Michi8

I would fight for all I was worth before having to go back to an HMO. It is much like Socialized Medicine. Your primary care doctor becomes the gate keeper. Everything has to go through them. Want to see your GYN before your year is up, check with the primary care. So what that you have a breast lump. Need to see an Ophthalmologist, call your primary care. Need eye surgery, hope that they have space for you before you lose your sight.

The last time I had an HMO, I went to the emergency room and was admitted. And the HMO, at first, refused to pay the claim. They said it wasn't an emergency. Hello, I was admitted. After threatening to go to the state board, they paid.

The last thing I would want would be someone telling me when I was allowed to see a doctor. With traditional insurance, I can call for an appointment whenever I feel I need to. If I need to see an Ophthalmologist, I call his office and see him. If I abuse the system, I pay for it through my copay and through our increased rates with the insurance company.

Both HMO's and Socialized Medicine would stop me from making my own decisions about my health. I just think about how the government has screwed up Public Housing. Would anyone choose to live there if they had another option? Why would we want Public Health?

I think your perspective on "socialized medicine" is a bit off. Canadian Healthcare doesn't work that way. I am in complete control over decisions about my health care. It is difficult to find the right family physician initially (ie when we moved from out of province), but I've now found a doctor that is supportive and willing to work with me in providing thorough care for me and my family.

Yes, there are many specialists to whom you need an initial referral, but once you become a patient with most of those specialists, you can continue to see them directly. So, no, our family doctor is not the gatekeeper. My doctor also has no say in whether I seek out alternative health care. For example, hiring a midwife is a legitimate choice here that is supported by our health care system (though not paid for by Alberta Health or extended health) with full hospital priviledges and the ability of midwives to refer for other health care as needed (like high risk cases.) My family doctor was not consulted for pregnancy care or birth...it was entirely my choice.

Some specialists do require a referral each time, but it is up to that specialist to decide if that is the way they want to work with patients. The GI whom is doing my procedures is like that. She will not take on patients on a regular basis, she wants them to be referred each time as necessary. My dermatologist (also is an internist) is different. Once I was referred (for patch testing) I chose to continue seeing him as my regular dermatologist. Me & my daughter were accepted as regular patients, and any of my family members can become patients too, without the need for referrals. Same goes for my GYN, allergist, and my son's pediatrician.

Michelle

What you need to do when you sign up is review the list of doctors BEFORE you sign up; check out if your doctor participates; call your doctor's billing office; all the offices of any specialist you might use: ob/gyn, orthopaedic, urologist, internist, etc. Play the game "pretend you need a specialist" and call the ones you'd probably use, one by one, to see if they participate in the plan you are about to take.

That's ridiculous. How in the heck is a person supposed to guess what kind of specialist they're going to need before they're sick? How much time would it take to find the right fit? So you'd be going by recommendations about how good a particular doctor is, and pick a plan based on his/her participation...but what happens when you do need their services, but they aren't as great a fit for you in the end? Your suggested process of shopping around puts way too much owness on the consumer for knowing what their needs will be down the road.

The health care issue is a big one to me...its one of the things that makes the thought of moving to the U.S. undesirable. I'm happy to have the care we have here, even with its faults.

Michelle

Crap

EDIT: I just realized I'd better clarify: I mean:

Oh Crap - I'm bummed about that

It looks as though Zyban doesn't have gluten in the inactive ingredients, and so may be worth a try. It worked well to help my husband quit...it elminated the cravings for him.

Michelle

My vacation is 9 days. I do wonder how I will deal with my breaks at work. I will have to work on healthy snacks. I can afford to gain a few pounds anyway. I am now working on cutting back. I have a couple of weeks until vacation time.

One of the tips I remember about quitting is that you need to avoid situations where there is temptation. In other words, change how and where you take your breaks. Don't go hang out with the smokers, because no amount of determination will keep you from smoking when others are smoking around you and offering you cigarettes. Active smokers are not going to offer the level of support you need to quit and stay quit.

