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scrapedape
Jan 21, 2007, 12:09 AM
Post #26 of 54
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kachoong,
Doesn't Oz have public health care as well as private?
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kachoong
Jan 21, 2007, 12:53 AM
Post #27 of 54
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scrapedape wrote: kachoong, Doesn't Oz have public health care as well as private?
Yeah, Aus has public health, but it still really helps to have some kind of private health care, especially for specialists, dental and decent hospital care.
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miademus
Jan 21, 2007, 12:13 PM
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wow that sounds real shit.... ,billing problems are always a way of shit...i mean it, hope you get out of that,regards.
cracklover: anyway, my friends at the gym probably injure their fingers every season, it's regular,lol. and they tend to fix it all the time by theire own...and damn you should hear them shout when they get injured....
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lena_chita
Moderator
Jan 21, 2007, 3:00 PM
Post #29 of 54
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I'm glad you are getting some specific advice, hopefully one of those docs would be helpful.
I know exactly what you mean about how frustrating it is to deal with the docs. When I had my back injury, I was sent to PT who evaluated me, and completely ignoring my explanation that my range of motion was only barely half of what it should be told me that my "half-range" is better than full range of most people and I should be happy about that. As if I care about other people's range of motion. The PT was supposed to help ME get my strength, etc, back, not some "average" hypothetical person.
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justthemaid
Jan 21, 2007, 5:30 PM
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Hey Gabe.
I can sympathize 150%. I've been out for over 2 months with mystery toe injury that had made it impossible to climb and my frustration with my doctors' apathy it getting extreme.
I've considered just paying for a specialist outside of
my insurance plan who actually has a clue and cares if I climb again, since the "You should stop climbing" treatment isn't an option.
kachoong wrote: In regards to health insurance, I think most people are in a position to afford it, they just choose not to.
I kinda agree.
I make a frighteningly small amount of $ per year, but since climbing is my passion and injuries are common, I sure as hell make sure that payment gets sent every month. If a serious injury occurs I don't want to have to sell my house to pay for it.
...and I take exception to the "don't whine about co-payments" statements.
I pay a huge chunk of my meager paycheck every month and I'm treated with total indifference from my health provider. The co-pays get ridiculous.
Example: Go see my doctor- $25. 2 weeks later see her again- $25 She does and x-ray- $10 She takes a blood test- another $10 She says: "hmm- I don't see much wrong here. These things take time to heal" I say: "WHAT THING'S?? YOU HAVEN'T ACTUALLY DIAGNOSED ANYTHING!!" I insist on seeing a podiatrist. She reluctantly gives a referral. 2 weeks later go to see podiatrist- $25. He takes another x-ray $10. Tells me" Well, you've got bad genetics. You should stop climbing". I say "That's not an option". Visit ends. I leave the office with basically no suggestion on how to re-hab.
After a while the co-pays become a slap in the face, and in light of the regular payment and the ineffective "treatments" (if you can call a lame suggestion a treatment) it really starts to gripe me.
So Gabe...amen I'm with you brother.
I think I'll go buy that book someone suggested.
Maybe I'll go talk to those hippies at the health food store. At least they try to be helpful and act like they care when they are shoving that bottle of Eye-of-Newt cure-all at you.
end rant.
(This post was edited by justthemaid on Jan 21, 2007, 6:36 PM)
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wideguy
Jan 21, 2007, 5:42 PM
Post #31 of 54
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Gabe, sorry to hear man. Nothing worse than a doctor who isn't concerned with you recovery and goals. I went to thre orthos before I finally found one who seemed to care. His first question, "waht sports do you engage in and what is your hope for level of participation when you return?"
He started to hedge on ordering an MRI but I pushed, told him I really wanted one. He OK'd it and found the ligament tear in my knee that the first two said was just a strain.
Hopefulloy you can find someone who pays attention too
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clausti
Jan 21, 2007, 6:13 PM
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carabiner96 wrote: cracklover wrote: Six weeks in, countless phone calls, numerous different hoops jumped through, plenty of co-payments (@ $15 a pop)last spring I had a simple sprain on my ankle. If I had had insurance (which my parents can't afford) the co payment would have been around $75. Instead, I'm trying to pay of an $800 I really can't afford.
last spring were you at the university yet? I'm just trying to understand how a simple sprain could cost 800 dollars. multiple xrays? at my university, you couldnt be a full time student without paying the health center fees, which covered visits and subsidized lab tests. no idea about xrays though.
