As I’ve mentioned before, I am a nasal allergy sufferer. Without my meds, I get sinus headaches, stuffy nose, and on worse days, runny nose, sneezing, and really bad headaches. I take rhinocort, which is a prescription medicine that runs $25 for about a month’s supply. I also take Alavert D-12, a 12-hour medicine which combines loratadine, the active ingredient in Claritin, and pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in Sudafed. Loratadine controls most allergy symptoms, while pseudoephedrine controls sinus congestion.

Alavert D-12 runs $15.99 for a 24-dose pack, or $0.67 per dose. Each dose has the equivalent day of two 30mg Sudafed tablets and one 5mg Loratadine tablet. For a while, I thought this was the best deal I could get, combining two medicines I needed into one pill. That is, until my last doctor’s appointment, where I found out that I could get generic pseudoephedrine and generic loratadine for much cheaper than even the cheapest store brands, at the medical center’s in-house pharmacy. How much cheaper?

Well, today I picked up a bottle of 100 “SudoGest” tablets, equivalent to Sudafed, for $1.77. Yep. Not a typo. One dollar and seventy-seven cents. That works out to $0.02 per pill. Compare that to name-brand Sudafed, which, at best is $7.99 for a 48 pill pack or $0.17 per pill. Even Walgreens’ store brand, Wal-phed, is at best $8.99 for a 96 pill pack, or $0.09 per pill. Dag, yo! And I picked up two boxes of generic 24-hour loratadine, $4.99 for each 30-pill pack, or $0.16 per pill. Compare that to name-brand Claritin, 30 pills for $23.99 or $0.79 each, or Walgreens’ brand Wal-itin, 90 pills for $19.99 or $0.22 per pill. Boo-yah! In addition to the price advantage, separating the two medicines means that I can take the allergy medicine every day, and then take the nasal congestion medicine only when I need it.

Is it sad that I get so excited about things like this?

Do you like the Dentist? I do. I love the way that my teeth feel after they’ve been cleaned. I currently am wearing Invisalign provided by the experts at Invisalign – Damon Orthodontics Spokane, which is why I make regular visits to the dentist to get my mouth cleaned once in every two months. I don’t even mind the scraping and poking of the… umm… scraping and poking tool. And I kind of like the ‘stuffing your mouth full of film’ x-ray part. So, minus the drilling and the pulling, I consider the dentist to be a pretty cool person.

I have found that most people dislike going to the dentist, even despite that cool dental procedure called gum contouring I have just discovered. I’m not sure why. Perhaps they hate keeping their mouths open for so long. Or the hurting of the dental tools. Or the sound of the drills. Probably all of the above.

I suspect, however, that there may be another anxiety that comes into play during a trip to the dentists in Sydney. It comes in the form of a question (perhaps from the all too perky Hygenist). So, have you been flossing?

You sit, pinned to the chair by a heavy lead apron, unable to answer. She glares down at you under the yellow light of the adjustable lamp… Do you tell the truth? “No, I have not, in fact, been flossing. Which ring of Hell has been reserved for me?” Or do you lie through your teeth (no pun intended)?? “Of course I’ve been flossing! Can’t you tell?”

The pressure, the guilt! There’s no where to turn and it’s impossible to change the subject.

So, do YOU floss? ummm. ahhhh… How about them Red Sox, eh?

Dr. Gary Paul Blanchard for the Boston Globe writes, “Is listening through a stethoscope a dying art?”

As of my last exam in October, my doctor is still using a stethoscope. I think it would be a sad day indeed when such a recognized tool of the trade is lost.

Today is a sad sad day in Rhistory. For the first time in 24 years one of my beloved body parts has decided to jump ship. Mutiny, if you will. Luckily he could not convince any of the others to join him.

Peter’s entry {see below} tells the truth. I had tooth #17 {Lower left wisdom tooth} extracted today. He was causing me much pain and the oral surgen told me that wisdom teeth aren’t even used for chewing! What?! Pull that sucker out then!

I am just afraid that other parts of me may become dissatisfied with their current habitat. Will others choose to leave as well. Perhaps my spleen? or my pancreas? or my big toe? Let’s hope not.

and an M.D. but he was no Luka Kovatch. I spent another evening at the Beverly Hospital Emergency Room. While cooking what would have been a very delicious supper I made a nice clean cut in my left middle finger. It wasn’t deep but the blood was definately making a run for it.

Peter took me to the hospital and without too much delay I was admitted to the fast-track. My er doc was of middle eastern decent and had a nice accent. He “glued” my wound up (with something called Dermabond) and left to get some paperwork for me. While he was out my body decided that it was no longer in “emergency” mode and that it would be okay to pass out. So i fainted. The nice nurse put a cold, wet cloth on my head and offered to wheel me out to the car. Fortunately I got better pretty quickly and was able to walk out on my own power. Alls well that ends well, don’cha know?