Regarding Crista Cote's comment - DITTO! I WOULD TRAVEL TO THE USA FOR CHRONIC LYME DISEASE TREATMENTS IF I COULD AFFORD IT. CANADA IS NOT UP TO SPEED ON BREAKTHROUGHS IN LYME TESTING OR TREATMENTS. TO DATE I HAVE, IN FACT, PAID JUST UNDER $2000 FOR A USA LYME TEST THAT UNCOVERED LYME IN MY BLOOD. I DID THIS AFTER YEARS OF GRADUALLY FAILING HEALTH TO THE POINT OF DISABILITY AND YEARS OF ENDURING OUR CANADIAN HEALTH CARE DISMISSING MY ILLNESS AS FIBROMYALGA AND CHRONIC FATIGUE EVEN THOUGH THESE DIAGNOSIS DID NOT CAPTURE ALL OF MY SYMPTOMS CLUSTER - OVER 12 DOCS IN CANADA SIMPLY DISREGARDED SEVERE SYMPTOMS. AS IF THEY DID NOT EXIST. DISTURBING TO SAY THE LEAST AND THIS APPROACH ALSO LEFT ME WITH TRAUMA , DEPRESSION AND A FEELING LIKE I WAS GOING INSANE - THEY ALL JUST LOOKED AWAY WHEN I ASKED FOR THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE MANY SYMPTOMS NOT ADDRESSED WITH THEIR DIAGNOSIS. I WAS TREATED LIKE A LUNATIC WHO IMAGINED OR MADE UP SYMPTOMS. WHEN IT COMES TO LYME DISEASE, INCLUDING THE CHRONIC FORM, ALL CANADIANS SHOULD BE VERY CONCERNED AS LYME IS NOW CATEGORIZED AS THE #1 EMERGING HEALTH PANDEMIC IN THE WORLD - YES... LYME IS NOW LISTED UNDER PANDEMIC STATUS. OOPS - MY CAPS WERE ON... SIGH....
Ukiah Spirit - 6 years ago
The two stories above, by Crista Cote and Chris Krysak, are obviously terrible situations. However, I could do a cursory Google search on the health care problems in the US and find dozens of example why their system sucks. One reason the wait times are lower in the US is the no one but the wealthy and the fully insured* are utilizing the US system.
I'd like to speak to Cristas' comment in particular. I have a friend who also suffers from Lyme Disease. He spent three summers and about $130,000 on health care in the US and came back with zero results each time. He has, however, lost is the benefits of antibiotic use because of the length of time the US doctors had prescribed this drug for him.
Neither system is perfect to be sure, ours has no profit motive motivating doctors to keep coming back for treatments that do not work.
There's a reason why Canadian law(s) prevents doctors from overprescribing medications like antibiotics, it can make a situation worse, or just plain kill you.
* fully insured in the US system does not necessarily mean you'll be covered without a huge deductible, or covered at all.
Crista Cote - 9 years ago
I was infected here in Ontario with Chronic Lyme Disease, Bartonella, and Babesia. There is no treatment allowed here past 28 days of antibiotics. When this disease attacks your body for 20 years then in fact you need years of treatment. I had several other diagnoses here in Ontario, really these meds were masking my symptoms, not treating them. I was once financially stable, now about to loose everything just to get better. My children contracted Lyme Disease through pregnancy, I had no idea I was this sick back then. Had I been diagnosed properly after I had Bells Palsey and treated properly, maybe my children would not be sick too. Such a lack of treatment in Ontario and a disgusting lack of education for our doctors. Our Elisa test here is over 50% inaccurate, again we here in Ontario have to pay out of pocket for proper testing as well. This needs to stop, many are suffering here, diagnosed with M.S, ALS, Fibromyalgia and mimics over 300 other illnesses/diseases. Think of that cost to our health care system when we aren't even dealing with the real problem, Test after test, again not looking for Lyme, emergency room visits, ambulance rides, many different specialist. People getting sicker and sicker. Our pets can get help here, yes we pay for it, but why can't human beings get help here in Ontario. Sad, just sad. So much suffering at a huge price to pay.
Chris Krysak - 9 years ago
I left because our system is messed up. they were telling me to lose 150LBS before they would look at me for weight lose surgery. My doctor was fully in favor of me going and getting the surgery. I was 470LBS in April 2012 when I went down for my surgery and I was becoming bed ridden. I was an active person all my life the doctors could tell me why I just kept gaining weight. I now weight 270LBS and I am back working full time and doing my sports again. If I did not leave the country I am not sure if I would be alive right now. The health care system needs to be fixed and in a hurry to save lives.
