And Betsy, it's wonderful to see your pixels again, even if I'm sorry for the reason.

I feel very fortunate that my oncologist writes my hydrocodone script whenever I ask, and even occasionally asks me if I have enough. I don't know what I'd do if he didn't, since the ulcer knocked out NSAIDs and Tylenol is a cruel joke. I thought it might just be that doctors are more willing to do that for certain cancers, but I've found that many women on an advanced breast cancer Facebook group I'm on have trouble getting more than an aspirin from their doctors.

Oral chemo, on the other hand, remains a giant clusterfuck. I've been trying to figure out the status of this month's prescription for several days, although yesterday probably doesn't count, because I couldn't even. Last month, I found out the pharmacy hadn't put in the order after I requested it online, because they wanted to explain to me first that it was very, very expensive. They expected me to intuit this need to explain. I had been on this drug for five months and had not previously been explained to.

It will be interesting to see what it costs, because Georgia passed a law that oral chemo can't cost more than what the insurance company charges for chemo infusions. Last year, they could have charged me $2,000 a month for an oral chemo that I take at home without the aid of nurses and special equipment or $100 for infusions.

In short, medicine as practiced in this country is stupid.

If we started treating addiction like an illness and not a sin that would go a long way.

Someone comes to you for pain meds. You treat them for pain or you treat them for addiction. Possibly, you treat them for both. But you effing treat them.

It's very good to see all of you, too.

I actually have two pieces of awesome migraine news. My husband discovered that alcohol was his major migraine trigger, and that if he cut out alcohol entirely, he stopped having migraines. And my son, as we all hoped beyond hoping for, did what some male adolescents do and mostly outgrew his migraines. He's just turned 21, and got an A in his first community college class after missing all of high school.

Jesse, have you done this one on Good Stuff yet?

I feel very fortunate that my oncologist writes my hydrocodone script whenever I ask

Yeah, my dad has a rather hefty prescription for oxycodone, and I've always wondered why some doctors treat pain adequately and others don't. It sounds like some doctors are less concerned about losing their licenses over prescribing opiates, and I wonder why *that* is. Patient demographics, maybe?

No matter what, it's well and truly fucked, and it makes me so angry.

My husband discovered that alcohol was his major migraine trigger, and that if he cut out alcohol entirely, he stopped having migraines.

Wonderful! Would that it were so easy for every migraineur. That's so great to hear.

And my son, as we all hoped beyond hoping for, did what some male adolescents do and mostly outgrew his migraines. He's just turned 21, and got an A in his first community college class after missing all of high school.

That's fantastic on all fronts!

That's great, Betsy.

It really is good to see so many people who haven't been around for a while or who were really good lurkers. I feel like someone yelled "Ally ally in free."

Betsy, that is great news!

I have, thanks, Tom!

That is some great news, Betsy!

As long as I can beat you up, Jesse.

You are welcome to try, with your wee self and wee fists!

In short, medicine as practiced in this country is stupid.

Yeah, that.