General Medical issues thread

[Quickstatus]

I think a CTPA is still worthwhile- might mean not having to take Xarelto

 

[Pushka]

Here's something I didn't think about.

I had a headache yesterday and didn't take anything for it and headache continues today. I started Xarelto last night but this is not the cause of the headache.

So what can I take for headache while on Xarelto? Aspirin and Nurofen are out of the question as they could cause bleeding. Panadol is useless. I can try 2 Panadeine Forte but can't remember if this did anything for headaches.

Anyone on Xarelto or similar have a secret remedy for headaches?

I take nurofen and panadol fine. On xarelto and higher dose.

 

[JohnK]

I think a CTPA is still worthwhile- might mean not having to take Xarelto

I can't see any way of doing CTPA without presenting to Emergency. I don't know how long I'd be in Emergency.

Thoughts of how to do CTPA without paying?

 

[RooFlyer]

Thoughts of how to do CTPA without paying?

Why shouldn't you pay? if you don't someone else will have to. You are employed, maintain a second house in Thailand, travel there often and enjoy yourself golfing. Why shouldn't you pay for your own health care, where its not covered by Medibank?

And if you did get a scan, would you take any notice of the doctor's recommended follow-up? Or would you come back here hoping for more free medical advice?

 

[prozac]

Visited an old mate in The San today. He was in to have lymph nodes removed from around his neck following a failed melanoma removal on his nose. I was surprised how well he looked considering his throat was slit ear to ear and his face peeled up over what seemed his forehead and his chin down below his throat. I know that is not what they did but the photos his surgeon sent him look like that is what happened. Simply amazing his condition 2 days post op.
He was told he could go home yesterday but has decided he will stay until Friday. The wonders of modern medicine!

 

[Pushka]

I can't see any way of doing CTPA without presenting to Emergency. I don't know how long I'd be in Emergency.

Thoughts of how to do CTPA without paying?

6 months of Xarelto scripts would pay for it.

Im not sure that dealing with the worry of being on X is in your best interests esp as it hasn’t been confirmed you had a dvt/pe in the first place.

 

[drron]

You should be able to get a referral to the xray Department of a public hospital from your GP.
Ask him though if any of the private radiology practices in the area bulk bill. Some up on the Coast do for CT scans.

 

[MARTINE]

Unfortunately it is a fallacy that what we pay in M/Care levy covers all health care costs.
Its a fraction only.
This is not a political judgement just an observed fact.
Needs must - I say.

A test/treatment is recommended
- if the outcome will positively change management (which could also be to definitively exclude very nasty diagnoses)
and
- the pt is also aligned with this view
- leading to actionsble decisions on both sides

Have seen pts drop dead from Pulmonary Embolus and also brain bleed whilst on anticoagulant drugs (less an issue with the new ones).

Pick and mix rarely turns out well.

Even retired I pay substantial medicare levy and have top private health - Australia has outstanding medical care, researchers and one of the longest life expectancies in the world. That costs $$$

To each their own

 

[JohnK]

You should be able to get a referral to the xray Department of a public hospital from your GP.
Ask him though if any of the private radiology practices in the area bulk bill. Some up on the Coast do for CT scans.

I might be wrong or misunderstand but I did ask GP to refer me to hospital for CTPA but GP mentioned hospital will not accept any referral now for CTPA as I have positive d-dimer reading and the only way now is to present to emergency.

 

[Pushka]

Have seen pts drop dead from Pulmonary Embolus and also brain bleed whilst on anticoagulant drugs (less an issue with the new ones).

Yes. My mother. Had a heart attack (maybe tachycardia) that led to a stroke, put on warfarin for 18 months then either had a brain bleed or stroke. I suspect the former but didn't know about such things back then. It's why I refused to go on warfarin three months later when I had the dvt. For APs warfarin is the only recommended anticoagulant but I also didnt know I had that back then. Likely mum had it too but it was only recognised in the UK around 1985. Niece in her thirties had all the markers in her blood for APS but not the last thing required formal diagnosis and for anti coag which is a diagnosed clot. We see the same rheumatologist who given my history was on the watch. Niece developed the DVT about a year later and is on warfarin.

 

[prozac]

Unfortunately it is a fallacy that what we pay in M/Care levy covers all health care costs.
Its a fraction only.
This is not a political judgement just an observed fact.
Needs must - I say.

A test/treatment is recommended
- if the outcome will positively change management (which could also be to definitively exclude very nasty diagnoses)
and
- the pt is also aligned with this view
- leading to actionsble decisions on both sides

Have seen pts drop dead from Pulmonary Embolus and also brain bleed whilst on anticoagulant drugs (less an issue with the new ones).

Pick and mix rarely turns out well.

Even retired I pay substantial medicare levy and have top private health - Australia has outstanding medical care, researchers and one of the longest life expectancies in the world. That costs $$$

To each their own

Ultrasound the other week $238.70. Medicare returned me $93.70 so $145 our of pocket. Then follow up biopsy $473.50 less medicare $293.50 = $180 out of pocket.

 

[RooFlyer]

Hundreds or of pocket for MRI, hundreds out of pocket for upcoming eye test - it goes on, even with top health insurance cover. However, I can afford to pay and I would never dream of trying to get a freebie which means everyone else pays for me.

Such an entitled attitude is simply beyond my understanding.

