sony

All sorted- it's now debited 47€. Weird stuff!

Thanks for this! But how long will it take them to reimburse the difference?? I was never ever made aware of this!

It clearly stated fill up to a maximum of 130€ but could only fill up to 47€. I got a receipt for 47€ but checking my statement online it says it debited 130€!! There is no way we'll have enough for our holiday now and I'm really worried. Do they pre debit the max amount and then refund the difference??

Does it really matter if I started another thread??? Re voluntary work, it does make sense, I know, the vicious circle has dictated up to now that I haven't bothered- lack of motivation. I have applied for a course this September, in patisserie, in London. It's a huge step for me but I'm doubting myself so much. As you can imagine, after all those years, anything seems like a huge step. Trouble is, at nearly 30, if I don't do anything now I have the funny feeling I could let myself go further and be like this for the rest of my life.

I walk a lot, spend time on the net. What the average "unemployed " person does I guess. I try not to let myself go but I am now starting to really be severely depressed. The situation seems impossible to fix.

[quote user="Russethouse"] Sony, it seems to me you are going round in a vicious circle - is there an holistic centre near you where various practitioners could liaise to help you ? If you have had all these tests it sounds as if you should be somewhat reassured - just have faith that you will get over it.[/quote] It's just that it's been so long, and seemingly is getting worse.

Precisely the sort of comment I was expecting daft doctor. I feel I made my point- so won't enter a pointless dialogue with you.

I just seem to have gone through everything. This is an extract of what I have written to so many people. This particular text was sent to a hypnotherapist in 2008: For the past few years I have been suffering from severe nausea. It has become increasingly worse, and the past two years have been particularly unbearable. I have no idea why this is happening and no doctor or therapist has been able to help me or understand the problem. I also suffer from anxiety and am in a constant vicious circle; I am anxious about the constant nausea and the feeling that I cannot escape it, yet my anxiety can fuel the nausea. I just do not know how to get out of this – I have more or less tried EVERYTHING. I have been examined for medical problems, undergone therapy for psychological issues and followed the dietary advice of a nutritionist. Having explored all avenues, nothing has helped at all! Throughout this I have taken various forms of medication, including; Citalopram, Effexor, Prozac, Dosulepin, Prochlorperazine and antacid tablets. I have also taken herbal remedies. The therapies I have tried include; counselling, CBT, EMDR, acupuncture, hypnoanalysis and hypnotherapy. I also took the Yorktest – according to the results, I have an intolerance to Cows milk, lettuce, cucumber and yeast. I cut these out of my diet for weeks and tried to eat as plain as I could – again, to no avail. Following this, I took a saliva test, then a stool test. The stool test apparently revealed some kind of digestive imbalance, but my condition has still not improved despite following the advice of the nutritionist concerned. I am so desperate to escape this terrifying "illness" that is blighting my life. Feeling so terribly nauseated most of the time, I am unable to lead a normal life. Although I have previously tried hypnotherapy and experienced no lasting results, I thought that it may be worth another attempt with a different therapist. Many people seem to have been ‘cured’ by this method, and it would be a dream come true if it could work for me. In your professional opinion, do you believe it would be worthwhile giving hypnotherapy another chance? I have already spent an enormous amount of money on trying to find a cure, and I simply cannot afford to waste any more money, especially as due to my condition I am unable to find work. I have reached the stage where I do not hold much hope in any therapy – I have tried everything and each method has always failed. I feel like no-one will ever be able to get to the bottom of this but I really need to be able to live my life. I have tried to explain my situation as best as I can, so that you can give me an honest opinion as to whether you feel you may be able to help me. I would be grateful for any advice you could give me.

I've had the "could they be right" comment a lot. I can see how you could come to that conclusion, but please believe me when I see this is not in my head, I am not a hypochondriac. 10 years of hell, only last night, I woke up at 3am with the biggest urge to vomit, but nothing came up. I couldn't go to sleep for hours after. Words can only express so much and if only people could have a glimpse of my daily life, perhaps they'd understand a bit more. You can imagine how judged I have been in all those years- I hate it.

In 10 years I have been through many doctors. The first bit of trouble is they only have 8 minutes to speak to you. But to be honest, they never ever seem to look at you in the eye. They're very distant- and hardly ask any questions. I have often found myself turning to the internet- or even the local chemist. They seem to have more ideas! If I had a pound everytime I heard a doctor telling me that at 27 years of age nothing will be wrong... Thing is- my parents have come over here for a year to look after gran. And they're nearly tearing their hair apart. They've found the exact same thing- useless doctors. My dad has back pain. Extremely bad recently. Docs response: take the strongest painkiller your body can handle. Never prescribed him anything. No follow up either.

I would be going to back to Strasbourg. Alsace- Lorraine have a very good reputation for medical help. They kind of have the best of both world, the french- german health system. I can't believe a good few of you seem to be relatively unhappy with the french system. The NHS is a catastrophy- months wait for not a lot in return. My parents can't wait to move back to France- they've always been seen to very quickly and dealt with efficiently. Strange.

