Calling all Canadians

[Lauri]

Fellow Canadian

Hi, I am Lauri from Kingston, Ontario. I was diagnosed in 2004 with RRMS. I am on Rebif now, was on Avonex. I have been on disability for the last year. I started making awareness Bracelets for MS. If you want to see, my website is on my profile.

[RedRose2]

Hi Canucks! I am from Manitoba - had nuisance symptoms for many years - and after 5 years of periodic tests with a neuro - finally had a dx of MS in October 2004 at age 48.
I went to a walk-in clinic once because I thought I was having a heart attack with numbness and tingling in my left arm - they referred out to a neurologist and then through that exam I found other things happening - so once that was resolved, I was still being followed up by the neuro and had only been seeing my GP for 2 years when I got the dx.
Any ways, in MB; we have Pharmacare which gives exceptional drug status - the benefits go with combined family income. I am working - so my Avonex costs me approximately $4,000.00/year before Pharmacare pays the rest (any other meds for family members as well) - It goes on the fiscal year - April - March.
I go to the MS Clinic in Winnipeg - I had a great MS doc - but she moved down to the States last November. New doc there - and I have only seen him once. That clinic does have a lot of programs/services connected to it if you need (nutritionist, bladder clinic, social workers, nurse practitioners and probably more)
Yes, the Canadian system can be frustrating but, I can confidently say when I or some of my family members presented with significant illness - there was quick response. I can't imagine paying the high medical insurance premiums that occur in the states. Michael Moore has a new movie out "SICKO" which apparently does a comparison documentary between the American and Canadian Systems....I think there are strengths in both, but I really like universal health care principles.

[misshayleesmom]

Hi Fellow Canucks!

Me again..

I was wondering if someone can help me..
It has to do with medical insurance, hubby and i have no insurance...
He is currently on compensation and is going to be re-trained/college in the fall so his meds are going to be covered.

I am unable to work and due to no dx yet i can't go on disability.

My 7 yr old dd has a learning disability.. her pediatrician wants to send her to a psychologist to be dx .
The trouble is it costs $1600 since O.H.I.P won't cover it.

If we wait for the school board to do it, there is at least an 18 month waiting list. We have dealing with this issue since Sept 06.

Does anyone know of a program that can pay for her testing /dx?

She really needs to have this testing to get a dx.

I know this has nothing to do with MS but since we're talking about our healthcare in Canada i thought someone might know.

thanks
Cindy

[littlebelle]

Sorry I tried looking. Did not find anything but will kepp trying. Since the med coverage kicks in in September for Hubby is daughter covered for anything. Have you tried having her moved up the wait list. There are places on the net for resources to help kids with learning disabilities. I am sure you have an idea what area she has problems with. Maybe you can get some suggestions and help her that way.

I have an auditory perception learning disability. A learning disability means you are at least average or above average intelligence. And it does not mean you are really disabled (though it sure seems that way) What is really means is that you learn different than most. It is finding the key to how you learn and how to compensate for the areas you have difficulties in .

[jazzgirl]

Hi all you maple leafers

I just wanted to let you all know that we're going to build a forum specifically for our Canadian MS friends.

Alot of you visit our Chat, and it seems that since your health system is so different than that of your neighbors to the south (the USA), it looked like a good idea for you all to have a board dedicated to Canada.

I'm going to build it right now, so hang in!

[jackiev]

drug program

Those who have no insurance or drug plan, has anyone tried to apply for Trillium Drug Program, I have isurance but the MS Society here in Guelph told me if I qualified even the balance that my drug plan won't pay may be covered under Trllium. Anyone out there tried I think it is just for Ontario.

[sammy]

Hi Penny, I"m from vancouver island as well, welcome. Sammy

[littlebelle]

Woot Woot Woot. We got our own spot Yeah thank you MSWORLD boards admin. You are awesome!!!


THANK YOU

[Tracey_Lynn]

Hello fellow Canadians!

My name is Tracey Lynn, and I was diagnosed with RRMS in June 2004 (can't believe it's been 3 years already! )

I live in Saint John, NB with my loving husband and our 3 cats (my "children with fur" - Theodore, Preston, & Louie).

I have been taking Rebif since January 2005, with not too many problems. I take 2 Modafinil (Provigil) pills daily for fatigue.

I'm 33 years old. I really enjoy scrapbooking - it's like a mental relaxation for me. I also play darts (but I'm not as good anymore ).

Check out my website at:
http://tracey-lynn-caissie.piczo.com

Hope to meet some fellow Canadian MSers here!

[misshayleesmom]

Hi Tracy,

Welcome to our little corner.
I'm in limboland now, been having sx for 7+ yrs .

I'm from the east coast too.
I was born in Tracadie New Brunswick.
My grandmother and some aunts and uncles live there.

I haven't been back home in a long time.
I've lived in the windsor area since i was a kid.

Cindy

[valdine]

Hey RedRose - I just wanted to say hi because we were both seeing Melanson... lol so we almost kind of know each other. Have you been back to HSC since they switched us to a new neuros? (I got assigned to Gomori - nice enough guy).

