Citizen Pain

Talking to Your Doctor - The Do's and Don'ts Talking to your doctor can be nerve-racking, especially for those of us used to frequent visits and little physical improvement. Issues with perceived drug-seeking behaviour, frustration with lack of progress, guilt, lack of time, misunderstanding of the problem, and much more can make these visits fraught and potentially useless. You can ensure your medical appointments are worth your time, and put your doctor in the best possible position to help you, by following these basic guidelines: 1. Be prepared. Before your appointment, write down what you want to discuss in as much detail as you can. List symptoms, severity, duration, and possible associated factors. The more information you provide, the better. Also take with you a list of meds you are currently on, and if relevant what you have unsuccessfully tried as well. 2. Be direct. Everyone knows these appointments are short. Don't waste time umming and ahhing.

June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month So we might be a bit late in the month, but better late than never when shining a light on serious invisible illnesses. This month is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month in the U.S. and around the world. That may sound a little specific for its own month, but did you know that: Migraine is the third most prevalent illness in the world. 12% of the US population (including kids) suffers from migraines. Every 10 seconds, someone visits an ER with head pain. It's most common in women, and it runs in families. It's also most common between the ages of 18 and 44. And migraines aren't just bad headaches folks, they can be debilitating and affect vision, balance and the senses, cause nausea, numbness and dizziness as well as severe pain, and are often non-reactive to meds. So yeah, that's pretty bad. For more info on migraines and their surprising prevalence, take a look at the Migraine Research Foun

Losing Health Benefits - By the Numbers For the past few years, I have been in the fortunate position that (for the most part) the financial concerns surrounding my healthcare have faded into the background. This is due in large part to the health coverage we have been lucky enough to have through my husband's employer. It looks like this is soon to disappear though, leaving us in a tenuous position of potentially escalating costs we can't cover. As people who like predictability and being able to plan ahead, this straight out sucks. So, for my edification and hopefully for other's interest, let's take a closer look at what's actually going on, the Canadian system, and what it means to your wallet to be chronically ill here in one of the most progressive countries in the world. Government-Covered Care So we're straight off the bat very lucky. We live in Canada, and so have government-covered healthcare that includes urgent care, family doctors, spec