Been meaning to post this for a little while. I was reading Therapy Doc's blog over at "Everyone Needs Therapy" like I usually do. There was a post on ADHD and the need for a family assessment before prescribing medication. Now I am not going to comment on ADHD or the treatment options. The only part I want to comment on is the closing line which was, "Of course, medication is so much easier, right?"
It has really made me think about the health care system, the medical model, and what we are willing to accept. Let's face it therapy is work. It is not an easy process. It involves taking a chance... and opening yourself up.... being real. Deep down I am sure that most people would say that if they could just take a medication and skip the hard work of therapy they would. We're prone to go with what's easier. Let's face it this is part of the reason that some people self-medicate.
We seem to have embraced the fact that medication is the be-all and end all. In some circumstances it is warranted but I can't help but wonder if there is an over reliance on medication and a negligence on anything that doesn't fall under the medical model. If it can't be prescribed then it may get overlooked.
I can say, for sure, that the insurance company whole-heartedly embraces the medical model and this may be at the detriment of the patient. Take my Fibromyalgia for instance. I am on Trazodone to help me sleep but this does nothing for the pain. My doctor even admitted that medications wil largely be hit or miss. I go to the chiropractor and this helps tremendously. There's two problems. For one, I have to pay up front and be reimbursed. Compare that to medications where they just swipe my card and deduct the 80% automatically. Secondly, they only cover $200/year. That's only 3 months worth of visits. Then I'm on my own. I don't want to rely on medication when there is a holistic approach that helps. So in the end I feel like I am getting screwed by the health care system. After all I have something that works but affording it is a little more challenging. At least with my old job it was $500 which would cover me for 7 months.
Chiropractic care is just one example.... Therapy is another good example. My company will pay up to $200 to see a psychologist and then you're on your own. You would think by now that people could really get the help they need. But no.... I just wonder if things will ever change. I wonder if we will ever have a situation where people can get the help they need and not just be locked into the medical model where pharmaceuticals rule.
Showing posts with label Medical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medical. Show all posts
Monday, June 09, 2008
Saturday, June 03, 2006
When it Rains...
it pours... Ever since I moved to Peterborough it has been anything but easy. Not to say London was easy street but it was a lot smoother then Peterborough has been. About the only good part is the job. Sure there is stress but I have worked there for 3.5 years and it's been pretty stable overall.
I moved to Peterborough because I was homeless and had nowhere to go. Right after I started working here I was homeless again. Spent a week couch surfing at one place and then was couch surfing at another location. That one turned into me getting a bedroom there where I stayed for a little over a year. It was definitely not paradise. I was embarrased to have anyone over to the house. I only had my room to hide in. At one point I had $1000 worth of DVDs stolen and since he was a young offender he just got a warning. I got half of them back but was out the cost of the rest of them. And just before I moved out the landlord's son was stealing from me. I moved into Adam's which wasn't necessarily such a good idea... but I had to get out of there. Eventually I moved to Time Square... and then was I was changing apartments there it went to hell and I ended up here in Talwood. So the housing situation has definitely been a rough road.
My health has also been a rocky road. When I was in London I still had good medical care since I was at school. I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and was receiving treatment for it. I was in physiotherapy until I was forced to leave London. The next step would've have been a full treatment program, including aquatherapy. When I moved to Peterborough I lost the health care so the only thing I was getting treated was the flu and bronchitis. When I attempted to get treatment for the fibromylgia I was given a few different answers: "It doesn't exist", "I can't deal with that I am just an ER doctor", and "you will never get treated for it in Peterborough." So 4 years of not bing treated led to a great deal of pain, sheer exhaustion and "brain fog." Fortunately, that is now being treated but my doctor is not in Peterborough. I have to drive to Pickering to see him. In one year I had both pneumonia, the flu, and 4 cases of bronchitis. Lost a lot of time at work... and when I had the flu I lost 20 pounds and I'm not sure I ever completely recovered. I think my health suffered because of the living conditions at the time. The house was filthy and on top of that my landlord was smoking 2 packs a day in the house. Plus I was smoking. Nathan was smoking too... but usually those weren't cigarettes. So the air quality left something to be desired. I'm also wondering if that contributed to Tigger's death. But I'll never know for sure. Even when I was at Times Square the air quality didn't seem to be all that good.
