dottiejane

good simple advice from you both -- many thanks. dorothy

I just got my permanent visa and will be arriving in LC on May 1. I will be keeping a u.s. address with my Denver based daughter for mail that she can scan and send to me via email and also (sneaky I know) in order to keep Vanguard which does't operate outside of the U>S> I have a very old laptop and had a tech in to suggest what I should do -clean it up , take it with me and hope I get another year or two of use -get a chromebook - or a newer reconditioned laptop here instead of waiting until I get to Mexico. During the course of our discussion, he cautioned agai nst using unencripted wifi for any banking information I may need to do with Scwab - he could somehow keep my Portland phone number by transferring it into a black box of somesort so I could use that number when I need a two step varification code which is now used here almost univerally. He also said I could just take my physical landline which is now internet connected with my computer through Comcast. I do intend to get a mobile when I arrive with a Mexican phone number for use locally. That is the basic situation - the basic question is - what do most of you do when contacting your financial insitutions safely from LC - do you still have a US number and if so, how does that work. Do you get a dedicated wifi code that you can safely use I am mentally challenged about all things tech - and when talking to the "experts" they go on and on not realizing they are giving me far too much info for me to digest. So a simple - practical - do this - go there - list of instructions would be very much appreciated. This site has been extremely valuable to me - I found a great condo for six months - and the promise of another one in april 2023 for a long term lease - so this tech stuff is my biggest hurdle so far - the suggestion was that I get a reconditioned newer laptop here it all makes my head hurt. dorothy Slater

I would appreciate recommendations for a good periodondist with an excellent dental hygenist who can do two or three deep cleanings a year . while there in January I had my teeth cleaned but not as thoroughly as a deep cleaning but due to excessive plaque I do need. Thanks.

thanks for the advice and name of the doctor - he will be the first person I will make an appt with -probably even before I get there at the end of may - really appreciate the info I get on this site -

2000 for 60 tabs of Eloquis or some other drug? - She might want to look into PharmStore - they may not have her exact drug but it is surely at a cheaper price - they are online of course and I have found them to be excellent - Every blood thinner user in my crowd uses them.

I had read that and yes it is cheaper than in the states by far - but the way i figure it at 1.00 per pill, 180 day supply would be 255 instead of 122 - the good thing though is that i can t it at all in mexico since if the pharmstore order arrives late, i will always have a supply - this is the only pill I take and it has to be one of the most epensive on the market - before Pharm store showed up, I fell into that famous donut hole - and that was VERY costly. Another thing I read about big pharma that I didn't know until I read about about the sackler family - After about 7 years I think, generics do have to come on the market - as I said eloquis is availabe in mauritanea where mine comes brom - however, if the pharms just twitch the formula a tinybit it is then considered they have a new drug on the market and they get another 7 years - this is what happened to Eloquis according to what i have read - there are way cheaper blood thinners but you have to be very closely monitored with bloodtest, heart checks etc - i had a friend from many years back - before the current crop of blood thinners - - i think it was warfariin or some such - anyway she didn't know about bloodtest etc and bled to death quite suddenly - so to avoid that, you play the BIg Pharma game -

I hope Shriner's have volunteer opportunities even for non=spanish speaking expats. Years ago my husband and I, while living in Appalachia , adopted a three year old Vietnamese girl with polio, She was obviously never going to walk without braces and crutches and needed two surgeries on her foot before she could wear a shoe She also needed the braces, the shoes and the PT necessary to learn how to walk. Since there were no treatment facilities where we lived, we took her to Shriners in Lexington Ky and when I saw the care with which all the children with serious problems received and experienced with my own daughter all for no charge, I was , left with total and complete confidence in the Shriner's. If only all organizations did such incredible work.

I will be moving to Ajijic in late May and since I have a pacemaker due to Afib it is crucial I have a blood thinner availabe. I currently use Pharmstore in Canada for the generic form of Eloquist which is not available as a generic in the states but is in weird places in southeast Asia. The mail to me in Portland takes about 6 weeks - and I get a 180 day supply for 123 and free shipping. There is no generic available in Mexico and since it is crucial that I don't get a counterfeited drug, where does anyone needing a blood thinner like Eloquis go - do you use a place like Pharmstore or some other outlet. Also, I will need to register with an electrophysiologist once there for yearly checkups. There is one listed for the San Antonioo hospital. Is anyone a patient of the doctor there? Thanks for needed information that I am having trouble finding elsewhere.

Unfortunately, I rent an apartment so moving for six months which I would do if I owned a house or could sublet my apartment would be a perfect thing to do but not possible. I have moved a great deal over the past 25 years and have left behind a lot of furniture, books, albums, etc so what I have now is not valuable or much loved. . I plan to arrive with only summer clothes and a picture of two. If for some reason --which I can't imagine will happen - I return to the states, apartments are always available and I am an expert at consignment store shopping.

you are absolutely right - mainly i am asking questions so that when my friends say YOU ARE DOING WHAT- i can say I have researched the whole thing and am not worrying - nor should they -

I love that poem -= and I did steal the thought - my brother did rage and rage - not a good death. Thomas was WELSH as you probably know - as was all of my father's family - they were from northern wales where everyone was a musician and singer - not like those horrible miners in the south. Anyway my father used to get hysterical since the only Welsh people who were known - like Thomas and Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins-- were all alcoholics-I turned out to be a singer but ONLY in choirs - not at the Met. but this is WAY off the topic of health insurance - sorry folks.

