What to know
- The American woman moved to Ontario while struggling with suspected autoimmune symptoms that had been dismissed in the U.S.
- She posted a video describing faster, more attentive care in Canada, calling it a welcome change.
- Her take sparked a heated debate, with some Canadians agreeing and others expressing frustration with wait times and system gaps.
- The conversation highlights ongoing tensions over healthcare quality and access in both countries.
After years of searching for answers, one American woman says she finally felt heard by a doctor after moving to Ontario.
Her TikTok describing the experience has since sparked a broader conversation about Canada’s healthcare system, with some praising its patient-centred approach while others point to ongoing struggles finding family doctors and accessing care.
In a TikTok video posted at the end of May, an American woman, Katie Rose Lestrange, shared her medical experience in Ontario, noting that the treatment she received was better than what she had in the U.S.
@katie_lestrange The United States healthcare system is a joke. I won’t pretend that Canada is perfect, but in this situation, it is far superior. I’m grateful, but also terrified of what comes next. #pcos #pmos #autoimmunedisease #healthcare ♬ original sound – katie_lestrange
Lestrange was diagnosed with a feminine health condition, PCOS (now renamed to PMOS), in California back in 2019.
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She was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism and fatty liver disease.
In the United States, she’s seen countless doctors who she claims all ran the same tests, found concerning elements, but allegedly kept the same plan, which never improved her symptoms.
“Since 2019, I have just gotten progressively sicker. I’ve gained an outrageous amount of weight, the fatigue is unbearable, and my overall health is just in the shitter,” Lestrange said in the video.
Since gaining the PMOS weight, doctors stopped believing her other issues had anything to do with her PMOS.
“We’ve all heard the same story. If you’re fat, that’s what’s wrong with you. Period,” she said in the video.
At her doctor’s appointment with a Canadian doctor, Lestrange handed over her previous blood work from the last two years and let her doctor know that a previous healthcare provider had suspected an autoimmune disease but had decided to test her.
“Not once did this doctor question any of my symptoms. Not once did I feel like she didn’t believe me. And not once did I feel dismissed,” Lestrange said in the video.
The doctor immediately ordered a full panel of autoimmune tests and told her she suspects she has one, it’s just about figuring out which autoimmune disease.
With the blood test a week after the TikTok was posted, she felt she was finally “one step closer” to figuring out what was “wrong” with her.
The creator also wrote in her caption that she’s aware Canada isn’t perfect, but that her experience here has been better than in the United States. She did still add that she’s grateful, but terrified of what comes next.
While patient experiences vary widely across Canada, access to primary care remains one of the province’s biggest healthcare challenges.
Millions of Canadians do not have a regular family doctor, and wait times for some specialist appointments can stretch for months depending on the condition.
Canadians in the comments have mixed feelings over her praise of Canadian healthcare
Some Canadians were pleased that she had a good experience.
“In Canada, our doctors make the medical decisions, not the insurance companies,” one TikTok user wrote
“It’s not perfect, but you’ll never go bankrupt!” one said.
“You got a good doctor. Hold onto her. Sincerely, from a Canadian,” another commented.
Another commenter shared her experience as an American in Canada, too.
“Canadian healthcare is the best. When I was in the U.S., I was told that mammograms didn’t work for me. I would need ultrasounds to spot cancer. But they couldn’t give me an ultrasound until I showed signs that I may have had cancer. WTF. They just give me an ultrasound yearly in Ontario,” the user wrote.
But some users questioned how she even found a doctor who listened to her, and criticized the system.
“Can you tell me how you got a doctor here? Born and raised in Canada, I’ve been without one for eight years and the waiting list… eight more years,” one user asked.
“I have been in Canada all my life and have yet to find a doctor who takes me seriously and does the proper investigations to see what is wrong with me. You’re lucky to have found someone who cares,” another wrote.
While Lestrange’s experience resonated with many Canadians who praised the country’s publicly funded healthcare system, others said it also highlighted how much access can depend on finding the right family doctor, something many Ontarians are still waiting years to do.
