Acupuncture for Chronic Pain

If you suffer from chronic pain than you have probably explored every avenue of treatment to help with pain management. When conventional medicine hasn't worked you might consider a medical practice that has been around for 2,000 years…Acupuncture.

Acupuncture has been widely used by patients when seeking treatment for chronic pain. It can alleviate some debilitating symptoms such as widespread pain, fatigue, and even anxiety in fibromyalgia patients for months at a time.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Research has revealed that acupuncture stimulates nerve fibers that signal the brain and spinal column to release pain blocking hormones.  The human circulatory system keeps blood, oxygen and nutrients flowing through the body just as your life-force energy, known as qi or chi (pronounced chee) run through your meridians. When this energy gets stuck it creates a blockage that can contribute to health conditions such as fibromyalgia. Acupuncture works to release those blockages and strengthen your chi. 

As acupuncture has become more mainstream, many Canadian health insurance companies have added it to their policies.

Gender Reassignment Surgery Coverage in Canada

If you are a Canadian who feels strongly about having gender reassignment surgery you may be interested to learn that coverage varies from province to province. 

There are 3 areas of surgery:

• Removal of the internal and external organs associated with the current sex
• Reconstruction of the external characteristics of the desired sex
• Procedures to enhance the appearance and more closely match the desired sex

There is a wait list to consider when getting referred for surgery. Unfortunately your family doctor can’t provide this type of referral it must come from a special assessment centre. You may have to travel out of province for this appointment in order to be referred.

When it comes to funding the surgery you will have to look at whether your province offers any type of coverage. Eight provinces, all but New Brunswick and PEI, fund some combination of gender-confirming surgeries. 

The CanadianProfessional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH) can provide you with the information you require. British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia fund all seven of the following procedures:

• hysterectomy (uterus removal)
• oophorectomy (ovary removal)
• metaoidioplasty and phalloplasty (bottom surgery for female-to-male trans people)
• penectomy (penis removal)
• orchiectomy (testes removal)
• vaginoplasty (the creation of a vagina)

Mastectomies are funded by some of the provinces but there is no chest contouring coverage. Nipple grafting can cost on average an extra $1,500.

Provinces such as Newfoundland and Saskatchewan require trans people seeking surgery to get a referral from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s (CAMH) Gender Identity Clinic in Toronto.

Trans people often don’t have the time to wait the sometimes five-plus years to begin the surgical process to change their gender, they can suffer from gender dysphoria, a mental health disorder caused by having to live in a body they feel doesn’t belong to them. 

Private Health Insurance
If you have private health insurance you might be covered for hormones and certain surgeries. Some insurance companies have exclusions for gender identity related procedures, claiming SRS is "cosmetic," "elective" or "experimental." However, some insurance does cover gender reassignment surgery. Check your insurance manual to see if gender identity procedures and medications are excluded. 

List of Businesses with Transgender-Inclusive Health Insurance Benefits

Health Insurance for Newcomers to Canada

If you have recently arrived in Canada, are a permanent resident and have applied with the Ministry of Health for public health insurance coverage you should be advised that it normally takes about 3 months to process the application.

For the first 3 months that you are not covered by public health insurance it is a good idea to purchase private health insurance. You will first need to know if the insurance company you are interested in using offers coverage for those not part of the public health plan. Next make sure the plan you choose suits your needs keeping in mind that private health insurance doesn’t provide coverage for every health issue. There are exceptions made for example a baby born in Canada is automatically a Canadian Citizen which qualifies him/her for provincial/territorial health coverage.

Refugees may qualify for coverage under the Interim Federal Health Program. Coverage varies depending on status. 

CAA Health & Dental (http://www.caahealth.ca) is a private health insurance company in Canada that offers customizable plans fit for your needs.

Advances in Laser Vision Correction Procedures

I’ve been wearing prescription glasses since I was a child, and when laser eye surgery came around I was sceptical to say the least. A friend of mine had the surgery when it first came about and complained of dry eyes and blurry night vision. I figured before I gave it any consideration, I’d give the medical community a few years to work out the bugs. 

LASIK

LASIK which is the most common type of laser eye surgery stands for Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis. Although it’s not invasive, removing tissue from the cornea to change its shape sounds invasive to me. Although I am still a little afraid, the advances in procedure I’ve been reading about have gotten me to re-consider it.

New advances in the last two decades have introduced the new and improved LASIK, known as LasikXtra which is said to dramatically reduce the risk of infection, regression, and eptheial ingrowth. Opthalmic surgeon Bobby Qureshi says it is “the biggest thing in laser eye surgery in the last 20 years”. The treatment cross-links corneal fibres making them thicker and more resilient. 

If you’re like me and considering having the surgery, and you have a health insurance plan you might be surprised to find that you have coverage for the laser eye surgery. If you don’t have health insurance but are considering having the surgery check into a plan that offers coverage to help lessen the cost.