Callico, I think you and I really are on the same page! Believe me I kick myself now for not doing the Cobra!!!
What happens with me is that in between cycles(I actually skipped a year last year to boot) I go into denial and assume there gone forever.

I won't be making that mistake again.

Maybe someday

no one ever called me normal before, I can't wait to tell my daughters the great news!!!

I refuse to be normal!  Normal is only average!

I'll know mine are gone when the first shovelfull of dirt hits me in the face.  Till then, even if I go back to episodic I'll always be looking over my shoulder for the beast.

When you do get insurance back again and you get back onto the meds and the cycle ends I would suggest you stockpile for a while to be sure you don't get caught short again. 

Be proactive.  Educate yourself on other means of dealing with this stuff.  It can be done.  I went totally med free for several years.  Easy?  No, but doable.  In a lot of ways I think I was actually better off than when I was doing a lot of the meds.  I felt better overall.  Now I don't use any prescription meds other than oxygen, and if I didn't have that covered I'd get it on my own for less than copays on any of the other meds I used to be on. 

As my History prof always used to say just before an exam, "This, too, shall end."  You'll make it.  You are a clusterhead, and there is no tougher creature on this earth.  Sometimes we get knocked down and dusty, but as Ed Brown says in his motivational speeches, "When you get knocked down land on your back, cause if you can look up, you can get up."

Jerry

believe it or not? whats lmao?

Charlie wrote on Dec 30^th, 2009 at 8:03pm:



Damn, Charlie!  What do *you* have against insurance companies?   

FWIW, our insurance thorugh the state is extremely good.  I've never had any problem with them denying any procedure, nor have they ever denied any form of treatment.   We're under a PPO, so I can pretty much go to any doctor I want.  When our neuro/headache specialist was located in Jackson MS, we were able to go there and the insurance picked up the costs with no problem.

They kill people every day.

Charlie

Charlie wrote on Dec 31^st, 2009 at 4:51pm:


So, do you hate doctors, hospitals, cars, guns, natural disasters, and humankind in general?

I'll let you deduce what I think of health insurance companies:

For 25 years, mine (2 different co) would not cover O2. Me: why not? Them:...we don't approve it for THAT condition. Me: But why not? Them: BECAUSE we don't. Me: DON'T you have a reason?.....Them: click......

For 25 years, they would only approve "6" triptan doses per month. Me: why? Them: You can't be having that many MIGRAINES. Me: It's clusterheadache...not migraine. Them: Huh? Me: It's different! Them: We only cover 6 for migraines. Me: Haven't you been listening? Them: Yeah, migraines. Me: NO....clusterheadache! Them: ....click....

I no longer bother to call "them"...it's too stressful. I have been LIED to...given WRONG information...blown off...or just ignored. I now go through the broker....used to work great....the current one couldn't care less....he WILL regret that.

Will they eventually cover darn near anything?..yup...but reluctantly...and ONLY IF you know how to play the game. I learned...mostly HERE (ch.com)....and THAT is friggin SAD. I despair at the thought of those who have given up....and I FIRMLY believe that is the strategy...make it SO hard....most WILL give up. Give up on what they NEED...because ya can't fight city hall, right? WRONG! Not this cowboy.

So, that all is ch...enough of a battle as you all know. But now, I am dealing with cancer....frightfully common...you'd figure well, they can't mess with you on that, right? Wrong! I'm currently in a fight for coverage of a procedure that is ABSOLUTELY state of the care....I know...have researched it...and they are refusing to cover (nearly $4000). ANOTHER battle...and I grow weary...

During this I was offered "managed care"...for FREE... for those with chronic conditions. Initially I thought....GREAT....my own nurse contact with promises to manage my care for the best outcome...lead me throught the maze of treatment options...hold my friggin hand (we're ALL little boys when we're sick doncha know). Great...just great! ONLY, I read the fine print....seems if I signed up...THEY would decide what is the apppropriate treatment (not the doc)...they would decide who I could see and when...they would decide EVERYTHING.....If I chose a path, a doc, a treatment, a whatever they didn't approve of...well then...NO coverage for ANY costs. I couldn't wait NOT to sign up..........

If you are healthy...the health insurance companies love you...my best advice.... DON'T get sick (yeah, right). I ONCE made the mistake of feeling sorry for my insurance company....it won't happen again.

Are health insurance companies the ultimate evil empire? Nope...they are just eating at the same banquet (with sauce smeared on the face). My personal belief is that they build those profits on the backs and bodies of their "clients" (that's a joke son) rather than working to correct the disfunctional system...which is...the medical service costs which are just friggin STAGGERING...and I consider the MAJOR problem....

I live in DAILY fear of losing my job...with my condition(s) it could happen any day, as I am not performing to past practice after all....and I KNOW, with PRE-EXISTING conditions, I will NOT be able to get coverage...and the savings I have so diligently accumulated...so I would NOT be a "burden" on society, will be gone, gone, gone...and crying won't bring them back.....

The new "Health Care Bill" is so confusing I cannot begin to comprehend....what I do percieve is that it goes into effect 3-5 years from now....I don't expect to be here then.....

Jon

When dealing with ins companies about denial of coverage always go to a supervisor at the very beginning, and then on to a manager if necessary.  Those answering the phones are given a very rudimentary training on the different types of policies, and rarely know enough to make an educated guess let alone analysis of your situation.  They also are held responsible for anything they approve without proper authority, hence it is easier to say "no" and not dig deeper into YOUR situation unless you read the specific verbiage from your own policy.  The fault lies at the feet of the insurance company's lack of training of those representing them much more than on the policies of the companies.  The turnover rate of those answering the phones is so high it is virtually impossible to keep the training at a high enough level.

Jerry

someone told me once that at Dental school the future dentists practice that God awful novacaine shot to the roof of the mouth on each other.

I wish Drs. and ins co mgmt types could suffer a 5 min K10 as part of there training

saxman wrote on Jan 1^st, 2010 at 9:10pm:

That's just cruel.

But what? It's cruel.

I don't think my thought was cruel. Ithink that if my wish was for the Drs to suffer gratuitously then perhaps. I do not wishthem any pain but rather to be educated and to understand.

I'm in sales and very sensitive to what isn't said. I've (we've all) sensed Drs trivializing our condition. Even when being hit, many of these professionals are still categorizing us  headache (migraine/tension) people.

The result: They under prescribe, they under everything!! They wouldn't if they had felt the pain themselves.

I hate cruel.