Ugh, doctors

Not so much the doctors I guess, the healthcare system just pisses me off in general. Everything is so fucking expensive it's unreal.

I have eczema and it can get really bad at times. Bad as in my skin gets so dry it cracks and bleeds, and nothing over the counter will make it go away. For the most part I'll just deal with it, use the over the counter stuff that relieves the pain and itching, and ride it out. Eventually it goes back to normal.

It's been bad for a couple of months now though, and since I have it on three fingers of my right hand it was affecting both my writing and my typing. So I figured I'd scrape the cash together for a dermatologist visit and get a prescription. The prescription cremes work really quickly, and one tube will last me a long time.

First I had to go through the ordeal of getting a damn appointment. I called last Friday, only to be told they had no openings for at least a month, a waiting list of at least a dozen people, and they couldn't even schedule me at that time. Now, this is for a group of seven or eight doctors. After spending most of my day trying to find another doctor, the first group calls back and says they had a cancellation Wednesday (today) so they can squeeze me in. Shame they couldn't have saved me that seven hours I spent trying to find a new doctor and told me that to begin with.

So I go this morning. The nurse asks me about a million questions, and I'm a bit annoyed. I know it was my first visit but I knew what was wrong with me. I knew I had eczema, and yet she kept asking me about psoriasis and if it ran in my family. Whatever. Finally I get the doctor, who was great. He took one look at my hand and arms and confirmed that it was eczema, and immediately wrote me a prescription. He also gave me a bunch of samples of lotions to use when it got a bit better, so that I won't have so many outbreaks and won't have to use the prescription as much.

That 10 minute chat with the doctor cost me $80. Then I went to get my prescription filled. Holy fuck. $105 for the generic stuff. Not eligible for any of those fun plans where prescriptions cost $8 or whatever, of course.

That might very well be the death blow to my Otakon trip, as that money was covering most of the hotel costs for the trip. Unless I get a job in the next week or two I don't think I'll be making it.

God I need to get insurance. >_<