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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Racer on May 16, 2004, at 12:05:31
I have very, very mixed feelings about it, but without being able to check with the doctor about what was going on, without being able to get any kind of support for what I was going through, there was no way I could have gotten through another day. So, I stopped.
Today I'm totally wiped out, but I'm not agitated -- depressed as hell, still ready to give up on life in general, but not out of control.
And I'm going to have to cancel the doctor's appointment for Wednesday. Please, don't tell me not to. I just can't justify that kind of expense. It's not just the cost of the evaluation visit, it's all the associated costs. And I read through the insurance papers for my husband's new job, and my preexisting condition is excluded from coverage for one year. (The coverage sucks a lot, too, for mental health.) I'm going to cancel that appointment and wait until I see if I'm covered at all, then find out from the insurance company whether there's a way to waive the exclusion.
By the way, it is totally overwhelming that I have to do all this myself, with no one to turn to for help, when I'm not currently capable of taking care of anything. Yes, email and babble offer contact and support, but damn it to hell -- I need some actual help and there's no where to turn for it. Is it any wonder I'm having such a hard time?
Posted by finelinebob on May 16, 2004, at 14:08:31
In reply to I stopped the meds, posted by Racer on May 16, 2004, at 12:05:31
Look, from someone who went off meds for four months because of $$ issues, I've no right to tell you to go to that doctor.
So don't.
Now, as to the insurance -- I'd check that out. I really don't know what insurance companies call a "pre-existing condition", but I think it has to be something that is curable. I'll try a short example. My dad has diabetes. He got a sore on his leg and, for people with diabetes, these things can never heal. If he had to switch plans, I think the new plan might have been able to deny coverage about the sore since, with proper care, they CAN heal ... but for chronic conditions like diabetes, I don't think they can refuse coverage. (Yes, with my daily nursing for three months, the sore healed properly.)
You have a chronic condition based in your biology. The fact that it existed prior to any new health coverage, AFAIK, can't count against you. After all, you had it before even your first health plan, so they all should have been able to deny you on it.
I may be wrong, but it's something I'd fight about. You might be able to find more info at NAMI's web site. Haven't been there recently, tho, but they used to have good info about stuff like this. http://www.nami.org/
If going through with the appointment would cause more turmoil in the short run than it would fix, then cancelling the appointment is a good decision. If, in the long run, you can afford it 2-3 months from now, rescheduling is an even better decision -- but reschedule when you are sure the benefits outweigh the costs, both financial and emotional.
(((racer)))
flb
Posted by finelinebob on May 16, 2004, at 14:11:14
In reply to Re: I stopped the meds, posted by finelinebob on May 16, 2004, at 14:08:31
Meant to suggest something sneaky and underhanded, but then insurance companies deserve such. Once your insurance kicks in, how about going to that psychiatrist with a new dx? If the insurance company wants to stick you, see if between you and your doctors you can word something to stick them instead.
just a thought
flb
Posted by Racer on May 16, 2004, at 19:32:22
In reply to Re: I stopped the meds, posted by finelinebob on May 16, 2004, at 14:08:31
I've been through the paperwork, and you're mostly right about chronic conditions being a weird area with insurance. The problem is that I was denied coverage because of depression by another company within the magic time frame for total exclusion from any coverage, and I've been treated for depression within their magic time frame for qualifying as a preexisting condition. I'm actually worse off because of those two facts, as far as getting coverage goes.
On the other hand, if I had had health insurance, and was being treated under that for a preexisting condition, it sounds as if they would just pick up the coverage where the old policy left off. So, you're right about your father being treated for his diabetes if he switched health carriers. (And good for you for helping with his sore. That's one of the things that scares me about my husband -- Type I, insulin dependant.)
I am going to cancel this appointment, I'll tell them why, and try to get to this guy (very highly recommended by the counsellor) when we find out what we can manage. Even with this particular insurance policy in place, he'll still be $200 for the evaluation, but that's doable. The cost of meds is very worrisome to me, but again: if the insurance picks up part of it, that might not be so bad.
Thank you, Bob, both for caring and particularly for supporting me in this decision. One of the hardest parts of this for me really is how totally without support I feel. Not the kind of support I feel here -- except in certain specific encounters on other boards -- but the practical kind of support that I really feel the need for right now: ranging from stupid things, like, "I just can't cope with my house being so damn messy and sometimes filthy all the time and my husband sits on his ass all day every day, except when he's reading car related bulletin boards -- but he's not depressed" to more overarching concerns like, "If I go to this doctor now, I risk our entire financial future; if I cancel all services at this agency, I lose the assistance promised in applying for disability; but if I continue on with therapy and meds there, I risk getting even sicker. What do I do?" I don't have anyone I can turn to for advice on these things, and I am certainly not in a state that allows me to make decisions like this alone. Talk about adding to the pressure I already feel! Thank you for not adding to that.
