Doing away with menstruation

[Gail]

We have some top grade scientists at our university, UBC. But what do you think of this??

New Drug to eliminate menstruation

[Barbara]

Sometime not havinf it would be great. But not sure if I would want to be on the pill long term.

[olger]

There is always a cost when we interfere with physiological law. I understand that it may be attractive to avoid that monthly cycle, but we ask what the cost is.

gcw

[Amelia]

My cost was about 5k +/-

[Clio]

My cost was about $4500 +/- Worked great.

[Nan]

My cost was just to wait the appropriate number of years <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/crack-up.gif" alt="" />

There is one school of thought (not sure it is medical) that says that in the natural state, women should not menstruate every month. If a woman gets pregnant then breast feeds for 1-2 years, she should not get many periods till she gets pregnant again......and so on - having a child every 2-3-4 years.

Please note, I did NOT say I subscribed to that particular way of thinking <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />!

[aldona]

I didn't have a period for 3 years while I had an Implanon (contraceptive implant). It was great. Cost about $25 for 3 years (that's under Medicare).

aldona

[Gerr]

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aldona said:

I didn't have a period for 3 years while I had an Implanon (contraceptive implant). It was great. Cost about $25 for 3 years (that's under Medicare).

aldona

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[:"blue"] At just what age does your gov't put women on Medicare? [/]

Gerry

[Planey]

Everyone is on Medicare from birth here in the Enlightened Land, Gerry!

<img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Graeme

[Jeannieb43]

Problem is, when a woman stops ovulating from some other (unknown) reason, and never even has her menstrual period - then wants to get pregnant. BIG problem. Huge doses of estrogen, given orally and also by injection.... Believe me, it's no picnic. [My daughter's been through it, twice. Hot flashes, bloating, nausea, etc....]

[Nan]

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Planey said:

Everyone is on Medicare from birth here in the Enlightened Land, Gerry!

<img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Graeme

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So long as they are resident/pay taxes <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

[Pockey]

How long does it take to see a specialist or get a study done (like an outpatient CT scan)?

[aldona]

A recent example from my practice...

49-year-old man with abdominal pain and blood in the stools. On a disability pension. No private health insurance of any kind, just Medicare.

Time taken to organize a colonoscopy = About 2 weeks.

Newly diagnosed bowel cancer on 'scope.

I phoned a surgeon who was able to see him the same day, and oncologist in about 1 week.

Admitted to public hospital (on urgent waiting list "priority 1") a week after seeing the surgeon (the day after seeing the oncologist).

Total cost to patient = $0.

(as a pensioner he is being charged the "rebate only" fee for consultations, which means that the amount of the Medicare rebate exactly cancels out the cost. Public hospital treatment is free - including subsequent outpatient treatment like chemotherapy.)

Any prescribed medication costs him a maximum of $4.80 (help me out Nan - I think that's the latest figure) per prescription. For the rest of us citizens who are not on welfare, the cost is about $28.

(and the real price is printed on the label so the patient knows how much the government is subsidizing their medicine). Example: "Price $4.80. (Total cost $70)."

I am more than happy to see my taxes spent this way, and I think most citizens agree - every time the government wants to undermine Medicare in some way, the people scream blue murder and there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

There are medicines (e.g. Viagra <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />) and procedures (e.g. most cosmetic surgery except in the case of genuine medical need such as a birth defect) which are not funded by Medicare, and in those cases folks have to pay for it themselves or have private health insurance. Some public hospital waiting lists (e.g. orthopedic surgery <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />) are intolerably long - a recent patient had to wait 2 years to get a hip replacement, which is not uncommon. But in most cases, if you have a medical condition that needs to be treated promptly it can be done without undue delay or cost.

Other examples, also patients without private health insurance:

A frequent scenario is the lady who consults me after discovering a lump in her breast. When I phone them, the radiology service apologises profusely if they cannot fit the patient in for a mammogram + ultrasound within 1 week.

My dad, aged in his 60's, went to hospital (small country town) after suffering chest pains. Within 48 hours he had been transferred to big city hospital and had a coronary angiogram, and within another 4-5 days he had a coronary bypass x4. Total cost $0 and he had nothing but praise for the quality of service demonstrated by everyone from the cleaners all the way to the cardiac surgeon.

So there's an introduction to our communist health care model. <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Gotta go, I have a house call to make on my way to the office. Cost to patient = $0. Payment from Medicare to me = about $70. (I could charge more, which would mean the patient pays a "gap fee", but I think that's enough.)

aldona

[Pockey]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this.

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aldona said:

Some public hospital waiting lists (e.g. orthopedic surgery <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />) are intolerably long - a recent patient had to wait 2 years to get a hip replacement, which is not uncommon.

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Ouch. What if they have private insurance, what would the wait time be? Do those with private insurance also have Medicare? And does the private insurance just absorb what the Medicare doesn't?

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But in most cases, if you have a medical condition that needs to be treated promptly it can be done without undue delay or cost.

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That's good. However I wonder about getting to the point where one recognizes that a condition needs to be treated promptly. For example, if there are vague nonspecific symptoms of abdominal discomfort and there is a delay in diagnosis due to the number of hoops you have to jump through, and the cause of the pain ends up being some type of tumor which has subsequently metastasized which could have been prevented.

Overall it seems like a pretty decent system where everyone is covered, and you can have the option of adding private insurance.

[Nan]

I think Aldona's numbers are about right.

For those with private insurance, the Medicare rebate still applies, then the private insurance tops up the rest - at least for inhospital procedures.

The delay situations you ask about are going to depend a lot on how soon the patient seeks treatment and whether the doctor diagnoses correctly. Some areas have more delays than others, it is much worse in country areas than in the major cities, especially for cancer treatment.

As a specialist, my fees are rather higher than Aldona's - and I do not make house calls - but we charge pensioners just the Medicare-funded amount ("bulk-bill"). We do not limit the number of pensioners we see - I have heard of some practices where pensioners are only bulk billed on certain days. The practice is in an area with a relatively high number of underprivileged clients and we feel this is the way to go.

[olger]

Does doing away with the cycle also eliminate the mood swings?

Thanks,

gcw

[cricket]

For women, it certainly helps. Don't know what will help men though.

[olger]

Thanks Cricket. There is no hormonal fluctuation in men according to Dr. Doty Miller. Perhaps you were referring to something else.

gcw

[Nan]

In the last few days there has been a report from an Australian researcher that indicates that PMS, menopausal mood swings and postnatal blues are all products of the modern stressful environment and have no basis in hormonal fluctuations.

I have not read the study, just the news reports - but I am not too sure many will agree with HER (!!). <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/dizzy.gif" alt="" />

[cricket]

There certainly is hormonal fluctuation in men. What do you think "sexual frustration" means? Perhaps it's just not as noticeable to some as it happens on a daily basis, rather than a monthly basis.