The Cost of Being Uninsured

We hear on the news a lot about the rising number of people who are uninsured. Have you ever wondered what it's like to be without health insurance? I never really thought about it until I was laid off nearly 4 years ago and could no longer afford my premiums.

Since then I've learned to become a better consumer of health care and had to learn to live without a lot of things I once considered necessities.

Recently it's become more frustrating to be uninsured. A couple of years ago my doctor and I discussed a procedure that she thinks would be helpful to discovering why I've been having trouble regulating my medications. The procedure would cost $1200. Because of that, I still haven't had it.

On Valentine's Day I ended up at the Immediate Care clinic. I was sooo sick but had put off going to the doctor thinking it was a virus, that I would get better in a few days. Unfortunately I just kept getting worse. It all started the weekend before when I had trouble swallowing. As the doctor who treated me explained, had I gone to visit her then, I would have saved myself a lot of grief. I had a pretty high fever, could hardly walk and was just miserable. Turns out I had strep throat. It cost me $25 just to say hello, not counting the cost of the lab work to diagnose me and the $25 prescription they recommended. A week and a half later, I wasn't doing much better. So I called my doctor and they prescribed another antibiotic. I called the pharmacy to find out the cost and nearly fell over when they said it was $130! For five pills. My bff paid for it and thankfully I got better. I really couldn't afford not to. Shortly after I got sick my bff got sick. She too had to get a 2nd antibiotic to get over it. She was prescribed the same one I was. The difference being that with insurance her cost was $20 vs. the $130 that I paid. That just doesn't seem fair.

It's been 4 1/2 years since I've seen the dentist. I have a cracked filling but so far the pain is intermittent. I'm going to wait to have it fixed until I can no longer chew on that side or until I get dental insurance, which ever comes first. Meantime, I've become fanatical about brushing and flossing.

I've learned to live without my allergy medicince although in the past few days I'm realizing that I may have to find a way to afford it again. I'm not sure if it's the remnant of my illness or the early blooms of the season but I'm still kind of sniffly and sneezy.

The really scary thing is that in the midst of strep throat and trying to move out of my apartment last month, I discovered a lump in my breast while showering one day. I've lost 20 pounds since December so at first I thought that it may be related to that. But, here it is 3 weeks later and the lump is still there. I'm absolutely terrified. Thankfully there isn't a history of breast cancer in my family and I'm fairly young for this, but.

So, because I'm uninsured I'm going to wait and see and try not to think about it. I check it once in awhile to see if it is growing/shrinking/changing and unless it changes I'm just going to have to wait. I'm not a good waiter....

Hopefully I find employment (and insurance!) soon.

Finally!

Sorry, it's been a few days since I've had a chance to post something new. I have been busy preparing for an exam and then had company from out of town. Now, I'm trying to dive back into my life after the past couple of hectic days.

I've come to a realization the past few days though. I'm finally getting my groove back. Yeah, like "Stella" in that movie. No, I didn't just go through a harrowing divorce and find a boy toy in Jamaica, but I survived 5 years of illness that threw my life out of whack and met a boy toy from another city. lol.

I'm finally feeling like I'm back to where I was before I got sick. I don't feel like the cloud of illness is obscuring the sunny parts of my life and making me afraid to play for fear of the game being called due to rain. The sky is one giant rainbow for me right now! I wonder if I can find the pot of gold? Hmmm.

As for the "boy toy" it's really strange. He's like me. It's making me question exactly how immature I am if I can relate to someone who is 12 years younger as well as I can him. But, rather than try to intellectualize this, I'm just enjoying having fun and going with the moment. My family and friends thought I was absolutely insane to invite this guy to come stay at my house, when all I knew was from talking online. But, I've done similar things back in the day- I'm just a risk-taker I guess. Anyway, I trusted my judgement and everything was fine. As for what he sees in me- the old lady? For one thing, I look closer to his age than my own. Being a college student and single means that I live more like a typical college kid rather than someone my own age. So... it works! Plus he thinks I'm beautiful and sexy and he's absolutely adorable! What's not to love? See, it is like Stella!

The thing that really stinks is that he lives 3 hours away. Not exactly conducive to relationship/friendship development. I mean with $4 gas, school, and both of us working 2 jobs. What the hell? But, why not? There's always IM'ing and TM'ing. I just need to get a webcam and mic so he doesn't forget what I look like! lol.

The "boy toy" had never visited my city, so I was excited to be the local ambassador and tour guide to the cool things we have here. It was fun to see the city through new eyes and show off the things that I think make this place great. He really enjoyed the visit and I think he'll come back since there is so much more to see and do here.

And, because of him I tried something new too! I took him to a restaurant for Sushi. I've always wanted to try it, but wanted to be with someone who could guide me in what's good. It was awesome! Will definitely be returning for that!

Yesterday I had a couple of work meetings that reinforced why I love my job. Yes, I was really frustrated last week with how annoying the administrative part can be, but overall- what a great place to be! It was just what I needed to make me love what I do again and feel really good about where I am at career-wise and in my life in general.