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6392. thoughtful - 2/10/2005 7:33:55 PM I'm not 100%, but feeling better since I started the no fat diet...not that that's particularly tasty. 6393. judithathome - 2/10/2005 9:22:02 PM When I get diverticulitis, the pain is above the waist, right below my ribs and slightly above the belly button. It's not just me thinking I have it...the doctor who did my colon scan and removed the polyps diagnosed it. It's weird...I thought it was an ulcer. 6394. thoughtful - 2/10/2005 9:31:32 PM That's interesting...I always think of that as further down and would never have assoc that pain with the colon. Good insight. I know that's nothing to fool around with. Ex sec'y had it which out of the blue led to significant hemorrhaging. She ended up in the hospital. Not fun.
Come to think of it my bro had it at a relatively early age...they thought he had appendicitis...opened him up and found his appendix was fine but his colon had an issue. But I always assoc that with his abysmal diet and health care. 6395. wonkers2 - 2/10/2005 10:51:20 PM Study shows half of health care spending is wasted Here 6396. judithathome - 2/10/2005 11:48:53 PM Thoughtful, the tip off for me was the bloating (feeling full) and pain...my last attack came from raw broccoli. Usually it's something like nuts or raw fiberous veggies.
When I have an attack, I feel as though I've had helium pumped into my stomach and I ache like I have an ulcer. It's very painful and I also have the "trots", sometimes throw up but not every time. I immediately go on a strict bland liquid diet for 24 hours and then just really bland stuff for another two days. It's grueling for a few days. 6397. thoughtful - 2/11/2005 12:45:36 AM J@h, that's most helpful. It is very similar to what I was feeling...my stomach just ached and wouldn't let up for 24 hours. I ended up spending about 36 hrs straight in bed except for when I had to get up as I felt that sick. That is most unusual for me as usually when I'm sick I'm at least up and about the house for some of the time.
Well I see the doc tomorrow and hopefully we'll start the testing process to see what's what. 6398. judithathome - 2/11/2005 5:37:54 AM Ask about the possiblity of its be diverticulitis...sounds almost identical to what I get. And I stay in bed about that long, too...hurts too much to be up and about. 6399. robertjayb - 2/11/2005 8:27:55 AM New Flu...
Next season's influenza vaccine will be changed to protect against a new strain of the virus that was first identified in California last month and that is spreading widely, a World Health Organization official said yesterday.
The new strain has been identified in more than 20 percent of influenza viruses isolated from patients in recent weeks and is expected to be the dominant one circulating in the Northern Hemisphere next season, said the official, Dr. Klaus Stöhr.
The strain, known as A/California/7/2004(H3N2), was first identified from a specimen from a patient who had influenza in Santa Clara County in September, said Dr. Carol Glaser , chief of the California Department of Health Services' viral branch in Richmond. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta identified the strain as a new one in January, Dr. Glaser said.
(NYTimes)
6400. wonkers2 - 2/11/2005 3:37:11 PM GM dumps Walgreens Here. 6401. wonkers2 - 2/11/2005 3:39:50 PM GM health costs $12,000 per employee or $1500 per car Here 6402. thoughtful - 2/12/2005 6:06:43 PM Update: went to doc and he says he doesn't think it's gall bladder but a stomach virus. He said go back to eating normally and see how you feel. If you get worse again, then come back and see him again.
Thank goodness I have an at work doc who i can see at no charge and get appointments right away. At least if something goes awry, I can go back to him with my 'i told you so' in hand! 6403. wonkers2 - 2/12/2005 6:27:00 PM Some companies are finding that providing direct workplace health clinics is less expensive and more effective than through insurance plans. This approach is common in some other countries, Spain, for example, where large employers have fairly elaborate on-site health clinics which provide comprehensive non-acute health care rather than just emergency care for on-the-job injuries. As a child I grew up getting care through Exxon's Stanacola Clinic near it's huge refinery in Baton Rouge. And I was born in a similar Exxon clinic at its refinery in Aruba. Often the waiting time to see a doctor for a sore throat or other common ailment seemed endless, and some of the doctors may not have been at the cutting edge. However, my guess is that this approach delivered a lot of competent care at much lower cost than our present system that funnels patients into the high tech world of physicians and hospitals whose bills are paid by insurance companies. 6404. robertjayb - 2/12/2005 8:30:47 PM Health costs flushing out corporate socialists...(WaPo)
Corporate America's customary poorly concealed desire for private profits and socialized losses emerges. It's disgusting, monumental hypocrisy of course...but if it gets us closer to a sensible health-care system...so be it. This time greed may indeed be good.