And I think attending Emergency just to save some money is an outright abuse of the emergency service. They are all under tremendous pressure and such would just make it worse.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Where I worked we had a saying "What you spend on travel in your sixties, you spend on medical in your seventies"

 

[JohnK]

Why shouldn't you pay for your own health care, where its not covered by Medibank?

Firstly don't assume someone has money because they are working and have a humble house in Thailand. I've reduced MY OWN quality of life (not my family's) to ensure that my wife is never home sick again like she was for 2 years during Covid. Plus the trips to Thailand are my R&R. If I don't go to Thailand often I lose the will to live. I cannot continue working and that cannot be good for my family or my health. The more I can go to Thailand the happier I feel.

Secondly why would I want to pay for a service if there are options to get the service for free? It's human nature. Q-Scan has out of pocket costs similar to what @prozac has posted. I found the Radiology place across the road bulk bills everyone. Should I feel guilty about the radiology place bulk billing me? I don't think they do CTPA.

Thirdly I don't solicit free advice. I like reading about experiences posted by such people as @prozac and @Pushka. It helps me decide what I want to do. I have a regular GP who I respect but sometimes I go to a semi-regular GP I found in the medical centre. Both bulk bill. I don't weigh up one against the other but curious to see what each has to say. I don't go to a GP that does not bulk bill.

Fourthly I do not use private specialists. I go to outpatient clinics. Happy to be on wait list.

I'm not sure I understand why you want to criticise my choices. You know very little about me. Posts on AFF are a very small fraction of my life. I feel at ease and I have not done anything wrong. I have not hurt anyone and by the way many times in public hospital outpatients I hand over my Medibank card with the proviso they can bill Medibank for services I've used as long as I'm not out of pocket.

 

[drron]

Well the good news Thailand has increased stays from 30 to 60 days without a visa.

 

[RooFlyer]

Firstly don't assume someone has money because they are working and have a humble house in Thailand. I've reduced MY OWN quality of life (not my family's) to ensure that my wife is never home sick again like she was for 2 years during Covid. Plus the trips to Thailand are my R&R. If I don't go to Thailand often I lose the will to live. I cannot continue working and that cannot be good for my family or my health. The more I can go to Thailand the happier I feel.

You have been posting about the minutae of your life for years here so I think I have a pretty good idea about your life and lifestyle. But I only address directly what you yourself have posted here.

if you get a medical service for free, it’s not without cost. It’s just that someone else pays it. If you use an emergency service for a situation that is not an emergency, just to save yourself money, that again costs others and means someone with a real medical emergency might be delayed.

To say that you deserve to get services for free because you’re a taxpayer is simply risible.

Thirdly I don't solicit free advice.

I’m afraid you do. Just a few posts up, viz:

Thoughts of how to do CTPA without paying?

I’m sure you’ll continue to follow your own entitled moral compass, but it's certainly nothing like mine.

 

[JohnK]

I’m sure you’ll continue to follow your own entitled moral compass, but it's certainly nothing like mine.

LOL.

If I go to Q-Scan to do ultrasound I pay $238.70 and Medicare refunds $93.70 so I am out of pocket $145.

If I go to Generic Radiology across the road they bill Medicare $93.70! They are happy. I am happy.

Why wouldn't I look for a place that does CTPA without a ridiculous out of pocket expense? Or should I just go to Q-Scan to make them and their shareholders richer? Taxpayer does not fund anything if I go to Generic Radiology across the road.

If I go to a GP that does not bulk bill and they charge $102 for standard consult, Medicare refunds $41.40 so I'm out of pocket $60.60!

If I go to Generic Medical Centre they bill Medicare $41.40! They are happy. I am happy.

Why wouldn't I visit only GPs or Medical centres that bulk bill? I'm not here to make GPs or Medical Centres richer. Taxpayer funds nothing.

My moral compass is fine. Enough said John.

 

[love_the_life]

LOL.

If I go to Q-Scan to do ultrasound I pay $238.70 and Medicare refunds $93.70 so I am out of pocket $145.

If I go to Generic Radiology across the road they bill Medicare $93.70! They are happy. I am happy.

Why wouldn't I look for a place that does CTPA without a ridiculous out of pocket expense? Or should I just go to Q-Scan to make them and their shareholders richer? Taxpayer does not fund anything if I go to Generic Radiology across the road.

If I go to a GP that does not bulk bill and they charge $102 for standard consult, Medicare refunds $41.40 so I'm out of pocket $60.60!

If I go to Generic Medical Centre they bill Medicare $41.40! They are happy. I am happy.

Why wouldn't I visit only GPs or Medical centres that bulk bill? I'm not here to make GPs or Medical Centres richer. Taxpayer funds nothing.

My moral compass is fine. Enough said John.

I think it was not bulk billing that was an issue - more the idea of going to Emergency to get a CTPA. Advice would be to ring around to see if there is one who does bulk bill. If there isn't one, then the decision would be whether you were prepared to have an out of pocket expense.

 

[JohnK]

I think it was not bulk billing that was an issue - more the idea of going to Emergency to get a CTPA. Advice would be to ring around to see if there is one who does bulk bill. If there isn't one, then the decision would be whether you were prepared to have an out of pocket expense.

I think there's a misunderstanding somewhere. My GP advised that I need to go to Emergency to do the CTPA.

So me asking can I do CTPA without paying is not evil.

 

[Pushka]

I think there's a misunderstanding somewhere. My GP advised that I need to go to Emergency to do the CTPA.

So me asking can I do CTPA without paying is not evil.

Which with the passage of time they will most likely not do.