I have WPW syndrome and I will have an ablation tomorrow. After that, will I be healthy enough to run a marathon?
Hey,First of all i can totally understand i had the surgery but i would suggest you to give it some rest as your body wont be recovered that fast ! For me it took almost 2 weeks just to get used to it ! As i felt something was burning inside and plus i couldnt sleep properly as i used to wake up suddenly at night and even had panic attacks !The main game after the surgery is MIND ! if you take over your mind you are all set ! However just avoid marathon for now you definately need to give it some rest !Hope this helps
Does the US Embassy pre-decide whether to approve a visa or not? And do the officers at the Embassy just deliver the verdict at the interview?
I don’t think it is. However it is more about perception of the individual interviewer. They can have prejudices to some extent about certain communities or attires. They are generally taught not to let those prejudices take over, but you can never cast them aside entirely ever in your life, can you?I have appeared the US visa interviews several times for different reasons and different visas. I never personally got rejected but have seen things happening to people in front of my eyes.I have seen that people with respectable jobs such as teachers, professors are not questioned much and tend to get visitor visa very easily. The fluency of English you speak does rarely matter. Also as long as they think that you are extremely skilled, it generally goes through for H1 or L1. Make sure you have confidence on your face about your achievements. The name and reputation of the company you are travelling for makes a lot of difference. If you are travelling for IBM, Google or some other US company reputed for its quality and innovation, you are unlikely to face any issues. Same applies for a university.For students, it often matters how much worth of money can you show at hands in your home country other than just fixed deposits and your ties. My best friend got his student visa rejected under the reason of ‘financially inadequate’ in spite of showing enough money in the bank accounts.Trying to converse has helped me in one of the visa interviews. The interviewer was wearing a tie with several small portraits of US presidents on it and I complimented it. He asked me if I can recognize any of them from picture. I pointed at two or three and he was happy about it.Basically you never know what will strike positive or negative to the interviewer on that very moment. The same thing can equally backfire.
Do you think the Founding Fathers of America would approve of the British if they were alive today?
There’s a split in the UK between the real and the symbolic. The reality is that the British have a functioning democracy and one of the most ethnically diverse countries on earth. The only colonies left are heavily subsidized postage stamps. I’m pretty confident that the Founding Fathers would have appreciated that.Symbolically, the Brits still have royalty and hereditary aristocracy, outlawed by our constitution.As fundamentally practical people, the Founders and Framers would probably be fine with the UK today, although they might snicker at the fawning over the royal majesties, lords, and ladies.
For an EB1 case, after I get my I-140 approval and have also received an EAD, do I need to extend my L-1 visa while an I-485 is pending for approval?
No, the L1 visa is not extended either like H1B, since you already have an EAD, your EAD may work as an advance parole document and is valid until the expiry date on it. If your EAD has mentioned on it that it wont serve as an advance parole( This document can not be used to re-enter in US) you have to replace it with the one that will. You have to pay extra fee for advance parole.This is my understanding based on experience not a legal advice to consider. Here you go for more detail.USCIS to Issue Employment Authorization and Advance Parole Card for Adjustment of Status Applicants: Questions and Answers
Has anyone had a Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) done to lumbar area? How long until you had pain relief?
I had RFA done in May this year for pain caused by chronic pancreatitis . After 6 hours, abdominal pain started again along with severe pain in left hand which seemed to be neurological. They started the procedure before they sedated me which is a no no!My pain didnt reduce at all, i dont think RFA worked for me. When discussed with the doctor they said it would take 3 weeks to effect. They didnt inform me this before the procedure which they should have.Lasting effects from person to person, some get relief for a few weeks , some 2 years or so. I guess i was the unlucky one where i didnt get pain relief beyond 6 hours.
As a doctor, would you sterilize the patient who has no children and doesn't want any children and is in their 20s?
I’m not a physician. What I can tell you is that OB/GYNs and other doctors are reluctant to do the procedure in case the patient changes their mind later. Doesn’t matter if the person is in their 20s or 40s. Doesn’t matter if they have children or they don’t. Many spend their time trying to convince women that they will want more children. “What happens if you want another one?” “What if one of your children dies? You may want to have another,” like it’s some kind of warranty replacement policy. “What if you get divorced and remarry?”I’m not saying that there aren’t doctors who don’t do this kind of thing, but my experience has been far more the former than the latter. My husband and I decided, after YEARS of discussion, to both get “fixed.” He got his surgery done within a couple of weeks. It took me almost two years to convince the OB / GYN I was sent to that we had thought it through, that there would be no regrets, that this decision wasn’t going to change, that I was done having children. Even telling him about the fact that my mental health was a large factor in this decision (I had Postpartum Psychosis, I have bipolar disorder and a number of other co-morbid mental health conditions - plus, as a result, I’m on a ton of meds that I cannot stop taking). I told him that my other physical issues would make it difficult to carry. He was more interested in his agenda that, as a young, fertile woman, I should just leave my uterus available because, after all, I’m female and don’t really know what I want.As you can see, I’m a little bitter about the whole thing.All to say that, if I were a physician and a woman, over the age of majority and capable of making her decisions, came to me and asked to be sterilised, yes, I’d advise them about some of the difficulties should they change their mind later, but it’s still their decision to make. It’s not my right to impose my belief systems on another or decide that all fertile females should remain so if they don’t want to. Most women actually go through an arduous journey to get the the point where they decide they don’t want children. The patronising attitude of the medical profession members who refuse to sterilise women without browbeating them to stay fertile is insulting and it needs to end.Women are capable of making informed decisions about their bodies.
