Alberta's medical system

[rknight111]

Is there doctors that care here anymore? Drugs is the answer to everything just pull out your pad and pen and write me a prescription and I'm all better, that's what they think. Alot of drugs just cover up the problem, so let's say I have a broken arm, I go to the doctor they take an xray then give me a 100 pack of t-3's and say you will get better soon, that won't do a thing but help the pain what about fixing the problem first.
What this is about is that I been breaking out in massive hives all over itchy as heck. No antihistimes help, the only thing that makes it go away is predosone 50 mg, that's a steroyd. It will make the issues go away for the day which they return at about 9:00 pm and get worse till the drug is taken again at 6 am. You cannot take more than 50 mg in a 24 hr span or you will do some damage. So that is a bandaid for a problem that will keep occuring for 2 weeks now. So this brings me back to the doctors which I'm at again today waiting as they will only prescribe 5 pills at a time. Will they now deal with it or just pull out the pen and give me 5 more pills to prolong this longer. Sleepless nights itching, tossing and turning, swollen sore elbows and numbness. Or will I get referred to a specialist? Let's wait and see, I'm told by someone at work I need an endocronolegist?? Maybe that's a 6 month too. Pull the pad out again doc...more on our nice medical system to come.

 

[Orrin]

Is there doctors that care here anymore? Drugs is the answer to everything just pull out your pad and pen and write me a prescription and I'm all better, that's what they think. Alot of drugs just cover up the problem, so let's say I have a broken arm, I go to the doctor they take an xray then give me a 100 pack of t-3's and say you will get better soon, that won't do a thing but help the pain what about fixing the problem first.
What this is about is that I been breaking out in massive hives all over itchy as heck. No antihistimes help, the only thing that makes it go away is predosone 50 mg, that's a steroyd. It will make the issues go away for the day which they return at about 9:00 pm and get worse till the drug is taken again at 6 am. You cannot take more than 50 mg in a 24 hr span or you will do some damage. So that is a bandaid for a problem that will keep occuring for 2 weeks now. So this brings me back to the doctors which I'm at again today waiting as they will only prescribe 5 pills at a time. Will they now deal with it or just pull out the pen and give me 5 more pills to prolong this longer. Sleepless nights itching, tossing and turning, swollen sore elbows and numbness. Or will I get referred to a specialist? Let's wait and see, I'm told by someone at work I need an endocronolegist?? Maybe that's a 6 month too. Pull the pad out again doc...more on our nice medical system to come.

Sorry to here about your affliction, last year I had extensive experience with the health care system and have nothing but good things to say about the care I and my family received. I hope they get this straightened out for you. In 2007 I went to Guatemala and broke out in itchy hives on my legs, darn near drove me nuts, but my father in law is from there and is a Doctor and gave me a cortisone cream to apply when the hives broke out and that did the trick. Good luck.

 

[fat tire]

Is there doctors that care here anymore? Drugs is the answer to everything just pull out your pad and pen and write me a prescription and I'm all better, that's what they think. Alot of drugs just cover up the problem, so let's say I have a broken arm, I go to the doctor they take an xray then give me a 100 pack of t-3's and say you will get better soon, that won't do a thing but help the pain what about fixing the problem first.
What this is about is that I been breaking out in massive hives all over itchy as heck. No antihistimes help, the only thing that makes it go away is predosone 50 mg, that's a steroyd. It will make the issues go away for the day which they return at about 9:00 pm and get worse till the drug is taken again at 6 am. You cannot take more than 50 mg in a 24 hr span or you will do some damage. So that is a bandaid for a problem that will keep occuring for 2 weeks now. So this brings me back to the doctors which I'm at again today waiting as they will only prescribe 5 pills at a time. Will they now deal with it or just pull out the pen and give me 5 more pills to prolong this longer. Sleepless nights itching, tossing and turning, swollen sore elbows and numbness. Or will I get referred to a specialist? Let's wait and see, I'm told by someone at work I need an endocronolegist?? Maybe that's a 6 month too. Pull the pad out again doc...more on our nice medical system to come.

