Last night, I felt awful. I was running a 100.9 degree fever. If I’m still running a fever this morning, there is no way I’m going to work. At least my nose has quit running so bad once I was able to lay down. However, my head was hurting along with body aches from the fever. I hope the medicine I took kicks in and by the time this posts, and I will be feeling better.

Yesterday, I finally broke down and called a local doctor trying to find a new doctor in my new home. So I called the doctor everyone suggested (he’s kinda cute, too) and asked about getting an appointment as a new patient. I was told that three of the four providers in this office are taking new patients. The woman took down all my information, including the drugs I’m on, what conditions I have, and who my previous doctor was. Then after all of that, she says that she will give this information to the doctor and he will decide if he will take me on as a new patient.

What…the…fuck! He’s accepting new patients but apparently there is an application process. Has anyone else run into this kind of thing? I didn’t think a doctor could refuse you as long as he’s accepting patients. I could understand if he didn’t take my insurance, but they didn’t even ask that. Apparently, this is normal procedure in Vermont.

Getting a new doctor in Alabama was so simple. You called the office and asked if they were taking new patients. If they answer was yes, the doctor’s office asked what insurance you had. If they took your insurance they made you an appointment. I have never had to wait to see if the doctor would actual take me on as a patient.

I was told that the decision should be made by the end of the day, but the office never called back. If I don’t hear by mid morning, I’m calling them. This is my health on the line. I need to know. I also need prescription refills, which is why I am calling now. I have two more refills and then I will be out of medicine.

Why can’t life be simple?

UPDATE: I was approved to be a new patient. I’m glad I don’t have to search for another doctor.

Not only was the high yesterday a chilly 55 degrees here in Vermont, but I seem to have come down with a cold. I need some NyQuil or DayQuil for this because it is the sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-head, fever, so you can rest medicine. Luckily, I don’t seem to have a fever. Since I wrote this last night, I am hoping that I feel better by the time this posts in the morning, or else, I’ll have to call in sick to work.

I ended up going to bed last night just past 7pm. About 4pm yesterday, I was suddenly struck by a massive headache that quickly built in intensity. I’m not sure what caused it, but I suspect that I’d eaten something with lots of MSG in it and didn’t realize it. This wasn’t one of my cluster headaches but a full blown migraine. The cluster headaches are more of a nuisance nowadays than a major pain. The medicine I am on for them keeps the intensity of them mostly to a low roar, but I still have migraines occasionally and last night was one of those. Even though my migraines are quite rare these days, I do still have some of my old migraine medicine. I took that medicine, but the problem with my migraines is that they always cause a tension headache as well and those can be as bad as the migraine and more difficult to get rid of. Usually sleep is all that helps. In this case sleep did help. Now I pray that I will be headache free for the next two days, which will be very busy days at work.

It appears that I most likely have an abscessed tooth, which hurts really fucking bad. Of course any type of head pain leads to a bad headache, so add a massive headache on to the pain in my tooth. I’ll have to call a dentist and see if I can find one that will actually take me and then deal with a dreaded dental appointment. Overall, it’s just a pain in the ass.

UPDATE: The tooth is not abscessed but instead is a major cavity and broken tooth that was causing the pain. I go back in two weeks to get a filling.