Reply #35: I ended up going to the local ER for nausea, dizziness ... [View All]

[Lisa]

... and shortness of breath, this summer.

They monitored me for a couple of hours, and found my heart rate was temporarily elevated but otherwise normal. Luckily I live in Canada, and my provincial health plan covered it. (BC is one of the provinces which charges health-care premiums -- automatically deducted from my paycheque, so about $1000 per year in my case.) One hears stories about waiting times and crowded facilities, but I must have caught them during a lull -- there were only 2 other people in the waiting room (an old man who was unable to sleep because of a pinched nerve, and a girl who thought she might have gotten whiplash when her car was bumped).

Later I went down the street to the walk-in clinic (I'd have gone there first but my symptoms hit in the middle of the night, after closing hours). They did a blood test on me, and then gave me a prescription for some mild sedatives as a precautionary measure. No cost for the exam and tests. At the pharmacy, the pills only cost about $12, so I decided to cover the cost myself even though there was assistance available for lower-income people (I just wasn't in the mood to deal with the paperwork that day). I've only used one tablet since then, anyway. Apparently it was the aftermath of an odd kind of flu, since others in town have reported it as well.

Reading this thread, I realize how lucky I am. Not just because of public Medicare, but also because I've been fortunate enough to not be seriously ill, or injured in an accident. One of my co-workers fainted, and luckily was found by his wife before he bled to death from a perforated ulcer. It took him several months to recover, but the provincial plan covered his bills, so at least he didn't have to worry about being in debt afterwards.