MANDATORY health insurance

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Dems want mental health, dental for all..

During the closed-door session Tuesday, Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) told colleagues that any bill should include mental health and dental insurance.
Republicans should be on board with this, their core constituents are missing about half their teeth and could use some mental medicine.

Who said the Democrats don't care about Republicans?
 
I'd like access to health care for all regardless of ability to pay because I think not only is it good for individuals, it's also good for the nation as a whole. However, I don't see that forcing everyone into our current for profit insurance-run health care system is the way to go. I think we all know there would be loads of insurance policies sold to people who can't afford much which will turn out to be completely worthless, but will make the companies that sell them loads of profit.

I think we have to bite the fucking bullet and make sure that everyone in the US has health care.
 
Are the folks in the EU as dependent on drugs for every little sniffle as we are? I wouldn't mind seeing universal health care in this country denying some of that sort of thing.
 
Are the folks in the EU as dependent on drugs for every little sniffle as we are? I wouldn't mind seeing universal health care in this country denying some of that sort of thing.

One thing about it, a move to national healthcare will slow down big pharma's ability to wine and dine doctors, hire people to stop by once a week marketing the doctors and dropping off samples.

Anxiety medicines and anti-depressants are great break throughs, but the overuse has a great deal to do with how they are marketed.

Same as "restless leg syndrome" medications and what not...

So, yes the over prescribing will slow down a lot.
 
Are the folks in the EU as dependent on drugs for every little sniffle as we are? I wouldn't mind seeing universal health care in this country denying some of that sort of thing.

I don't know the situation in the EU but in Canada, for example, where there is universal healthcare, we don't have universal drug coverage (except for certain people who meet the low income thresholds, etc). So you would have a drug plan through your employer, which is subsidized by them to an extent and you'd pay into it as well, it gets deducted from your cheques. Some employers may just cover it fully, and the plans can range so that you have 80% coverage or 100% coverage, etc.

Not sure why this wouldn't be feasible in the US...of course our government, through subsidies, also controls the price on pharmaceuticals. Which leaves Americans buying their drugs in Canada online, and this has been an issue that big pharma has lobbied against in Washington.
 
One thing about it, a move to national healthcare will slow down big pharma's ability to wine and dine doctors, hire people to stop by once a week marketing the doctors and dropping off samples.

Anxiety medicines and anti-depressants are great break throughs, but the overuse has a great deal to do with how they are marketed.

Same as "restless leg syndrome" medications and what not...

So, yes the over prescribing will slow down a lot.

I'd like to see that curtailed no matter what.
 
Same as "restless leg syndrome" medications and what not...

You do realize that's a real thing, right?

Maybe you scoff at needing a specialized med for it (ibuprofen works fine for me), but you put quotes around that phrase again, and I will make sure that during my next episode of The Jimmy Leg, I am kicking an imaginary BVS every three seconds.

:madwife:
 
My Mom and I both suffer from RLS and it's horrible and I have spent many nights completely unable to sleep because of it. The thing is REAL and I challenge anyone to tell me otherwise.
 
You do realize that's a real thing, right?

Maybe you scoff at needing a specialized med for it (ibuprofen works fine for me), but you put quotes around that phrase again, and I will make sure that during my next episode of The Jimmy Leg, I am kicking an imaginary BVS every three seconds.

:madwife:

I don't mean to offend. Yes, it's real(I've had it), but the majority of doctors will tell you it's a symptom of something else(although they won't agree on what) and the drug was actually developed for another reason, and it was by accident that it helped this, so they started calling it a separate syndrome in order to market it. The fact that it's called a "syndrome" is what a lot of doctors have issue with...

Please don't pretend to kick me.:wink:
 
My Mom and I both suffer from RLS and it's horrible and I have spent many nights completely unable to sleep because of it.

My sistah! My mom has it, too. Worse than I do, which only leads me to think I have something ever so wonderful to look forward to. Mine used to just occur when I was lying on the couch and would stop as soon as I got up and went to bed, but lately I've started getting it in bed if I couldn't sleep. ARGH.

I don't mean to offend.

Oh, if I were offended, I wouldn't have posted the mad wife smiley. ;) I've seen several comments online in the past few months that made me realize that there were people who didn't think this was a real thing.
 
I've seen several comments online in the past few months that made me realize that there were people who didn't think this was a real thing.

That's the feeling I get about insomnia. I've suffered from it in some form or another probably most of or all of my life. I only recently discovered that both my Mom and maternal grandmother had insomnia their whole lives as well.

While I try to manage mine without meds, I do have a couple of prescriptions that I can go to as needed. I can't tell you how many times I've heard some form of "What do you mean you can't sleep...you're not tired enough" in combination with "sleeping pills are bad for you." Well no shit Sherlock, but you try functioning when you are getting 2-3 hrs of sleep a night every night for a week.
 
That's the feeling I get about insomnia.

Really? Wow, that surprises me. I have an acquaintance who's suffered from insomnia - it sounds awful. I often have trouble sleeping well, but I'm grateful I usually can sleep.
 
