my united healthcare (medigap) has removed flovent from formulary.

it’s 1 of the top prescription drugs out there, esp for seniors. treats asthma and copd. it’s been targeted for price controls. i’m assuming they’re doing this to get ahead of that, tho i’m not sure how this helps them.
w/o ins, it’s up to $270. had to pay out of pocket a few yrs ago, and it was $250. the actual drug, fluticisone is what’s in flonase nasal spray, which u can get, otc, as a generic for $20, for a larger volume. obviously just gouging. they approved another brand that i assume is the same.

they were fine w trelegy. dont know what the retail is, but it was a $50 co-pay, as opposed to $20 for most name brand. generics r $10, sometimes free, even.

i hope what they give me works. i assume there’s a good rx or some such w a decent price.
but jebus. how do u boot 1 of the most prescribed drugs in america?

ok, i like my new doc. the power of a dx.

so, i lost 3 docs in the plague, including my pcp. i saw a new 1 last june, and she was okay, but cold. i suspect i’m flagged in the system as a crazy person after some run ins w doc in 2020, plus a truly bogus psyche eval.
she was polite, but like i said- cold. dont think i got her to crack a smile, which is rare.
but she did something important- after 20 yrs of post viral syndrome, she dx’d me w chronic fatigue. no new meds or anything, but damn, it matters.

well, i had a telehealth visit this morning, and she did it again. after 3 decades of gastro issues, chalked up to my severe diverticulosis, i now have a dx of ibs. and a new med to try. i mostly havent bothered docs about this, cuz there’s not much to b done besides eat right. my youngest had chron’s, so i was under the impression that there were no meds for gastro pain.
but she says she has good luck w an anti-spasmatic. so i just picked that up, and my fingers r crossed.
she was quite personable today. i had to start by apologizing for being late on the call. i’d started the day by breaking up a dog fight. she listened to my short tale of woe on that, and was very kind.

she even let me drag in another issue, a change in copd meds. i wanted go get back on flovent, a top selling drug, which has been targeted for a price cap. my ins no longer covers it. a united healthcare medigap wont cover that, but they were fine w trelegy.

anyway, i’m very happy to have a doc i like again. i was ready to go to the minute clinic for this gut stuff. i sorta like them better, cuz they have nurse practitioners. but they only do 1 complaint/visit.

Republicans screw their OWN party in bombshell move

tho btc’s click baity titles big me, he’s good. this segment- ‘inside the right’ w tim miller is always great.

saw a fb post this morning from a freddie mercury fan page

about the time he met his idol.
i was never a big queen fan, but who doesnt appreciate freddie’s voice?
also not an opera fan. never heard of this woman.
but damn is this song something

reporting in on election day in chicago. updates

well, hell. we lost bring chicago home 54- 46. privileged assholes. the 1st to cry about the homeless in the parks and on the streets.
on the plus side, haley got 15% in il.


so, i was gonna b a judge, but i bailed cuz the 4 hr training nearly killed me. so i was a pollwatcher and passed lit half the day.
turn out is pretty good. best part- they’re almost over staffed at the polls cuz so many ppl stepped up. 1 polling place i was at had 7 judges. this spot usually has 3. 4 rly young women.

we have a referendum on a transfer tax increase on properties $1m and over. a whopping 3% of the part over the $1m, to fund affordable housing called ‘bring chicago home’. it goes down on properties less than that. all the voters i talked to were yes. the billionaires and the real estate moguls have been lying their asses off about it. been beating up a local guy on fb who owns a bunch of property in my hood, tho he lives in evanston. insisting everyone’s rent will go up, that it’s property tax, not a 1 time transfer tax.
it’s insane this guy is bitching about property taxes at all. they’re twice as much over the border. like he pays them out of his own pocket anyway.
some ppl want to vote no to give the new mayor a black eye. but it’s not his bill. it came from ppl who actually work w the homeless and they’ve pushed it w the last 3 mayors.

got to see several old friends, which is always great.
i’m cold, tired and my back hurts, but it’s been a great day. i did give away a half a pack of smokes, but not to voters. lol.

linking to a pets post in case any of my chgo peeps have a bad dog, and r looking for help.

tl:dr- found chicago is a disaster.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/116189837

update on miss hotlips' new life. yeah, not good.

