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7307. robertjayb - 4/22/2008 10:09:38 PM Ezra Klein on the curious case of dental insurance...
Imagine if your health insurance -- and for the purposes of this thought experiment, you have health insurance, and it's decent -- covered everything save your liver. For that, you need liver insurance. Or maybe it does cover your liver, but not your right foot. That requires right foot insurance. Or maybe it covers everything but your brain. Got some brain insurance?
That's the odd space dental insurance occupies... 7308. thoughtful - 4/23/2008 4:54:33 PM Yes very curious, esp since they now recognize a correlation between dental health and heart health. In fact in our area is a dentist who works on overall physical health based on what he finds from your oral health. 7309. thoughtful - 4/23/2008 4:58:25 PM Have any of you heard of or tried this foot ionization therapy? I see now they're even selling overnight pads that you attach to your feet overnight and in the am the pads are dark supposedly from the ions pulling toxins and such from your body. The foot ionization bath is offered by the same lady who does my facials. It looks like so much voodoo to me, but then again, why does the water turn so dark? Is it just a chemical reaction?
 7310. thoughtful - 4/25/2008 2:06:39 PM Well apparently, after a little more research, the feet have nothing to do with the water color change...that's a result of the metals used in the process. All bunk, as I suspected. 7311. thoughtful - 4/25/2008 2:24:49 PM Check out www.bluezones.com
Based on studies of long-lived peoples around the world, they have come up with common factors that they believe are associated with the longer life. The intersection of those factors among the various groups is called the blue zone.
You can sign up and take a survey that asks you lifestyle questions (diet, exercise, outlook, social life) to determine if you are in the blue zone.
My survey results tell me that I am biologically 7 years younger than my physical age, that my life expectancy is 96.5 years with a healthy life expectancy of 87.5 years (life without heart disease, diabetes, or cancer), that I have accrued 13.3 years due to my lifestyle and that if i optimized my lifestyle, I could add an additional 2 years.
How about that! I'm in the blue zone! 7312. robertjayb - 4/28/2008 4:24:31 AM Doctors' group wants single-payer healthcare...(HouChron)
By LEONARD A. ZWELLING and ANA MALINOW
We have all heard it before. The health care system in the United States is broken. We have all heard it, but when is someone going to do something about it?
Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is a group of 15,000 physicians who believe that there is a solution and it is currently working for Americans — if they are over 65. It is, of course, Medicare, part of the 60 percent of our current health care system that is paid for and administered by the government.
We believe a single-payer system (Medicare for everyone) would be less costly, more efficient and provide all Americans with the health care they need without an increase in overall dollars spent (an amount that is increasing at a rate of 7 percent per year). This would include the 47 million who are currently uninsured and the estimated 50.3 million who are "underinsured" (spending 10 percent or more of their pretax income on health care).
7313. alistairConnor - 4/30/2008 9:05:38 PM I always thought we'd see this sort of technology in my lifetime. (which proves I mis-spent my adolescence reading science fiction)
Pixie dust will make your finger grow back 7314. robertjayb - 5/1/2008 12:42:23 AM Amazing... 7315. arkymalarky - 5/3/2008 3:21:39 AM Got my ENT appt. It's all I can do to keep from calling and canceling. 7316. jexster - 5/5/2008 2:39:41 AM More Needing Major Surgery in US Going Overseas
Bet they aren't going to Baghdad 7317. alistairconnor - 5/5/2008 9:45:49 AM Yup. Dental care, which is poorly covered in France, is a motivator for package tours to Hungary and other interesting destinations in central Europe.
At the same time, there's lots of English people coming to France for operations, not for cost reasons but to get around waiting lists. 7318. anomie - 5/6/2008 1:32:22 AM I just tried my first ever Ambien pill. I slept for about 6 hours and woke up feeling surprisingly normal...maybe better. Unless I'm typing this and having a great couple of cups of coffee in a hypnotic sleepwalking state, all is well. I'm trying to get a step ahead on jet lag before a trip this week. I'm hoping this works. 7319. arkymalarky - 5/6/2008 2:45:58 AM For an occasional need like that, Benadryl works well and it's cheap. 7320. anomie - 5/6/2008 2:54:49 AM A couple people have told me that. But I think I'm a victim of viral marketing. Years ago, I heard at least two people on different flights talking - singing praises - about Ambien, mentioning the brand name several times. I hadn't even heard of viral marketing then, but it seems clear now that's what it was.
But what may be more unusual is the prescription I got. I told my doc I wanted to try it, so I assumed she'd write up maybe 10 to 15 pills. I got 30 pills with 5 refills! That's some jet lag! 7321. arkymalarky - 5/6/2008 3:06:34 AM Damn.
But really, you can get a bottle of off-brand Benadryl for a couple of bucks if the Ambien is expensive. It doesn't work for me, though, because I'm used to antihistimines. 7322. alistairconnor - 5/6/2008 9:01:49 AM My girlfriend quite often takes sleeping pills or tranquilizers, either because of shift work or travelling or from other issues which prevent her sleeping. I confess it freaks me out completely because I've never done any of that stuff, and I have a violent aversion to it. I suppose I need to educate myself about them, and either learn to live with them or wean her off the (non-recreational) drugs. 7323. thoughtful - 5/6/2008 2:25:03 PM Many people have had success treating jet lag using melatonin which is a naturally occurring hormone in the body that regulates the circadian rhythym. 7324. arkymalarky - 5/6/2008 7:18:12 PM Bob swears by melatonin. 7325. judithathome - 5/6/2008 11:33:13 PM I tried it and it gave me violent nightmares.
But my sister, like Bob, swears by it. 7326. anomie - 5/7/2008 10:26:17 AM I've heard conflicting reports on melatonin, but I see a newer study says that samll amounts can be helpful.
I'm convinced that staying up all night is NOT a good way to do it. I have been miserable for two days. I'll stick with gradually getting up earlier and earlier (for going East). That way at least I won't leave feeling exhausted.
But now that I've tried the Ambien and I know it doesn't leave me feeling groggy for hours, I think I'll try it on the plane.
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