Fibromyalgia

 I am so sorry to hear that you have been given such a run-a-round.  The person who is supposed to be your support, and be able to go to with your questions is your casemanager.  I'm so sad for you that you've not got the kind of support you deserve.  

 

My husband just returned to work through the Ticket to Work.  He had to call no less than 4 people to get a straight answer about how much can he earn without losing benefits.  What we learned is that the amount seems to vary depending on where you live.  Make sense?  No wonder the people who should be able to give a straightforward answer hem and haw.  Finally, we connected with a person who was able to give him/us a believable answer.  He is fortunate, in his situation, they are pleased with him and are quite willing to help him keep his hours at the "safe" amount.

 

Good luck to you.  I hope things work out for you.  I also have fibro.  This stress is bound to make you feel worse.  Is there anyone at work you can talk to about needing to limit your hours?  You are right.  You need to think about yourself.  It isn't selfish.....it's necessary.

WTH? This US "system" sucks..my ex husband is on SSI (not for fibro) but something else and it was always "something" some overpayment or such until he went to the local office and cleared it up.

Fortunately I am from Canada and live in the US and get my CPP disability deposited into my acct every month..never a problem. Why do they have to stress you out with that?

What stresses me out is all the co-pays and things that "aren't covered" by my current husband's insurance. It is a whacked system and if you don't beleive me, try living in a country that has one that works (like Canada where I was born and raised for 31 years) and then coming to a country and trying to live with a system that seems completly broken for 6 years..drives me insane.  

 

 

Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog's Day with Bill Murray? Well that is what my life on SSDI has been like. I recently got a letter that sounded like it wanted to try to say something like my case had been straightened out but since the very next day I got yet ANOTHER overpayment notice...this one with a different amount than the last 6 I got that I had to fight to get waived..so now I don't know. I had to call for my check two months in a row and gee...either someone "FORGOT" to cut it or it was deposited into a bank account that has been closed for 5 months...yeah these are the excuses I was given. Ok so I finally get the check and there is 100 bucks missing from it. Ok thanks...what now? Trying to figure out where that money went is going to be like pulling out my own teeth with a rusty pair of pliers!

The last time I saw my lawyer and brought all the papers with me she said the judge would go blind trying to figure it out. Good thing she didn't charge me for that uplifting shred of advice!

 

I hope nobody takes offense to the above comment about the Broken USA Medical Insurance System. It is not only broken it is dangerous and it is draining our country of more than just money! It is a BUSINESS and it is corrupt. The almighty dollar is where its at. Life does not matter. Obama thinks he can fix it...I hope EVERYONE is ready to be on the same kind of insurance I am! Get ready...I like ya well enough Obama....but I think I'd rather have YOUR health insurance!

Yeah, no offence taken at all..I'm a Canadian living in the US.

The health system HERE is one thing that drives me absolutely insane all the time. I am getting ready to go yell at my stupid Dr for not asking me if I have had problems with SNRI's/SSRI's and giving me Savella. I had a torturous weekend because of that crap.

I wish everyone could see the other side...the other systems in other countries...no there are no waiting lists...unless you need an organ donor..and where isn't that a problem??? I have not received such crappy care OR been as sick as I have been since I have lived in the US for the past 6 years. (married an american)

Yes, Canadians come to the US for surgery...like umm..plastic surgery LOL..is such a load of crap that news media feeds. They just want you to think that you have best care here and is bad everywhere else...I can't even watch news on that anymore..infuriates me.

A family of 2..that makes over 150K a year pays $87(not each, for both!) a month in British Columbia..that is the province I am from. (above Washington state)

My aunt's dad broke his hip and was in and out of surgery in 24hrs and they kept him in the hospital for 17 days. Like they would EVER do that here!

I feel so bad for other people in Dr's office when I go and everyone has different levels of co-pay's and all that crap...makes me mad.  There are no co-pays in Canada, for Dr's or Hospitals and you can go anywhere you want.

 

 

GREAT! My pain doc gave me samples of Savella. Its the new "miracle cure" I didn't start taking it because I was afraid of getting sick and I have not had any free time to get pill sick! When I went back to her she acted pissed that I hadn't started taking it yet! She is "excited" about the "results"....I'm sure she has not taken it!

Now can you clear something up for me since you are originally from Canada? I have always heard that they have a pretty good healthcare system. all my life I have heard this. From what you say it sounds like they do. I was watching some news stories about the crap that is going on with the overhaul of the  current US system. All parties (all with SUPREME benefits) arguing about money money money. Some of them actually said that in Canada the system they have there has people on waiting lists and not able to get into the doc for months....I was thinking to myself..." I never heard that AND that sounds like here"

They made it sound like Soviet Russia!