And then there were the relationships.... definitely not stable. The first relationship was with Jamie... who I left for Adam. I'm still amazed that we were together for a year and still don't understand why he stayed. I destroyed that relationship in the end. And I don't think he'll ever tell me why he stayed... Then there was Tristan. I'm not even sure what to say about that relationship other then that it was short-lived. My exhaustion was also playing a role in that relationship. If he spent the night then I was waking up constantly and it was making me even more tired and irritable. But this time that isn't what ended the relationship. He owed money to the wrong people and they threatened to harm me. So he never gave me the chance to decided whether or not to stay... he just bailed. Maybe I should give up on relationships. Been single for 7 months and I doubt that is going to change.
When I first moved to Peterborough the only thing I wanted to do is go back to London. And now I've been here for almost 4 years. There are some days I wish I had just gone back to London and taken my chances. I don't know if I would've been better off... but at least some of what has happened since I moved here wouldn't have (No stalker... No date rape... etc.) Regardless I can't take it back... I can only look to the future.
I moved to Peterborough because I was homeless and had nowhere to go. Right after I started working here I was homeless again. Spent a week couch surfing at one place and then was couch surfing at another location. That one turned into me getting a bedroom there where I stayed for a little over a year. It was definitely not paradise. I was embarrased to have anyone over to the house. I only had my room to hide in. At one point I had $1000 worth of DVDs stolen and since he was a young offender he just got a warning. I got half of them back but was out the cost of the rest of them. And just before I moved out the landlord's son was stealing from me. I moved into Adam's which wasn't necessarily such a good idea... but I had to get out of there. Eventually I moved to Time Square... and then was I was changing apartments there it went to hell and I ended up here in Talwood. So the housing situation has definitely been a rough road.
My health has also been a rocky road. When I was in London I still had good medical care since I was at school. I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and was receiving treatment for it. I was in physiotherapy until I was forced to leave London. The next step would've have been a full treatment program, including aquatherapy. When I moved to Peterborough I lost the health care so the only thing I was getting treated was the flu and bronchitis. When I attempted to get treatment for the fibromylgia I was given a few different answers: "It doesn't exist", "I can't deal with that I am just an ER doctor", and "you will never get treated for it in Peterborough." So 4 years of not bing treated led to a great deal of pain, sheer exhaustion and "brain fog." Fortunately, that is now being treated but my doctor is not in Peterborough. I have to drive to Pickering to see him. In one year I had both pneumonia, the flu, and 4 cases of bronchitis. Lost a lot of time at work... and when I had the flu I lost 20 pounds and I'm not sure I ever completely recovered. I think my health suffered because of the living conditions at the time. The house was filthy and on top of that my landlord was smoking 2 packs a day in the house. Plus I was smoking. Nathan was smoking too... but usually those weren't cigarettes. So the air quality left something to be desired. I'm also wondering if that contributed to Tigger's death. But I'll never know for sure. Even when I was at Times Square the air quality didn't seem to be all that good.
And then there were the relationships.... definitely not stable. The first relationship was with Jamie... who I left for Adam. I'm still amazed that we were together for a year and still don't understand why he stayed. I destroyed that relationship in the end. And I don't think he'll ever tell me why he stayed... Then there was Tristan. I'm not even sure what to say about that relationship other then that it was short-lived. My exhaustion was also playing a role in that relationship. If he spent the night then I was waking up constantly and it was making me even more tired and irritable. But this time that isn't what ended the relationship. He owed money to the wrong people and they threatened to harm me. So he never gave me the chance to decided whether or not to stay... he just bailed. Maybe I should give up on relationships. Been single for 7 months and I doubt that is going to change.
When I first moved to Peterborough the only thing I wanted to do is go back to London. And now I've been here for almost 4 years. There are some days I wish I had just gone back to London and taken my chances. I don't know if I would've been better off... but at least some of what has happened since I moved here wouldn't have (No stalker... No date rape... etc.) Regardless I can't take it back... I can only look to the future.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
TMJ
Now back to the second half of why I believe that dental and medical should be combined.
