I have a few dilemmas on the plate and hope someone, anyone can help me
Only this year I have started looking more into healing/treating my rheumatoid but I have had it a long time. When I was 18 (12 years ago nearly) I was told I had rheumatoid arthritis. The doctor was very inept and said I had to eat more spinach! So I thought It was no big deal and just forgot about it.
When I moved to USA four years ago, i did a full body look over. I mentioned in passing the RA and they did a test. The doctor said my RA factor was 120 or 150, either way they said it was very high and confirmed it was likely I had RA.
My problem is, I told the insurance co about my endometriosis (thinking honesty was the best policy) and now they dont cover anything related. I cant afford to make the same mistake. My insurance agent said once I get the diagnosis I cant change insurance companies because it will be a pre-existing condition, and they wont cover it. (my current insurance covers very little and i just cant afford to do anything.)
Im going to be 30 next year and my fingers and toes are starting to show deformities, fingers bending away from the thumb. I dont know what to do. My pain is mostly in my back and neck and knees but I am concerned about how much my fingers will deform as well.
I am more concerned about preventative measures to slow down the process rather than pain management right now.
Any help at all will be much appreciated. I feel like an old lady, and even though i work out and eat pretty good, my body seems to betray me anyway
Bambi :-)
I am in a similar situation. I worry most about the appearance! Vein I know.. But I can admit it...
I was told by my RD (not so much a good one, cause they can't diagnose me!) that laser treatment will reduce and normalise the enlarged knuckle bones, is this true ? Anyone... ? Or will I just be wasting more money...
You need to start medication, if you haven't already.
I don't know about reversing anything, but at the very least you need to start popping over the counter meds until you can get some prescriptions. Take alleve, it seems to be the best thing OTC right now. Every little bit helps.Bambi
Hmmm, I'm confused. Did you have insurance before you went to your current company? Because as long as you are insured - if you transfer to another ins company (or the company you work for changes ins) they have to cover you. The current company can't claim "pre-existing" if you were continuously insured.
So were you continuously insured?
Yeah, it's that catch of "continuously" that screws everyone. MEH. Sorry. I hate insurance....especially since I don't have any. And no one will give me a chance. I won't ramble...I'll just end up cussing about how I want to move to Cananda...hahaha
HI Trixie
yes i have current insurance but it is not very good, i know they can cover me but once i get the diagnosis it limits me ever changing ins companies.
I dont want to get the diagnosis now because current insurance is lousy (not through a company) and they dont cover much of prescription costs or anything else so its inevidable that i will eventually change.
I come from Australia where we dont need insurance as our taxes cover everything medical (i miss that!) so I came here very inexperienced with insurance.
and Tam, it is not vain to be concerned about your hands, we are now in the position of knowing there will be road blocks to growing old 'gracefully'.
I am very concerned about things I like to do with my hands, i make jewelry, knit and write books.
Katie- thanks for the advice, i take 4-5 aleve a day per my doctor but my back hurts as long as im awake :-)
Yeah...it doesn't help it all...but it helps SOME, and right now that's all you can ask for. Take hot showers. Sit often. I dunno. LoL Just take it easy!I've noticed quite a few people here are young like myself
I heard it was mostly people older who had it. Nice to see I am in empathetic company.
Aleve is pretty good, I went to walmart today to talk to the pharmacist. I held up some vitamins and asked him if they are good for RA
he shook his head immediately, he said i need a Rheumatologist and the only thing that will help is strong RA meds or hand surgery
I said, oh, so it was a bad idea to get RA? hehe Gee talk about hanging out with a rock and a hard place!
Does anyone here have very deformed fingers and if so, are they still useable per say?
Bambi, It does not matter what kind of insurance you have now - as long as you never go uninsured - they cannot use the pre-existing clause if you change insurance. I hope this helps. I have researched this extensively because of my own circumstances. RoxanneThanks Roxy
any help or insight you can give me would be most appreciated
I am terrified of getting the whole insurance thing wrong, I mean there are so many loopholes. Like maybe i have to be on this insurance for a certain amount of time before the diagnosis etc.
I do not have family here in the USA, just my very loving husband, but friends who understand i can definately warm to!
But my insurance agent has RA and she recommended against getting the diagnosis!
If you want to go the route of suppliments and what nots, you can try Glucosamine and Chondritine. My mother SWEARS by them and went from a hunkered sore 43 yr old to a working, gardening, totally normal 46 yr old. It took her a while to figure out what the problem was, but only about 3-4 months to feel the effects of it. I've tried it here an there, and eh, I feel alright on it, but ya know...to each their own.
Yes i agree in that respect
So many people say to exercise, eat healthy and heat therapy etc, that the RA drugs are only temporary
then others say the drugs are very important and prolong the deformities etc
My financial options in this situation are not great though. HAs anyone used a paraffin wax bath? any good? any ideas for midddle back pain? i have it constantly, and ankles? Anyone have special ways of working out?
