Sunday ride in the SMM's

[guzzi jon]

Me and the missus spent a couple of days in lovely Ensenada Mexico, the last of the free countries in this hemisphere. I must admit, we were a bit amazed that the level of English spoken in Mexico is far superior to California. We were in Mexico three days, did not come across anyone who did not speak murican, even the few and far between beggars spoke good english.... Great country, great food, friendly folks, pharmacist that will diagnose then issue the appropriate meds for what ails you. When you get 100+ miles south of the border, hard to fault the folks or the culture, friendly, honest (compared to L.A. honest) and reliable. pharmasist even told me my US doc was giving me the wrong high blood pressure meds for a diabetic, checked it out on the internet and the sucker was right. Guess I will see a new doc. The mex pharmacist switched me from atenalol to lisinipril.... Got back early this morning after 3.5 hours at the border with the US trying to keep out terrorists.... cock suckers, me and the mexicans aints terrorists... I told em, I gots me a bouborn, not a turban.... Anyway, got up to a crisp morning and went riding in the local hills on my griso, some ice still on the road. Not many so caler's ride in the cold, just ran into Todd. here's a couple of pics I took today, including Todd and his jackal, no porn stars or midget hotties, so slim pickens.....

My Griso

todd's Jack-all

Todd wishin he had my rat griso...

Yo Pete, here is one of those pussy scooters you like

Wife grabbin some Aztec motherf'ers ass at La Bufadora.... Them suckers give you a free shot of tequila with a purchase of Vicodin..... Thats real medicine my friends.....

 

[SoCalDon]

Crap, I missed another one.

 

[guzzibob]

Irrespective of what the US doc may or may not be doing right or wrong, free advice that can be followed up with a physician is fine, but if the mexican pharmacist is willing to give you a prescription drug (lisinopril) without a prescription, then i wouldn't be considering that a plus. Nor would I be taking it based on something I read on the internet without speaking to a physician, a new one if necessary. But hey, it's your life Jon.

 

[guzzi jon]

Bob,
My new doc here has perscribed the same stuff, he was suprised my old doc left me on the wrong stuff for 7 years after I had diabetes. I wont likely use mexican pharmasist to due my brain surgery, but their basic understanding of drug interactions and familiarity with various maladies gives them a heads up compared to my 19 year old pharmacy tech at walgreens.... So when you ridin???

 

[guzzibob]

I rode today. Glad to hear you did in fact check in with a doc. I know pharmacists are good at spotting drugs that interreact badly & such, & I would certainly bring up such a warning to my doc. However, no pharmacist is qualified to tell you to drop drug A, & more importantly, start drug B without consulting with a physician who knows your particular medical history. Your new Doc certainly should have been aware of any medications you were taking when you got to him. If he didn't ask, or missed the problem, then it's on him as much as on the "old" doc. And frankly, 19 YO drug tech or no, at my local CVS they have caught potential problems, likely from some programming that reviews all the meds prescribed through them. Also potential drug interactions & contraindications described in great detail with the hand out they give me with each prescription. And I DO read them, in detail, before starting anything new. Also true that sometimes a DR will legitimately prescribe 2 meds that MAY cause a problem in some situations becasue your situation demands it. Been there. Pharmacist rightly pointed out the potential problem, MD rightly explained to me why in my case I should take both, at that time. Discontinuing on my own could have been disastrous, even fatal.

 

[SgtCrump]

guzzibob wrote:

Irrespective of what the US doc may or may not be doing right or wrong, free advice that can be followed up with a physician is fine, but if the mexican pharmacist is willing to give you a prescription drug (lisinopril) without a prescription, then i wouldn't be considering that a plus. Nor would I be taking it based on something I read on the internet without speaking to a physician, a new one if necessary. But hey, it's your life Jon.

The medical system in Mexico runs differently than ours. Pharmacists are similar to Physicians Assistants, and can give medicines to customers legally. As for getting a doctors opiinon.....that is a roll of the dice as dangerous as any. The doctors in this country are paid by the Big Pharmaceutical companies to push pills, even ones that have terrible side effects. Doctors are not exempt from being knuckleheads any more than anyone else, and there is very little oversight on them.

I just quit seeing a family doctor who admited to me that he is so bombarded with hype from drug salesmen, that he can't tell what it the truth.....yet he still prescribes meds. He put my wife on Prozac, which turned her into the "Barfing Zombie from Hell". He then proceeded to tell me that it was impossible for Prozac to cause nausea. I was able to research medical studies on line that showed that 29% of those taking Prozac had severe nausea. When I told him that, he got upset....because he was required to document her reaction.

There is a reason they call it "practicing medicine".......and, as you said, it IS my life so I'll be damned if I'm going to blindly let some idiot screw it up!!

 

[guzzibob]

I wouldn't ask you to let someone screw things up-no more an overwhelmed MD than a Mexican Pharmacist. Fortunately, my family doctor prefers to prescribe an older medication that is proven to work and has known, limited side effects rather than a new one that may or may not work, & whose side effects may not yet be known. In any case, he knows my full medical history & understands it, unlike a pharmacist in some other country who only knows what few tidbits I tell him. It certainly is our individual responsibility to be active in choosing our physicians, & changing them when called for, as you have rightly done.

 

[guzzi jon]

Our HMO doctor did terrible hurt to Brenda, and screwed me on stuff he should have known... A terrible doctor is not as good as a caring mexican pharmasist. I now have a good doc, and so does bren.... he gave her meds without checking and did damage to her liver, he was an inconsiderate, uncaring oxygen thief.....

 

[Chuck in Indiana]

You know what you call a guy that cheated his way through med school and finished last in his class?








Doctor

 

[guzzibob]

guzzi jon wrote:

A terrible doctor is not as good as a caring mexican pharmasist. I now have a good doc, and so does bren.

No arguement with that. And a good doctor who actually knows your medical history is better than both. Glad to hear you & Bren have found one, it's very important, esp with a complicated medical history.