i posted this review on yelp this morning-

mark twain once said- i’d have written a shorter letter, but i didnt have the time. that’s how i feel about writing this review, but here goes.
the only reason they r so highly rated is that the rly bad reviews disappear. look through the reviews, u will see fabian watches this page like i watch my twitter. there were 3 1stars when i checked b4 handing over my pup, all saying their dogs reverted to their problem behavior once home. they‘re all gone now. that’s cuz it happens all the time and they know it, so they blame the owner and make the reviews go away. whether they use threats or bribes, i guess i‘ll soon see. but fabian, dont even bother. u cant bully or bribe me.
so, i had what i thought was a perfect pup. a female old english bully. well bred bright, engaged, responsive from day 1. never failed a recall, learned basic commands quickly, eager to please and got along well w my 2 other dogs, and old male victorian bully and a big male pyrenesse cross. they were the best of buds, playing all day. til, at 15 mos, they werent and she decided she wanted to kill him. not exaggerating. viscous fights that were tough to break up.
now, this was my 12th puppy, my 16th dog. i have been training my own dogs and studying dog training/behavior since 1980. neither ignorant or stupid.
after 3 mos in hell, trying to fix it, and keep them apart, my age and health led me to turn her over to found. i’d sent 2 other dogs to them in the past and they were fine. at her evaluation, i told the trained what went wrong, what the root of the problem was, and why sop measures had backfired. no need for them to figure anything out.
i enrolled her in the 4wk program for aggressive dogs. i got back a dog that was worse. way worse.
the program is fundamentally flawed. they ignored my goals, did not even attempt to address the root cause- food guarding. such a common problem, but never addressed. they totally discounted my knowledge and experience. the head trainer pissed me off so badly i demanded someone else to do the weekly 1-1 sessions. at least i got that. her main trainer was great. she poured her heart and soul into my girl.
but because their methods r so flawed, she got much worse. she performed well there, but when she came home, and i wasnt shoveling high value treats at her all day, she reverted immediately. she had a ‘red zone’ reaction the morning after she came home.
she’s made a lot of progress since i got her back. cuz i know what i am doing. but the only benefit of her time at found was- everyone got a break from her, including me, and i found out she didnt want to attack every dog she saw, but wanted to play. this was seen in the rare ‘report card’ vids i got. the 3rd 1 of which was her w someone else’s dog, w her totally unrestrained, running around like maniacs, in and out of a room where the trainer had no sight lines. i asked them if they were insane. i told them i didnt want her to play w other dogs. i dont use day care and i dont go to dog parks. said i wanted her to work around other dogs, and ignore them completely. but play time is the staff easy time, so they continued to let her play. now, she sees another dog on a walk and goes completely berserk. from 30’ away or 100’, she whines and tries to get away from me.
my plan was to take the other dog in for a ‘tune up’, he is a graduate of boot camp, plus a week of ecollar training, then take her back for the second week, so they cd b reunited on neutral territory, and worked together. after i made my goals clear, ie, eating together in peace, i sent them a vid of the 2 bullies, eating perfect peacefully together and asked them to replicate that the best they cd. i was told this was dangerous and they wouldnt do them.
so, i bailed on that plan, picked up the other dog and will fix this myself.
i cd go on for days here about the flaws in the program, but i’ll end w- this is a persistent problem, they know it, they dont care.
i’d also advice anyone considering them to check their glassdoor review. former employees describe understaffing, and even 1 complaint of sexual harassment. i’m happy to answer questions in the comments. do not let these ppl anywhere near your dog. but
and fabian, dont even bother. you’ll be hearing from my lawyer soon. you’ll only make it worse.
y’all have f’d w the wrong old lady.

a little inspiration for y'all.

i posted this in a reply in this thread, but it’s been so well received, i thought i’d make an op of someone who inspires me in many things.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218787976

in honor of will pitt-

pls dont take this as a humble brag.

but i had the best convo w a homeless man this morning.
i never used to give money to the homeless, cuz i’m the daughter of an alcoholic. didnt want to b an enabler. a former bf changed that. he’s someone who collects winter coats, makes care packages, and goes out in the middle of the night when it gets below zero. so, i changed my ways.

i started passing out a dollar or 2, but i’m a lucky sucker, and i bumped that up to fivers. and a touch, a pat on the shoulder, a touch of the hand. and a take care, or stay warm.
i popped into a 7-11 for smokes, and gave the guy a 5 on my way out. but i was having a truly shitty morning, and as i sat in my car i thought, i cd use a hug. i wonder if he cd. turns out, he was happy to have 1. hugs r my super power and but they’re rare in my life these days.
we started talking, and he said he was a vet w a tbi. he says he has seizures, and i tend to believe him cuz he mentioned a med that is used to treat them. (i also had a tbi, as a kid as did my youngest. my seizures went away, kiddo’s have been tough to treat.) maybe none of that is true. i dont doubt it cuz he’s homeless, but cuz he’s a man. (no offense to honest men, but…)

i was so outraged that this cd b happening, i gave him a $20. he threw his cup away.
made.my.day.
we ended up chatting for a while. turns out we’re both extremely irish. we swapped a couple stories about that.
i told him to contact jan schakowsky, and how to do that.
i hope i bump into him again. i feel like i made a good friend.

my local npr station used to have a regular during their fund drives that always said- give til it feels good. this felt so good.
i highly rec.

dont pat me on the back. i’m so lucky, and i shd do more.
do try it yourself, tho. turned a shitty day on it’s head.
then i came here and saw tsf cant make his bond. i feel like i’m on a beach in hawaii, even tho it’s cold, grey and starting to snow here.

eta- said bf is a trumpkin, btw. met in 15 when the idea of tsf in the wh was a joke. we rarely talked politics, and when we talked issues we agreed across the board. lest u think they’re all rotten to the core.