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blueeyedclimber
Jan 21, 2007, 6:31 PM
Post #33 of 54
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I think this quote sums up our (and your) current problem.
"America's health care system is second only to Japan... Canada, Sweden, Great Britain... well, all of Europe. But you can thank your lucky stars we don't live in Paraguay!" - Homer Simpson
Our health care is all about quantity, not quality. Most doctors are going into general medicine, and when they get out, are taking on too many patients to make their money. THis is not necessarily their fault, but is largely due to insurance companies stranglehold on our system. And that's just the problem with people who actually have insurance.
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angry
Jan 21, 2007, 6:34 PM
Post #34 of 54
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Depends on the college.
At mine, it was $400 extra per semester if you had university health care. That covered 50% of bills, give or take (depends on the actual thing you went in for).
Also, student health was free up until the point of ordering x-rays, setting bones, buying drugs, etc. So you could go in and they had a real doctor or two on staff who would give you a quick lookover. Pretty basic, but they actually seem more concerned than Kaiser in my experience.
The funny thing about Student Health was the questionaire required before each visit. Mostly questions about drinking, smoking, drug use, unprotected sex, and seatbelts. It's a college after all.
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cracklover
Jan 21, 2007, 7:05 PM
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miademus wrote: my friends at the gym probably injure their fingers every season, it's regular,lol. and they tend to fix it all the time by theire own...and damn you should hear them shout when they get injured....
Yeah, well in over 8 years of climbing I've had a lot of little stuff, and some tendonitis issues that were pretty bad at times, but this is the first time I've had an issue that might, just might, make me stop climbing completely. At least until it heals. So far I've been taping the finger down to the palm of my hand to keep it from getting stressed. Next will be one-handed climbing... Every year, huh? No thanks! Anyway, hopefully after that One Move Too Many book arrives, I'll be in a position to treat (and maybe even help prevent) my own injuries, too.
lena_chita - what a terribly frustrating experience with the PT! I swear to god, I think Angry's right - if you're not completely broken, doctors just seem to not want to do anything for you. If I had that approach as a software designer or a DBA, I'd be out of a job. "Oh - your query only returns an error a quarter of the time? Well, keep running it, maybe it'll get better if you give it time." No, I don't think that'd go over too well!
Best guess I have is that the really decent doctors, the ones who are at the top of their field - smart, curious, experienced, and care about getting their patients to a tip-top level, have checked out of the standard health-care system, and own private practices where the elite go see them and pay real money out of pocket. That leaves all the rest with all the big bucks taken out of the system, so they're forced to see way too many patients.
Justthemaid - yikes! I hope someone finds the problem! I know a woman who had a pain in her foot misdiagnosed for years and years. A number of surgeries. At one point she was walking with a cane (at age 20) - seemingly for the rest of her life. Then one doctor found it - there was a tumor in her foot that all the other doctors had missed - I guess it was pushing the bones around, and they just saw the other bones in the wrong place and were working on those. Anyway, removed tumor, and within months she was more active than she'd been in ten years. She took up tennis, lost all the weight she'd put on, her whole life changed. So don't give up! And I love the bit about the hippies with their eye-of-newt! :)
Wide - thanks for sharing a success story. Good to hear that those really good docs are out there.
I've started feeding myself prescription strength ibuprofen, and will keep on it until a doctor tells me to stop, or my injury goes away.
Thanks everyone who's participated in the discussion. I really appreciate it.
GO
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boadman
Jan 21, 2007, 9:44 PM
Post #36 of 54
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Does anybody know what the author's of that article (which was really interesting, by the way) mean by, "Functional Therapy." It's what they say you do for grade 1 injuries, which I feel like I usually have on at least one finger every winter gym season. It sounds like the doctors are yet another reason to move to the Frankenjura.
