MrsFychan

So my DD has been diagnosed with Pernicious Anaemia with of course of the added bonus of having antibodies attacking any B12 she takes so nothing gets absorbed.
Have been advised by her GP, not the same clinic as mine, to get tested as it could be the reason for some of my issues. My GP refuses unless I spend $56 on a consult for him to write out the paperwork for blood. Path labs do not do private B12 tests and has to come from Dr's requests.

So I have to pay out $56 to get the blood test request, which I can source the results from from the PA Society free, or $112 for the Dr to read so I can get the injections. Obviously if the results are No you do not have lack of B12 or the anti bodies I will not have to pay out the additional Dr visit.

Just over this medical crap, already this week we have paid out $672.00 for Dr appt and then Consultants appt for OH and now we need to find a couple of thousand for an MRI. luckily we have ruled out the really bad thing but Consultant wants the MRI just to be sure. Least we can wait on the public list for this.

Think I need my pep pills dosage increased at this rate

See <----- (miss NHS)

LoCarb

So sorry to hear this.

Can you combine your doctor's visit for blood tests with a prescription renewal for your usual meds?

Add to that, my Doc gives a reduced fee for follow-up consultation (eg. reviewing tests and referal).

garethwm

It may not help you at all, but any specialist investigations ive needed here have always been free? An expat I know recently had a hip replacement down in Rotorua, not having to pay a cent.

garethwm

Sorry your family is having health issues though and you feel you havnt been treated well.

Bo-Jangles

Tell me about it - I have to have B12 jabs, so I have to pay for docs appointment so that he can refer me to labs for blood test, then have to go back for results pay again for consultation and prescription for the jab. Then have to go to a pharmacy to get the prescription and then make another doctors appointment to have nurse administer the jab. Honestly it's more trouble and money than it's worth and just a bloody merry go round - I reckon the whole thing has more impact on my mental health than the supposed consequences of having the deficiency.

garethwm

Your doctor doesnt keep the b12 injections in his or her surgery?

garethwm

If we had kids, I believe we would consider health insurance, if nothing else than allowing private consults for minimal cost and ensuring our kids would be as far up the queue as possible.

Stuck in Auckland

After they are 12 before that the cost is minimal for kids, but be selective of doctors surgery.

Pica

That's just crazy! I had B12 injections in the UK monthly and of course for free but had to go to to the practise nurse. Here in Italy I can buy the syringes and B12 over the counter and administer it myself (I am a trained nurse).

MrsFychan

Bo - I have ordered some Methylcobalamin Sublingual lozenges, so hopefully get them by the weekend, then I know she will be getting some at least daily. It does seem to be the done thing to buy your own meds and syringes and manage the condition yourself. I am on the PAS site and am speaking to a older lady living in Wellington who is trying to get a NZ protocol in place and is collecting data on what people have been told and how they manage the condition as well as speaking to pharmaceutical (?) and medical professionals to get this off the ground. UK and US protocols are slightly different but both load in the first few weeks.

Gareth - MrF was referred to a Consultant by Dr and had to pay $510 for that appt and another $100 for a memory test - which he stated he had no problem remembering stuff, he can still recite the name and address of the person he had to remember at the beginning of the test and repeat at the end. We now are waiting on a MRI which we will also have to pay for.

The Dr we went to with DD did have a dose there but we have to get the script, we then can take it to them and they will mark up for her use. As its a Youth Support place DD is seen free until she is 25 so no problem with that, but I would see her self injecting anyway after a few trips to the nurse.
They are only giving her one a month atm which actually not do much but I have queried that.

Lo Carb - I was thinking of taking youngest and request blood work on him and whilst in there ask if they could just write me out one as well , don't think that will work though.

We might get funding, have a appt with WINZ week after next, figures crossed as that would cover the injections and lozenges.

garethwm

MrsF, consider Clinicians Vitamin b12 oral drops 50 mcg. You can get them from most chemists. They work similar to the lozenges but I believe theyre more efficient and less troublesome. You use the eyedropper supplied to put a drop of the liquid under the tongue daily and the b12 is absorbed straight into the bloodstream. They work!

Pom_Chch

MrsF- have you looked into insurance? I know it doesn't help the situation right now, but worth considering for the future. Sorry for your troubles

BEVS

There should be no charge for a referral to a consultant and no charge if an MRI is needed. However, there may be a (long) wait list.

I had my GP refer me to an ( the only) eye specialist as I was concerned over some aspects of my sight. However I would have been waiting forever to be seen as the wait lists are long and only those in extreme need & at risk are seen really.

As I value the health of my eyes, having needed to be vigilant about them the past 4 decades, I chose to go privately & pay for that consultation and any treatment needed. In the UK, I would have been given regular check-ups every year or so + instantly seen by a specialist clinic if a prob arose, courtesy of the NHS. Here the service is too stretched so people like me , who simply need to monitor their eyeballs ,don't make any list really.

MrsFychan

Thank you Gareth I shall look into them. Going to get DD to take lozenges for a week and see how she feels, then take her off before her next injection and blood test as don't want to give a false reading for just the injection and then discuss with Dr about how we go forward.

Spoken to Dr today and she states that her B12 wasn't that low so she is happy with just monthly injections for now, but will take more bloods to check and she is still waiting for the paediatrician to come back to her.

Pom - MrF is in talks with work to try and get some insurance so we shall just wait for now.

BEVS - that was a private appointment as the matter may of been urgent, the Dr had also put forward to public list but the private came up with a cancellation so he took it. We have requested that the MRI is done via the public list now that the Consultant does not think it is actually anything serious.

jmh

Many don't really appreciate what a treasure the NHS is until they have to do without it. The NZ system is pretty good especially if you need urgent care. I recently had an emergency same-day appointment at the eye clinic at Greenlane hospital which didn't cost me anything (I made a donation to The Fred Hollows Foundation in appreciation of my good fortune in having access to the service). Non-urgent cases are a different story. I had to wait 2 months for a regular appointment at the eye clinic which also cost nothing, but of course 2 months is a long time to wait.