How are things looking over the next few years as far as health insurance costs in the US?
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posted by crapmatic
on Mar 15, 2013 -
7 answers
Medical advice... What could be causing extended and ongoing heart weirdness? Long-ish details inside...
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posted by Ziggurat
on Sep 20, 2012 -
25 answers
Good afternoon. I am in the market for a doctor, of the general practitioner variety, a dentist and a new laboratory in NYC. Any referrals you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
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posted by jason's_planet
on Aug 4, 2012 -
9 answers
Are there risks in having botox injections for a neutropenia sufferer?
A relation of mine is determined to have botox injections to get rid of wrinkles, however, they suffer badly from cyclic neutropenia which means that their immune system is often weak and have white blood cell issues and consequently they get infections frequently. I am aware that botox is botulinum toxin and I have kept trying to persuade her to see her doctor before having botox injections, to check whether they are safe for her in light of neutropenia. She is desperate to go ahead with this and it is hard to persuade her to get medical advice on this. From a layman's perspective, I am concerned that this may be dangerous for her.
Does anybody with medical knowledge, perhaps haematology, know if this botox is safe for neutropenia sufferers?
Many thanks!
posted by conrad101
on Jul 20, 2012 -
1 answer
Is there a way that the medical field classifies diseases based on how preventative they are by an individual's actions? For instance obesity related diseases are very preventable but genetic diseases are not very preventable.
posted by bucksox
on Jan 11, 2012 -
8 answers
I'm going to be visiting New Orleans with my kids. We try to go every year and this trip we'll be staying around a month. I'd like to have a regular doctor or medical practice so that I don't need to visit a hospital emergency room for something minor. We have travel insurance, and most of our party will be US citizens.
posted by Joe in Australia
on Jun 9, 2011 -
3 answers
My relatives need some advice - a sick nephew in Tajikistan does not have access to trustworthy medical diagnosis.
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posted by Meatbomb
on Jan 28, 2011 -
5 answers
My wife and I had injections for a TB test on Monday morning (we're adopting our second child and had to get the test). We had to come in Wednesday morning at 9:45 to see if the injection caused any problems. The NP told us everything was fine and we were TB negative.
It's several days later now - Thursday evening - and I'm fine, but my wife has enormous bumps/hives right at the injection site on her arm.
I'm assuming the TB test shot is some kind of totally inert drug so you can't actually get sick from it. Why would a disease that we were supposedly negative for cause hives? Is she allergic to something else? Help! Should we just go to the DR now? The hives are pretty weird.
Neither of us has any food allergies of any kinds.
posted by luriete
on Jan 20, 2011 -
22 answers
What is the meaning of the medical colloquialism "low blood"?
posted by feathermeat
on Oct 6, 2010 -
11 answers
My little brother is re-taking the internal medicine medical boards and I'm trying to get a better understanding of how much he needs to increase his score.
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posted by petestein1
on Aug 17, 2010 -
1 answer
Accepted at multiple medical schools. Now facing the choice of which one to attend and how to weigh the different price tags. If you are in med school now or have made it through to the other side, what factors do you recommend considering? How much debt is reasonable and has it impacted your career? (a little more info after the jump)
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posted by newlyminted
on Apr 15, 2010 -
9 answers
There was a series of articles by doctors (or possibly, a doctor) in a mainstream US magazine, each about a patient who had a weird ailment, usually incorrectly diagnosed at first. What was it?
posted by musofire
on May 3, 2009 -
11 answers
Tell me all about your favorite intelligent professional or casual medical blogs/articles somewhat in the vein of Atul Gawande.
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posted by nursegracer
on Mar 24, 2009 -
17 answers
I will be returning briefly to the US after 6 months abroad and I would like to partake in some of that wonderful US healthcare before I head back abroad. I have a couple of questions.
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posted by andoatnp
on Feb 18, 2009 -
13 answers
Any recommendations for (preferably) online Public Health Journals, Communities, or Blogs?
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posted by rosswald
on Dec 11, 2008 -
6 answers
My sister is completing a course to become a paramedic and i really wanted to get her something special. She is asking for an EMS pocket field book. But I want to give her something more rigorous. I would like to get her an electronic one, like doctors use I would wholly appreciate suggestions as to which palm pilot or pocket pc or... and software I should buy.
posted by phllip.phillip
on Dec 10, 2008 -
8 answers
Why do medical insurers treat obesity different than other vices? Not a GYOB (I've got one); I literally don't understand the facts of the situation.
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posted by WCityMike
on Oct 20, 2008 -
20 answers
Why do I constantly need to pee? For the past three weeks, I've needed to pee even though there's often very little quantity when I do pee.
