So I have an ulcer. I dry heave at least once a day and I haven’t eaten in 21 days. (Please do not give me advice, I hate it, I don’t want medical advice from people over the internet. At best, if you do, I’ll respond with a “thanks.”)
I’m in a somewhat smaller town, not really small, about 80,000 people maybe. There is exactly one gastroenterologist in this town. I went to him when I hadn’t eaten in 6 days. For a $50 copay, he said to take some Mylanta along with the Protonix I was already taking and call him in two weeks if I wasn’t better. So I call him yesterday. I talk to the nurse. I tell her all my symptoms, none of which have changed. She sounds very concerned.
I hear nothing all day. This morning, I call again. The doctor hasn’t even gotten to my information. So the nurse sends a message that I called again, which he probably also won’t see.
I have tried to get a second opinion, or just another prescription for something, but there is not a single gastroenterologist within a 90 minute drive that would see me within three months. I’m pretty sure if I don’t eat for three months, I’ll be pretty dead. I mean, I’m living on Ensure and Gatorade, but I doubt that will get me to three more months.
Oh, and this is the second time this has happened. The first time, I had to take a bunch of tests like a CT scan and an X-Ray and a blood panel and they found nothing. I had a scheduled colonoscopy anyway, so they just went down my throat as well and that’s when they found the ulcer. No one even suggested an ulcer before that.
Why am I saying all of this? I’m not even complaining about all of this. I’m complaining about the fact that this has cost me almost $2000 already and I feel lucky because I have good insurance. I’m not poor, but I don’t really have $2000 to spare. I’m paying it off in installments, but god damn, I have to pay all of this money and they have stopped even giving a shit about me.
What would someone in my position without insurance even do? Die? That’s what conservatives fucking want.
We need universal healthcare and a complete overhaul of the healthcare system now.
And any time you hear someone complain about how long a wait you have in Canada or the UK to see someone to help you and how America has the best healthcare system in the world and how people from other countries come here for treatment, send them to this post before telling them to get fucked.
TL;DR No one gives a shit about you in American healthcare except maybe the nurses and all they do is suck money out of your bank account.
I’m sorry you’re experiencing this, it’s terrible and should not be something you have to deal with. Not sure if this counts as medical advice but asking in case it’s been overlooked, do you have access to telehealth options or have you sought a care coordinator through your insurance? Those may be helpful in finding a different doctor, it won’t help with the existing debt though. I’m disabled and unfortunately very familiar with medical debt, if you’d like any information on ways to try to lessen that debt feel free to dm me. There’s also a lot of organizing around medical debt, this group is one I’ve been involved with, if that’s of any interest to you (or anyone else reading this).
You know, I would love a telehealth option, but only with a reputable doctor. I’ve seen a few websites where you can sign up for telehealth appointments with a gastro, but I don’t trust them. I don’t know that my insurance would cover it though.
Call your insurance company and ask them for options with telehealth.
They are the ones who make most of the significant medical decisions anyways in the U.S.
What Dr do you want to see? Better ask your insurance first who they cover.
What medication are you taking? Better check with the insurance first. If it’s an expensive one, it will take approximately 6 weeks or more while you suffer to approve it via one vendor.
What treatment do you receive? Better check the insurance first to see if it’s covered.
Only in the ER do they treat first. You get to pay whatever they charge. Oh and it might come from 4 different places that you’ve never heard of as every Dr has a different billing service.
As for what to do, well I live in a city of 250K. There’s a specialist clinic 3 miles from my house but they suck really bad. So we drive 3 hours one way to see a specialist that has my wife’s chronic condition under control.
I also have a chronic condition (yay me) and until I got my medicine sorted, I had to go see a neurologist that was a 2 hour drive away, so I definitely get it. Thankfully, now I can see a local one who is just there to keep writing prescriptions for me.
Would you like help researching those things? I’m a stranger on the internet but I’m happy to help or point you in some directions.
I’m married to a librarian. We’re doing plenty of research on our end, but I appreciate it.