Which is better, ‘to kindly need your approval’ or ‘to seek your approval’?
It really depends on what it is. The two words ‘need’ and ‘seek’ have totally different meanings and should be applied appropriately.Need means effectively you have to have something. You need air to breath for example. I know it is used casually but the root is a need. For the same reason it is better to be wanted by someone rather than needed because the latter is dependency.Seek means it would be nice but I do not have to have your approval. I can seek you parents permission to marry you but if they say no it will not stop us.I did not answer your question but hopefully helped a little.Alan
What medical centers in the US are best for the treatment of atrial fibrillation?
A2A. Unfortunately, you did not provide the reasons why this is a non-typical situation. I'm not a physician, but I can give you the basics.Medical Centers. As you mentioned, this is a common arrhythmia, thus it isn't essential to find the best or leading AFib center. All large medical centers and university medical centers have cardiology departments that can diagnose and treat all aspects of AFib. Since you already know it's AFib, you must have seen a physician. That person can refer you to the nearest med center. If it was a cardiologist, just ask for another opinion. If asking makes you uncomfortable, contact the center directly. Most have patient call/referral centers. The reason to seek local treatment is that it convenient and less costly to the patient and their family. It seems you are aware that AFib is complicated by underlying conditions such as myocardial infarction (the so-called "heart attack"). Still, there would be no need to seek out a specialized center and, if so, your doctors would so refer you. If you still want a "Name" in the area then Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic come to mind.Tikosyn. To understand Tikosyn (dofetilide), let's look at what happens in AFib. Basically, the upper chambers of the heart don't beat; they quiver. The exact mechanism/ etiology isn't known, but the conduction systems are abnormal.There are 3 types of AFib: Paroxysmal (comes and goes), persistent (AFib > 1 week; treatable), and Permanent (rhythm can't be restored). So, persistent is treated either by trying to control the rate (usually beta-blockers like metoprolol) or controlling the rhythm. Tikosyn is an arrhythmic. It can both convert the heart to a normal rhythm and normalize it's rhythm. However, Tikosyn has one serious, potential side effect; it can prolong the heart beat (actually the QT interval). This can cause a life-threatening arrhythmia called Torsade de Pointes - basically messed up conduction in the ventricles. As a result, Tikosyn must be initiated in a hospital setting with a minimum 3-day stay. Lastly, AFib seems to evolve to a permanent so Tikosyn and other arrhythmics seem to stop working after a few years.In summary: See your doctor for a referral, Go local unless your doctors think a distant center is necessary, Tikosyn is inconvenient at the start, but works. Also, see your doctor... All the best.
How much does a thyroid surgery cost on average in the US compared to foreign countries?
It depends on so many factors that it is almost impossible to correctly answer this question. For US examples:1- With surgeon's fee+ surgical facility + anesthesiologist fee, you can have a total removal of the thyroid gland for under $9,000 at Ocean Surgery Center in Torrance, California. This cost is available if paid or financed in full before surgery. Check the promise and prices online.2- If you have no insurance and go to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, The hospital alone Charges about $6,000 and it is unknown what the surgeon and anesthesiologist would charge if anything.3- If you go to USC University the University Hospital charge is $68,000 without the surgeon and anesthesiologist fees. And they will charge you.4- If you choose another facility in Torrance, California their charges are $35,000-39,000. 5- If you are covered by the largest California HMO (Kaiser Health Plan) then it is unknown what the charge is. Kaiser Hospitals are exempt from mandatory reporting that other California Hospitals have to follow.If you find this a bit confusing, I can truly sympathize. However this is not why it is impossible to provide an intelligent answer to such an important question.The impossibility lies in one fact : The patient can end up with out of pocket responsibility for any of these dollar amounts (lowest to highest); wether they have insurance or not. GO FIGURE!
What makes the US healthcare system so expensive? Why is the US so expensive compared to Canada?
Something that is not well-appreciated is that the costs of the US healthcare system are carrying the financial burden of healthcare innovation for the entire world. If US costs were brought into line with other major economies, within 10 years (or maybe much less time) the pace of healthcare innovations to benefit the entire world would shrink to 1/4 of its current pace or less. It is the prospect of profits available in the US market that draw capital into pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical hardware and software, large-scale clinical innovations and the like whose beneficial results, once put into operation in the US, then filter out at lower cost to the rest of the world. Without that development capital, the innovations would either not occur or would only occur at a snail's pace. There is no other healthcare market in the world that offers that incentive to draw capital into innovation.Any proposals to lower US healthcare costs ought to face that question honestly one way or the other. Lower costs now and less healthcare improvements both for US and rest of the world in the future? The Donald Trumps of the world will answer "Of course, let's get rid of all those foreign free riders on the US innovations!" And others might more thoughtfully answer, that it is just not worth it and that's a respectable answer. But the US really ought to face the question before blindly rushing into a forced march to lower costs.Edit: I see from some of the comments that it would have been clearer if I had said "US healthcare prices" rather than "cost." It is the price of healthcare in the US that draws capital into healthcare innovation opportunities.