[quote user="idun"]Lots of mutalists make you wait for three months before they would pay. And a carte vitale could take months to get. My son has been ill. He had to pay up front for everything, 100's of euros and because for various reasons they were reissuing his carte vitale and that took months to get. AND the CPAM is really slow at reimbursing when there is no carte vitale working. AND he is still ill as they 'couldn't find what exactly was wrong'; so he has crutches a lot of the time and limps some of the time and is in constant pain. AND that is in France. Have you really not changed doctors in the UK and had a good talk at your new practice to get help. [/quote] Is this perhaps because he isn't French? Surely as a french citizen I shouldn't have to wait that long?

I don't have to wait 3 month's, according to cleiss. Being a french citizen all should be ok! How long would it take to get a carte vitale and be insured though? I couldn't pay hospital fees upfront!

Many thanks for all your help. It seems to me that I have to be in France at least 3 months before I can be on the Secu. How do they actually know you've been there 3 months?

[quote user="Gardian"] You've been studying for a while, eh? [/quote] No nothing since 2004. I can't really ask the secu if it's ok to just pop back into france for treatment and that's it can I though?

I am 27 years of age and have been very ill for quite a few years now- the NHS is letting me down badly and I'd like to go back "home" and would like to start afresh with doctors who have more than 5 minutes to listen to you and offer more solutions that giving you paracetamols and signing you off with stress. I have dual nationality French / English, and I left France in 2000 for England to study. I returned to Versailles in France briefly in 2003 for a year. I held a "carte vitale" whilst in Versailles and of course I still have my social security number. I would like to be investigated in France asap - but I would not have a job. I want to study in the UK this september but can't in my current state. I need to feel better, I've had 10 years of hell to the point where I'd now rather be dead than live. Do I need to be there 3 months before treatment is available? How does it work exactly? Will I be entitled to the same level of care of a French citizen who has lived in France continuously? Will my card be still valid or should it be renewed? Is there a mandatory waiting period before receiving care?

[quote user="cooperlola"]Bon courage, whatever! I would certainly put your problem to CLEISS to begin with and see what gives. Sadly, without an employment history, the UK won't foot the bill for you, even for a short time.If you have even a bit of a plan as to where you will settle, then it's probably worth approaching that department's CPAM direct and asking. As you say, the last thing you want to do is to arrive here with no cover if you have health problems. [/quote] I've emailed cleiss earlier- they should be of help so looking forward to their response. I should have some form of cover either way- as you pointed out surely having the French nationality should help!

Sadly, no, I haven't worked since 2004 in the UK. It's been a while, it's been hell. I've waited too long and now am in a bit of a mess. Still, hopefully, it's not too late!

I genuinely can't thank you enough- all this info is very helpful. I hope the French will get to the the bottom of what's wrong.

Thank you very much for your help! I hope it won't be too much of a nightmare. I need to know all the facts before I leave the UK for sure though- I can pay my way in everyway but wouldn't have a penny left for paying the full cost of healthcare. What does the couverture de base cover though?

I am 27 years of age and have been very ill for quite a few years now- the NHS is letting me down badly and I'd like to go back "home" and would like to start afresh with doctors who have more than 5 minutes to listen to you and offer more solutions that giving you paracetamols and signing you off with stress. I have dual nationality French / English, and I left France in 2000 for England to study. I returned to Versailles in France briefly in 2003 for a year. I held a "carte vitale" whilst in Versailles and of course I still have my social security number. I will definitely return to settle in France in January 2011 - but I would not have a job for a while. What happens healthwise? If I need tablets / surgery, etc. ... Will I be entitled to the same level of care of a French citizen who has lived in France continuously? Will my card be still valid or should it be renewed? Is there a mandatory waiting period before receiving care? What is the rate of reimbursement by the basic health insurance? Should I go for a "mutuelle complementaire"?

Thanks all. I am tearing my hair out. I am 26 years old with seemingly no career prospects. I cannot find a job with my language skills anywhere! I've sent 1000s of applications to France, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and barely anyone has the decency to reply! How unmotivating!

Thanks for this, has anyone got any more information??

Hello there! I am 26 years of age and totally bi-lingual. I was born in Sheffield but my parents moved to Strasbourg when I was only two. I therefore have no recollection of the UK until I came back at the age of sixteen. I was educated at the International school of Strasbourg where I continued learning English and French from the age of four. I then decided to go back to Sheffield at the age of 16, living with my grandparents and going to College. I then progressed onto University where 4 years later I obtained my BA in French. Since then, my partner and I have started our own business in translation and doing a bit of tutoring. I would really love to progress now into something like relocating. I miss going to France and would love to help people move there. I have a love for the UK & France and it would be a great job to do considering this. We have struggled to find any jobs in translating anywhere in Europe and besides I am more of “hand on” type of person and love talking to people, Again, relocating job would suit me perfectly due to this. Could anyone give me any pointers as to where to start, contact etc?