Heh...you're talkin more specific now. Everyone's going to be different, and it's all worth giving a shot. I LOVE paraffin waxes. Make sure you have lumbar suport when you're sitting, that *may* help your back a little. Wear good shoes. Throw out your flip-flops and high heels. LoL You can always keep a pair of high-tops (ew) for your bad ankle days. Or some taller boots! :)Hey there. this thread seems to have grown pretty fast. Snuck up on me. I kind of skimmed through everything. I saw a lot of questions about insurance and medications and stuff like that. All things I can't offer too much advice about. My medical expenses are taken care of and the meds I'm on seem to work out ok. I did notice bambi mentioning that she was young and wondering if anyone else was. Well, bambi, I'm 29 years old. I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis when I was 18 months old. So I know what it is like to be a young adult dealing with this. Bambi also mentioned deformities. I have many, especially in my hands and fingers. They look almost alien and it is not vain to not want to look like a freak. As I grew into adulthood, and the pain had started to cease, my biggest concern was not looking "normal". And as a young man, this was devastating to me because, like any other young man, I wanted to meet a nice woman and date girls and all that. I have always been a pretty popular person and was always very liked by everyone. Always had a lot of female friends, but no "girlfriends". I know it sounds kind of negative and shallow, but physical appearance DOES matter. Personally, it never mattered much to me, but i think that is probably just because I always knew what it was like to be discriminated against because of my looks, and vowed to never judge anyone until I got to truly know them. But these things do affect your relationships with other people. First impressions are very important, and I felt like I could just never get my foot in the door as far as relationships went because I never passed that initial "first impression test". However, I never gave up, just took a different approach. And eventually, I did get my "foot in the door" and met a truly amazing woman. We are getting married next summer. So now I am rambling a bit...sorry bout that. But I do have a point. Worry about your physical health, your pain management, and controling your disease. But don't worry too much about appearance. As your arthritis progresses, you are bound to have some physical deformity, as long as you can still move ok and don't have too much pain, then who cares what other people think you look like! Anyone who is that shallow is not the type of person I want as a friend anyway.
Take care,
Jesse
Jesse luuurrrrvvvvsssss his woman. In every post it's "my girlfriend this..." and "my girlfriend that" LOL I'm playin. It's cute. And for reals. Theres some of us that are young. And we're pertty damn optomistic people. At least..I am...most of the time...okay so we all have down times but who doesn't? If you stick around here, chances are SOMEONE will make you smile and help out a little bit. :) I've only been on here for um...uh...a week? And I LOVE everyone. And they've all been totally sweet to me. You can be sick, and still have a kick ass life! :) I swear! :) And Roxy's right about the insurance. One piece of advice..when you talk to insurance agents, try not to sound like you're unsure. They feed off of that crap. LoL Even if you have to fake it!!! Good luck!I'm 35. Was dx'ed at 22. Whoever said RA was an old persons disease was totally misinformed. RA strikes in the prime of your life.....and as you've heard here often earlier (JRA).
I was luckly to begin and respond well to DMARD treatment early on. I've been on something for more than 12 years now and my doctors swear that my "deformities" would be much worse had I not. My fingers do look slightly odd but unless you realize what you're looking at you wouldn't know it. The x-rays show erriosions in my hands, knees and back but they are very minumal for the number of years I've lived with this disease.
I put off my first visit to the RD until I had health insurance for the same reason as you. I only had to wait a little while; but like you I knew this was a long term illness and I didn't want to risk getting labeled "pre-exsisting". I've changed insurance once and Roxy's exactly right about that. As long as you have coverage it won't matter.
RA is CRAZY expensive though. An RD is considered a specialitst so the appointment alone; not to mention labs and x-rays can truely send a person to the poor house. BUT; the one thing that it the absolute worse is the medication. I've been on Humira for more than a year and a 1/2 now. I take it weekly and that and MTX has really made a difference in my treatment. My point is that if it wasn't for my insurance......I couldn't even think about using that medication. 4 shots cost 00!!! I of course pay . I don't know about you; but I barely make that every month. How on earth could I pay for meds if it wasn't for my insurance.
Make sure you get a plan with really good prescription coverage. Often some companies will offer better premiums without it; but trust me it is well worth it and it's an absolute must for a person with an illness like RA that requires expensive long term medication use.
RA is very expensive!! My Dr. told me on Thursday to pick Humira or Enbrel. I checked with my insurance company and was told I have to pay 20% of the injections. So that is approx. 0.00 out of my pocket each week!! I haven't worked for awhile and my husband & I have a daughter in college and a 13 year old son. We are doing good just to pay for our monthly living expenses. I am going to see about disability but by the time I get it (could take years), the damage will already be done! Thank God I have a great family, my hubbie says we will borrow the money but I don't want to be a burden on him. He works so hard! Not only at work but at home. He does the laundry, dishes, sweeping, anything I ask (or don't even have to ask).
What gets me is......if we do borrow the money and then what if the meds don't work??????????????
WHAT TO DO????????? TOTALLY AT LOSS HERE!
Yeah, like I said before, I was lucky to get a medical card as a child (through my parents) then had all that transfered to me when I turned 18 yrs old. So I'm glad I don't have to worry about the expenses. I have no idea how much my meds cost (darvocette, etodalac, plaquenil) and I know that the surgeries I have had were astronomical. I know that my hip replacements were in excess of 10 thousand dollars I think, maybe more. Seems like I once heard that anasteisia(sp?) alone is like 100 dollars for every minute you are under. So I definitely feel for all of you who are struggling with those costs.
And to Katie, yeah, I know, I mention my better half a lot, maybe too much, but only when it's relavent. I DO love her though and love to talk about her any chance I get.
Take care everybody,
Jesse