Are there people waiting for months? Was that just another lie to sway people away from whatever plan the other side was contemplating? Like I said before...Its July and I can't get to the therapist til SEPTEMBER! 

The worst part of it all as far as I can figure is that no matter what plan they decide to use the people that get the short end of the stick will be the ones that already do! Medicare used to be kind of OK until Bush decided to REFORM it. There has been a non-stop cascade of crap ever since. Oh you have been taking this medicine for five years...not anymore...we aren't going to pay for it. but we will pay for this drug that does nowhere near the same thing as the one you have been on. You can have your doctor fill out reams of paper to fight our decision and while you are waiting make sure you go about your business as usual while you are crawling out of your own skin!!! Its like they choose the replacement drug because it is the same color as the old one (that is a joke my friend and I have). Not funny but sometimes the only way we can rationalize any of this junk is to make it into something even more rediculous that it already is.

 And furthermore, the healthcare system has NOTHING to do with social security in terms of policy. It also needs an overhaul since people are freakin DYING waiting for their cases to even fall off a desk into a trash can! That might be the only way someone would notice it!!  It is a serious issue, which as you may have noticed...congress is pretty much ignoring!

I'm so disgusted...can't you tell?

HAHAHA

Yeah, it is ALL propaganda!! Sure, maybe people in Canada wait 2-3 weeks to see a SPECIALIST but you can see any SPECIALIST you want, not just who is in your "network"  I have to laugh because it is so ridiculous and idiotic at the same time.  They are demonizing healthcare in other countries so that no one knows just how bad it is here.  They don't want people to have a clue how good it is everywhere else.

It is just like how they say how the oil comes from Iraq. That is such a joke. Most oil comes from Alaska and Northern Canada..there are pipelines coming down into the US all over. Specific locations aren't revealed for terrorist reasons. again..propaganda bullshit.

There is so much Oil in the Alberta Oil sands (Canada) it could keep the whole world going for 200+years..the problem is it is more expensive to extract.

Before I moved to the US I had NO idea how bad the health care system was here. I have waited weeks and months to see specialists!!!

I laughed at the "soviet Russia" comment because health care HERE in the US to me seems like THIRD WORLD compared to everywhere else. I have lived in Germany and also have a sister that lives in New Zealand. This is the only industralized country IN THE WORLD without a national health care system. GO FIGURE!!!

Have you ever had a billing problem ie: they put down the wrong code for an ultrasound and the ultrasound company is sending you bills for 500 bucks?  You think Blue Cross PPO gives a damn? NOT!!! My Dr's office and the Ultrasound billing office can't seem to get it together no matter how much I call, fax, email, bitch whatever. Well you never have that problem in Canada.

And the SSI problem? Well, we have something similar..it's called Canada Pension Plan...CPP for short. I got a FREE ADVOCATE who filled out all my paperwork and made sure everything was right. I got paid a year later with back payment. No questions, no problems. Here lawyers are hounding you to get your business to help you and help themselves to your money...

That is the problem...stupid lawsuits and health care insurance companies. Insurance companies make 40% of what we pay for medical here. Since it is government run in Canada there is no such thing. So there is 40% more money and government run is NOT a bad thing.

Let me correct one misconception...Health care in Canada is not "socialized" but rather a "social security" system...

In my home town, there are huge forest fires burning and 11000 people are displaced. The red cross had to tell people they had enough donated food, water and clothing and to stop for now..that is how much people help there.

I would have to say here compared to there I don't notice much difference in taxes, prices in food, clothing, shelter...the difference I notice is medical, selfish people and idiot Dr's.

Oh...medicine/drugs...Canada negotiates prices and will not pay over a certian amount for medications..also they are way cheaper there. Many they buy from Europe as well. Guess what? Here in the US they are not allowed to negotioate prices so pharmacies and drug companies can charge whatever they please. When a drug goes out of "patent" they come up with something "similar" so they can sell it at a higher price instead of generic and keep the money coming. One example I can think of is Celexa and Lexapro. Same thing but only different...it's so idiotic.

Savella is similar to Effexor...I cannot take any SNRI's OR SSRI's. I got brain zaps, vomiting, nausea (nausea being the #1 reason people stop taking Savella) skin rash, mastitis and a bunch of other crappy side effects after only 5 days.  I'm sure it will work well for some but if you have problems in the past with either SNRI's or SSRI's I would be cautious about taking that stuff.

I hope I answered your questions and gave you something to compare this crappy system to.

Ask anything else you want..I will do my best to answer.

I have lived in the US for 6years and was born, grew up and lived in Canada for 31.

Oh BTW, I would say the French have the best health care system, perhaps that is why the US is encouraged to hate the French so much?

 

Sue