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When I was about 7, I told my grandma I had sore toes. She took me to the doctor, and he said I was fine. For as long as I can remember, I've had issues with my jaw. I was always indoors reading and I just didn't have the energy most kids had. When I was 14, I went to the doctor because of bowel issues. I was diagnosed with IBS. When I was 16, I went to the doctors for an extremely sore knee. I couldn't even touch it at times. The doc told me I just needed physio. I tried my best at physio and it didn't help at all, so I quit. My knee was terrible for years, and at one point it got so bad that when I would drive for more than 20 minutes, I had to lift my legs out of the car because they hurt too much to use.Once it got to this point, I went to my new doctor. Something HAD to be done. So I asked for a new referral to a physio. My GP asked me why and I told him my knee issues (my right side was worse). And then he asked me “What about your left knee?”. So I said that hurt too, but I just wanted my right side fixed because it was unbearable. He asked a couple more questions, asked what other joints hurt, and told me he thinks I have what's called “Rheumatoid Arthritis” so he ran some tests.There is a specific test that's around 80% accurate for RA. Mine was negative but other markers showed high inflammation. Anyways, he referred me to a specialist. The specialist diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia. Over the next 6 months I was hospitalised, couldn't move my shoulders AT ALL at one point, and rapidly declined and became bed ridden.He finally agreed I had RA. RA starts in smaller joints such as fingers, toes, the jaw etc. It took 3 years of failing treatments to find ones that work. I'm now on a regular small dose of chemotherapy (which has caused a miscarriage), and a drug that the government has to approve every 6 months, and a heap of other meds. I'll need joints replaced and if I hadn't waited so long for a diagnosis there would be way less damage.All the things I have been diagnosed with relate back to RA. IBS can be caused by Fibromyalgia, which can be caused by RA. I was diagnosed all backward and went through years of hell because doctors just brushed thing off.

When I was about 7, I told my grandma I had sore toes. She took me to the doctor, and he said I was fine. For as long as I can remember, I've had issues with my jaw. I was always indoors reading and I just didn't have the energy most kids had. When I was 14, I went to the doctor because of bowel issues. I was diagnosed with IBS. When I was 16, I went to the doctors for an extremely sore knee. I couldn't even touch it at times. The doc told me I just needed physio. I tried my best at physio and it didn't help at all, so I quit. My knee was terrible for years, and at one point it got so bad that when I would drive for more than 20 minutes, I had to lift my legs out of the car because they hurt too much to use.Once it got to this point, I went to my new doctor. Something HAD to be done. So I asked for a new referral to a physio. My GP asked me why and I told him my knee issues (my right side was worse). And then he asked me “What about your left knee?”. So I said that hurt too, but I just wanted my right side fixed because it was unbearable. He asked a couple more questions, asked what other joints hurt, and told me he thinks I have what's called “Rheumatoid Arthritis” so he ran some tests.There is a specific test that's around 80% accurate for RA. Mine was negative but other markers showed high inflammation. Anyways, he referred me to a specialist. The specialist diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia. Over the next 6 months I was hospitalised, couldn't move my shoulders AT ALL at one point, and rapidly declined and became bed ridden.He finally agreed I had RA. RA starts in smaller joints such as fingers, toes, the jaw etc. It took 3 years of failing treatments to find ones that work. I'm now on a regular small dose of chemotherapy (which has caused a miscarriage), and a drug that the government has to approve every 6 months, and a heap of other meds. I'll need joints replaced and if I hadn't waited so long for a diagnosis there would be way less damage.All the things I have been diagnosed with relate back to RA. IBS can be caused by Fibromyalgia, which can be caused by RA. I was diagnosed all backward and went through years of hell because doctors just brushed thing off.

Several of my friends who live in Washington and Oregon routinely brought their elderly parents here to get their prescription drugs. Even after taking into account the doctor’s visit, gas, hotel and meals for a few days, they saved a bundle, and that was back when the US and Canadian dollars were roughly equivalent. Now, of course, it’d be an even better deal.If I lived in the US within a few hours of the border, I’d definitely come to Canada for all of my uninsured, non-emergency medical and dental needs. I don’t have stats on how many USans do this, but probably not a great many, if only because few USans are aware that they can. A USan friend living about half an hour south of the border was thoroughly convinced that it would be illegal before I set her straight!If anyone reading this is thinking of coming to Canada for medical or dental care, here are some pointers:Bring any relevant medical records! You don’t want to pay for diagnostic tests you don’t need in order to get the prescription you do, and no doc here is going to prescribe you, say, insulin, without establishing that you actually need it. Once you’ve got a file, your USan doc can copy your Canadian doc on anything relevant.You can’t just ring up a specialist and make an appointment - you must be referred by a GP (or another specialist). If you don’t see your specialist for more than six months, you need a new referral.Go to a walk-in clinic, preferably one near a university - they’re most accustomed to handling out-of-pocket payments. Walk-in clinics are not inferior to solo practices; they are typically owned by one or several doctors who practice there, and you can choose whom to see. I’ve been going to a walk-in clinic, and seeing the same GP there, for over 20 years. It’s a little annoying that I can’t make an appointment after all this time, but it’s not a big deal.If you’re coming for prescription drugs, be sure you know what and how much you can take back to the States. Also, always ask the prescribing doctor for generic equivalents, if they’re available; many more are available in Canada than in the US, and they are far less expensive than name brands.If anyone has questions of a general nature, I’m happy to answer to the best of my ability, but I’m not a doctor, so won’t be able to answer anything super specific.