I will ask my doctor to be referred to a dermatologist and go from there.

I would assume that if it is ordered from another country it would not be covered by insurance.

(Wed-18-08-2021, 02:19 AM)KatT Wrote: I will ask my doctor to be referred to a dermatologist and go from there.

I would assume that if it is ordered from another country it would not be covered by insurance.

In the case of the friends of my parents, it was partially covered.
Just try and explain to your insurance that it is their choice, a relatively cheap medicine from abroad or an expensive local biological. Try to get into a dialogue with your insurance. I get it that is difficult as those people only work by the rules. But hey, if you don’t shoot, you will never hit something.
For you it is only your health you are working on.

The derm can always contact doctors in the Netherlands for enquiries, or get into contact with the Dutch patients association. A call is quickly made, you only have to type 12 numbers on your phone. And every Dutchman speaks English.

(Wed-18-08-2021, 08:18 AM)Caroline Wrote:

(Wed-18-08-2021, 02:19 AM)KatT Wrote: I will ask my doctor to be referred to a dermatologist and go from there.

I would assume that if it is ordered from another country it would not be covered by insurance.

In the case of the friends of my parents, it was partially covered.
Just try and explain to your insurance that it is their choice, a relatively cheap medicine from abroad or an expensive local biological. Try to get into a dialogue with your insurance. I get it that is difficult as those people only work by the rules. But hey, if you don’t shoot, you will never hit something.
For you it is only your health you are working on.

The derm can always contact doctors in the Netherlands for enquiries, or get into contact with the Dutch patients association. A call is quickly made, you only have to type 12 numbers on your phone. And every Dutchman speaks English.

Not sure about Canada but I do know that in the US trying to talk to your insurance company about something like that is practically impossible. Most of the people that customers talk to do not have the authority to approve a medicine. Those with that authority rarely (if ever) would speak to a customer. Basically (here) most insurance plans are drawn up documents that show what they pay for and what they do not. If they refuse payment you can argue your case (I did that once for a medical claim) but medicines are pretty cut and dried as in they are either on the approved list or they or not. It certainly never hurts to try but for the way our insurance companies here operate I would put it in writing with as much data as possible enclosed. Of course again in the US there is the US-FDA to consider. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera, Biogen Idec) for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. So I'm thinking that for the US until the FDA approves it for psoriasis, insurance companies will not be on board. Don't know if that's an issue with Canada or not.

It's the same in Canada unfortunately    

It's approved for MS too I believe.....I remember doing a search on this about a year ago.

As for a doctor calling another country     They have a hard time just following up with their patients in the same city!!!!

I will try anyway....worse they can say is no!

(Thu-19-08-2021, 01:26 AM)KatT Wrote: It's the same in Canada unfortunately    

It's approved for MS too I believe.....I remember doing a search on this about a year ago.

As for a doctor calling another country     They have a hard time just following up with their patients in the same city!!!!

I will try anyway....worse they can say is no!

Should be possible calling another doctor. As I said it is only 12 numbers. Hihi. The world isn’t so big anymore as it probably used to be. Because of the Internet and programs like Zoom, there is a possibility to chat with anyone at any time and anywhere on the planet.
The only thing that might play a role is the Not Invented Here Syndrome. You see that everywhere, that things that are outside of personal scope are not easily being accepted.

Always worth a try KatT as you say they can only say no, or might even be interested enough to do a bit of research themselves

@Jim if you want this tidied up let me know, it is heading off topic but it's your choice.

(Thu-19-08-2021, 09:45 AM)Fred Wrote: @Jim if you want this tidied up let me know, it is heading off topic but it's your choice.

thanks Fred but it's fine I'm happy to leave the comments I have what I need in my locked journal . So this is all relevant and may be useful to someone

(Sat-21-08-2021, 20:42 PM)jiml Wrote:

(Thu-19-08-2021, 09:45 AM)Fred Wrote: @Jim if you want this tidied up let me know, it is heading off topic but it's your choice.

thanks Fred but it's fine I'm happy to leave the comments  I have what I need in my locked journal . So this is all relevant and may be useful to someone

Been a while since I've updated my journal and have been lax as much has happened with my health although my psoriasis had remained under control

Firstly in August I did a routine bowel cancer test which people of a certain age are advised to have as a precaution .
This flagged up some abnormalities and was invited to the hospital for a Gastroscopy and colonoscopy to investigate and I was found to have some polyps in my bowel and some in my stomach which were removed in September
No further problems until just after Christmas when I got a bit of diarrhea which came and went but I was feeling constantly tired and lethargic
2 weeks ago the diarrhea got really bad and I was parked outside the toilet most of the day and hardly dared sleep at night ... So I went to the pharmacy and got some immodium . Which fixed the runs but the pains in my stomach were pretty bad so I phoned for an appointment with my Doctor and after explaining to the receptionist what my problem was she said a doctor would phone me . I was phoned and prescribed antibiotics as she was able to diagnose diaviculitis without seeing or examining me and asked for a stool sample which I provided.
The Antibiotics seemed to make the diarrhea worse so after 4 days I stopped taking them and rang to see the results of the stool sample and was told it was clear
So I'm back to square one with same problem no energy, constant tiredness, no medication and letting nature take its course as to get to see a doctor here is pretty nigh impossible

Rant over 
Back to psoriasis
My skin is still  clear although a few spots popped up on my thigh as I tried stopping Skilarence for a few days  but those lesions are fading now

My bloods have been good and my lymphocytes have ranged between 0.9 and 1.04 which it is currently

Note to self update more often