstance that would prevent anything but oral surgery. I had to wait a week with a partially extracted tooth to get an oral surgeon. MORON.

 

[dipole]

I refuse to have my wisdom teeth removed. I have been told more than once that I should get them removed by dentists (then again, who hasn't been told that), but they are mostly in on the top row and seem to be coming in ok on the bottom. Unless I start experiencing serious discomfort or something bad like an infection happens, I will trust that nature knew what she was doing when we evolved these things.

I honestly think that wisdom tooth extraction is, for the most part, a big racket.

 

[Evo]

I refuse to have my wisdom teeth removed. I have been told more than once that I should get them removed by dentists (then again, who hasn't been told that), but they are mostly in on the top row and seem to be coming in ok on the bottom. Unless I start experiencing serious discomfort or something bad like an infection happens, I will trust that nature knew what she was doing when we evolved these things.

I honestly think that wisdom tooth extraction is, for the most part, a big racket.

Got to agree that is is a very big money racket. Unless they are causing problems, I don't see any reason to touch them. I had problems, one was coming in sideways and growing against my cheekbone and causing severe pain, another was impacted, the others were pushing my other teeth out of place.

 

[Borek]

Too much wisdom for a random thoughts.

 

[Borg]

I always seem to be the first in my family to catch a cold. I then get blamed for everyone else catching it no matter how careful I am in trying to isolate myself and not spread it. Sigh...

 

[Mandelbroth]

I always seem to be the first in my family to catch a cold. I then get blamed for everyone else catching it no matter how careful I am in trying to isolate myself and not spread it. Sigh...

Blame your family's immune systems. They aren't strong enough to coexist with your cold.

 

[HomogenousCow]

Things supposed to be found in haircuts
-Haircuts

Things not supposed to be found in haircuts
-Excessive attempts to engage in conversation

 

[Vahsek]

Things supposed to be found in haircuts
-Haircuts

Things not supposed to be found in haircuts
-Excessive attempts to engage in conversation

Deja-vu... Try some variations when you're complaining.

 

[HomogenousCow]

Does anyone read xkcd?

Did they ban cosmobrain

 

[drizzle]

URGHHHHHHHHHHHH! %$@# this printer.

 

[Vahsek]

Did they ban cosmobrain

I think they did. Judging by his posts, I had already guessed he was quite annoying. But that he would get banned - never saw that coming.

 

[Evo]

I think they did. Judging by his posts, I had already guessed he was quite annoying. But that he would get banned - never saw that coming.

He had been a member before, if you get my drift.

 

[Vahsek]

He had been a member before, if you get my drift.

I've never been good at guessing, but I'd guess that means he created a second account - which is not allowed on PF... (sounds like I guessed it wrong again)

 

[Evo]

I've never been good at guessing, but I'd guess that means he created a second account - which is not allowed on PF... (sounds like I guessed it wrong again)

That's correct, once banned, you can't just keep coming back with a new name, although many try.

 

[JorisL]

He was too busy upping his postcount as it seems to me, popping up in too many subforums with subpar replies, at least from what I'm used here.

 

[Vahsek]

That's correct,

Yesss! Looks like my brain is working, so I'm going to go study now!

@ Cosmobrain : There there.

 

[HeLiXe]

Helixe, you're brave.

Depends on how you look at it lolol...I was afraid to go under general anesthesia.

 

[lisab]

 

[Vahsek]

I don't get it; what's the dragon supposed to mean?

 

[lisab]

I don't get it; what's the dragon supposed to mean?

Lots of effort, lots of fun!

 

[Vahsek]

Lots of effort, lots of fun!

But how can you make such a statement about dragons? They aren't real.

 

[HeLiXe]

awww...they need to up the baby on the fun scale...they are certainly more fun that turtles and dogs...and tropical fish lolollll

 

[Vahsek]

I didn't know the dragon would be that big!

 

[lisab]

I didn't know the dragon would be that big!

Wow, indeed. Please resize him!

 

[Vahsek]

Wow, indeed. Please resize him!

I tried, but it's not working. I'll just delete it; it was cool though

 

[DennisN]

Lots of effort, lots of fun!

I want a dragon! Like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39ypvYcDQ7Q

 

[Vahsek]

I want a dragon!

