being unemployed and not yet 65, how does one pay for health care? AARP just informed me that at their coverage for me had been “used up”. and the basic health plan (charity care) in the state in which i live also informed me that i have used my allotted $1500 and would be placed back on the “waiting list” for further health care coverage. who knows where or when? this state, like i am sure others have done, have cut back on any and all funding for health care. now what? i am trying to beg the social worker in my orthopedics office for one last “free” appt to check on the fractures of my femur and pelvis.
Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
health care insurance?
Sunday, May 24th, 2009the victim, the guinea pig caught in a web
Sunday, May 24th, 20094 months ago i moved to a new community, and now cannot wait to leave. not my idea of where to live. nevertheless, i have had to find a new provider for health care. he is drug happy and referral happy. so now i have been seen by a hemotologist to correct a mild anemia (with diet) and a orthopedist (have a fractured femur and pelvic bone, thanks to a fall in my own house! ) to be corrected by use of the leg and prn pain pills. at any rate, be careful not to get caught in the web of health care that you may never really and truly need. for an expense…see next post.
an emergency ? experience…
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008yesterday i went to an urgent care clinic since i was having a 3 day bout of severe nausea and vomiting. i was seen by 2 hysterical women (yes; i am a woman too) who said i needed to be seen immediately in the e.r., have a red blood cell transusion, and be admitted to the hospital. they had made all the phone calls to arrange this. well, as i knew, the e.r. doc was the only rationale person i met in this experience. he gave me an iv of zofran (an anti nausea drug) and 200cc of normal saline. i was back to normal. same old self. admit to hospital for a transfusion? crazy making. by the way, the 2 hysterical women were a physician’s assistant and an md.
yes, i do have anemia. not an emergency. and yes today i saw my hem/onc specialist who is monitoring my anemia. he didn’t want to hear about the crazy ladies. he simply scheduled me for another transfusion in a week, as had already been planned. (docs protect each other, no matter how wrong they are) a dangerous practice.
by the way, the hem/onc specialist says he is seeing more people my age with anemia. the kind that in which bone marrow is no longer making enough red blood cells. it is his theory that this is due to environmental toxins that we were exposed to in our childhood, and possible caused a change in a chromosome. treatment? red blood cell transusions, from some wonderful donor.
Family Health and Military Deployment
Sunday, December 7th, 2008My son was deployed to Iraq on Mother’s Day. My gift from him was a box of expensive chocolates and a big bottle of vitamins! His last words to me were “don’t cry!”. Hopefully, as a Green Beret and a combat medic he will be okay. But I can see the toll it is taking on his wife and 3 year old son. Stressed to the limit. By finances. By lots of responsibilities on a mom who is working, going to school, taking care of a child, a home, a dog, a yard.
I talked to a young neighbor the other day whose boyfriend just returned from 2 deployments. Came back with stress disorder and addictions. And now she needs to find help, not only for him, but for herself.
I sure would like to help with this effort of “helping”. Though I applied for work with the local VA and local military fort that was theoretically recruiting, have not heard back. Despite my great education and experience, I don’t have the “connections”. I haven’t lived in this state long enough to build connections.
The weather here doesn’t help morale. This is the Pacific Northwest. Why am I here? to be close to my daughter in law and little grandson and try to be supportive. We all want to migrate back to CA when we can. Only wildlife should live here where the sun never shines, it is always cold, the days are short, and it rains, and everyone needs to supplement their diets with vitamin D.
lost your work and insurance?
Sunday, December 7th, 2008i have some ideas to share. things that i have had to figure out.
- reconstiting contact lenes. oh sure, the manufactures say throw them out every few days. guess why? i have found that when i accidently lose a lens, and find it, i put it in solution for a day and it is reconstuted. can’t afford to keep buying these…
- can’t afford your rx meds? first check around with drug and grocery stores and ask them their prices for a specific medication. also call or email or write to the manufacturer. some are willing to give you a free or reduced suppy for a few months.
- need to see a health care provider? ask your state for what options are available for reduced cost care, or supplementing your contribution.
- last but not least, if you need an expensive procedure like i just had, don’t be above asking the provider if “charity care” is available. do not be humiliated. you have paid your dues to our society.
- lastly, for now anyway, network with people, friends in the same situation for ideas.