Regarding Crista Cote's comment - DITTO! I WOULD TRAVEL TO THE USA FOR CHRONIC LYME DISEASE TREATMENTS IF I COULD AFFORD IT. CANADA IS NOT UP TO SPEED ON BREAKTHROUGHS IN LYME TESTING OR TREATMENTS. TO DATE I HAVE, IN FACT, PAID JUST UNDER $2000 FOR A USA LYME TEST THAT UNCOVERED LYME IN MY BLOOD. I DID THIS AFTER YEARS OF GRADUALLY FAILING HEALTH TO THE POINT OF DISABILITY AND YEARS OF ENDURING OUR CANADIAN HEALTH CARE DISMISSING MY ILLNESS AS FIBROMYALGA AND CHRONIC FATIGUE EVEN THOUGH THESE DIAGNOSIS DID NOT CAPTURE ALL OF MY SYMPTOMS CLUSTER - OVER 12 DOCS IN CANADA SIMPLY DISREGARDED SEVERE SYMPTOMS. AS IF THEY DID NOT EXIST. DISTURBING TO SAY THE LEAST AND THIS APPROACH ALSO LEFT ME WITH TRAUMA , DEPRESSION AND A FEELING LIKE I WAS GOING INSANE - THEY ALL JUST LOOKED AWAY WHEN I ASKED FOR THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE MANY SYMPTOMS NOT ADDRESSED WITH THEIR DIAGNOSIS. I WAS TREATED LIKE A LUNATIC WHO IMAGINED OR MADE UP SYMPTOMS. WHEN IT COMES TO LYME DISEASE, INCLUDING THE CHRONIC FORM, ALL CANADIANS SHOULD BE VERY CONCERNED AS LYME IS NOW CATEGORIZED AS THE #1 EMERGING HEALTH PANDEMIC IN THE WORLD - YES... LYME IS NOW LISTED UNDER PANDEMIC STATUS. OOPS - MY CAPS WERE ON... SIGH....
The two stories above, by Crista Cote and Chris Krysak, are obviously terrible situations. However, I could do a cursory Google search on the health care problems in the US and find dozens of example why their system sucks. One reason the wait times are lower in the US is the no one but the wealthy and the fully insured* are utilizing the US system.
I'd like to speak to Cristas' comment in particular. I have a friend who also suffers from Lyme Disease. He spent three summers and about $130,000 on health care in the US and came back with zero results each time. He has, however, lost is the benefits of antibiotic use because of the length of time the US doctors had prescribed this drug for him.
Neither system is perfect to be sure, ours has no profit motive motivating doctors to keep coming back for treatments that do not work.
There's a reason why Canadian law(s) prevents doctors from overprescribing medications like antibiotics, it can make a situation worse, or just plain kill you.
* fully insured in the US system does not necessarily mean you'll be covered without a huge deductible, or covered at all.
I was infected here in Ontario with Chronic Lyme Disease, Bartonella, and Babesia. There is no treatment allowed here past 28 days of antibiotics. When this disease attacks your body for 20 years then in fact you need years of treatment. I had several other diagnoses here in Ontario, really these meds were masking my symptoms, not treating them. I was once financially stable, now about to loose everything just to get better. My children contracted Lyme Disease through pregnancy, I had no idea I was this sick back then. Had I been diagnosed properly after I had Bells Palsey and treated properly, maybe my children would not be sick too. Such a lack of treatment in Ontario and a disgusting lack of education for our doctors. Our Elisa test here is over 50% inaccurate, again we here in Ontario have to pay out of pocket for proper testing as well. This needs to stop, many are suffering here, diagnosed with M.S, ALS, Fibromyalgia and mimics over 300 other illnesses/diseases. Think of that cost to our health care system when we aren't even dealing with the real problem, Test after test, again not looking for Lyme, emergency room visits, ambulance rides, many different specialist. People getting sicker and sicker. Our pets can get help here, yes we pay for it, but why can't human beings get help here in Ontario. Sad, just sad. So much suffering at a huge price to pay.
I left because our system is messed up. they were telling me to lose 150LBS before they would look at me for weight lose surgery. My doctor was fully in favor of me going and getting the surgery. I was 470LBS in April 2012 when I went down for my surgery and I was becoming bed ridden. I was an active person all my life the doctors could tell me why I just kept gaining weight. I now weight 270LBS and I am back working full time and doing my sports again. If I did not leave the country I am not sure if I would be alive right now. The health care system needs to be fixed and in a hurry to save lives.