Ron, sorry to hear about that.... but everyone who watches the news remembers the lady in leduc that went to the doc found out she had stage 4 cancer only to be denied treatment for so long that, they said it wouldn't matter that she would die of this in 2-4 weeks......what about her family maby they wanted to make it 5 or 6 weeks just to spend more time and make up lost time with friends and family........ I really think that ralphs 3 rd way isn't dead....and the stelmach gov't is silently making good health care less accessable, so the people will vote the 3 rd way option in............. I'lll bet if you ask anyone they know of the horror system that is alberta health care....... and I agree therte are ALLOT of quack doctors out there....... it's probably 90% chance your doctor falls into that group, so My advice is get another opinion.!!

 

[SledMamma]

Is there doctors that care here anymore? Drugs is the answer to everything just pull out your pad and pen and write me a prescription and I'm all better, that's what they think. Alot of drugs just cover up the problem, so let's say I have a broken arm, I go to the doctor they take an xray then give me a 100 pack of t-3's and say you will get better soon, that won't do a thing but help the pain what about fixing the problem first.
What this is about is that I been breaking out in massive hives all over itchy as heck. No antihistimes help, the only thing that makes it go away is predosone 50 mg, that's a steroyd. It will make the issues go away for the day which they return at about 9:00 pm and get worse till the drug is taken again at 6 am. You cannot take more than 50 mg in a 24 hr span or you will do some damage. So that is a bandaid for a problem that will keep occuring for 2 weeks now. So this brings me back to the doctors which I'm at again today waiting as they will only prescribe 5 pills at a time. Will they now deal with it or just pull out the pen and give me 5 more pills to prolong this longer. Sleepless nights itching, tossing and turning, swollen sore elbows and numbness. Or will I get referred to a specialist? Let's wait and see, I'm told by someone at work I need an endocronolegist?? Maybe that's a 6 month too. Pull the pad out again doc...more on our nice medical system to come.

Ron, I work in the medical system and have parents with chronic diseases who rely on this same medical system. I watch it succeed for many acute cases daily, and watch it fail for those with chronic and often unknown illnesses daily as well. I'm sorry you are now among the latter. That sucks.

My suggestion to you is to get pushy: in my experience the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Small town doctors are often quicker to push the specialists, especially if you can somehow describe your symptoms as debilitating or interfering with your activities of daily living/work. Ask to be referred to a dermatologist. I am fairly sure that what you are describing is actually dermatological condition that is mediated by low-dose corticosteroids, similar to prednisone but in lower dosages and with less side effects.

Good luck!!

 

[DaveB]

I am just not a fan of the "system" anymore as I watched it speed up the death of my father. Incorrect diagnosis' one after the other...pushing pills to mask the symptoms while the problem persists...watching the symtom masking pills react negatively to other lesser health problems causing a stroke on top of the cancer that was finally diagnosed too late.

Now I'm watching one of my best buddies go through problems with his Chrones medicine causing gall stones...a simple search on Google states that the comon side affect is Gall-stone....but his doctors say ohhhh noooo it would have happened anyways....then he spends 8 nights in the hospital waiting for a surgeon because a stone has passed to his bile duct (life threatening apparently)...finally they suck the stone out of the duct, but don't remove the stone-filled gall bladder. Then his doctor goes on holidays, so they take him off his Chrones meds and send him home.

My personal issue....I have sore feet. Probably because I'm too damn heavy, but whatever. Of course I put off going to a doctor until it become extremely bad. Here's some pills for the pain....WHAT?! No doc....what's wrong with my feet? Oh well....um....I'll send you for some nerve induction testing. I had to book an appointment, TO BOOK THE APPOINTMENT....which was seven (7) months in the future. You know....I'm not a doctor, but I watch House a lot (hahaha)...maybe an X-ray? Maybe ask me to take off my socks and have a look? This obscure NEW technology will tell the doctor that I have nerve damage....then they will still have to figure out why. What a crock of crap this medical system has become! I've already told my old lady that if I get sick, I'm just going to go to the woods and die because I can't handle how things are being ran these days. Nobody cares.

edit: my seven month ahead appointment is in 1 more month...my feet don't hurt any more....they are numb. I could (and have) drive my toe into a coffe table corner and not feel it. Imagine trying to put your gonch on in the dark when you have no feeling in your toes....yup...HOOK...CRASH.

