I'm writing this here as a sample block of text because I'm trying to learn how to work with HTML and CSS, so it'll be nice to see how different sorts of code will impact my writing! I'll have this be my first blog post!
Today was pretty dull, started off sad because I read a lot of sad news, and now I'm laying in bed with my leg slightly elevated after having a small meal and taking ibuprofen as a temporary bloodthinner due to the concerning swelling in my left leg. I have a feeling it's DVT(Deep Vein Thrombosis) which sucks a lot (I can see the veins that are being a problem, and they kinda hurt/are warm/tender). I just turned 27 this year and my current job requires quite a lot of physical labor, and I'm also not sure when my insurance through the state will be officialized! So I'm scared of making an appointment now just to be slapped later with a massive fee from the hospital.
I remember back in 2020 when I had gone for a blood test and I got mailed a statement for $1k, and I didn't have a job at the time. I don't know how it happened but that bill somehow evaporated, and after contacting the biller about it to make sure, they were VERY clear that I didn't owe them anything. So that'll remain a mystery to me for the rest of my life. Did someone pay for me? Did they realize they were mistaken and my state-offered insurance flubbed for no reason, so they backtracked on the denial and ended up covering it? Is it really a mystery? I don't know. These anxieties aside, it's a beautiful day outside and it's a shame I'm feeling so out of sorts because of things out of my control.
I MUST CLARIFY!!! Do not self-medicate if you can avoid it. I'm no pharmacist nor medical professional of ANY sort, you NEED to have your blood tested - I haven't because once again I'm unsure of whether or not my state insurance is going to apply, plus I'm sorta penny-pinching right now because my job's hours have been cut by half. Either way, the 400mg of ibuprofen every 6-7 hours and compression socks combo is helping me out a lot right now. It's pretty good to have even more of a reason to not miss regular meal times (you don't wanna take NSAIDs on an empty stomach).
Also, this is the very helpful medical article featuring a 21 year old carpenter who's dealing with what appears to be a significantly more advanced version of what I am currently...[https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4275758/]. I'm thankful he's been able to have it diagnosed and more or less treated! And I'm also thankful to the doctors for sharing such an article. It's helped me feel less alone with my concerns. I understand that tumors can also cause blood clotting:[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562222/] which I hope to have ruled out as a possibilty once my dumbass actually remembers to CALL and MAKE an appointment.
As with any ailment, the sooner you can catch it and have it addressed, the better. If it's somehow the worst case scenario I can at least be thankful that- although I might have medical debt for the rest of my beautiful life (fuck the US)- I have access to treatment, and I'm young! So I can hopefully recover a tad easier. I don't know, I'm hoping it's just an old internal injury which led to the clot forming, since I had a vessel burst there a couple years ago... so clotting/fluid retention isolated to this limb makes a lot of sense. I've actually been dealing with swelling within this area for a while but oh, you know! It's a money problem at the end of the day, health is. It's a shame.
Still not worth delaying treatment and preventative care over when it's your literal well-being on the line, but it's rough when you're surviving on minimum wage while crisis after crisis occurs- whole other can of worms. Don't feel like writing about it all today.