The people in the clinic are always so great too!
The last time I went though... I had driven 8 hours south and they misplaced my chart.. so I had to talk the new neuro and nurse (who luckily remembered me) into giving me a year's px of Rebif.

It's a shame Melanson left hey? I found out.. in Thompson... via CBC news when they announced hsc was losing a 'female ms specialist' to the states. It was like.. great thanks. nice to know from CBC first. ha ha

And hey to everybody else - I think this is a great idea

[Mamabug]

Hi. I'm a Candian, and I've been following this thread with interest, but didn't post until now.

I grew up in Canada, and married and moved to the U.S. in my early 20's. I passed the half-way point a couple of years ago; I have lived in the U.S. for more years than I lived in Canada. I grew up in Saskatoon; my dad still lives there. My siblings and their families are in Edmonton.

I have chosen to remain a Canadian citizen. My Canadian roots are important to me. Canadians, I think, just have a different perspective and a different world view than many Americans do.

As a frequent user of the health care system, I have opinions about both the Canadian and the U.S. systems. I was appalled, when I first moved here, that only those who could afford it were able to access appropriate medical care. I was devasted when, in 2002 and 2003, we had to refinance our home to pay the many medical bills that insurance did not cover. And, I had not thought that we were under-insured.

I totally support the concept of a universal health care system or some type of socialized/government medicine. However, I am also extremely bothered by the many problems that also seem to plague those countries that offer that -- high taxes, long waiting lists, somebody mentioned not being able to change doctors (I don't know if that issue just applies to certain provinces), etc. When my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer 9 years ago, I was also appalled at what seemed a long number of weeks before she was able to see an oncologist. After all, she only lived 7 weeks after her dx -- what were they waiting for???

So, I support equal access to medical care, but not without all the problems that seem to accompany the systems that provide that. Sigh. Maybe I just want too much. I often wish for the best of both worlds.

Some of my family members think that I should move back to Canada, so that we don't have to deal with my many medical bills. But, I am afraid that I might have more money, but inadequate care. It seems like a quandry.

My MS has many symptoms that area-typical, and I was difficult to dx; even Mayo Clinic was unable to dx me. I had 6 MRI's in the first 2 years of symptoms (2002/2003), and I credit those frequent MRI's and being able to compare results as one thing that eventually (almost 2 years after first flare) helped my neurologist to dx me. I don't know if doctors would have been as successful in Canada with less access to technology.

OK; there's my thoughts. You're right. You do have a very different health care system and different issues to deal with than we do. And, although both systems have some strengths, they also each have some holes in them and are definitely not perfect.

Any comments? I'd be interested to hear what you think from your perspectives.

~ Faith

[msfighter46]

Nice to see all the canadians on here,from Sparwood B.C. right on the border of Alberta,anyone here go to the MS Clinic at the Foothills hospital in Calgary,wouldn't mind chatting with you if you've been there

[msfighter46]

Hi mamabug just thought i'd let u know what happened to me,and u decide what is better,went for a appointment at the MS Clinic in Calgary,was for this past Tuesday,while visiting there a couple days ahead of time i get a phone call from the receptionist,my neurologist decided to call it quits,no warning,got the call on the Thursday,let me see it was "what" a two day warning,i got back to my family doctor who was just as shocked as she said when a doctor does leave her practice she gives two or three months notice not a couple of days. So i wait again for a new doctor and in another month try again,hopefully this one likes her job. The waiting is brutal, that is the only complaint i have,which seems to be everyone's problem here in canuckland.Together the wait is adding up to 4 months and counting.

[Mamabug]

Hi mamabug just thought i'd let u know what happened to me,and u decide what is better,went for a appointment at the MS Clinic in Calgary,was for this past Tuesday,while visiting there a couple days ahead of time i get a phone call from the receptionist,my neurologist decided to call it quits,no warning,got the call on the Thursday,let me see it was "what" a two day warning,i got back to my family doctor who was just as shocked as she said when a doctor does leave her practice she gives two or three months notice not a couple of days. So i wait again for a new doctor and in another month try again,hopefully this one likes her job. The waiting is brutal, that is the only complaint i have,which seems to be everyone's problem here in canuckland.Together the wait is adding up to 4 months and counting.

Wow. My first flare was a stroke-like incident. I was only age 39, and had no risk factors for a stroke, but that's what it looked like. Lost the use of my left arm and left leg and needed months of P.T. and O.T. to regain use.

Anyways, I had an MRI the next day, and an appointment with a neurologist in a nearby city within a week.

Access to good doctors has not been a problem here. My neurologist is in a nearby city, as I said, and therefore, works very closely with my primary care doctor, who is close by. Therefore, for instance, when I need a round of IV SoluMedrol, I can get it at my local clinic instead of driving to my neurologist's clinic.

I just wish they could somehow combine the good things about the Canadian system and the good things about the American system, and make a system without the problems that seem to plague both countries.

~ Faith