The General Chat Thread (2016-2022)

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SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
If I return to the UK, I face no NHS medical treatment because I have been out of the country for over 1 year and I will have to wait until I can access any treatment or even medication, so that is out.
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Is that so? You are a British citizen aren't you? All are entitled to be treated immediately if they are here, surely? Or as immediately as the NHS can manage!
 
morning glory said:
Is that so? You are a British citizen aren't you? All are entitled to be treated immediately if they are here, surely? Or as immediately as the NHS can manage!
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If I play by the rules, I have no access to free health care in UK even given that I've paid National Insurance for 34 years. That's life, unfortunately.
 
Yorky said:
If I play by the rules, I have no access to free health care in UK even given that I've paid National Insurance for 34 years. That's life, unfortunately.
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It seems if you return to live in the UK you are entitled to free health care. I guess it doesn't apply if you are simply staying for a period in the UK? Interestingly, it seems that NHS Scotland does cover people returning whether or not they are resident (with a number of provisos -possibly it only applies to those working. This is not clear in the notes below.)

Using the NHS when you return to live in the UK

Here is the Scottish info: Information for UK passport holders accessing NHS services - Health rights
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Well we found out what was causing my trouble breathing. It's not what you expect. I went to the ER yesterday because my GP was concerned about my laborous breathing.
Turns out I have mulitple pulmonery embolisms, but this is not the first time I've had them. Three years ago I had 5, and two years before that I had 1 saddle embolus (very dangerous).

We thought that it was caused by my severe Ulcerative Colitis at the time, and the doctor thought removing my colon was enough to reduce the risk so I didn't need meds anymore. Well, that's proven untrue.
I most likely have a rare blood clotting disorder that causes multiple PE's to occur more often in someone's life. Which means that I will need blood thinners for life.

The good news is, I won't get any new PE's with these meds. The bad news is, without the meds it will always be a matter of time before I get PE's.
 
Windigo said:
Well we found out what was causing my trouble breathing. It's not what you expect. I went to the ER yesterday because my GP was concerned about my laborous breathing.
Turns out I have mulitple pulmonery embolisms, but this is not the first time I've had them. Three years ago I had 5, and two years before that I had 1 saddle embolus (very dangerous).

We thought that it was caused by my severe Ulcerative Colitis at the time, and the doctor thought removing my colon was enough to reduce the risk so I didn't need meds anymore. Well, that's proven untrue.
I most likely have a rare blood clotting disorder that causes multiple PE's to occur more often in someone's life. Which means that I will need blood thinners for life.

The good news is, I won't get any new PE's with these meds. The bad news is, without the meds it will always be a matter of time before I get PE's.
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Thanks for the update, and now that you know what's going on, that's a big step toward treatment.

Depending on which blood thinner you go on, it may be very easily managed or a bit of a chore. MrsTasty started a lifetime regimen of blood thinners in 2013, initially using Coumadin/Warfarin (which requires a lot of management, but it's very popular with docs because it's been around a long time and is a known quantity), then switched to Eliquis (which is low maintenance, but it's a much newer drug, so lots of questions about long-term effects and how to counteract in an emergency).

I'll say one thing about blood thinners - here in the US, if you go to the emergency room for something, the first question they ask (after they get your insurance information, of course :)) is whether you're on blood thinners, and if you are, you get seen immediately, and there's very little sitting around waiting for this or that.
 
TastyReuben said:
Thanks for the update, and now that you know what's going on, that's a big step toward treatment.

Depending on which blood thinner you go on, it may be very easily managed or a bit of a chore. MrsTasty started a lifetime regimen of blood thinners in 2013, initially using Coumadin/Warfarin (which requires a lot of management, but it's very popular with docs because it's been around a long time and is a known quantity), then switched to Eliquis (which is low maintenance, but it's a much newer drug, so lots of questions about long-term effects and how to counteract in an emergency).

I'll say one thing about blood thinners - here in the US, if you go to the emergency room for something, the first question they ask (after they get your insurance information, of course :)) is whether you're on blood thinners, and if you are, you get seen immediately, and there's very little sitting around waiting for this or that.
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Sorry your wife is affected by this too, it's not a nice idea to know that you're that vulnerable without meds. On the other hand I am glad there are good meds out there that keep people like her and me alive. Glad she is well. Yeah emergency rooms never delay those who might have serious complications due to blood thinners or/previous emboli but in my case they just weren't seeing enough symptoms when I went there 3 weeks ago. Now they did.

I know about the complications of management for this, I used to have Sintrom which requires giving yourself injections and also monitoring the use daily.
But now I have been given Xarelto, which is a new kind of medicine for this that only requires taking a daily prescribed pill in the right dosage without having to monitor your blood. I am very happy with that, as it saves a lot of time going around to the DVT nurse. I will have regular checkups with a specialist, but otherwise it will be easy to do in daily life.

I should be recovered in a week or two, so that's good news. I look forward to breathing freely again 👏
 
Windigo said:
Sorry your wife is affected by this too, it's not a nice idea to know that you're that vulnerable without meds. On the other hand I am glad there are good meds out there that keep people like her and me alive. Glad she is well. Yeah emergency rooms never delay those who might have serious complications due to blood thinners or/previous emboli but in my case they just weren't seeing enough symptoms when I went there 3 weeks ago. Now they did.

I know about the complications of management for this, I used to have Sintrom which requires giving yourself injections and also monitoring the use daily.
But now I have been given Xarelto, which is a new kind of medicine for this that only requires taking a daily prescribed pill in the right dosage without having to monitor your blood. I am very happy with that, as it saves a lot of time going around to the DVT nurse. I will have regular checkups with a specialist, but otherwise it will be easy to do in daily life.

I should be recovered in a week or two, so that's good news. I look forward to breathing freely again 👏
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Windigo, glad to hear you have a plan prescribed by your docs and you are on the road to recovery! All the best to you.
 
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