While I try to manage mine without meds, I do have a couple of prescriptions that I can go to as needed. I can't tell you how many times I've heard some form of "What do you mean you can't sleep...you're not tired enough" in combination with "sleeping pills are bad for you." Well no shit Sherlock, but you try functioning when you are getting 2-3 hrs of sleep a night every night for a week.



yes, totally. and, for me, the insomnia comes precisely when the pressure is on and i need to be at my best at work (or in life) and without sleep, it all snowballs into something worse. you can't sleep because there's so much to get done, and then you can't get it all done (well) because you haven't slept, and then when you go to sleep that night, you think about how you didn't get it all done (well) and then you can't sleep more. it's really awful.

for years as a child my parents would think that my inability to sleep was some sort of rebellion or petulance, but they didn't get that i couldn't sleep, and then the harder i would "try" the worse it would get, and it's the same today. i've been on the couch watching TV and falling asleep, i get up, walk to the bed, lie down, and i'm suddenly wide awake and my mind is racing and racing and racing ... and there's nothing i can do to stop it. i've done yoga, buddhist meditation, breathing techniques, various herbal teas, etc. the over-the-counter stuff is ghastly (like Advil PM) and i am very, very thankful for the small amount of prescription medication that i do have.
 
i've been on the couch watching TV and falling asleep, i get up, walk to the bed, lie down, and i'm suddenly wide awake and my mind is racing and racing and racing ... and there's nothing i can do to stop it. i've done yoga, buddhist meditation, breathing techniques, various herbal teas, etc. the over-the-counter stuff is ghastly (like Advil PM) and i am very, very thankful for the small amount of prescription medication that i do have.

From my unqualified POV, I'm imagining it is a combination of stress and adrenal issues, particularly when you mention falling asleep and being suddenly wide awake. The adrenal glands, in theory, get exhausted from all the stress hormones it must produce to keep up, thus allowing you to fall asleep in the first place, but once it "rests up" a bit, it goes back into overdrive, thus keeping you awake. I used to have many of these issues, but they have seemingly gone away. Omega-3, Magnesium, 5-HTP, and phosphatidylserine helped on a lot of this, personally.

Just in case you were interested...
 
I was thinking about resorting to this. Is it that bad?

Although I've never had what I'd call insomnia, I used to pop a couple of Tylenol PMs if I had trouble sleeping. I remember it working fairly well in the past, but when I bought a bottle a few months ago, I noticed they were gel caps instead of oblong tablets, and they don't seem to work as well, at least with me.

I've never tried Advil PM, although maybe I will now.
 
Really? How weird - antihistamines doesn't make me drowsy at all.

The only antihistamine I've ever taken that's made me drowsy was Dimetapp, which knocked me out in the middle of a piano master class in college. My professor took pity on me and let me leave class so I could go lie down. :lol:
 
Maybe someone with more knowledge on the subject can expand on this, but maybe the drowsiness only occurs with specific types of antihistamines? I do know that Benadryl causes fatigue. It'd be best to check with a pharmacist, though.

I remember having to take them for pretty much the entire month of September throughout my childhood, and feeling like I was struggling to stay awake in school the entire month - that sucked. I'm pretty sure that was before non-drowsy types existed.
 
I used to have many of these issues, but they have seemingly gone away. Omega-3, Magnesium, 5-HTP, and phosphatidylserine helped on a lot of this, personally.

Just in case you were interested...

My problems are different - once I'm asleep, I'm fine, but I can't fall asleep, which is the problem. I've also tried everything including 5-HTP, melatonin, special pillows, new mattress, not working out late at night, not using the bed for anything other than sleeping, not having a TV in the bedroom, etc. Nothing really works.

The over the counter stuff is useless for me. The only thing that has worked is Nyquil, but I either need a big dosage (3 pills minimum) or I need to wash it down with some alcohol (this works very well). I know that some people have tried the over-the-counter muscle relaxants, and in my experience they are ineffective. The Rx muscle relaxants on the other hand work great.
 
With insomnia, I go through phases. Sometimes it's falling asleep that's nearly impossible. Other times I fall asleep fine, but wake up after an hour and I'm wide awake for hours. Bleh. I seem sleep most soundly later in my sleep cycle, the last 3 or 4 hours before getting up. It's just getting there that's the problem. I haven't found a drug-free solution yet, either. I usually just go for days and days on 3 hrs a night till I crash.


I know a lot of people who do, but I've never become drowsy on antihistamines...:shrug:

Yeah, I've heard of some people getting an opposite effect from them. I guess it just depends on your body chemistry.
 
As far as I know, "PM" formulations of OTC meds simply contain an antihistamine to make you drowsy. You'd get the same effect from taking Benadryl.


Yup...you could take any form of diphenhydramine HCl (the active ingredient in Benedryl) and get the same effect. The only difference is the PM formulas adding in 500mg of Tylenol or Advil, which most people don't really need if they are just having trouble falling asleep.

I get prescription strength diphenhydramine for my allergies and my doctor specifically instructs me to take them at night because of the drowsiness factor.
 
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