I just deleted mine

 

[DennisN]

This gif made me laugh: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/AngularFrequency.gif

It's present on wikis Angular frequency article. Happy happy physics .

 

[Giant]

I like wearing gum boots in any random weather
I even like the word gum gum gum gum gum gum gum gum gum gum

 

[Borek]

they need to up the baby on the fun scale...they are certainly more fun that turtles and dogs

Wait with opinions till you raise one.

Actually this is one of the funniest observations on the plot.

 

[drizzle]

I shouldn't have had that coffee. T__T

PS: LOL lisab!

 

[OmCheeto]

In my eternal quest of "nothing", I ask complete strangers, who have either accents, or names that appear to have originated from other planets, what language they speak.

Yesterday, I ran into someone who had both, so I asked him; "What kind of name is that?"

He responded; "Israeli".

At first, I thought that was an odd answer. But after thinking about it for a bit, I decided it was not an odd answer.

ps. I learned a while back, not to say; "That's a funny name", as someone* once responded, "What's your name?" So I told them, and they responded; "You have a funny name too".

This is one thing I will miss, when I retire. There are very few nationalities missing from where I work.

Though, on my quest for Fava beans the other day, it just so happened that my checker was an Ethiopian woman, who said there are 68 languages spoken in her country. When I mentioned this to the Ethiopian woman I work with, and told her which store I was shopping at, she said she knew her.

pps. On a happy/sad side note, my acquaintance from Hyderabad, whom with I've had very interesting conversations over the last 8 years, says he is moving back to India, within days of my retirement.

I can only imagine how difficult it is to move to an alien country. They smell different. The people think differently. Everyone talks with funny accents.

ppps. I suppose this is why my silly hobby is so gratifying, as it never fails to bring a smile, to the person you ask; "How do you say "I know nothing"", in their language.

* She's Finnish

 

[Enigman]

Shirimasen.

 

[OmCheeto]

Shirimasen.

She doe nye.

 

[OmCheeto]

ps. Enigman, always spell it phonetically, as googling fakers, like myself, will, um, google the word.

I remember that phrase/word from the book "Shogun". I remember it as "Wakiri mas"?

I'm not sure why I love languages. Though it may be my mothers curses, that none of us* could understand: "Du kliene faule misgebort!"

Moms have great senses of humor.

*Me and my six siblings

 

[Enigman]

Wakari-mas is I understand, wakarimasen is a safer version of 'I don't know' as apparently shirimasen can be rude in some circumstances.

 

[OmCheeto]

Wakari-mas is I understand, wakarimasen is a safer version of 'I don't know' as apparently shirimasen can be rude in some circumstances.

I've been very rude the last couple of days, but I like sushi.

I just started going back to my sushi bar, after a 5 year absence. They were always so busy back then, that I had to wait in line. Now, I walk in, and have the entire train to myself.

hmmm... I can say, I am a pig, in 3 languages.

Ya zam svinya. (probably most every slavic language)
Ich bin schwein. (kraut!)
I'm a pig. ('mare-can)

 

[OmCheeto]

Ha! Today I've been battling with old friends, regarding trivial things. Then, for absolutely no good reason, "Spootneek adeen" popped into my head.

Sputnik 1 (Russian: "Спу́тник-1" Russian pronunciation: [ˈsputnʲɪk], "Satellite-1", ПС-1 (PS-1, i.e. "Простейший Спутник-1", or Elementary Satellite-1)) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was a 58 cm (23 in) diameter polished metal sphere, with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit on 4 October 1957. It was visible all around the Earth and its radio pulses were detectable. The surprise success precipitated the American Sputnik crisis and triggered the Space Race, a part of the larger Cold War. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments.

--------------------
zato you imam malo mozga = because I have a little brain

 

[HeLiXe]

OK >_> so this is strange but on occasion "sputnik" pops into my head too

 

[HomogenousCow]

Found money in an old pair of pants, today was a good day.

 

[lendav_rott]

Wakari-mas is I understand, wakarimasen is a safer version of 'I don't know' as apparently shirimasen can be rude in some circumstances.

Wakarimasu

Shirimasen means in some cases like "ah, who cares..." You can't use shirimasen for something in your power to control. For example: "When are you leaving?" You can't say shirimasen, well you can, but people will give you the look.