Michelle

Best of luck with quitting! As you know, there are all sorts of products that help with quitting, but, IME, none of them work that well if one is not really ready to quit.

I quit for good almost 11 years ago. Tried quitting a few times before that...used nicotine gum and the patch (not at the same time! ) In the end it was will power and timing that worked. The short version is that we wanted to start a family, and there was no way I was going to smoke while pregnant or ever around my kids, so when I had to stop smoking due to dental surgery I just stopped for good...about 6 months before pregnancy. There was no desire to smoke again.

My husband didn't have as easy a go with it. He quit at the same time, but kept resuming the habit off and on for awhile (but never at home.) He found that Zyban final helped him kick the habit for good. Again, he had to be really ready to do it.

Michelle

Several years ago I went to the Humane Society with a friend as she wanted an unwanted dog. She had to pay $75 for a "used" dog. I asked the Society why the fee and they answered : if you get something for nothing you treat it like that: like it's nothing. When there's a fee, the person doing the purchasing has more of a stake in it and a bond of responsiblity is created. Free health care is like adopting a pet then. When that bond isn't made it's abused and overused and taken for granted and tossed away. But having to achieve health with sweat from your brow will make you hold it more dear to you. Perhaps in Canada certain procedures should have a copay to show people that this is serious and that it's not to be taken lightly or sucked up like pigs at a trough. Health care should be approached with reverent respect. (In insurance terms it could be considered a "moral" hazard when the only people buying and using the insurance are claimants, but I digress).

I object to Canadians being called pigs at a trough. Our healthcare is not free, you know. We pay through our taxes, and we pay fees outside covered expenses too. There are certain procedures and tests that are out of pocket expenses (like allergy testing.) We also have extended healthcare insurance (depending on employer) that we pay into. Dental care is not free, and only partially covered through extended plans. Neither is eye care. Prescriptions are not covered unless you have extended health, and often only a percetage of the cost is covered. There is some measure of preventitive medicine as well, and people are encouraged to not run to the doctor demanding drugs (or antibiotics!) for every little cold or sniffle.

Finally, anyone who needs treatment gets it. No one is turned away, regardless of whether they are citizens or not.

My FIL was quickly diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was out-of-province (BC.) He had immediate surgery and was offered further treatment there. When he chose to return home (Alberta) for the rest of his treatment, all of the pertinent health info was promptly sent to the drs at the cancer treatment facility and they were ready to take on his case as soon as he arrived. And then he was given the newest technological care. I think that is a pretty good example of how the Canadian healthcare system can work well. Finally, he was given excellent hospice care in hospital (in a small town) during his final month.

BTW, my FIL had very little need to take advantage of our "free" health care during his lifetime (missed all of couple of days of work due to illness), but was able to get the best care when it really counted.

Michelle

I'm quite selfish in my reason to not want socialized medicine: socialized medicine will bring everyone towards the average, but half of us have above average care, so our medical care will get worse. I've got good insurance, my doctors have been good (and the two I had that weren't, I fired - something you can't do in socialized medicine so easily, if at all), and my health care has been quite reasonable given it's complicated-ness.

In the case of Canada's Healthcare, you can switch to any doctor you wish. We are not told by an insurance company which group of doctors we can choose from. Now, it can be difficult finding the best match for a family practioner, but you can keep switching doctors until you find the best match...it just takes time. When it comes to specialists, a family doctor can refer you as needed...if you want to see a specific practioner there shouldn't be a problem with referring to them. When it comes to wait times, it depends on the health issue (eg elective knee surgery could be a long wait, but cancer treatment is immediate.) Children often get priority as well...my son was able to get an MRI very quickly as compared to the wait for an adult...again, it depends on the health issue.

In addition, there is limited coverage for seeing alternative practioners as well (chiro, pt, etc.) Though it does help if one has extended health coverage to fully cover the costs for alternative care.

