Zoloft anyone??

[janet]

Lawnangel,

If your Pap was not collected right and now enough specimen was collected..you should NOT have to pay for another sample. The DRS. office should...it was there job to collect it correctly. Complain to the head nurse or office manager.

Also next time ask them to do a "thin prep pap" it is better.

janet

[lawnangel]

Hi Janet, I know. the NP who did my pap said she tried to get me in for free for a repeat but her boss said I'd have to pay. So now I am waiting to speak to "The Boss" my self. That is unecceptable. I'll up date what happens. It makes me so mad.

:mad:

[sugarspicenpuppytails]

Hi everyone! There's so much to read here after not having the chance to log on for a few days. thanks to everyone for your thoughts!

Reading... I'm SO glad your sister does not have a mass...hope she'll be able to deal with the epilepsy- how old is she?-were there no signs of this before?

Lawnangel, try not to think too much about the medication although I know this is hard. One thing I found out is that staying on the drugs for a certain amount of time can help prevent a "remission". For example: if I had stayed on the drugs for two years rather than one, I might have gone longer feeling better off drugs afterwards. You should ask your doctor about this.

I am Canadian. By reading these posts it's clear that prescription costs are difficult for MANY families in the U.S. There is no doubt in my mind that you have the BEST medical care and facilities but it does not seem to be a fair system for everyone. My husband tells me that our system costs just as much but we don't notice it as much since we pay through taxes. We notice the high taxes all right (30%+ of my salary) but since the money comes out on every paycheque, it doesn't seem as staggering as 200$ for a 20 minute physical appointment.

Here, we can see any doctor we like (if they accept new patients). The DOWNSIDE is that it can take a while to get in which can be a huge problem when you know something's wrong. I had to book my appointment for my physical 3 months in advance. To see a gynecologist for a tubal ligation takes 2 months minimum and then another 2 months to get on the "operation" schedule.

The UPSIDE is that everyone gets the same treatment rich or poor. There are many subsidies for no or low-income families. My husband and I make too much for subsidies but Celexa costs less than 50$ Cdn for 30 pills. Since I had to get medical insurance through work (about 50$/month), I pay 20% of my medication costs which means about 10$ for the Celexa.

So, if you can get your meds from Canada it sounds like it would be a lot cheaper especially since your dollar is worth 40%+ than ours!

Wishing everyone a good weekend! Sugar

[writes4fun]

The waiting times that you describe in Canada are similar to that in the US. Our previous doctor required physicals to be scheduled a year in advance, unless it is for an employer (new hire). I also had to wait 4 months for my tubal ligation.
My previous gynecologist was always booked for at least 3 months. And, that was a group of gynecologists, they'd all be booked for 3 months.
I think that doctors tend to take on more patients than they should.

I just found out that I can't qualify for the state program, because I haven't lived here for a year yet. I've only lived here for 6 months. So, I guess I'll be going to see a doctor that has a sliding scale fee schedule and hope he/she has lots of samples.

-Sheila

[lawnangel]

Hi Everyone, I hope you are all doing good.

Yes, Sheila, sliding scale is pretty good but you still have to get meds. Walmart is alot cheaper than all the drugstores and if one can get generic that is even better.

I finally spoke with the "Boss" Nurse. She called a different Dr and had them call me, after she explained everything. So now I can go again, for free. I just didn't understand why they called a different Dr. It's in the same building, same floor, right next to my other one. It could be medi-cal patients but I don't care. As long as I don't have to pay again. that would be obsurd. I told the boss nurse that it had been over 4 years since my last pap (no insurance will do that to a woman) so I would like an accurate one. She was wondering why I was so concerned about getting a nother pap when my other one was normal. Well, in my book, if it was "normal" they wouldn't have bothered to tell me it wasn't accurate! What are they thinking?! Sometimes you have to wonder if they just see $$$ signs when a pt calls.

I feel better now.

Kathy, I hope things are going well for you and your sister. She is lucky to have you by her side. She will get through this. And I hope your counseling is going good. It sounds like it really helps you. My prayers are with you.

Sugar, about the meds, that is exactly what the Dr told me when she gave them to me the first time because I asked her if I had to be on them for the rest of my life. She talked about how some poeple go off of them after 6 months and then go back on them for 2 years because they went back to their old ways after 6 months but after 2 years they were better. I suppose it's differnet with everyone. Yes you should have probably given it more time. But you know your body best. We wont get into government and politics. That just upsets me.


