Friday, October 07, 2005

Really Crappy Day

Easily the worst day of the trip so far.

Things that have happened today:

1. Rejected by the second health insurance company I applied for in the US.. Essentially, no one is willing to cover me, unless I pay $380 dollars per month (which is absolutely insane). I hate the US healthcare system.

I do have travel insurance (thank god, see below), but if for some reason I get so terribly sick that I need continuing care when I get home - or, if I need to be brought by plane/helicopter home, then the travel insurance won't cover the bills in the US...

The only way-out of this that I can think of, is if I get sick, that instead of flying back to the US, I'll fly to europe, and make use of my EU citizenship (and thus free healthcare) until i'm well enough again.

The US Sucks.

2. Felt a -slight- bit of sensitivity in one of my teeth. Since I went to the dentist in California in August - who said my teeth were fine, I didn't think it'd be a problem. But since I was supposed to be going to a small town this afternoon, I figured I should check it out while I was in a big city.

I go to the best dentist in town... and what do I find out... infection under the filling... Root Canal Needed.

Those dreaded words, Root Canal. How scary they are.

I had no idea what it involved, and thoroughly pissed off the 3 different dentists who worked on me, making them explain over and over, step by step what would be happening, how much pain it would involve, how many needles, etc.. I really was a baby about it, but then, Root Canals sound very scary.

The last dentist, in particular, didn't seem to be too happy with me. Especially when I kept screaming about pain during drilling.

I have to go back tomorrow morning, and then monday (twice). Then I can leave Chennai, go somewhere for a few days, and then I'll have to come back here 5-6 days later... what a pain in the ass.

The unpleasant dentist wrote me a r/x for pain killers, which turned out to be ibuprofin and paracetamol. Luckily, the pharmacists are nice here, and when I asked if i could have anything stronger, he smiled and brought down a box of pills. 1 cent each, and now, no pain at all.

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