Over 17 years I have been having what every single Doctor I have seen describes as "Irritable Bowel Syndrome." Which to me means, they just don't know. Now the two things that seem to be common threads over the last seventeen years is not only what I believe to be living inside of me and slowly killing me, but also LAB CORP. After having four different Health Insurance plans, from Blue Cross Blue Shield, to Aetna, to Care First, to now Cigna, one would come to believe that surely I would have received good care by now. Not so. EVERY YEAR NOW it would seem, I have sent stool samples to be examined for parasites, and every time the tests come back negative. Now I just learned that it is the Insurance company that dictates which lab is to be used, not the Doctor. And in every instance, all four Insurance companies have dictated that LAB CORP be used.
So, just recently, I had the good luck of capturing the little buggers myself. I will spare you the details, but let's just say I have "live" 1/2 inch naked to the eye samples. Now, my Doctor sent them to Lab Corp, surely I would finally get treatment and relief, but No. THE TEST WAS NEGATIVE. I asked the doctor, "surely they could see them with the naked eye?" Surely they read your (Doctor's) note that said 'live samples, please identify.' But it was not to be. My doctor said they must have applied standard procedures. I said, "What is that? 'Flush all stool samples down toilet and report as negative!'" ( Save money by disposing of the nastiness and just report negative.) or even worse ( Save money for Lab Corp and collude with the Insurance Company so they won't have to pay for treatment.)
I have now come to believe that America has the best Health Care money can buy, you just have to have billions of dollars. The rest of us blokes who are not in the 99th percentile are screwed.