The appointment with the previous doctor, the one who referred me to today's person, was in March. That was a consultation. Today's appointment is another consultation. Look, people, you have all my goddamn MRIs, why can't you give me some sort of treatment *today*?

"Have you tried PT? Oh you have multiple times, and it didn't help? Here, have another prescription for PT. Oh goodness, no, I don't want to give you steroid injections, they could be dangerous, but I'll prescribe a course of oral steroids. Oh, the times you've been on steroids for other issues it didn't help your back pain? Well, try them again. Pain management? Hmmm, just keep taking Tylenol. And a different version of the gabapentin you take for sleep and anxiety. You're on Wegovy? Good, maybe losing weight will help."

I'm pretty sure I'm running into the fat women who claim to be in pain are overreacting bias, because this doctor really didn't want to listen to me. Or to Mr. Loomycakes, who was there as my backup.

Time to do some research into other possible back specialists in the area.

Fuck, Atropa. Wish you could come see my back people. They’ve been all about giving me shots.

Ugh, Atropa!

Huh, apparently FB is down.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this, Atropa. You really need a different provider. My ortho and my PCP are both awesome. You need someone who hears you.

Woot! Scaffolding going up to fix the signage on the Kennedy Center.

Congratulations, erikaj!

I’m sorry about the medical frustrations, Atropa.

Ugh, Atropa! That sounds frustrating.

The house was inspected yesterday, and it really was not as bad as I thought. Keep in mind, since it is paid off, and I am inheriting it, I don't HAVE to really do anything, but some things are sort of dangerous. And the village, I guess could condemn, but I don't think any of these are condenmable 1. We have to fix the sump pump because it is CAUSING the flooding by putting the water it is pumping back in to the place it is flooding from (the storm drain system). 2. Then I have places of mold throughout the basement because it is damp because flooding and old. They recommend treating the whole thing because who know what is lurking. And they recommend just running a dehumidifier down there. 3. The shower surround needs to be replaced, which I can see with my eyes 4. The ceilings starting to come down are NOT water damage, so they can wait- they recommend I use one of them to get access to the attic and insulate (another to me not urgent thing) 5. The roof is fine- but I should make one or two minor repairs. 6. There is a small tree growing in the chimney !!! 7. the other dangerous thing is that the outer electrical wire is frayed and letting water into the breaker box. It hasn't effected the actual breakers yet, but that seems urgent

So to me, the only urgent, big things are the sump pump mold and the electricity. Then I would look at the roof/gutter minor repair and the tree in chimney!

Thanks, Calli. I have already started to write a bit, but I have time if I change my mind. Atropa, while I haven't been exactly where you are, I know enough to know how rotten that all is. I'm sorry and I hope someone can help. Sophia, sounds like a lot but also like it could be worse, too. hope M.'s head is all right. Something similar happened to one of our neighbors and she ended up having a long road back over it.(Of course, sometimes people just hit the wrong spot, like, really hard...probably kind of a freak occurrence. I hear a lot of those stories, as you might imagine.)

So to me, the only urgent, big things are the sump pump mold and the electricity. Then I would look at the roof/gutter minor repair and the tree in chimney!

That's very doable! How encouraging.

I mean there is still a lot of minor stuff and cosmetic stuff, but when I was growing up we had to dump the dishwater in the back yard because we had no sink drain, go to the cellar to turn the shower on, and had no hot water in the bathroom sink. So frankly it is in much better shape than in the 80s. My uncle and aunt are so focused on replacing the flooring and I am like- there is a floor, I can rip the carpets up and just live with whatever is underneath until other messy work is done??? I think it really bothered them that the rugs are like, from the 70s in some cases, but there is an order of operations.

It also only takes me 25 minutes in summer to drive to work. I tested with a rental.