Michelle

just out of curiosity, have vaccines changed since people who are now adults recieved them? One would think they would have become "safer", or is it the same ol stuff that kids are getting now? thoughts?

and, can kids get into school without any vaccinations or real religious cause to not recieve them?

(I don't have children yet, but am curious for when I do)

thanks in advance =D

There are many more vaccinations given now. At the time I was an infant and child the smallpox vaccine was given and probably diptheria, tetanus and polio vaccines as well. I contracted chicken pox when I was about 6 yo. MMR vaccine didn't exist, and I contracted both red measles and rubella in the same spring/summer, and now I have full immunity against both. I didn't receive the pertussis vaccine either, and have never contracted the disease, though my brother did.

In Alberta you don't need more than to say no to vaccines. I was a little worried about how the school and health nurses would react, but they were actually respectful and have marked down not to contact me with vaccination reminders (my eldest is fully vaccinated, my second partially vaccinated and my youngest not vaccinated at all.)

Mcihelle

Anyone on here have or had a hiatal hernia. I have a little bulge on my right side just below my ribs and i have been having awful gerd......I am now taking prilosec twice a day instead of once and it still is bothering me. What does a hiatal hernia look and feel like. How do you test for it besides endoscopy and what is the treatment? Thanks so much all! God bless!

A hiatal hernia should not produce an outward bulge. It is the result of the stomach protruding upward through the diaphragm. Depending on the severity you may have reflux symtpoms, or may have no noticeable symptoms at all. I would expect that it can be seen with a barium swallow or ultrasound if the tech is specifically looking for it. Mine was missed during those tests, but found during my endoscopy.

Because you can feel a bulge, I would suspect you have a different type of hernia, and reflux meds will have little effect on it. Do see your dr for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Michelle

Aside from what has been mentioned, flax seed meal is good sprinkled on pretty much everything. Coconut flour is also good to mix in if you do your own baking. I would assume coconut would be good too.

This topic is mentioned in the most recent issue of Allergic Living (there is a column on Celiac in it.) Open Original Shared Link

According to their published list of fibre sources, flax seed is very high in fibre...better than any of the grain cereals. Flax seed meal is slightly lower in fibre than whole flax seed.

Michelle

I think I've figured out why I find this colour palette so unappealing to me. There is a mix of warm and cool tones (the greys for example...some have blue undertones and some have red). They clash with each other and are hard on the eyes. Personally, I would select either all warm or all cool, but not mix the two.

Michelle

I'm going to be a big grump here, and complain about the change.

I find the colour combination is odd & unappealing, and clashes with the header in the original blue. Yesterday viewing the forums seemed to coincide with a migraine (I have some visual triggers including lights) and I found it hard on my eyes to view these colours in combination.

I would like to be able to change the colours to something that suits me better...is there a way to give members choices of colour palettes? Or would the admin consider reverting back to the original colours?

Michelle

The posting format hasn't change for me, but the colours of the forum have.

Have there been any changes made to the board appearance? I went to the forum today, and all the colours have changed. I'm finding it really hard to look at...the colours clash with the Header at the top of the page, and the general colour combination is odd. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I find the new format really unappealing to view...and I'm feeling a migraine coming on while looking at it. (I have some visual triggers to my migraines.)

Is there a way I can change the settings for colours? I can't find any button or panel that will help me do that.

Michelle

Thanks for your input I just talked to my GI now he says to go off the gluten-free diet because the bloodwork was negative even though the biopsy was positive. This isn't what he said before but I guess he changed his mind since I'm not improving now he wants me to stay off the dairy and try another medication. I'm fed up and ready to look for another doctor

With a positive biopsy you are celiac. You must be 100% gluten free. Eliminating dairy may be helpful as well, as you heal you may find that you're able to eventually tolerate dairy again. You may also be sensitive to other foods too. May be worth keeping a food diary to help figure it out.

Having you done any reading on celiac? You may want to check out "Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic" by Dr. Peter Green. It's a very informative book with current info.