 

[99summitx]

Sorry to hear of your problem but I must ask, when did rash first appear? it wasn't after riding around with arff in the pink RZR was it Sorry couldn't resist, hope you get it figured out.

 

[rknight111]

Well I have a little more info today. Firstly learned a few more things, got into another doctor at the same clinic as a walk in. He's sending me to a dermatologist next week, which is good. He feels that my immune system was fighting something very strong, and went into full defense mode. Then I went on this heavy dose of steroid to weaken my system to stop the hives and inflammation all over, the drug can only be used for a short time and long time (6 or more days) will require weening off the drug. My system is not producing the proper hormone to fix the issue as it didn't need to there was alot of that allready present. Now that the drug only works for 14 hours and starts wearing off, im short of something and then I get the hives back galore. So I have to modify my doses an then ween my self off on a schedule. Hopefully this works and I finally see the light. Its amazing how one small pill can help you so much and then screw things up alot as well.
And I should'nt have to go to the doctor 4 times in a week to make things happen. Man I have to get my 3rd prescription on my Twin Jet pen in one week. A Twin Jet is the same as an Epi pen, just double sided. My hives were big enough I could not bend my arms and when I start swelling in the throat the twin jet comes out. Also been to emergency in the UofA hospital in the last week as well so I made my rounds.

 

[raceu4it]

without going into detail, i think a lot of people are just walking experiments. and the ole doc just says next.

 

[Puba]

I learned three years ago when they diagnosed me with cancer how slow and over taxed our medical system is, it took a year and a half of a wait for surgery as there were people sicker than I was........ I waited a year and a half with pancreatic cancer, removed just over half of it and half of my left kidney and my spleen....... I hate to imagine what the people ahead of me were like. Main thing for me is after the first year check up still going strong and no signs.

So, the one thing I learned out of all of this is that the word "no" does not exist, wait does not exist, take this does not exist and yes THE SQEEKY WHEEL DOES GET THE GREASE...........

 

[pipes]

the thing that really burns my a$$ is the abuse of the system. So many people going in with a hang nail because it hurts a little bit. This takes up the valuable time that the doctors could use to treat more severe problems.

 

[99summitx]

the thing that really burns my a$$ is the abuse of the system. So many people going in with a hang nail because it hurts a little bit. This takes up the valuable time that the doctors could use to treat more severe problems.

That is why I would have no complaint with a $10-20 user fee to see a doc, clinic or emerg, unless it's a trauma case, would cut down on people abusing I think.

 

[pipes]

That is why I would have no complaint with a $10-20 user fee to see a doc, clinic or emerg, unless it's a trauma case, would cut down on people abusing I think.

hemroids are a pain in the a$$ people abusing the system just mnot acceptable in my books. I'ld rather put up with the roids

 

[FossY]

i had to wait 8 months to finally get send to skin specialist when my problems with my hands started

they dry out badly and crack open and bleed
i can cream than often as i want and it still happens


got to the specialist

ya thats exema here take that cream ! !!


that little cream is 49dollars for 20mg

it does go away till i put the cream on but 2 days after the little tube is empty it comes back


so wtf ??? im gonna have to pay now every week 50 bucks for the little tube of creme >???

 

[carguy]

That is why I would have no complaint with a $10-20 user fee to see a doc, clinic or emerg, unless it's a trauma case, would cut down on people abusing I think.

I once was of the same opinion but that changed after reading a discussion on the pros & cons of user fee's to access healthcare. There becomes a group of people who are marginalized due to fees. Some cannot afford even the $10-20 it may cost (I used to say $40). So a person who cannot afford it lives with symptoms of a disease process that could affect their mortality if left untreated. Or could become even more expensive as a treatable disease because it wasn't dealt with early on. In place of user fee's I am now of the opinion that public education needs to be at the forefront to assist the public in understanding what Emergency Rooms are for, walk-in clinics are for, urgent-care clinics are for, etc. Too many people rush to ER's for a "quick-fix" when they should be using other avenues of the healthcare system.

