Good afternoon

Quintus

Good afternoon to all of you!
I have been reading posts on this forum for a while and I found a lot of them very helpful. Others I found encouraging and even very funny.
I have ankylosing spondylitis since age 18, psoriasis and hemorrhagic rectolitis. Right now I am waiting an appointment for some skin cancer surgery. Well- nothing to do with arthritis, apparently.
I had some other, more serious health problems. Those prohibit the usual medication or treatment of auto- immune issues. Perhaps I am lucky with that since I'am spared the side - effects. But I am always looking for ideas to lessen the symptoms of the above mentioned "Spondy" and others.
Well: here I am.

[Deleted User]

Hi Quintus and welcome again. Thanks for introducing yourself and detailing some of your unfortunate health experience.

Glad you have found reading the forums supportive. Do join in, you are most welcome and it will be interesting hearing any comparisons you can make with the Health services as provided in lovely France

Lastly, if you haven't already seen it, is the Factsheet we have for Ankylosing spondylitis, although I suspect you are well informed of all this by now.

https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/do-i-have-arthritis/publications/446-ankylosing-spondylitis

All best wishes
Brynmor

Quintus

Good morning Brynmor and thank you very much! ( I do not know if it is Mr. or Mrs Brynmor 😊)
You are right: comparison with other systems is not only interesting, but even necessary to make the system "better". I know a handful of British expats. Some with rather serious health problems. All of them prefer to be treated in France than in the U.K. I guess our system is very performing in emergencies or really threatening situations. Alas, talking about long- term issues it is more like take your pills and shut up! One has to be patient if one need an appointment with a specialist. The last time it took me 7 months. Dentists are a real problem.
I read a little bit about the NHS and it's current difficulties. And about the daily struggle of those who work in hospitals. Same difference here. When the health system is managed more and more as EXXON or Tesco, the true issues become very quickly less important. I had a discussion with a nurse a couple of weeks ago. She feels as working in a machine, helping repair machines. Her words. Her time spent per patient is supervised. More than 90 seconds and she has to justify it. I don't think that every public service should be "managed" under the laws of the so called free market. But I am afraid that is the global tendency in Europe.
Yes, long - term diseases are mostly expansive. Shame on us😊
There would be some other differences in between the NHS and ours. But I reckon that would belong to another topic.
Thank you for the AS fact sheet link! At least the symptoms are largely the same. And no: I will NOT join the local rugby team. That is decided! 😊

stickywicket

Hello and welcome, Quintus You seem to have a lot of health issues both on the arthritis and non-arthritis fronts. I hope we can help with the former and maybe just lighten life a little for the latter.

I'm sorry to hear that the health system in France has as many, and similar, problems as our beloved NHS. I'm not sure what the answers are. People are living longer, at both ends of the age range, and with more complex conditions.

Guilty as charged If I'd been born 50 years earlier the RA alone would probably have killed me given lack of meds and ensuing lack of exercise but, as it was, I, like many others, lived to propagate our faulty immune systems albeit unwittingly.

C'est la vie, n'est ce pas?

dreamdaisy

Bonjour, Quintus, ca va? I am not well at the moment (I have a dose of influenza, as does my husband, so we are laid up in bed out-coughing each other and having a temperature competition) but I wanted to welcome you to the forum, it's a pleasant change to hear from someone from another culture - and a philosopher too?

We are watching the Six Nations and I am cheering for France, my second favourites. DD

Quintus

Dreamdaisy: I am really sorry to read about your influenza competition. Hopefully it is only a matter of hours until you won it! Winter is a nasty season. I observe the snow on the mountains with a very evil eye! Snow is nice to look at, as long as it stays where it belongs to: far away!
Another culture? This is France! Not Tombouctou ! And part of your past. Not only since 1066!
I have roman ancestors, talking about Lugdunum etc. Upstairs downstairs- Lord Bellamy?
O.k- you are influenza stricken. You will be very fast back to the real world! Influenza is NOTHING! We know worse, don't we?
Be better soon!!!

Quintus

P.S. the six nation thing seems to pop up constantly. That IS some esoteric voodoo stuff, non?