I've been having a whole whack of health problems and I can't get into a doctor. Apparently my Sinusitis is the kind that could possibly cause meningitis and I can't even get into a ****ing doctor. I can't get a steroid inhaler because of this and I can't even run a few meters anymore without wheezing my lungs out. The next time I can see a doctor? two weeks. my province has a problem with too many elderly people clogging up the system and not enough doctors. I don't want to deal with this anymore, I just need some ****ing antibiotics and then I won't get brain damage.

The dark side of free healthcare, it may be free (not really) but you have to wait. I remember once seeing a guy in a waiting room with a steak knife jammed in his shoulder because the ER was too full at the time. He didn't seem to mind that much though, just kind of sat there with a blank expression on his face, hoping whatever high he was on never ended.

I am sorry you're experiencing trouble trying to find a doctor for what seems like a pretty simple solution.

Mostly because hypochondriacs take up beds in the ER when they get some ****ing sniffles. It's absolutely ridiculous. This happens a lot in Toronto and they're trying to direct less serious cases to clinics and outpatient facilities.

So socialized medicine is NOT a good thing then?
I'm confused...

It's great, I wouldn't have it any other way. But it's not perfect and it varies a little bit from province to province.

Well damn, that sounds exactly like something someone who uses private insurance would say! I'm even more confused! Which is better?!? Guaranteed, prompt health care, or health care you "hope" will be able to sufficiently cover you?

Dunno if I should pay for the options I want, or let the government decide those options and just cross my fingers that those options work for me.

Haha! I have no idea what private health insurance is like, so I can't make that comparison. I will say though, that many employers offer extra benefits that allow you to get a private hospital room and personal care assistants. Not sure if insurance companies offer plans like that. But even a semi-private room is better than not being cared for at all. I think people get the wrong idea of what healthcare is like here. It is prompt, and excellent. When I had a bad bout of appendicitis, I was taken in immediately before anybody else, because they triage ER patients. It works the same way in the US too.

If you want healthcare options that go way above and beyond what is already available to you, yeah, you have to shell out a lot of money to get what you want - at least here, because there are very few things that AREN'T covered by universal healthcare. Dental care, vision care (except if you have a "pre-existing condition"), elective plastic surgery to name a few.

Well to put it into personal terms, when I was 18 I fractured my foot while working at the lumberyard and made it worse by working on it for five days after the incident. When I got it x-ray'd they said I'd have my results in a day or two, and I was okay with that, but later on that day I just felt something snap in my foot and had to go to the ER. It was pretty embarrasing because I looked like shit, same clothes for three days, no showers, and I was holding onto my laptop without a case or a bag. It took about 4 hours but I got my results from the x-ray clinic that confirmed the fracture and advised a 6-8 week resting period in a cast. I got the aircast and the prescription for Tylenol 3's (wooo codeine!) and I didn't pay a damn thing except $20 for my drugs. Worker's Comp took care of my aircast and got me 90% of my wages, which was great cause I had just moved and was in dire need of money.

Over the next 2 months I proceeded to have 4 more x-rays taken on my foot to showcase my healing. I didn't have to pay for any of those x-rays, while at the same time in America, my mum had to have x-rays on her lungs because she got bronchitis and those x-rays cost her a good $600. I remember her bringing up the bill while we conversed and I suddenly got paranoid that a bill would be coming for me, but one never came and my WC guy explained to me how the system works.

As BD said, it's got its flaws, but I would feel a hell of a lot better under that than what I'm currently under in the States. Back in March my grandfather pretty much passed out while we were having dinner and I called 911. He got taken to the hospital and was going to be staying the weekend, which resulted in a pretty steep fee despite his Veteran's status and health coverage. I believe he's still paying those bills off.

I am tired of my education.

I haven't had more than 40 minutes to myself in two months, and those precious minutes are spent working rather than easing my exhausted mind. I have had at least one midterm exam every week since the first of October. The work is absolutely ceaseless. I get one meal a day, my hair is coming out at an above average rate, I'm exhausted every morning, and the sink is so piled with dishes I haven't had time to do that the dishwater has turned black. LITERALLY BLACK. What the hell DOES that to water? LHJdskjhadyugjhfalsuh.

****, I'm so tired.

*hugs*

It's worth it when you're done. I'm studying now too and it's self directed so I decide when I'm ready to take my tests.