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posted by anonymous
on Oct 12, 2008 -
12 answers
US doctor question: do general practitioners practice real diagnosis anymore? Every doctor my wife and I have gone to in the past ten years has turned out to be incompetent or disinterested in doing more than the bare minimum.
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posted by crapmatic
on Aug 11, 2008 -
28 answers
Are expensive, precautionary tests for health preventive maintenance an abuse of the medical system?
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posted by netbros
on Aug 4, 2008 -
17 answers
My friend is going on a 2-week vacation in the Netherlands starting tomorrow night. Her brother did something to his knee a couple of days ago and they're worried that it'll need more medical attention later. What's medical care like for tourists in the Netherlands?
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posted by rivenwanderer
on May 30, 2008 -
5 answers
Medical Filter. Recently (in the past month or so), one of my legs seems to have either grown longer than the other one, or one has shrunk.
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posted by billysumday
on Apr 17, 2008 -
11 answers
What do you guys know about "immature myelination" in infants? I'm trying to learn more about this condition and what it means for the future of the child. Specifically what sorts of special care will likely be necessary.
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posted by anonymous
on Aug 23, 2007 -
4 answers
Medical School Filter: Infectious Disease Department on the West Coast. Please recommend a good university for an overseas visiting professional.
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posted by geekyguy
on Aug 21, 2007 -
9 answers
In short: how does my father, trapped in a hospital bed, get a private doctor and a second opinion?
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posted by electriccynic
on May 30, 2007 -
2 answers
While reading
this excellent thread, an interesting question popped into my mind - why was bloodletting so popular for so long when it so obviously doesn't work?
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posted by Afroblanco
on Dec 23, 2005 -
27 answers
I've just been diagnosed as severely hyperthyroid, also known as Grave's Disease. I'm under the care of about 6 physicians, but want to know some more subjective information. Is there a really great book? A great tip for sleeping with my head raised on pillows? Other experimental or experiences you can pass my way would be great.
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posted by barnone
on Aug 24, 2005 -
21 answers
So this upper-GI endoscopy thing I keep hearing about. Uh, is there anyway you can request one of those new capsule endoscopies? Apparently the also don't knock you out. Personally I'd rather have to swallow a capsule then have them snaking a tube down my throat while I'm awake. Can I demand being knocked out? Am I the patient that doctor's roll their eyes at?
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posted by geoff.
on Nov 18, 2004 -
16 answers
My abdomen is pulsating significantly just to the left of my umbilicus. [More Inside]
I first noticed it happening every once in a while three years ago but now it's pretty much a constant thing and I think it's a stronger pulse. It's especially pronounced when I lie flat on my back. I don't have insurance in the country I'm currently living in and I don't want to dish out a hefty sum for a slew of diagnostic tests if perhaps there's nothing to worry about. Everything I've looked up online points to a possible aortic aneurysm but I'm a 20 year old girl with no family history of similar problems, so I'm figuring that's unlikely. I've never been hypertensive. Should I be worried or could it be normal?
posted by anonymous
on Nov 16, 2004 -
12 answers
[CrampFilter] My son woke up again last night with cramp in his legs...its painful for him, and disturbing for us...(morecrammedinside)
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posted by mattr
on Oct 12, 2004 -
25 answers
During tonight's debate the Vice President talked about meeting an Ob/Gyn who screens potential patients and then refuses, for financial rather than medical reasons, to accept those who are high-risk. Is that allowed? In my vast medical law/ethics experience
cough*Dr. Abby Bartlett*cough this doesn't sound kosher, but...um...what do the actual rules say?
posted by nakedcodemonkey
on Oct 5, 2004 -
5 answers
MedFilter: Is there any reason why, with an enriched blood supply attached, a severed head couldn't be kept alive? If so, could it be kept alive beyond typical life expectancy? The only worthwhile attempt at an answer I can dig up
is this, but I imagine this question comes up in med school quite a lot.. (
There is a particularly kookie book called If We Can Keep A Severed Head Alive.. on this topic but it's generally regarded as 'nut literature'.)
posted by wackybrit
on Jul 15, 2004 -
22 answers
Allergic Reaction to Metal Filter
I can't wear any kind of cheap metal. Week before I wore a belt with a cheap ass buckle. Now I have an ungodly itchy rash on the left side of my body from my waist to my knee. Anyone have any suggestions before I scratch myself to death?
And a doctor isn't really an option as there is no insurance in the ol' damnitkage household.
posted by damnitkage
on Jul 7, 2004 -
14 answers