Why groups are cool

[bronwynrh]

I posted this tonight. In my cynicism, I've always thought that group therapy and group stuff was all bs stupid. I still joined the migraines community because migraines are such an isolating condition and I really wanted to see what others were discovering/dealing with/fighting whatever.

What a great group.

Comments

[curlicue.livejournal.com]

Your Migraine Group rocks. Good to have them to talk to.

My sister fell down stairs and broke both legs. She had to rtn to the hospital a week later for outpatient surgery had to have one put together again with pins and screws. Hospital bill was $22,000 and surgeon bill was $3000.

She went to them in good faith and said, "I have no money and no job" and set up a pmt plan. That took a couple of visits. On the final "set up a pmt plan" visit someone said, "Oh, you'd qualify for the xxx grant." And that paid 90% of the hopspital bill.

So she'll be paying the surgeon and hte hospital $40 each every month for the rest of her life, or until she gets steady work. So be it.

[bramey.livejournal.com]

Called the hospital this morning. They're sending a package to me with forms to apply for state/fed assistance. I was told that a rejection from there isn't a problem, that the hospital will work with me, but they prefer I try all other routes first.

I knew that would be the response, so we'll just wait and see what kind of help I qualify for.

I just can't believe the price tag. I've been to the ER many times, and it's NEVER cost that much. But then again, I had insurance those other times. Grr

[wistfulunicorn.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry! Wish there was some way to make those migraines go away. Years ago I had awful headaches but never diagnosed as a migraine - actually I'm not sure I ever saw a doctor specifically for that. The good news is I haven't had one in years. Don't know why or what happened to make them go away. Two of them lasted for a solid week and one of them I sorta ODed on aspirin (only drug available) trying to make it go away. Well, I had a reaction - hives! As the doc said if you think the outside is bad you ought to see the inside! But with the hives that particular headache went away. Anyway, I didn't take aspirin for years afterward.

Back to you. Here's hoping that yours will go away. Love ya.

Uh, not to be a pain in the ass or anything...

[adrienneee.livejournal.com]

..But how EXACTLY are migraines an isolating condition? Probably half the people I know have migraines, including me (who gets the fun hemiplegia classic-complex migraine aura.. yay for 10% increase in early stroke risk!) I mean, it's not like having lymphoma. Let's have a little perspective here. So I have blistering left-arm numbing headaches. I could be dead. Or dying. You could be dead. Or dying. Just saying.

Sorry to hear about the ER (I fondly remember a $3000 visit) but the people talking about payment plans are right. Your insurance should cover it eventually, though, since I doubt you have a true lapse in coverage (most insurance is slow, but they try not to let you completely lapse between policies... this can cause a problem with coverage later, ie, did you develop a pre-existing condition while you didn't have insurance for a month...?)

You're always a pain in the ass.

[bramey.livejournal.com]

On your first point: I say it's isolating because of the non-migraneur habit of treating them like joe-schmoe headaches. You and I both know that these are not headaches. Yes, it's simply because people who don't suffer from x y or z can't really understand it. But with things like headache or back pain, people tend to minimize them and I've found many people to be downright demeaning about it. "You went to the ER for a headache?!?"

It's also isolating in a more literal sense. I get them frequently enough that I spend at least four or five days out of every month cowering in a dark room. Not to mention all the days I walk around wearing sunglasses indoors or all the expensive medications I have to keep on hand or the fact that I have to shove some of them up my ass. These sorts of things are uncommon enough - at least at the severity and frequency that some of us have to deal with them - that it can feel pretty damn isolating.

As for the second point: No, I honestly have no insurance. I didn't pay for the extension plan last Fall, and since I was essentially a persona non grata at the university, my coverage disappeared as of August 15th. My regular paycheck disappeared in May. My fault for not understanding the insurance policy, but it wasn't a problem until I had to go to the ER. The good news is that the Pre-existing condition clause doesn't exist here (I don't know if it's an academic thing or a general change or what). In any case, it won't be a problem. I assume my coverage (once I get it) will be back-dated to my start date on Jan. 3rd, but the gap between august and now means that all those bills are all mine.

I've got more than enough even without the ER bill to meet the 7.5% minimum for the tax deduction. Yay.

I'll get a payment plan for this bill and will move on. It was just a rude shock at a time when money is already tight.