Michelle

Wow! Talk about miscommunication.

Seems to me, given the expense and danger of the biopsy process for you, that a biopsy may not be worth the risks. Is there a reason you must go ahead with biopsy? Did you have positive blood tests? Would you consider dietary response to be proof enough?

Michelle

Just wondering about the welts on my sons back. They showed up this weekend and now they are scabbed over. When they showed up they had a small white dot in the middle and he said they hurt. When we saw the dr he said he was certain they were bites and my son scratched them and made the scabs. Today at home because it was raining 2 more showed up. No mosquito. Plus he doesn't have bites anywhere else. When he had mosquitoe bites last year they were on his toes or arms. Now none but on his back.

Has anyone seen this and is it related to celiac/gluten? The doctor thinks i am nuts and being a little silly about this whole thing. Also gets big scratch marks on his bottom when he eats gluten and has a horrible poop. Doc said it was from my son scratching so hard. Can anyone relate?

Kristin

My daughter got huge welty, weepy patches of eczema that scabbed over without her even touching them. It was clear her reaction was to the amount of pollen in the air (on skin that was exposed during the hot day.) I don't know if it is celiac related, but suspect that diet plays at least a partial role in her tendency towards eczema. We do know that she is allergic to tree pollens and dander too. Incidentally, she also had little bumps crop up on her thighs, elbows and bottom that were more like pimples/pustules...could be DH, but don't know for sure, because we couldn't get in to see the dermatologist in a timely fashion.

I took pics of the eczema and bumps to bring for our July appt. However, if he were to see her skin a couple of days after the initial flare up, he would have trouble determining exactly what had happened to her skin. Unfortunately, once the skin is broken and scabs over it's often difficult to get a diagnosis based on appearance.

Michelle

I've got the same issue...I can be really tired, nodding off on the couch, but the minute I go to bed I'm tossing and turning. Or I fall asleep but wake frequently at night. On weekends I sleep in to catch up, but I will still wake up exhausted. I'm sure part of it is sleeping a different schedule on the weekends...it's really best to keep the same sleep schedule throughout the week to keep from resetting one's internal clock.

That said, I'm convinced that my sleep issues, plus my long list of other health complaints are thyroid and/or andrenal related. Unfortuantely, my labs are all "normal." I'm sure that I'm one of those people who have a normal looking TSH, but the number (2.49) is high for me. (I've read that anything over 1.5 should be considered hypo.)

Michelle

I did see a suggestion on the Wilton's site that for black frosting, start with chocolate so you don't need as much coloring to turn it black.

I was wondering if licorice strings are gluten-free because it seems like they'd be great for drawing out details on the firetruck. Are you using yellow gumdrops for the headlights?

Unfortunately, licorice strings are not (typically) gluten free. But piping black icing would work just as well.

Michelle

My son wants a red firetruck cake and I already know what cake mix and frosting I'm gonna use but I have no clue how to make my frosting red. Does anyone know what I can do. It must be gluten-free and dairy/casein free as well.

thanks.

As already mentioned, the Wilton food colouring gels are fantastic. I made a cat in the hat cake one birthday (4 round cakes stacked...white & red strips) and the colour turned out well. It will stain mouths, hands and teeth though.

However, the fire trucks in our town are yellow...it could be a good option over so much red icing...and would use way less food colouring.

Michelle

That's an idea. I haven't tried the foil pouches - I assumed they were the same as the cans. Thanks!

The foil pouches are great. Here is a listing of Gluten Free camping food at Wilderness Dining: Open Original Shared Link You may have trouble finding packs that meet all your dietary requirements, but its worth checking it out to see what they have!

Michelle

I took a test and I'm pregnant!!!!

I never thought it would happen on the very first try...wow!

We are so excited we want to tell the world.

It's scary though, our best friend had a miscariage last year and so did my sister, so fingers crossed!

Congratulations! Do try not to worry though...take good care of yourself and enjoy being pregnant!