I have TMJ. It basically means that my jaw is out of place. This affects you in lots of different ways. It puts pressure on your neck and spine. It causes headaches. According to a number of web sites it can even cause the same symptoms as fibromyalgia. And, of course, it can cause jaw pain.
Why do I have it? There are actually a number of reasons. For one, I seem to be the walking medical encyclopedia. *lol* Secondly, I've had a few instances of whiplash, especially when I fell off my bike and cracked my skull open. Humpty Dumpty anyone? I also have a bad overbite. Lastly I suffer from bruxism. That is the fancy way to say I clench and grind my teeth when I sleep.
Okay so TMJ is a problem with the jaw that can obviously cause some serious health issues in the long run... But who treats it? Typically not the medical field. They may give you pain medication but otherwise won't do anything. They just refer you to a dentist for treatment.
Here's the problem for that. The dentist will likely refer you to a specialist for treatment. So that's more money. Often times the treatment of TMJ is not covered by the insurance company so you are left to pay for the treatment alone. Right now I need a nightguard to protect my teeth so I don't cause any more damage. To replace the one I have will cost me about $300. And I can't get it until the dentist finishes the cavities.... so it will be September at the earliest. On top of that the treatments tend to be expensive... for correcting the bite. It ranges from nothing other then the nightguard to partial reconstruction, to full reconstruction and then surgery. Needless to say that would be extremely expensive.
The problem is that it's something I need to happen. I go to the chiropractor every other week but there is only so much she can do for me. And since my insurance company only covers $500 and the year begins in August all year I have been paying for my chiropractor visits. So that's cost me $350 so far and I still have two months to go. I remember the days when OHIP paid part of the chiropractor visit... and physical therapy. That was nice.
When it comes to treating the TMJ I feel like I am damned if I do and damned if I don't. I can't afford to treat it so if I started something then I would likely have to stop treatment pretty quickly due to finances. But if I don't get treatment for it then the jaw pain and the clenching are just going to continue.
I have TMJ. It basically means that my jaw is out of place. This affects you in lots of different ways. It puts pressure on your neck and spine. It causes headaches. According to a number of web sites it can even cause the same symptoms as fibromyalgia. And, of course, it can cause jaw pain.
Why do I have it? There are actually a number of reasons. For one, I seem to be the walking medical encyclopedia. *lol* Secondly, I've had a few instances of whiplash, especially when I fell off my bike and cracked my skull open. Humpty Dumpty anyone? I also have a bad overbite. Lastly I suffer from bruxism. That is the fancy way to say I clench and grind my teeth when I sleep.
Okay so TMJ is a problem with the jaw that can obviously cause some serious health issues in the long run... But who treats it? Typically not the medical field. They may give you pain medication but otherwise won't do anything. They just refer you to a dentist for treatment.
Here's the problem for that. The dentist will likely refer you to a specialist for treatment. So that's more money. Often times the treatment of TMJ is not covered by the insurance company so you are left to pay for the treatment alone. Right now I need a nightguard to protect my teeth so I don't cause any more damage. To replace the one I have will cost me about $300. And I can't get it until the dentist finishes the cavities.... so it will be September at the earliest. On top of that the treatments tend to be expensive... for correcting the bite. It ranges from nothing other then the nightguard to partial reconstruction, to full reconstruction and then surgery. Needless to say that would be extremely expensive.
The problem is that it's something I need to happen. I go to the chiropractor every other week but there is only so much she can do for me. And since my insurance company only covers $500 and the year begins in August all year I have been paying for my chiropractor visits. So that's cost me $350 so far and I still have two months to go. I remember the days when OHIP paid part of the chiropractor visit... and physical therapy. That was nice.
When it comes to treating the TMJ I feel like I am damned if I do and damned if I don't. I can't afford to treat it so if I started something then I would likely have to stop treatment pretty quickly due to finances. But if I don't get treatment for it then the jaw pain and the clenching are just going to continue.
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