Yeah - I always knew about Medicare and always planned to drop United - just was curious since San Antonio hospital seems to be advertising that they do take various insurances but that may indeed only be for tourists. Have stop worrying about health - will move on to bank accounts.

Going to the ER under m=Medicare AND United here, costs $90 - so if San Antonio charges that much, I am used to that. - I have spent many a year worrying about money and seeking bargains usually at Goodwill - maybe I will just pay the "market rate" now and be done with it. This reminds me of a friend who has had two bouts of lymphoma and is now in a 45,000 A MONTH research program in CT which has the lymphoma in remission so the best medical care is costing her nothing. BUT she is the most angry miserable person I know --there has to be a lesson in there somewhere.

Evidently United Health which I have does cover the ER and Urgent care - that is what someone at the San Antiono hospital toldme but I have to check with United directly.

Rick- I lived in Denver for years starting in 1968 when it truly was a COWTOWN - Both of my kids are still there and busy with their own families and worrying about the rising cost of living so helping Mother is not an option. Moved to Portland 9 years ago only to be confronted with another huge rise in the cost of living as well as the sad decline of this lovely city. Many are in my situation in that I was never indigent - I had a house, a car , food on the table and even alot of trips. But single parenthood, too early retirement (my fault) and the choice to enter a not very well paying career ,led me (and many women Iknow) into the situation I am in today. . I have enough to live a fairly decent comfortable if simple life But if I needed assisted living and/or nursing care I would need to "spend down" as they say and go into a Medicaid facility . It is somewhat sad to see what a "limited income" is these days. Didn't that used to be the middle class? Since I have no idea what the future holds, I am holding my nose so to speak and taking the plunge and letting the universe guide me It has gotten me through 84 years with only the normal amount of trauma so perhaps it will continue for the next few.

Thanks for the information - have thought about all of this at length of course and am well aware that age is a problem for almost everything. Even if I stayed here with Medicare and health insurance, I would not undergo drastic costly medical treatment just to get another couple of months of non-active dependent living. I carried on the family tradition of no colds but a lot of cancer and expect that is what will get me in the end and if it does, I will go gently into the night. Right now, I want to live my remaining years in the sunshine, eating good food, meeting new people,l learning Spanish and maybe even buying a bike.. I have decided I can't live these next years however long they are, worrying about what MIGHT happen and giving up the joys of the moment. But understand your points.

a couple of years ago, a young woman some them the MidwestI think with terminal brain cancer moved with her husband to Portland for the chance to have the choice to die. . It got quite a bit of publicity so here was a huge fuss on social media but her husband and parents went with her.and she went peacefully as she wanted. Have read of people with non-terminal but life changing situations like a stroke who have gone to Switzerland where you can be given the necessary drugs without Oregon's six month terminal diagnosis rule. . Many who don'[t agree with that choice call it outright euthanasia and argue that it leads to killing Granny or something similar. I think even in Switzerland that wouldn't happen since you do have to be in a hospital with doctors present I believe. Perhaps folks who aren't undergoing similar suffering should allow others who are to have the choice without judging

i have a nurse friend here in Portland who volunteers with Compassionate Choices and administers the necessary drugs when the patient is ready. They go quietly and peacefully within 15 minutes or usually much less. . There has never been any struggling that she has witnessed and she has been doing this for dozens of people the years. All are terminally ill, suffering a lot and eager to leave all of that behind. My dog was injected at home by the vet and except for one last bark (which broke my heart by the way) was gone in seconds. I suspect like most things in life there are differences One hears often of those stories where prisoners on death row do suffer but I have no idea what drugs are used or administered..

we have something called right to die in Oregon - you have to have a 6 month terminal illness diagnosis before a doctor will write a prescription -for the necessary drugs. It isn't for everyone but I have that in my medical power of attorney file and if I stayed here, I would take that route if necessary. The big issue is if you have something like a stroke which doesn't provide a terminal diagnosis- then you just have to find a way to cope - and it is VERY expensive. in the states or at least in Oregon - if you call 911 and an ambulance comes, they are required to do all of the things necessary to resusatate you. Strange as it sounds it often is hard to die - I have a 95 year old friend who lives alone in SF - she has broken both hips, shoulder, etc but always manages to heal even without surgery- she is "ready" as she says but outside of refusing food and drink, she has no option. anyway - will be glad to get the names you mentioned and also if anyone has a suggestion for a good primary care type doctor, I would be happy to have it.

Reading these comments have made me rethink the move to Lake Chapala. I had heard about the inexpensive and superior medical care in LC but at 84 with a pacemaker and a history of breast cancer, I am totally confused as to what to expect. The idea of saving $250,000 for self-paying is not remotely possible for me. One of the reasons I thought of moving was the cost of assisted living in Portland is about $5000 a month which I can't afford either and heard that the cost would be about $1600/month in LC - This is the kind of information that has to be deeply investigated before moving . I have medicare A&B and United Health and this year i paid close to $3000 which included co-pays and 800 for the United Health coverage. I will have to really take a deep dive into this topic.

I also will be moving to the Lake Chapala are in the near future. I spent three weeks in January in a small condo development in Floresta which was great since I am a walker and without a car, could walk to Ajijic town or to Walmart and buses were only a short walk away. I am planning to rent an airbnb for a month before I arrive and spend the next month or so looking for a furnished rental on a 12 month lease i. Because I hope to get active in the Lake Chapala Society - a good place to meet people - I would prefer to live close to Ajijic although I know rentals are cheaper in Chapala and elsewhere. Perhaps as I establish myself during the first year, I would be more willing to move further out.