Michelle

OK so maybe I got the numbers mixed up...maybe it was 0.9 to 5.0. I was sitting there upset that I have yet another thing to add to my list of health problems and could have easily mixed up the 2 numbers. Thats not the whole point of me posting. He tested me for that T4 or whatever and that showed normal but this was way high. I have not had this problem forever, I remember be tested a couple years ago and it was normal. Also remember theres a HUGE differenece between American and Canadian health systems. We dont get to choose what we're tested for or when, and we'll never get detailed results on anything, and we have no choice on medication either.

Synthroid is not as bad as you guys are making it sound. I've heard from more than one person already who were on it and it made a huge difference. I'm not gonna try finding some natural thing, you have to realize I'm not from the US and there are not many options for anything here in Canada. For as much as I have been suffering in the last year and half, this is a relief that i finally have some medication to make me feel somewhat better, even if its not for my stomach.

I'm not trying to sound cruel...I know hypothyroidism isnt a huge deal, but its still a lot for me to handle. Like i said I've gone through so much in less than 2 years, and the last thing i needed was yet another disease added to my list.

I got this post made to get some help and hoped someone could describe hypo to me, instead I find nothing....

~ Lisa ~

Lisa, I think hypo or hyper, thyroid issues are a big deal...and become a bigger deal the longer it's out of whack. Now you may have an answer to some of your health issues...it's great that you will be treating it, and will hopefully have good results.

In terms of options for Canadian Health care, you have way more choices than you think. Yes you can request specific tests. You have every right to see the results and get a copy for your records. You have the right to have everything properly explained to you. And you have the right for a second opinion. Anything less, you should fire your doctor and seek out one that supports your needs and rights properly. I know that this is easier said than done, because physicians are in such short supply, but it is worth it to keep trying to find the right one.

Your options for drugs (in Canada) are virtually unlimited as well. We have access to all the same drugs...some are named or packaged differently, but are available nonetheless. Nice thing here is that were are not dictated by an HMO or other health plan that says we are limited in our choice of doctors or have to take generic forms of drugs.

You were given some great links about thryroid...do check out Open Original Shared Link it's a good resource. They have info describing hypothyroid, and options for treatment. At least give it a good read so that you understand the difference between treatment options.

Michelle

I just bought "Superbalanced Makeup" and that's ingedients are on the box, But the "Calming Cleanser" has the ingedients on the tube itself. I'm in the US, and as long as I remember there has always been ingredients listed. I would contact clinique to be safest, wonder if they change inactive ingredients between countries?

I wonder too. The regular items I bought have no ingredients, but the box from the bonus set does. It's entirely possible that the bonus was newer stuff, so it complies with current regulations. So I did check the listing for the liquid mild soap (it's a small tube in the bonus set) and there is no barley listed that I could see. I did find out that both the mascara and eye shadow has ingredients in them to which I'm allergic (chromium) so I'll just have to pitch them out. Sigh, it sucks to have to watch out for so many allergens!

Michelle

All the stuff I've seen it is has been right in the ingerdient list, not hidden at all. I think I saw it in the Liquid mild soap.. I did a post last week on Clinique products and the phone number to call to check the stuff out is in there.

They also check for soy, corn, and rice.

Are you refering to ingredient lists on the product packaging, or at the store? None of the Clinique products I have, even the ones I bought recently, have ingredients lists on them at all. I'm in Canada (don't know if there is a difference in Clinique product packaging from US)...apparently all personal products are supposed to now have ingredients lists on them (as of November 2006)...is Clinique not required to follow this regulation? Or are the products they're selling dated pre- Nov 06?

Michelle

I agree they are VERY common, I had to throw out so many products I had with it. I just think that if they are going to use oats, it will probally list it as it's a good selling point or have it as a main incredient, not hidden under terms "fragrance" or something as a filler.

I have seen barley listed in quite a few clinique products, that kind of surprised me.

Guess I'll have to be watching out for barley more closely...especially since I use Clinique products.

Michelle