The medical journey: 2008

Oh, 2008

Having been sick for a year, I was beginning to get the hang of this nausea and otherwise feeling like crap thing. I was ready for it to end, but I knew how to manage it.

For some reason, I was now seeing my OBGYN for my nausea. (BTDubs ... some doctors kept pushing the "it could be your Pill" card and, like I said before, GI2 kept having me make an appointment to consult with OBGYN on EVERYTHING.)

I think I had quite the supply of Phenergan stockpiled, and combined with the GI cocktail and another nausea prescription I had temporarily tried (Oh. My. Soul. The side effects!), I was set on managing the nausea.

In April 2008, after turning 25, I applied for my own health insurance. I was told I was being dropped from my mother's insurance and would need to apply for my own. I was under the impression that I would just apply for an individual plan and I would be okay. Wrong. I was denied because of pre-existing conditions (pre-existing before the nausea, because, at this point I still had no actual diagnosis) and weight (a side-effect of pre-existing conditions).

Now that I was dropped from insurance, I began to panic. I had heard horror stories, but I really didn't want to switch OBGYNs at this point, so I called before my annual appointment and asked to speak to someone in billing, to whom I explained the situation. I discovered that actual doctor appointments (not lab work, diagnostic tests, etc.) are not THAT expensive. I'm talking in the $50 range.

Anyway, OBGYN time rolls around and I go to my appointment. The receptionist flips out about me not having insurance, and announces my insurance status to the whole waiting room, and I felt absolutely mortified as I walked up to the receptionist area, with a gazillion pregnant women's eyes staring at me. (At this time, it was still a little taboo not to have insurance and everyone thought it was all about ability to afford health insurance, slippery slope slippery slope slippery slope ... random memory: in debate class, we were taught to avoid slippery slope arguments, which is exactly what healthcare is allowing to dictate their policies ... ::stepping off soapbox now::)

After sharing my insurance woes (and voicing a grievance about the receptionist), OBGYN said to let her know if I needed more Phenergan.

The next few months, I called about once a month for a Phenergan refill. In about September or October, she cut me off. Her rationale was if I was needing that much Phenergan, I needed to be seeing a GI. (Seriously, what in the world did she think I meant when I said I was nauseous and felt like crap for the past year?) I couldn't get in with the GI until January.

Those next few months were miserable and I really started packing on the pounds when I resorted to ginger ale and saltines to settle my stomach. I rationed out my remaining Phenergan and stocked up on Emetrol and Maalox. This was not a preferred course of managing the nausea, but it had to do.