So Much for the benifits of the free Canadian Health System...

[LadyMischief]

So I was recently diagnosed with Von Willebrands disease, a genetic bleeding disorder that obviously has to be dealt with before I go for any surgery. I went into the hospital today to do what they call a "DVCPP Challenge", that tests a certain medication's effectiveness in increasing VW factor in the blood to promote clotting. The test requires that they draw 5 vials before, administer the medication for 10 minutes, sit and wait for an hour or however long and then take more vials after. The woman suggested that instead of me getting poked 3 times, would take the intial vials off the iv before she put the tube on. I figured that was fine so I agreed.

She puts the iv in, takes the vials, then wanders away. Of course, she failed to turn off the iv valve before she left so I sat there bleeding all over the place, didn't know how to turn the damn thing off and trying to flag someone down without moving around too much (the room had suddenly gotten busy with a ton of people getting blood transfusions). 5 minutes later the twit nurse wanders back and says "Oh my! What a mess let's clean this up", thankfully the rest of the proceedure went without a hitch (until the time came to REMOVE the iv, that is). Let's say when she removed the iv, she wasn't so watchful and ended up messy. I was so put off by the whole thing, here I am getting medication for a bleeding disorder and she is letting me bleed all over before I even get the medication! Fortunately (hopefully) it wouldn't have been life-threatening TOO quickly, but it was uncomfortable and definitely unneccessary.

I can't say I don't appreciate our system the way it is as far as accessibility and affordability, but at the same time I guess you get what you pay for?

I'm still shaking my head.

[Peaches]

With your taxes you're probably paying more for your "free" health insurance than those of us in states pay for our "paid" system. But stupid mistakes happen here too.

[LadyMischief]

Originally Posted by Peaches

With your taxes you're probably paying more for your "free" health insurance than those of us in states pay for our "paid" system. But stupid mistakes happen here too.

It really was stupidity. The woman was a total scatterbrain. Most of the experiences I have had with our medical system have been at least adequate, I was just shocked this woman was so flippantly dumb and seems to get away with it. Wow.

[TheEnforcer]

Unbfortunately stupidity crooses all sections of life whether it be politicial, social, or whatever.

[MorganGrayson]

Polite people get screwed, no matter what country they're in.
Should you have begun to scream obscenities at the top of your lungs, the situation would have been dealt with much faster.

I had to have an endometrial biopsy once. The painful cramps literally bent me in half. I kept my humor and said "this is your idea of 'disomfort'?" (OK, their first mistake: not laughing at my joke. That doesn't bode well for people. If I can keep my shit together enough to be funny while in agony, you'd best laugh at the damned joke.)

I promptly went into shock. My blood pressure dropped nearly off the scale; cold sweats; trembling...the entire list of actual medical shock symptoms. (People die from shock. I've taken a couple of first aid classes.) I had the nurse get my husband out of the waiting room. The doctor spent the entire time babbling "I've done hundreds of these procedures and this has never happened before!" OK, even while going into shock I can recognize a "cover my ass, blame the victim" defense.

I fired his ass. The first time I fired a doctor it was one of the most liberating experiences of my life. I don't know what, if anything, you can do in Canada, but here...it's important to remember exactly who pays whom. As far as I'm concerned, these people work for ME.

The best doctor I've ever had is my "back doctor." (Rhematology, fibroymyalgia...and gave me the only anti-depressant that's ever done me any good.) His first name is Oleg.

My new primary care physician, whom admittedly I've only seen once, is so far most satisfactory. His first name is Yaroslav.

Apparently, Russian medical schools have a class or two in "being thorough" and "how to actually give a shit about your patient."

[domtheboy]

Originally Posted by MorganGrayson

Polite people get screwed, no matter what country they're in.
Should you have begun to scream obscenities at the top of your lungs, the situation would have been dealt with much faster.

I had to have an endometrial biopsy once. The painful cramps literally bent me in half. I kept my humor and said "this is your idea of 'disomfort'?" (OK, their first mistake: not laughing at my joke. That doesn't bode well for people. If I can keep my shit together enough to be funny while in agony, you'd best laugh at the damned joke.)

I promptly went into shock. My blood pressure dropped nearly off the scale; cold sweats; trembling...the entire list of actual medical shock symptoms. (People die from shock. I've taken a couple of first aid classes.) I had the nurse get my husband out of the waiting room. The doctor spent the entire time babbling "I've done hundreds of these procedures and this has never happened before!" OK, even while going into shock I can recognize a "cover my ass, blame the victim" defense.

I fired his ass. The first time I fired a doctor it was one of the most liberating experiences of my life. I don't know what, if anything, you can do in Canada, but here...it's important to remember exactly who pays whom. As far as I'm concerned, these people work for ME.

The best doctor I've ever had is my "back doctor." (Rhematology, fibroymyalgia...and gave me the only anti-depressant that's ever done me any good.) His first name is Oleg.

My new primary care physician, whom admittedly I've only seen once, is so far most satisfactory. His first name is Yaroslav.

Apparently, Russian medical schools have a class or two in "being thorough" and "how to actually give a shit about your patient."

Next time you go Morgan you should ask them is they know Tatiana_Petroclovsky

[LadyMischief]

Originally Posted by MorganGrayson

Polite people get screwed, no matter what country they're in.
Should you have begun to scream obscenities at the top of your lungs, the situation would have been dealt with much faster.

I had to have an endometrial biopsy once. The painful cramps literally bent me in half. I kept my humor and said "this is your idea of 'disomfort'?" (OK, their first mistake: not laughing at my joke. That doesn't bode well for people. If I can keep my shit together enough to be funny while in agony, you'd best laugh at the damned joke.)

I promptly went into shock. My blood pressure dropped nearly off the scale; cold sweats; trembling...the entire list of actual medical shock symptoms. (People die from shock. I've taken a couple of first aid classes.) I had the nurse get my husband out of the waiting room. The doctor spent the entire time babbling "I've done hundreds of these procedures and this has never happened before!" OK, even while going into shock I can recognize a "cover my ass, blame the victim" defense.

I fired his ass. The first time I fired a doctor it was one of the most liberating experiences of my life. I don't know what, if anything, you can do in Canada, but here...it's important to remember exactly who pays whom. As far as I'm concerned, these people work for ME.

The best doctor I've ever had is my "back doctor." (Rhematology, fibroymyalgia...and gave me the only anti-depressant that's ever done me any good.) His first name is Oleg.

My new primary care physician, whom admittedly I've only seen once, is so far most satisfactory. His first name is Yaroslav.

Apparently, Russian medical schools have a class or two in "being thorough" and "how to actually give a shit about your patient."

Yeah I know the feeling.. battled endometriosis for years here (part of the reason they are thinking hysto and doing these tests). My family doctor is middle eastern, but he's amazing at what he does.

These people were just retarded.

[MorganGrayson]

Originally Posted by LadyMischief

Yeah I know the feeling.. battled endometriosis for years here (part of the reason they are thinking hysto and doing these tests). My family doctor is middle eastern, but he's amazing at what he does.

These people were just retarded.

I get a lot of blood drawn for tests. I have lousy veins. They're hard to find, they move...they're just weird. To compensate, I have absolutely no fear of needles. I don't mind at all if they have to stick me multiple times to get a good connection.

What I do mind are the occasional idiots who jab the needle in then go rooting around with the tip of it while it's in my arm. That's not only painful, which I can tolerate, it's damaging, which - not suprisingly - I can't tolerate.