Yes! If we are going to have the same (or longer) waits, might as well socialize it and make it cheaper. I hear all those that complain about socialized healthcare shut up around 65 for some reason. hmmm. It’s so hard to do, only 37/38 OECD (developed) countries guarantee health care to all it’s citizens. We all know the 1 that doesn’t …
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https://x.com/olenarohoza/status/2059050488612712845?s=46
Not really a pet peeve but kind of on topic
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Hey I don’t have to find a new primary care doctor, because given the educational training hospital situation that at the VA in Salt Lake, I get a new primary care person every three years whether I want it or not. And this is a perfect example of how in the long run that is a disservice to the older veterans that have been going there for a long time, because we should not have to keep reeducating a new person every 3 years about our complicated medical history. That’s why people try to keep the same primary care doctor for a long time.
I’m very happy that we do get a whole bunch of young people coming through and you don’t get stuck with too many old sick in the mud curmudgeons, but worth the other end of that scale where it’s also a problem when you don’t get any real longevity. I mean some of the clinics are crazy… Podiatry has a rotation of two to three months and they’re off, orthopedics is a maximum of one year, and I’m guessing some of the other specialties or anywhere from 6 months to a year. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a guinea pig for these people to learn on.
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Case in point. My MIL has been suffering from extreme vertigo and nausea for about two weeks. They think it is related to her ears (something to do with the equilibrium) and have been trying to get her into a specialist. She is effectively bedridden until they do because every time she stands up she gets dizzy and sick.
The soonest they can see her? June 19. She’ll be bedridden for nearly a full month because there’s simply no appointments available with specialists that her insurance will accept.
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My mother suffered from precisely the same symptoms for years. In her case, the cause was
the tiny calcium crystals in her inner ear dislodging and floating into the wrong inner ear canal, which triggers a condition called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). This confuses your brain’s balance sensors, resulting in sudden, intense vertigo and severe nausea. People who suffer from this condition can be taught exercises/movements that correct the crystal positions and relevice the symptoms, almost immediately. My mother could never successfully manage this so I would take her to an audiologist who could perform the procedure, which if I recall was called the the Epley maneuver.
The guy she saw, Chris Curtis, was in Murray, at Rocky Mountain Hearing and Balance, and he could usually work her in within a day, sometimes the same day (he was good to even have her come after hours as he was aware of how bad the symptoms are and how relatively quickly and easily they can be corrected. Since your MIL has not been formerly diagnosed, and because it’s possible to have the same symptoms due to other inner ear issues, I’m not sure whether he would see her, but you could try calling there and see if he felt comfortable under the circumstances, checking to see if that was what she was suffering from.
If it is, she could be back to normal much more quickly than June 19th. Your MIL has my sincerest sympathy - that is a terribly uncomfortable set of symptoms and to have to live with them more than a few hours, or a day, sounds absolutely terrible.
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This is exactly what they initially thought it was. I rolled my eyes at a “your ear crystals are misaligned” diagnosis, but it can apparently be very severe.
They tried the treatment on her (which apparently amounts to shaking her head quite violently, which she didn’t love) but it didn’t work. Hence the need for a higher level specialist.
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may I suggest you take her to her PCP or the ED or an Insta-Care and try this maneuver? It might be simple vertigo (which is paradoxical and not simple) but won’t hurt in the hands of a practitioner who is adept at it. I’ve seen it work and when it does it’s amazing. Like Wizard of Oz amazing
The Epley maneuver is the most common and effective movement used to clear loose calcium crystals from the inner ear. By guiding the crystals back into the proper chamber, it treats the vertigo, nausea, and vomiting caused by BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
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I don’t know the subject matter, but I wholeheartedly trust my colleague’s advice.
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Did they try this ?
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Hope she gets a diagnosis and relief soon. Please keeo us posted ans feel free to DM anytime
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I have this medical condition as well. It stared as Meniere’s disease which is the expansion of fluid in the inner ear that causes the issue and can be caused by high levels of sodium in the diet. My ENT was awesome in treating that issue, and had it under control. But the issue migrated to what are known as basically vestibular headaches. I am now on 3x daily regimen of Nortriptylene and Betahistine and I am symptom free.
Just some thoughts from my end that TOTALLY understands the issue your MIL is facing.
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Yikes! You have my sincerest sympathy.
Thanks all, I have passed all this info along to Mrs. SkinyUte. Will keep everyone posted if/when we get some answers.
Appreciate y’all! 
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