Well, everyone, have a great weekend and a great week. After Thur or Fri, I wont have computer access for a about week. I think I'll just die . So I'll have lots of catching up to do.

Take care all...........

[amandasiemens]

I was on celexa and when my hubby and I decided to have another baby I went to the doc to be put on an antidepressant that was safe for pregnancy. She prescribed Zoloft. I decided to do some reasurch first and on their own site they posted the results of their animal tests for pregnancy effects, I wont get into details but IT WASN'T GOOD! For that reason (and that the doc was totaly mean when I said we were going to have another baby, she actually said "What on earth do you want another one of those for!) We are looking for a new doc now I will not have have a *#^$ like that looking after me or my children but anyway, Zoloft may be great I don't know, as long as I'm in my childbearing years I wont touch it.

Amanda

[sugarspicenpuppytails]

Sheila and Debbie, what's a sliding scale fee schedule? I guess our waiting periods in Canada aren't so bad after all!

Amanda, I also wasn't willing to be on anti-depressants while pregnant. My counsellor didn't seem to be in complete agreement with me on that one but too bad. Pregnancy agreed with me however so I was lucky. It's the post-partum stuff that got me after the first baby. At that point the right decision for everyone was for me to be on meds. You have to decide what's right for you.

[janet]

amandasiemens, Most drugs, herbs, caffeine, etc. affect pregnancy. It is best to not expose your baby to these things but if you really need that medicine, ex. antideppressants...you must talk this over with your Doctor's.While I was pregnant I always asked my family Dr. and my OB/GYN Dr. I think patients should ask both Dr. so you can have the "best" care for the baby. I had to take an Inhaler for Asthma and the effects it could have on my baby were scary...but if I couldn't breathe....either could my baby, so sometimes meds are a must. We must try to ask all the questions and worries we might have, after all isn't this the service we pay for when we visit our Drs?

janet

[lawnangel]

Sugar, sliding scale is where you show your pay stubs for the last three months (something like that) and you pay according to how much you make. It's always cheaper than a regular Dr.'s office. The less you make, the less you pay. I've always heard that Canada has the best health coverage. Compared to no coverage, anything is good.

Amanda, your Dr was completely rude and way out of line. He/she should be reported to some authorities (sp). I don't know what/where but I'm sure you can find out. Maybe someone here knows. Good luck. Don't take that crap from any Dr. They are suppose to make you feel better not make you stress out because tehy are so rude.

[Lifestar]

I was on an antidepressent when I was pregnant too. I wasn't trying to concieve. I missed my period and the little blue line showed up.

Unfortunately, 8 years ago there were no safe options on the market, and I was taken off my meds. I was required to see my psychiatrist every 2 weeks, and put back on meds at delivery. I was not allowed to breast feed. I had HORRIBLE post-partum depression, as it took several months for the drugs to come back to theraputic levels in my blood stream. I wish there has been an alternative. I wish I could have been able to be a mom to my newborn daughter. I missed out on the first two months of her life, and I wasn't there for my five year old, because I was so horribly distraught form post-partum syndrome. If I had been able to stay on medication throughout my pregnancy, I know it would not have been so severe.

I look back at poor Andrea Yates, ant I wonder what kind of help would have been available to her if she had stayed on her medication and listened to her doctors about limiting her family palnning. I stopped at two. I knew I couldn't do that again. It would have killed me. But that 's another thing entirely...we were talking about you, not me...sorry....

Like Janet said, everything we take into our bodies when we are pregnant has the potential to affect our baby, from the hormones and antibiotics in the beef we eat to the doses of chamomile in the tea we drink. We take them without harm, but our fetus has to detoxify them with it's tiny liver. Yet the baby does amazingly well.

Most of the other chemicals we put into our mouths never cross over the placenta. The new class of antidepressents may be in this catagory. You should speak to your pharmacist about nterpreting the data you read on the drug insert from the animal studies. It doesn't always interpret over to human trials the same way. She/he can give you the best information.

My doctor was not thrilled when I got pregnant on medication either, it does complicate things, but as she put it...she had TWO patients to treat at that point. The baby AND the mom, and the needs of both patients had to be weighed. After all, a catatonic, suicidal, or raging mom is no use to a newborn baby, an I was going end up as one of those without some form of treatment.

She was right. Good luck finding a doctor you trust and can work with. Please give your pharmacist a call. What do you have to loose? Maybe she can suggest another medication your doctor didn't think of.

Val