Friday, February 11, 2005...
American manufacturers are losing their ability to compete in the global marketplace in large measure because of the crushing burden of health care costs, General Motors Corp. chairman and chief executive G. Richard Wagoner Jr. said yesterday as he called on corporate and government leaders to find "some serious medicine" for the nation's ailing health system.
In a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago, the auto executive, who is responsible for providing health insurance for more people than any other private employer in the nation, graphically detailed how rising medical bills are eating into his company's bottom line and ultimately threatening the viability of most U.S. firms.
"Failing to address the health care crisis would be the worst kind of procrastination," Wagoner said, "the kind that places our children and our grandchildren at risk and threatens the health and global competitiveness of our nation's economy."
6405. thoughtful - 2/13/2005 12:06:45 AM This is good news...maybe the bushies will finally do something about health care....they certainly don't listen to the people, but big business definitely has their ear. 6406. robertjayb - 2/23/2005 9:24:45 PM A Swedish remedy for the supposed malpractice problem...(Slate)
Can we fix this mess? It might be that we must create an alternative to our present lawsuit-oriented malpractice system. Perhaps the most intriguing possibility is what malpractice wonks call a "no-fault" system. A no-fault system would compensate those who have been harmed without assigning blame—a process easier for patients and less traumatic for doctors.
................................................
Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand have used no-fault malpractice systems for 20 to 30 years, with admittedly mixed results. Yet several academics, most notably Harvard's David Studdert and Troyen Brennan, have studied these countries' systems and concluded that a U.S. system modeled on that of Sweden could more consistently compensate victims of avoidable mishaps and more effectively reduce error and incompetence—all for the same cost. No-fault would also make doctors and patients allies rather than adversaries when something goes awry.
Sounds promising to me. My opinion is that the bushies efforts are part of a larger scheme to keep ordinary citizens of modest means out of the courthouse for any reason. They have co-opted the AMA (probably not too difficult) in their efforts.
Will Pelle please weigh in with observations?
6407. wonkers2 - 2/23/2005 9:42:48 PM I read somewhere recently that malpractice awards have contributed relatively little to increased premiums. The largest cause of recent premium increases has been due to lower return on the insurance companies' invested reserves. 6408. thoughtful - 2/24/2005 12:24:10 AM Oh I could make so many comments about abstinence only education or right to life and other things, but I won't. I'll just let this data stand for itself. From today's wapo:
CDC Explores Pregnancy-Homicide Link
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that homicide is a leading cause of traumatic death among new and expectant mothers, with higher risks for women who are younger than 20 or black. It was the CDC's first national look at pregnancy and homicide....
"Homicide is an important cause of death for women during pregnancy or within one year of pregnancy," said Jeani Chang, lead author of the CDC study....
The CDC study found that homicide accounted for 31 percent of maternal injury deaths. Auto accidents accounted for 44 percent, other unintentional injuries for 13 percent and suicide for 10 percent.
The authors reported that age stood out more than race, with the highest homicide risk for women younger than 20 when all races were combined.
6409. robertjayb - 2/25/2005 9:27:06 PM How things work in bushworld...(NYTimes)
Ten of the 32 government drug advisers who last week endorsed continued marketing of the huge-selling pain pills Celebrex, Bextra and Vioxx have consulted in recent years for the drugs' makers, according to disclosures in medical journals and other public records.
If the 10 advisers had not cast their votes, the committee would have voted 12 to 8 that Bextra should be withdrawn and 14 to 8 that Vioxx should not return to the market. The 10 advisers with company ties voted 9 to 1 to keep Bextra on the market and 9 to 1 for Vioxx's return.
6410. wonkers2 - 2/25/2005 9:50:11 PM Same old, same old. 6411. judithathome - 2/25/2005 10:29:08 PM I wish those 10 would be forced to take Bextra for two weeks and have the side effect I did...almost going blind in my left eye. The doctor was horrified and extremely apologetic.
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