I haven't taken that top apart yet. The yarn is so weird it's going to be hard to do that in the first place, and I am still feeling as if everything I do turns to doodoo anyway. This isn't a time to work on it. When I do, I'll let you know. If I trusted myself with sharp implements, though, I'd start working on another top. I sewed up a couple of sleeveless blouses a couple of months ago, and dyed them using some techniques new to me. One turned out OK at best (sewing was OK, dyeing was so-so -- nice idea, wrong color choices), but the other one turned out better than I'd expected. If I can get pictures of them, I'll send you one.
Posted by finelinebob on May 16, 2004, at 20:35:28
In reply to Re: I stopped the meds » finelinebob, posted by Racer on May 16, 2004, at 19:32:22
Racer, I really hope you have a stressometer like mine. Growing up in the Detroit area, cars were always BIG growing up and you HAD to get an old clunker of your own as a teen. We used to have big parties for when a buddy rolled his odometer over ... mile (1) 00000.1!
My stress is kinda like that, too.
I can get more and more stressed out until, unprovoked and rather suddenly, my stressometer goes from 99999.9 to 00000.0. Then, I get to start building all the stress back up again!
(go racer go!)
flb
Posted by shar on May 16, 2004, at 21:57:16
In reply to Re: I stopped the meds » Racer, posted by finelinebob on May 16, 2004, at 20:35:28
...because I'm sure you know I want to tell you to keep that appt., but I won't.
I will limit it to saying (which you also don't want to hear) if you can finagle an appointment ANY way you have to, go for it!
And, if you're sending out pics, please include me!!!
xoxo
Shar
Posted by SLS on May 17, 2004, at 8:18:59
In reply to I stopped the meds, posted by Racer on May 16, 2004, at 12:05:31
> And I'm going to have to cancel the doctor's appointment for Wednesday. Please, don't tell me not to. I just can't justify that kind of expense.
I'm wondering if it makes sense to go to a GP and get a prescription for a dirt-cheap tricyclic.
- Scott
Posted by finelinebob on May 17, 2004, at 9:31:28
In reply to Re: I stopped the meds, posted by SLS on May 17, 2004, at 8:18:59
> I'm wondering if it makes sense to go to a GP and get a prescription for a dirt-cheap tricyclic.
Just be careful, if you do, about who puts it in the bag and prints out the labels! I'm serious, man. I mean, I know nortriptyline can get your heart racing, but THIS was ridiculous: I ran my script for it in yesterday (Sunday), the pharmacist did all the work himself, handed it to the clerk who then handed it to me and started to ring it up.
$100!!!!!
After a big GACK!!, the clerk took it back, shook her head, went to the computer and printed out the proper label for $24.39. And my heart rate dropped back to normal.
;^)
flb
Posted by Racer on May 17, 2004, at 10:01:31
In reply to Re: I stopped the meds, posted by SLS on May 17, 2004, at 8:18:59
I've tried TCAs, and can't take them. Nortriptyline was the least problematic, but it didn't work very well and put 70+ pounds on me. My BP runs about 90/60 at best, and they lower it further.
I'm going to give Dr EyeCandy one last try -- on the communication side, that is, and if he can't or won't listen to me, then I'll just stick it out without meds until I can make some other arrangement.
Posted by SLS on May 17, 2004, at 10:40:19
In reply to Re: I stopped the meds » SLS, posted by Racer on May 17, 2004, at 10:01:31
> I've tried TCAs, and can't take them. Nortriptyline was the least problematic, but it didn't work very well and put 70+ pounds on me. My BP runs about 90/60 at best, and they lower it further.
Damn it, Racer. There are no easy answers for you. Just remember, you are *paying* these people to find some. It is their job. Make them work for it.
> I'm going to give Dr EyeCandy one last try --I take it that Dr. EyeCandy is good looking?
> and if he can't or won't listen to me, then I'll just stick it out without meds until I can make some other arrangement.
That sounds like a plan, but it would be nice if you were to at least address the anxiety somehow.
Keep posting.
- Scott
This is the end of the thread.
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