Obamacare, which I have passionately criticized, might have just saved my life today...

[SteveG]

71. agreed

After my previous doctor moved out of the area, I got lazy and didn't bother to find a new one. Until last summer when all of a sudden I had no energy, I would get short of breath after walking from my car to the front door. I found a doctor, went in and found out my blood pressure was out of sight, and the EKG was going haywire. My new Doctor made a call to his cardiologist friend and I was in to see him the next day, turned out I had Congestive Heart Failure. I was immediately put on meds, lectured appropriately, given a written note to my employer that I was out of work on sick leave for an undetermined period and sent home to rest. I was then scheduled for an echocardiagram and an angiogram. Both had my heart running at about 20%. this was all at the beginning of August. By the end of August, I was stabilized sufficiently to be allowed back to work, and by the end of November my heart was back to 68%. (it is apparently rare to get such a good result, they would have been happy with anything over 30%). Now the reality is that I will never get back to where I was before I got ill, but at least I am still alive and my condition is managable. I was very lucky that I have good insurance and I have only myself to blame for ignoring my health for as long as I did. Don't screw around, get that checkup, find a good doc, and maybe you won't have to survive your own stupid like I did.