Going for a scan tomorrow guys I'll update with the costs here I am going for a MRI of the brain region Carotid Doppler Ultrasound Scan I have been having stroke like symptoms..such as loss of feeling in the left side, strange pressure like headaches, muscle twitch (occasional spasm at night but I think that's just my body being tired and my mind being awake), nausea..bunch of other symptoms. Hopefully the costs do not sting tooooooooo much. I am a しゃかいじん (shakaijin) so hopefully my medical insurance takes the brunt of it. Consultation was just 800 yen but this is where the damage is going to come in..and its only a check up..if they find something then that's really going to hurt
Fuck -- hope you are okay. But, I think you'll find the costs quite cheap depending on where you're come from. If you're from the states, you will laugh. From Europe, maybe a bit pricier than what you're used to. There are two types of national insurance: Kokumin Kenkou Hoken and Shakai Hoken. You should be on the latter as a seishain, and it will cover 80% of the costs. The downside of the whole thing is there is a very high quack to normal doctor ratio here. CAT scans are far cheaper here, btw. My wife did a very thorough check not long ago. Included CAT scan and multiple other things. Apparently took a few trips of a couple of hours each, and it was 80,000 yen after her Kokumin Kenkou Hoken kicked in. My guess is you won't be out of pocket more than 35,000 yen. Anxious to hear though.
Snice you're not coming from Switzerland, you probably feel the costs are high. Hope everything is fine
Jesus. Last time I had a full raft of scans to determine what was wrong with me (which included a couple of those smear-your-stomach-with-weird-electrolytic-shit, to check the organs) and blood tests, it was mostly covered by the state. I think I paid £50 for something that wasn't covered. $3k just for one scan is fucking nuts.
Whoops, it looks like I was little off. I just looked at the insurance company summary of charges. The CAT scan was $2K. The insurance company negotiated rate was $1350 of which I paid $127. I must have confused it with the rate for ambulance services from another hospital 20 miles away to MGH. That was $3K, negotiated to $2600 of which I paid around $200. The amount of money that the insurance company had to pay was insane.
Welcome to the disaster that is the US health system. It's totally fucked b/c morons are allowed to sue doctors without a roof, and with zero ground to walk on. They cock up the works for us normal people. Even if you pay for a CAT out of pocket here, I'm quite sure it's less than $2k. Probably closer to $1k... and this is land of the gouger.
OK remember that I am a working man with work paid medical insurance, my total bill including consultation for Chest Xray MRI (comes with an MRA) brain scan Neck ultrasound CAT with doppler 9170 Yen only thats pretty cheap and it was very fast too, the Chest Xray I asked the DR for and he agreed so I went down took an xray came straight back up to discuss result. Everything lasted about 3 hours including consultation..very good service and the hospital is quite nice, its like a hotel lobby almost with a piano in the middle and some jazz playing. Turns out I may have a compressed or narrowed artery in the right side of the brain which is what may be causing the lack of oxygen flowing through and hence my left side being affected (damage to the brain affects the opposite side of the body). However the peripheral arteries are looking healthy so it is not an immediate concern just avoid all the triggers such as alcohol (i was off for a year but had some alcohol for my bday...), caffeine and bananas. They want to check again in 2 months. It may also be neurological (nerve) damage so if symptoms continue I need to visit a neurologist. Pleasantly surprised by the cost!
All 3 are a massive bummer.. Alcohol = fun and relaxed enough to talk to pretty strangers Caffeine and bananas = wake up call to keep my mind active and its fun being caffeine high
Yes the results are : Compressed or narrowed artery (there are two main arteries in the brain that feed the rest of the veins) in the right side of the brain which is what may be causing the lack of oxygen flowing through and hence my left side being affected (damage to the brain affects the opposite side of the body) causing the stroke like symptoms. However the peripheral veins are looking healthy so it is not an immediate concern just avoid all the triggers such as alcohol (i was off for a year but had some alcohol for my bday...), caffeine and bananas. They want to check again in 2 months to make sure. Potentially very bad and something may have to be done about it because if a blockage occurs I would have a stroke and be paralysed or may die. Any type of brain surgery has huge risks associated with it, there are generally three options the doctors use in the case of blocked arteries. 1) medication such as blood thinners (aspirin etc..) to make sure a blood clot does not occur 2) attempt removal of the blockage in the artery 3) put a stent in the artery none of which are particularly great...... It may also be neurological (nerve) damage so if symptoms continue I need to visit a neurologist. Nerve damage is a real pain in the a$$ as well as most would tell you that damage is permanent and non reversible. My stroke like symptoms are transient though (only kick in when my central nervous system is affected by caffeine, some stimulant or alcohol) so it is going to be difficult for them to identify it im sure
That sounds shitty but good luck with a Neurologist. It took me several months to see one here for a short consulatation then I had to wait a year again for a 2 minute consultation. I guess if there was somehting more obvious or serious I'd have been seen sooner but I am still in and out at present, though more frequently and for longer durations atlast. I hope the system there works much more quickly for you, there is no torture worse than the wait! I have a shitty nervous system too, mostly from being injured so many bloody times! On one occasion a Japanese Akita chewed me to bits and the nerves around my left elbow and knee are shot so nothing feels quite right on the left side compared to the right. The main thing to bear in mind though is the majority of Neuological problems are treatable so I wouldn't worry too much and good luck
This is where I think Japan's medical system is quite good. Some of the doctors are shit (you have to do some research on your own) but the system isn't totally free... only amazingly cheap. You'd have to be massively broke not to be able to afford a consultation. It's how the states should have strived for. Everyone gets the minimal amount: if you want more, you pay up. It's not rocket science.