Anemia
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008About a month ago I was diagnosed with severe anemia. I had to have a transfusion of red blood cells. I will probably have to go through this again in about six weeks. Hmm… I wonder what donors red blood cells are floating around in my veins. One of the side effects of this condition that really stresses me is hair loss and breakage. I have always had long hair. Suddenly, it comes out by the brushfull every day. I’m finding it really hard to change my self identity.
My hematologist says that he is seeing more of this condition in people my age (62). He thinks it is due to exposure over a lifetime of environmental toxins. This is not surprising since I grew up just outside of Detroit with polluted air from the auto industry. I hope the government does not bail out the American auto industry. Another possibility is a dietary cause, which is not surprising since I am returning back to a more vegetarian diet, and forgot how to do this. I was a vegetarian for years until my pregnancy and breast feeding days.
Extra Toe
Monday, November 24th, 2008Veterinary medicine also fits into Health Chaos. My dog has grown an extra toe with a nail on it. I ignored it until she started licking it and biting it. So now I have to take her to the veterinarian tomorrow. What kind of an anomaly is this? She is by far one of the healthiest dogs I have ever had, except for this anomaly on her right front paw. Has anyone out there ever heard about this? Could you give me some advice? One of my son’s said “If I could grow an extra finger, I wouldn’t have to worry so much about using a knife”.
What is an RN? Really Nothing.
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008What is an RN? Really Nothing.
Yesterday I had a call from an old friend who was disappointed that her nephew’s wife dropped out of nursing school. I think it was the best decision she could have made. Health care in this country is in such chaos right now; no funding for anything meaningful. I was looking at the ads in the Sunday paper today. I find it interesting that they all say “RN or LPN or CNA”. So they are interchangeable now? One of my reasons for being unemployed is that people see my resume and laugh. I have a bachelors and two masters from three of the best universities in the country. Nobody wants somebody like me anymore. They want technicians, not people who think and are creative and innovative. So I guess I have to keep looking for work at grocery stores and flower shops to supplement my social security checks. As you know, there is no work out there.
Scoliosis and what to do…
Thursday, May 29th, 2008My scoliosis was first diagnosed when I was in college, way back in the 60’s. It is lumbar, one of the worst kinds. It didn’t bother me for years; I made it through 2 pregnancies with no pain. And then lo and behold, I lifted some heavy bags 4 years ago, felt a “pop” and here we go. Found a pain specialist at a major medical center. Surgery is on his mind. Not for me. No one is touching my spine with a knife!
So my solution: an occasional 1/2 pain pill during bad days. A 1/2 muscle relaxant on bad nights so I can sleep. But the very best!! yesterday I had a private bikram yoga class taught by the teacher and founder at the local center who has scoliosis too. What a great relief from stretching out those muscles and vertebrae. I will be going back and taking classes.
The bottom line: lots of folks have scoliosis. I would recommend anything before, or instead of, surgery. I also found that over the counter Icy Hot does almost as well as medications. Heat helps too. The yoga teacher works in a highly heated and humid room. How can you help relaxing?
Why do I have scoliosis? I attribute it to the fact that the “girls” in my generation did no exercise. We read and studied while the boys all played sports. As an adult I was a runner for 30 years, but it was too late then to reverse the damage, and may even have made it worse.
The bottom line: if you have this condition, try anything but surgery. And keep the young ladies in your life physically active. My daughter in law was a basketball star and is now a runner. Lucky her!
Here we go again; more drugs
Friday, April 4th, 2008i was dismayed to read and see all the news about blood pressure and cholestrol reducing drugs this week. i really believe that my previous internist received her md by watching the drug ads on television.
i refuse to take more than one little pill for my borderline hypertesnsion. and i refuse to have my cholestrol level ever tested again.
 today’s local paper was (first section: the real news!) filled with articles about how great these drugs are. oh sure; maybe high blood pressure drugs can curb heart attacks and strokes if you take a bunch of them every day. but what do they do to your GI system? and that short newspaper section had no less than one full page devoted to a pharmacy that could get you all of your drugs, with a reduced price for generics. AND one drug company, advertising their cholsestrol reducing drug had a two full page ad!!!
 i refuse to have my cholestrol level measured ever again. with my low fat diet and walking my dog four times a day, i am not going to worry about little numbers going up and down. and i refuse to take drugs that maybe i need and maybe i don’t.
 here’s to your health. take charge.