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carabiner96
Jan 21, 2007, 10:42 PM
Post #37 of 54
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clausti wrote: carabiner96 wrote: cracklover wrote: Six weeks in, countless phone calls, numerous different hoops jumped through, plenty of co-payments (@ $15 a pop)last spring I had a simple sprain on my ankle. If I had had insurance (which my parents can't afford) the co payment would have been around $75. Instead, I'm trying to pay of an $800 I really can't afford. last spring were you at the university yet? I'm just trying to understand how a simple sprain could cost 800 dollars. multiple xrays? at my university, you couldnt be a full time student without paying the health center fees, which covered visits and subsidized lab tests. no idea about xrays though.
By last spring I meant last last spring, senior year of high school. They took 3 different angles with the x ray and gave my one of those air casts. that was it. Bill came to $786.33 exactly. Now that I'm at uni I'm under the school insurance. In regards to my family insurance...this is me whining, skip on...anyway dad is self employed and has to pay a secretary and my mom is unemployed because maine sucks ass and she's overqualified, no one will hire her to be a waitress with a masters in anthropology. Ive got three little brothers...as a fam we barely break $30,000 a year. For a family of six, health insurance (that would be worth the money, not some shit plan) simply isn't an option.
cracklover - sorry, the rant wasn't directed at you. I know copayments suck ass, I'm making them now on my tendonitis treatments. They do add up quick. Feel better, buddy.
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angry
Jan 22, 2007, 12:10 AM
Post #38 of 54
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You just made my broke ass feel wealthy. And I'm dirt fucking poor.
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carabiner96
Jan 22, 2007, 12:24 AM
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As cliche as it is, I would have never known we were poor growing up. I had the best childhood and still have the best family...that's all that really matters in the end (*choking on my own chick-flickness*)
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lhwang
Jan 22, 2007, 12:44 AM
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Wow, cracklover. You sound pretty pissed off and it sounds ilke you've gotten quite the run-around.
Common things being common, you probably do have a pulley injury.
Can't add much here, but do see a hand specialist (plastics or ortho) and get an ultrasound or possibly MRI to help diagnose a pulley tear and how severe it is.
Therapy of pulley injuries is largely conservative (read immobilization for 10-14 days plus anti-inflammatories and then gradual functional therapy with tape or other pulley protection. Depending on how severe it is, it could be up to 6 months before you can climb on it again as you normally would).
Surgery is indicated for grade IV tears. Post-op, it'll be 6 months before you have full function of the finger again.
Good luck.
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granite_grrl
Jan 22, 2007, 12:26 PM
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While your story doesn't surprize me, I do feel sorry for you. Doctors don't really seem to get too worried about soft tissue injuries (at least mine isn't), but if you nag you can get a referral.
lena_chita - I just went through multiple months of physio, and the PTs were almost depressing. As I talked about getting back to climbing, or biking, or anything I used to do they kept wanting me to hold back. I actually had one tell me that I should come to grips that I may not climb again. What hurts me is a freakn' break in my femur, I thought bones heal.
I should have seen about going to a sports specialist, not someone who deals with old overweigt people with hip replacments.
Of course the kicker is that my muscles are still very far away from being properly developped again and I was discharged a month and a half ago. You would think that they'd want to keep me on a physio schecdule at least till I can walk without a huge huge limp.
I have my own gripes about doctors and hospitals, but they did a good job on all the important things. They're just lacking in the after care.
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robbovius
Jan 22, 2007, 2:26 PM
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cracklover wrote: . I'll ask, what they'd do if their doctor told them "oh, well, arm injuries, who knows, at your age, it might take a year or more to heal, meanwhile, it's best to immobilize it."
dude, you've followed the progress of the issues I've had with the tendonitis in my elbow since 1/06...that's the course of tendon injuries. they take a LONG time to heal... and the older you are, thje longer it takes.
the tendonitis I had in my shoulders in the late 90s took 2 years to heal, and they are still tender. my elbow may never heal fully.
there's no pills, there's no therapy, there's no surgery - unless the tendon tears... sometimes injections of cortizone can help.
That said, there's a hand specialist office at the Metrowest Wellness center on rte 9 in framingham. they did my carpal tunnel surgery in '02, and gave me the cortizone for my elbow last summer which worked wonders...check them out.
here's the link:
http://www.mwmc.com/FindAPhysician
Louis Jurist, M.D. 761 Worcester Road,
Framingham, MA 01701 508-872-7881
Michael Brunelli, M.D. 761 Worcester Road,
Framingham, MA 01701 508-872-7881
jurist is the guy who did my carpal tunnel, brunelli treated my elbow tendonitis.
