The BG Health Care Thread: Decreasing the Surplus Population

[archibaldcrane]

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-...ancer-n1022206

Yet another example of a simple treatment (like removing lead from gas or the clean air act writ large) that had a much larger public health impact than expected.

I've been expecting huge benefits from this for over a decade and it's been infuriating how long it has taken for them to recommend the vaccine to men and women in a broad age range. Absolute idiocy that it was like "female virgins onry" basically for the first few years.

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[Byrthnoth]

Yeah, I am an old now and remember the handwringing at the rollout.

[kuronosan]

Still get people screaming about dystonia once in a while.

[Psion]

this reminds me, i should probably see a doctor about my own vaccination upkeep. i'm 34 now and the last time i had any vaccinations was as a little kid with all the arsenal you usually get at that age. not even sure how to find out what i need to get now, though i'm pretty sure i need to get one for HPV.

i... should probably see a doctor about a lot of things, seeing as how i've not visited one since i was like 14. <.<;

[Rooney]

You'll probably need tetanus? and more than likely hep A. You're just old enough that you would've missed the cutoff for when they started recommending hep A as part of the routine schedule. Hep B if you're going to travel out of country. Otherwise idk, I'm not a doctor. By 14 you should've gotten most of what you need vaccine-wise.

[kuronosan]

this reminds me, i should probably see a doctor about my own vaccination upkeep. i'm 34 now and the last time i had any vaccinations was as a little kid with all the arsenal you usually get at that age. not even sure how to find out what i need to get now, though i'm pretty sure i need to get one for HPV.

i... should probably see a doctor about a lot of things, seeing as how i've not visited one since i was like 14. <.<;

Dtap flu hpv are good ideas. Depending on work the hepatitis and pneumonia series. If you haven't received meningococcal you should definitely get it.

[Boyiee]

Be careful getting them all at once you might be born autistic

[Psion]

ill keep those in mind whenever i schedule an appointment. need to see a doctor anyways - i know for sure i should probably look into my frequent migraines (and oddly enough, needing to take a crap often triggers the start of one. taking care of business often causes the pain to go down, but sometimes my intestines refuse to cooperate and are like "nah, don't feel like doing shit today"), the left side of my jaw often getting stiff where it's hinged to the skull (sometimes it's so much so that it makes a horrible cracking sound), the fact that my sinuses are always plugged up no matter the time of year or what im exposed to (no pets either), and stiff neck (also on the left side... although a few months ago it was the right side that was an issue.)

i'm pretty sure i'm a dead man walking.

granted i should probably also see for advice on losing weight since every diet i've tried has failed to move the needle, save not eating at all for weeks at a time, and that doesn't last very long. i've had weight issues since i was born, pretty much. popped out at 9 lb 5 oz. most of the weight went to the hips so i tend to confuse people when i say im 270 lb, since most think i'm not that heavy at all.

i have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of these issues are all tied together somehow.

[kuronosan]

Using the bathroom triggers a migraine?

I'd get that looked at.

[Psion]

no, NOT using the restroom triggers it. specifically, having crap in the large intestine. basically, for example, if i'm in the middle of working and my bowels decide "ok here's some crap, get rid of it" and i'm like "i'm at work, i'll go in a couple hours when i get off", my head goes "fuck this shit and fuck you" and starts hurting soon after i get the urge to take a crap. it doesn't even have to be an intense urge - sometimes there's practically nothing at all, and sometimes it's like there's crap but it doesn't feel like coming out no matter how hard i try, and i have to wait hours or even the next day before it finally comes out. it's frustrating, and doesn't seem like it should be doing that to me.

if i DO manage to have a bowel movement soon after needing to go, i usually don't get a migraine unless i hit a few other triggers (long exposure to strong smells or bright fluorescent lights, waiting too long to eat dinner, lots of noise over a long time, etc.). and if i have a migraine, having a bowel movement is often one of the big things that helps get rid of it, along with getting something to eat if i havent yet, dark quiet room, taking a hot shower, and so on. but sometimes my digestive system doesn't cooperate and no amount of straining will get me anywhere. i tried taking miralax before and that didn't do anything to make things more regular.

[kuronosan]

You should see a rheumatologist.

[mallister]

i have a genetic condition that causes me to not break down blood clots properly. i had some pain in my leg again, so went in to see the doctor and it turns out i had three new clots, so they put me off work again while this sorts itself out. however, it got worse. medication has stopped working, they're not sure why. i now have a much more serious clot. but, hey, i'm on state disability and i've got kaiser, so i can get through this so long as i don't stroke out or end up with a pulmonary embolism, right?

yeah, about that: i loose my benefits once FMLA protections end in a month. you get 12 weeks of unpaid absence, then they turn your benefits off. man i'm sure glad it's nothing serious or anything life threatening. i can get seen by the VA, though it's a giant pain in the ass (the VA here is pretty decent, if you can get in to see them). however, my wife is in her clinicals at the nursing program and is required to have health insurance, which i nearly certainly cant pay for. my daughter also has a serious chronic illness (ironically, neither of my kids inherited the clotting factor issues), and is on my insurance so that'll be great as well.

so, all you cats like me with good benefits: hope you don't ever actually need them. might want to look real close at the fine print, because you may not be as covered as you think you are. i had three CT's last week looking for weird cancer because they can't figure out why i'm still getting clots and they're still getting worse. GG.

