[pct-l] knee injured, a little advice?

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I really hate these kinds of topics, but here goes. I was once very  
poor. I got way better medical care then than I do now. Now I have to  
go through a gatekeeper and they try to push worthless tests and  
statins on me. (There is zero evidence that statins help women of any  
age, but they sure make drug companies wealthy.) They write  
prescriptions for symptoms rather than look for cures. The good is  
that at least I can get elective surgery.

When I was poor, I went to planned parenthood and got exams and birth  
control on a sliding scale. For me that was mostly $0, but when I had  
a job I sometimes paid a little bit.

I also went to the free clinic. They would give me antibiotics if I  
needed them and lots of free samples so I didn't have to pay. At the  
free clinic things are on a sliding scale and they do know how to  
operate X-ray machines. Many of the doctors who work there have  
regular practices and feel that helping people is more important than  
pure profit, so they work at the clinic on the side.

I even went to a podiatrist once. Just called, explained I had to pay  
cash and didn't have much money and asked how much it would cost. He  
said to come on in and let him take a look first. He didn't charge me  
(or he might have charged me a very modest amount) and he gave me two  
full courses of treatment for what were probably the biggest,  
nastiest plantar warts he ever saw. Maybe I was a training experiment  
for him, I don't know. But free medicine from a specialist? I'll take  
it.

You just gotta be resourceful and not too proud. You'll acquire such  
skills once you become a dirty filthy thru-hiker.

On Jan 27, 2012, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> here is my point, we need to give realistic answers.i think everyone
> knows if your hurt you should go to a doctor.unfourtunetly thats
> unrealistic for many of us. there is no access .even if you were to
> spend all your hiking money on a doctor it would`nt be enough,it would
> barely cover the xrays.no matter what you hear on fox news you can`t
> just walk into any hospital and get treatment,it dos`nt happen.
> i live with cronic pain.when i got layed off so did my insurance,  so
> i follow these threads for helpfull hints. when someone says"just go
> to your orthepedic surgion"it just comes off as clueless.a better
> answer would be where and how to find low cost medical treatment.i
> don`t want to flame anyone, just educate .i don`t think anyone in this
> thread is trying to be anything but helpfull,but maybe some of you
> don`t know how little medical care you get if you don`t have
> insurance.(none)