Text 38375, 121 rader
Skriven 2010-05-28 11:57:02 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
  Kommentar till text 38326 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
Ärende: X-ray stuff
===================
Hi Ruth,

> well.  Just to get a better over all view of what's going on with the
> patient. She also made me follow up amonth later to see if the
> bronchitis cleared up, said to let her know if I took a turn for the
> worse.

She sounds very thorough, which is great :) Patients appreciate doctors who
think like that, that's for sure.

>> house tested either.  By the time we bought this house in Windsor,
>> that was a standard exam for the closing in this area, at least.  Our

> And the interesting thing is, 30 some years ago, nobody was aware of it.

People have known about the dangers of radon in mines since the 1800's IIRC.
Even in Germany they knew about a long time ago.  I forget where the fellow was
from that first advised venting mines to reduce the radon levels.. but they
knew it was making people really sick in the mines.

> Then it popped up, almost made you think it was a gimmick issue at the
> time.

Not at all :(

Radon is an odorless invisible substance, and can be close to impossible to
detect unless you own a "radon detector."  At high doses, the radon can start
to burn your lungs, and research shows that radon is capable of causing
 cancer. If you inhale it in a high concentration radon can have the same
effect as smoking dozens of cartons of cigarettes per day  - that's insane.. my
Dad didn't have a chance I think :(  I remember reading a story long ago about
"fads" in the 1950's.. people were told that going to mines and breathing the
air would give them a heathy pick-me-up because of the Radon.. All they got was
cancer.

In places where it's found under homes seeping into the basement and upper
floors (that's what they found here in unacceptable levels in two areas of the
house :( ), ventilation of air out of your house is required to keep radon at a
healthy level and you have to use a radon detector to keep track of it. We've
had one here since we bought the house. It's no gimmick :(

>> realestate people had the owners put in a mechanism to get the radon
>> flow out of the house.  I remember the previous owners saying, "we
>> didn't even know it was there, if we had, we'd have taken care of it.
>> who knows what having all that exposure did to us".

> I still wonder if it's all it's purported to be. You don't hear about
> people getting sick from exposure to radon.

Radon is the second leading cause of _lung cancer_, second only to smoking and
the leading cause of lung cancer among people who have never smoked.  :(

>> > BTW, did you know that the first microwaves were discovered by
>> accident > when a scientist had a candy bar in his shirt pocket & it
>> melted when he > was working on a wave problem?
>> I do now (G).. checking up on the history of microwaves is
>> interesting.

> It's hard now to to imagine a time when they weren't in every home.  We

That's true :)  I use it a lot.. warming coffee, defrosting meats, raising
bread dough, sometimes a quick(er) stew (g).

> bought a little 600 watt one when we first got to Germany; it was a poke
> compared to the 750 watt one we left in storage.  We upgraded to one
> that was, IIRC, 1000 watts; our current one is 1200.

That's great :)  I've got an older one that's 750W, but I keep it because you
can set it to 1%-100% of the power, and others I've seen cannot do that.  I use
it at that lowest power with 2 cups of boiling water, when I raise bread dough.
First I get a 2 cup container of water boiling at 100% power.  Then I put the
dough in a bowl, cover it with olive oil, and put it in the microwave with the
boiling water. I set the microwave at 1% power for 5 minutes, then 5 minutes
more after turning it over.  Works great (g).  I also have another one that's
about 1000W.. That one is faster for making stews, etc.

>> Same here (g).  Though I guess really except for the MS, I'm generally
>> pretty healthy - how's that for a silly statement (G).

> Silly, but makes sense in a backward sort of way.  If you don't have
> high blood pressure, osteoporosis, high cholesterol or any of the other
> "older age" things, you're doing well.

Nope, none of the above nor high blood sugar, nor high triglicerides, etc. etc.
 When Ron and I go in for visits regarding blood tests, we usually make our
appointments at the same time so he sees the two of us at once... he generally
glances at my chart, says 'hi, looks great' and then turns to Ron (bg).

>> company finally gave in.  Their reasons for reversing their initial
>> decision were comical, as I'd have expected them to be!

>> " [...] documentation indicates [...] continued impaiment in walking.
>> Alternative medications have not been effective"

> YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:) :) :)
Certainly a relief (bg)

>> So in otherwords, they just put the stall on the works and they got
>> snagged (G).

> Yes, you won that battle. Hopefully no more for a good time to come.

Got a call today from Aetna about the prescription... The representative I
talked to said, ok, you're set to start this medication with a _$50.00_ copay.

I almost said to him what are you going to do, pocket $10.00?? Lol..

I told him straight out, 'NO.  The copay is only $40.00.  I spoke with the
company who makes Ampyra and that is all you can charge me.'  He blubbered
after that and said 'Ok right'.  What a trip Aetna is.. I guess that is why the
Ampyra rep. I talked to emphasized to me that the cost would only be
$40.00, not $70 and not $50.. she really did have me write down the amount my
copay would be ... now I know why (vbg).

Take care,
Janis

--- BBBS/LiI v4.01 Flag
 * Origin: Prism bbs (1:261/38)