[zoobernut]

i have a genetic condition that causes me to not break down blood clots properly. i had some pain in my leg again, so went in to see the doctor and it turns out i had three new clots, so they put me off work again while this sorts itself out. however, it got worse. medication has stopped working, they're not sure why. i now have a much more serious clot. but, hey, i'm on state disability and i've got kaiser, so i can get through this so long as i don't stroke out or end up with a pulmonary embolism, right?

yeah, about that: i loose my benefits once FMLA protections end in a month. you get 12 weeks of unpaid absence, then they turn your benefits off. man i'm sure glad it's nothing serious or anything life threatening. i can get seen by the VA, though it's a giant pain in the ass (the VA here is pretty decent, if you can get in to see them). however, my wife is in her clinicals at the nursing program and is required to have health insurance, which i nearly certainly cant pay for. my daughter also has a serious chronic illness (ironically, neither of my kids inherited the clotting factor issues), and is on my insurance so that'll be great as well.

so, all you cats like me with good benefits: hope you don't ever actually need them. might want to look real close at the fine print, because you may not be as covered as you think you are. i had three CT's last week looking for weird cancer because they can't figure out why i'm still getting clots and they're still getting worse. GG.

Man this really blows and I am sorry that you are going through this. Take a look at state sponsored health care programs for kids at a minimum. I know in CA if you cannot get or afford health care for your kids then you can get free health care for them and it only took 5 minutes to sign up for. Maybe there is something like that where you live.

On my own health care fail 7 years ago when my oldest son was born our out the door costs were ~$5k after insurance paid. Now the out the door costs after insurance is closer to $10k. How are things this broken?

[kuronosan]

i have a genetic condition that causes me to not break down blood clots properly. i had some pain in my leg again, so went in to see the doctor and it turns out i had three new clots, so they put me off work again while this sorts itself out. however, it got worse. medication has stopped working, they're not sure why. i now have a much more serious clot. but, hey, i'm on state disability and i've got kaiser, so i can get through this so long as i don't stroke out or end up with a pulmonary embolism, right?

yeah, about that: i loose my benefits once FMLA protections end in a month. you get 12 weeks of unpaid absence, then they turn your benefits off. man i'm sure glad it's nothing serious or anything life threatening. i can get seen by the VA, though it's a giant pain in the ass (the VA here is pretty decent, if you can get in to see them). however, my wife is in her clinicals at the nursing program and is required to have health insurance, which i nearly certainly cant pay for. my daughter also has a serious chronic illness (ironically, neither of my kids inherited the clotting factor issues), and is on my insurance so that'll be great as well.

so, all you cats like me with good benefits: hope you don't ever actually need them. might want to look real close at the fine print, because you may not be as covered as you think you are. i had three CT's last week looking for weird cancer because they can't figure out why i'm still getting clots and they're still getting worse. GG.

What medication were you on?

[mallister]

i was on the usual lovenox/coumadin combo the first time around, then on coumadin alone for about 18 months. they would take me off the meds, then i would get new clots so we'd start over. eventually they did the genetic work up and found the problem. after that they put me on pradaxa, which i've been on nearly two years. after this last problem, they took me off the pradaxa and put me back on the lovenox by itself. there's some issue, they're not sure exactly why it's not working. they said 4% of people just get new clots and they don't know why. before my last ultrasound, the plan was to have me on the lovenox injections for the rest of my life. not sure wtf we'll be doing at this point, waiting on the CT's to be read to rule out the real stupid shit like pancreatic cancer.

[mallister]

i have a genetic condition that causes me to not break down blood clots properly. i had some pain in my leg again, so went in to see the doctor and it turns out i had three new clots, so they put me off work again while this sorts itself out. however, it got worse. medication has stopped working, they're not sure why. i now have a much more serious clot. but, hey, i'm on state disability and i've got kaiser, so i can get through this so long as i don't stroke out or end up with a pulmonary embolism, right?

yeah, about that: i loose my benefits once FMLA protections end in a month. you get 12 weeks of unpaid absence, then they turn your benefits off. man i'm sure glad it's nothing serious or anything life threatening. i can get seen by the VA, though it's a giant pain in the ass (the VA here is pretty decent, if you can get in to see them). however, my wife is in her clinicals at the nursing program and is required to have health insurance, which i nearly certainly cant pay for. my daughter also has a serious chronic illness (ironically, neither of my kids inherited the clotting factor issues), and is on my insurance so that'll be great as well.

so, all you cats like me with good benefits: hope you don't ever actually need them. might want to look real close at the fine print, because you may not be as covered as you think you are. i had three CT's last week looking for weird cancer because they can't figure out why i'm still getting clots and they're still getting worse. GG.

i'm in california, i'll take a look at what my options are. my eye is still twitching over this news.

[Tyche]

Why did they take you off coumadin? And how much lovenox were you taking? 1mg/kg of weight?

[zoobernut]

i'm in california, i'll take a look at what my options are. my eye is still twitching over this news.

Please do look into it. I hope you find a solution that works for you. https://www.insurekidsnow.gov/coverage/ca/index.html
Hopefully that link helps you get your kid covered at least.

[mallister]

Why did they take you off coumadin? And how much lovenox were you taking? 1mg/kg of weight?

they took me off coumadin because you're generally not supposed to be on it that long and i was on it 18 months. the original clot i had has never completely gone away; they think it may have encapsulated because it stopped getting better after a month or so. i've had that bastard 4 years come this december.

i'm on lovenox 120mg twice a day. i was 280 pounds when this go-round started, less now. it's possible that my weight has something to do with the medication issues, but, i was within 5 pounds of how much i weighed when this started up and there weren't issues with the efficacy then. regardless, i need to loose 80 pounds and i'm in the process of that it's just slow going.

[Tyche]

People are on Coumadin for years. Especially people with clotting disorders and arrhythmias. If you're diligent with lab work and staying on top of dosing, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to stay on it. It's a drug that's super effective and reversible. The lovenox dose seems appropriate.

Is a GP seeing you or do you see an oncologist?