And now with Insurance

I had my first visit with my rheumatologist with insurance. My card came in the mail Saturday! I’m in such a good mood. I’m sure I looked like some sort of nut job. I was smiling the whole time. Everyone in the office was excited for me. My doctor had a list of things shes been waiting to do.

I finally had Xrays taken. Two of my neck. Two of my chest. ( I’m not sure what those were for) 3 for each hand. 2 more each knee. 2 for each hip. I couldn’t get into some of the positions though. My right hip wont bend outwards. And my knees wont straighten. The worst part was for the Xrays where I had to stand. The technician was so sweet though. She helped me stand. She held me up because I couldn’t stay balanced when they made me stand straight. I had to take a break after the second Xray. I was in an ungodly amount of pain from standing. But I got through it all. I wish I could have seen them though. I’m curious. The last Xrays I had were two and a half years ago. And the cartilage was almost gone then.

I also had tons of blood tests done. I don’t even know what all. There was something for thyroid. Something for vitamin b deficiency? Definitely something for calcium. And I had to pee in a cup for some odd reason. Ive never done that there. I should get the results soon. My doctor also wants me to see my endocrinologist about my thyroid. She said that may explain some of my fatigue.( Though she thinks it may be depression. Nope. Not it. ) I haven’t been to him in nearly three years. He found a goiter about 4 years ago. But the last time I saw him he said it had not changed sizes and that I should come back in a year or so. So I’ll call tomorrow about an appointment.

I have an order to start physical therapy too. She says its the most important. The order is for 3 times a week for six weeks. I have an appointment tomorrow for evaluation. Im kind of scared though. I mean, just standing makes me scream out in pain. How am I going to be able to handle therapy? I guess I’ll find out.

I also have an order for a bone Density screening. Because of my prolonged steroid use. The osteoporosis center is closed until after the 4th of August though.

 Oh, and I saw a dermatologist yesterday. He gave me a prescription and said it would go away completely. So that’s a relief. Just a rash that is in no way medication related. Woo!

Oh, and my rheummy said she was going to give Enbrelone more month and if it doesn’t do much better then we’re going to try Humira. If that dosn’t do much, then onto Orencia. Or some other medicine I’ve never even heard of. And now I’m going to taper off prednisone completely.

So I’ve had a very busy day. A fantastic day overall. But now I’m exhausted and sore and I’m going to try and go to sleep early. We’ll see if it works.  🙂

The waiting game

I am so good at the waiting game. I’ve been waiting for years….

Ok, I finally got my Medicaid card in the mail. Along with my Medicare prescription drug card. I have not however, received my Medicare card. Its all very confusing. I also cant seem to find any doctors offices that take Medicaid. Though some do take Medicare. But not without a card. Bleh.

My rheummy’s office doesn’t take either, but since I’m already a patient, they agreed to let me continue. I’m glad. I really like the one I’m seeing now. She replaced my beloved doctor a few months ago. I hated her at first. She nearly had me in tears the first meeting. Shes very up front and harsh sometimes. The more I’ve seen her, the more Ive realized that she doesn’t mean anything at all, and I’m probably just being too sensitive. She is obviously a very caring doctor. She goes above and beyond in my book.

Anyways, back to Medicare. Now I can call for a replacement card, but I can only get a recording. There is an option to have a replacement card sent to the address they have on file. But there’s no option to see what that address is. And that’s a huge problem for me in the first place. I’ve gotten dozens of letters lately. Some have made it to my address. Some they sent to a really old address. I still haven’t received those. Some they sent to my sisters address, and I don’t even know how they got that address. I’ve called the office, but cant seem to get anyone on the phone. I’ve left messages. They are never in a hurry to respond.

I talked to a physical therapist. She said Medicare is very picky about what they will and wont pay for. So they are going to evaluate me and see what they can do. But I still need a medicare card before they can see me. I have about five or six letters that mention my Medicare coverage. But none of them are the actual letter I need.

I called a dermatologist. They also need a card. At first they scheduled me for an appointment two months from now. Then I told them about the rash ( the drugs my rhemmy prescribed didn’t manage to do anything) and they rescheduled for first thing Monday. I need to get ahold of a card before then. Bleh.

But anyways, this is a temporary setback. I’m probably just rushing things. But my god, I’ve had health coverage for weeks! And I still havnt been to the doctor. Haha.

Also the girl that gives me my shots went on a vacation with no warning. So I’m really overdue on both my Enbrel and my methotrexate. So there are some tight tight tight knees right now.

Oh, but a change is gonna come 🙂