costs.

[Guest guest]

Dear Catriona,

My wife knew exactly what she wanted and needed as this malady is hereditary and

her mother has it too. But it took two years and two " mistakes " by two

endocrinologists to give her life back. We added up the bills. To do it wrong

cost about $4,500. If her great grandmother had the problem, it would have been

handled in two or three office visits with cheaper drugs. The cost in todays

money, about a tenth as much.

However, my wife's case is hardly indicative. Untreated symptoms of

hypothyroidism allow greater susceptibility to disease, even life's great

killers. Untreated symptoms reduce vitality at work leading to less pay, even

being dismissed. Untreated symptoms reduce the quality of home life. ETC.,

ETC.

The QALY analysis is used to calculate the " return on medical investment " of a

medical intervention. For each year your life's quality is evaluated from 0

(death) to 1 (good health). Then for all the years those annual values are

added up. This is done with and without the proposed medical intervention.

Then they multiply the improvement by 20,000 pounds to compare with the cost of

the intervention.

When you back this QALY analysis up, the government is saying that everyone's

life is worth 20,000 pounds per year. Then if not being treated is reducing

your quality of life by 75%, then effectively you are losing 15,000 pounds

annually.... And that figure is more than the medical costs. Probably much

more. This means they should be caring for you properly instead of ignoring

you.

Have a better day,

[Guest guest]

>

> Dear Catriona,

>

> My wife knew exactly what she wanted and needed as this malady is hereditary

and her mother has it too.

Exactly my point, .

A large number of us go to the doctors with some idea of what is wrong,

especially when it's in the family. My mum has it, 4 of my mum's female cousins

(on both sides of the family) have it, I have it and my daughter has it It

took me over two years to start getting treatment - by today's guidelines I'd

have been left suffering longer! And more money would have been wasted looking

for another problem that didn't exist.

You are quite right about the cost that we don't see regarding our quality of

life... but this (and any other) government here is going to be interested in

money that they actually spend, or more precisely what they can save. They're

not thinking of the money that they waste by restricting diagnosis in the first

place and then only prescribing a cheap generic levothyroxine. On paper it

appears to be the cheapest alternative, in reality it is the most expensive...

and not even getting into tax and revenue lost from people unable to work.

You have a good day, too,

Cat.

[Guest guest]

wow thats cheap... lucky. it costs me $65.00 to see a PT each time,

then I go to the gym and work with a re-hab guy using their machines,

thats $35. if I see him each time. the hydro pool is $25.00 for an hour but

I stay longer on my own.

-- Re: Newbie needing hip

Mine didn't........BARB

Newbie needing hip

>

> Hi Goldie.

> if I can help in any way just shout..

> Barb and I had hips done a day apart, nearly 7 months ago, it was Barb's

> first hip, but my 5th, so she can give you the perspective as going in

for

> the first time.

> its 18 years since I had the first done.I'm on rounds 2, 3 and 4.

> but hope we can help you..

>

> x

>

> ------------------------------------

>

>