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You make it sound like my doctor can't treat me. That there is some procedure he would recommend but can't because of the evil insurance company.

It happens all the time. In fact, it seems to be so unextraordinary that most of my search results are turning up questionairs about how to deal with it rather than news stories about how outrageous it is. A good doctor will consider your coverage when they make a recommendation, so they'll try not to recommend something that you won't be able to pay for, but it doesn't always work out that way.

This is how it's been for a long time, and it won't change with the Affordable Care Act. The only difference is that private insurers are required to provide a certain level of coverage. So there'll be fewer surprises.

Speaking of that level of coverage, there's also this. One of the biggest features of the Affordable Care Act is the requirement that people with preexisting conditions can't be excluded.

Your other points are supposition. What I've seen so far are stories about how the health care exchange is cost-effective (once you can get past the technical glitches), and stories like this one. But these are just anecdotal. The Affordable Care Act is expected to save us money in the long run, but we won't know exactly how much for a while.

Actually fairly recently there were some news articles where studies supposedly showed that as long as you didn't get a second concussion before the current one healed you would probably have NO permanent damage. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/brain/head/458.html#ArticleParsysMiddleColumn0011 It isn't too hard to find articles like this one, but I think the thoughts about this are changing, as there is (was) evidence on both sides. Perhaps the problem is sometimes there really is no permanent damage, and sometimes there is. Therefore one or two in your life probably won't cause any permanent damage, but over time, eventually there will be (just like getting shot doesn't automatically mean you'll die, but get shot enough and the odds are one of them will be fatal.) This is different than many of the previous articles indicated.

either I'm having to lift 10 pounds 5 times every time I want to light the lamp, or I'm lifting 50 pounds.

Unless you are weakened by some medical condition lifting 10 pounds, 4 feet, 5 times in a row, every four waking hours isn't enough of a demand to be an issue. On the contrary I think this regular weight bearing movement might be a very good thing for the elderly or physically frail.This could be viewed as an in-home several-times-a-day physical therapy light. Maybe a moveable stop, which could allow for the weight to start higher off the floor, but would need to be rest more often would be good addition for those with bad backs or knees that can't reach low to the ground. But to force people to get off the couch every two to four hours and move a few ten pound weights can really only be a benefit for the majority of the western world.

So that leaves us with four choices for their school nights. We can drug them into a stupor. We can have them sit quietly in a corner for the entire night. We can nuke them from orbit. Or we can STOP IT WITH THIS OVERPROTECTIVE BULLSHIT AND LET THEM BE KIDS, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!

-Eric

What about... * Quitting smoking (Yes, for some it can be extremely hard.); * Eating a healthy diet (Diminishing the fast food ingestion is a good start.); * Controlling your blood sugar (If you have diabetes. And if you don't too, beacause you can acquire diabetes.); * Exercising (A stroll in the park once in a while can be a nice start, and some would say quite enough.); * Controlling weight; * Controlling your blood pressure (if have hypertension is an issue). http://familydoctor.org/291.xml#4 * Drinking more water (and less alcohol?).

The mechanisms for changing depression are very similar to Electroconvulsive Therapy. http://familydoctor.org/058.xml/ From my own research and experience(I have an MA in Psychology), these treatments are generally effective and a good alternative when nothing else has worked. When you're really depressed, even a small chance of dying is worth being normal. Movies have really demonized Electroconvulsive Therapy because it is such a horrible proccess to watch and is so dramatic, but in reality, the patient almost never remembers any pain, and the results can save really depressed people from suicide. Anyway, maybe this can take ECT's place since it doesn't have the same negative connotations attached to it, and potentially helpe alot of people.

You'll all be relieved to know that you cannot get mononucleosis from Microsoft patents:

Mono is not spread as easily as some other viruses, such as the common cold. The mono virus is found in saliva and mucus. It is usually passed from one person to another through kissing, although it may rarely be passed in other ways, such as coughing.

Caffeine May Reduce Alzheimers while needing to consume at least three cups of coffee a day while arrhythmias(heart problems) may be caused by excessive caffeine

its all about which you want to go first, your brain or heart. decisions... decisions...

Something like 90% of lower back pain is ultimately related to poor abdominal muscle tone. The immediate cause of the pain is most often some "trauma," as it is called--something that causes one of your muscles to strain too hard (for example, poor posture in your office chair). But generally, this trauma happens because the back muscles are not getting the support they need from the abs and are hence being overstrained.

Now, if your muscles hurt real bad right now, this is not the time for exercise, but for rest. There are some good exercises that stretch out your back muscles and help with pain--one of the best is to lie on the floor and put your calves up on a chair or something so that your body makes two 90% angles (hence called the 90-90 position).

Oh, as far as posture goes, learn how to adjust your chair and arrange your workspace for maximum support for your back and take a break every 30 minutes to get up, walk a few paces, and then sit back down. That is very important . . . I believe it stretches out some muscles that get progressively tenser the longer you use them for sitting.

Here is a handy reference chart for determining the type of back strain you have.

Here is a google cache of some exercises for your lower back. There is a lot more out there on the internet--you can get pages and pages of good exercises to do with a few minutes search.

Hope this helps!