As for skin irritations & hives, this is difficult for an ER or Family MD to diagnose and requires further investigation by a specialist. Pills provide temporary relief of symptoms to most processes but not a cure. So one must be their own best advocate and insist on consults, appointments with specialists and not leave your doctor's office without something tangible. That said the majority leave happy with a prescription thinking this will help them and to a point it will but still there is no pill out there to cure the underlying cause of whatever disease process is afflicting them....and the revolving door to the healthcare system continues.

 

[JayBec]

went to a clinic on the west side, i wasnt broken or bleedin, i didnt mind the wait time, they finally called me in about an hour later an i recall a woman an 2 youngens come in ( one looking sicker than hell) i told the nurse to let them in, cuz the little one looked way worse than i felt....the Nurse actually tried giving me sh*t cause i was messin the line up,we bickered back an forth until she finally let them in, im sorry but if you have children that are sick or you are an elderly person ( over 40 lol) you should have first crack at goin in,

 

[JaySimon]

i had to wait 8 months to finally get send to skin specialist when my problems with my hands started

they dry out badly and crack open and bleed
i can cream than often as i want and it still happens


got to the specialist

ya thats exema here take that cream ! !!


that little cream is 49dollars for 20mg

it does go away till i put the cream on but 2 days after the little tube is empty it comes back


so wtf ??? im gonna have to pay now every week 50 bucks for the little tube of creme >???

I have exema as well. See if you can get them to prescribe generic Hydracortizone. That is the magic ingredient, and it's cheaper than the name brand stuff.

I have found paying attention to what I put in my body directly effects my exema. After a good weekend of heavy drinking, it acts up. I try to drink as much water in a day as I can, as it seems to help keep my skin clear, then I only need to use the cream every once in a while. Reducing stress also will help it out, as that can be a trigger. Mine used to be so bad that I was embarassed to shake hands with people, today, I've got a little crack on my middle finger knuckle, that will be cleaned up before the weekend, and likely come back after, as there are beers to be drank this weekend.

It's managable, you just gotta figure out what works best for you.

 

[bhowes]

I hear ya Ron been 7 weeks waiting to see the bone Doc for my busted up shoulder all the other ones just say well the bones will eventally grow back to gether and if i hear ( your not 18 anymore) i think im gonna shoot that sob i may not be 18 anymore but im not f&^**kn 80 either if ya spend 10 days laying in a hospital cause ya got broken bones you would think the bone doc would come around and have a look

just my rant today as well sorry

 

[femme.fatale.]

i had to wait 8 months to finally get send to skin specialist when my problems with my hands started

they dry out badly and crack open and bleed
i can cream than often as i want and it still happens


got to the specialist

ya thats exema here take that cream ! !!


that little cream is 49dollars for 20mg

it does go away till i put the cream on but 2 days after the little tube is empty it comes back


so wtf ??? im gonna have to pay now every week 50 bucks for the little tube of creme >???

I know what your saying Fossy.
I have been violently ill my whole pregnancy. They call it Hyperemesis (Hyperemesis gravidarum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). The only thing that helps me to keep anything down is called Diclectin. If I miss a them one night, I PAY the next day. It costs me 50 bucks for 24 pills - this lasts me 12 days. I have tried every other remedy in the book, this is the only thing that even takes the edge off. While I feel the price is a bit excessive, I can afford the 50 bucks - and it offers me a much better quality of life. This is one time in my life that I can say "I am happy I got a prescription"!

 

[h.karst]

for the most part medical system is good. although....


I have 2 slipped discs in my back, as of right now it is a 2 year wait to see a back specialist.....
shouldnt be a problem, i can wait....

 

[femme.fatale.]

for the most part medical system is good. although....


I have 2 slipped discs in my back, as of right now it is a 2 year wait to see a back specialist.....
shouldnt be a problem, i can wait....

It's just your back... Not like you need it or anything!
If it makes you feel any better I have NO idea who is delivering my baby... It could be one of 5 doctors that I have met each once.