(This post was edited by robbovius on Jan 22, 2007, 2:27 PM)
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bigfatrock
Jan 22, 2007, 2:32 PM
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I have been in your shoes recently. Had a back injury last May. Went to one chiropractor who I think made my problem worse. After that went to a "back institute." Saw ad chiro and orthopedic. They eventually sent me to physical therapy. Over $600 worth of co-pays later I still have my problem. I eventually found a chiropractor who has been able to help me. I still have the problem, but it is MUCH improved. I started climbing again just a couple weeks after seeing him.
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carabiner96
Jan 22, 2007, 3:53 PM
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bigfatrock wrote: I have been in your shoes recently. Had a back injury last May. Went to one chiropractor who I think made my problem worse. After that went to a "back institute." Saw ad chiro and orthopedic. They eventually sent me to physical therapy. Over $600 worth of co-pays later I still have my problem. I eventually found a chiropractor who has been able to help me. I still have the problem, but it is MUCH improved. I started climbing again just a couple weeks after seeing him.
Sue.
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clausti
Jan 22, 2007, 4:46 PM
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carabiner96 wrote: bigfatrock wrote: I have been in your shoes recently. Had a back injury last May. Went to one chiropractor who I think made my problem worse. After that went to a "back institute." Saw ad chiro and orthopedic. They eventually sent me to physical therapy. Over $600 worth of co-pays later I still have my problem. I eventually found a chiropractor who has been able to help me. I still have the problem, but it is MUCH improved. I started climbing again just a couple weeks after seeing him. Sue.
you know that mal practice suits are directly related to the increasing cost of health care, right? just checking.
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carabiner96
Jan 22, 2007, 5:08 PM
Post #46 of 54
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clausti wrote: carabiner96 wrote: bigfatrock wrote: I have been in your shoes recently. Had a back injury last May. Went to one chiropractor who I think made my problem worse. After that went to a "back institute." Saw ad chiro and orthopedic. They eventually sent me to physical therapy. Over $600 worth of co-pays later I still have my problem. I eventually found a chiropractor who has been able to help me. I still have the problem, but it is MUCH improved. I started climbing again just a couple weeks after seeing him. Sue. you know that mal practice suits are directly related to the increasing cost of health care, right? just checking.
Yes, but my dad's also a lawyer, gotta root for the home team. He's sick of doing divorces anyway...he needs to mix it up.
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wideguy
Jan 22, 2007, 5:24 PM
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a divorce lawyer who only makes $30K a year? Man either he is really bad at his job or I need his number because he works WAY too cheap. I have several friends who couold have used a divorce attorney that didn't screw them.
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granite_grrl
Jan 22, 2007, 5:27 PM
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I had a friend whose both parents are lawyers. I don't know the breakdown of fees, but he was hardly living in the lap of luxery. Not every lawyer job is that glamourous or pays that well.
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reno
Jan 22, 2007, 6:35 PM
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Cracklover:
From another close friend, Alan, who lives/works in Boston:
In reply to: Bertram (Bert) Zarins, MD Chief of Sports Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital Medical Director, New England Patriots Areas of Special Interest: Knee and Shoulder http://www.massgeneral.org/ortho/SportsDoctors.htm http://www.massgeneral.org/ortho/sports.htm I know someone that see's him when necessary.
Hope this helps....
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j_ung
Jan 22, 2007, 7:51 PM
Post #50 of 54
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carabiner96 wrote: clausti wrote: carabiner96 wrote: bigfatrock wrote: I have been in your shoes recently. Had a back injury last May. Went to one chiropractor who I think made my problem worse. After that went to a "back institute." Saw ad chiro and orthopedic. They eventually sent me to physical therapy. Over $600 worth of co-pays later I still have my problem. I eventually found a chiropractor who has been able to help me. I still have the problem, but it is MUCH improved. I started climbing again just a couple weeks after seeing him. Sue. you know that mal practice suits are directly related to the increasing cost of health care, right? just checking. Yes, but my dad's also a lawyer, gotta root for the home team. He's sick of doing divorces anyway...he needs to mix it up.
Your father's a divorce lawyer who can't afford health insurance?
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