Friday, July 24, 2009

Canadian Health Care

The majority of people visiting this site are our good neighbours to the south in the United States so I wanted to post this in response to a video I was just made aware of in which a Canadian, .Shona Holmes, is interviewed on Fox News. Apparently she was recruited by conservative interests in the US to speak about how our health system is a failure.

This video is full of inaccuracies and leading questions and some just plain ridiculous statements. For example, this woman did not have a tumour, she had a cyst. I suggest that the word tumour was used because the dramatic effect is more powerful than calling it a cyst. Shona Holmes also says that our system is not free because we pay for it with our taxes. Well, duh, this statement alone shows how ridiculous her whole argument is. Of course we pay for it with our taxes but it's a darn sight cheaper than paying for private health insurance or worse, paying $100 000 for surgery at a private clinic as she did.

My own case is evidence that our system does work. I have never paid one cent for any of the medical expertise I have received. I currently see two specialists, a rheumatologist and a GI doctor on a regular basis, plus my GP as required. In June I spent the night in hospital as a result of my fall and it costs me nothing. I see a physiotherapist weekly and, again, my visits are covered by the health care system. Yes I pay taxes so I suppose that I pay indirectly but it's a great trade off.

And then there's my medication and formula which come to over $2000 a month. I pay $120 (based on my income), again not a bad deal. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. I get the best care possible and it's not costing me an arm and a leg nor do I need to go out and get private insurance at an outrageous price and for which I would probably be turned down anyway because I have a progressive chronic illness which is expensive to treat.

So, if you should happen to see the ads run in the US featuring this woman please keep in mind that she is one person out of 33 000 000 and the rest of us are pretty darn happy with our system. Is it perfect? Of course not, but it sure beats the alternative by leaps and bounds.

Update-July 31/09
Heard a news item on the radio this morning re this woman's case. In an interview with a medical expert, it was stated that no one has ever died from this type of cyst as it is comsidered benign and if it did become malignant she would be scheduled for surgery immediately. More evidence that this woman is definitely not credible. She is apparently now preparing to sue the government over the matter. That explains a lot.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Indulging Myself

Well, it's been almost four weeks since I began the new feeding formula so thought I'd better add an update, albeit a brief one.

The feeds themselves are still going well. I have had a couple of minor incidents of reflux but it was my own fault as I've been getting careless about eating in the evenings. For the most part though I've gotten away with it which is encouraging.

My weight remains the same. The other day, I realized that I'd been enjoying a Guinness (Irish beer) each day when I was gaining the weight so yesterday I went out and bought a dozen. There is anecdotal evidence that it helps with digestion but I don't know if anyone has ever done a study to verify this. Whatever the case, I enjoy it and the small bit of alcohol doesn't seem to irritate my GI tract so what's to lose? I know that it used to be prescribed in the hospital for people with weight maintenance problems and it was also recommended, in moderation, for nursing mothers. Of course this would be taboo nowadays but, hey, hundreds of years of Irish tradition can't be wrong can they? And after all I am of Irish heritage so I'm just being true to my roots. That's my story and I'm sticking to it damn it.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

GI Update

As I mentioned last time, I am now on a new feeding formula and to put it briefly, things are going well. In fact, they are going exceedingly well so i wanted to share my experience here in case it can be of help to others.

I am now on Peptamen 1.5 and ingesting 1000 ml, or 1500 calories, per day. Previously, I was using Jevity 1.2 which came in 1500 ml bags but I was only able to handle half that each day so was only taking in 750 ml (900 cal.) and even that was causing a great deal of discomfort in the form of reflux, bloating and feeling nauseous, although I never actually brought up. This also meant that I was taking in very little food orally because eating simply did not appeal to me. Well, with the Peptamen, I not only have none of the side effects but actually am feeling quite hungry and have found myself eating substantially more throughout the day. And I have gained about three pounds so am almost back to the 110 I weighed a month ago. All of this in only nine days. From my understanding, the main difference between the two formulas is that the Peptamen is predigested so my gut doesn't have to work as hard to get the nutrients from it.

I have only made minor changes in my medication, taking two instead of one 20 mg dosages of Pariet and making sure I take three 10 mg doses of dom peridone each day. The only glitch I ran into was with the feeding tubes. After making numerous phone calls with everyone telling me something different, I finally discovered that the Kangaroo pump and spikes I was using would work with the Peptamen, I just needed to use an adapter which is supplied free of charge by Nielsons who makes the Peptamen.

And so, initial results are encouraging and with luck things will continue to go well. I remain guardedly optimistic.