Aa
Does being on interferon count as a disability?
Right now I'm going to school, going to graduate in May. I have 1a and got it in 2004 (I recall the lapse in judgement clearly, and had just tested negative a few months before; a few months after I was +)
I went and saw a respect GE in the area. My ALT/AST have been slightly elevated, less than 1.5X normal at most, sometimes just a few, since then. I I have genotype 1a. I told him I don't want to do SOC available at the time, but would monitor. I check Alt/AST every 6 months and viral load plus a few other things. VL has varied from less than 100,00 to almost a million in these past years. Once a year I do an US. It generally looks fine, liver slightly enlarged. I biopsy ever 5 years, just had one done. Not sure about the details but Ithink stage 0 but with certain abnormal cells evident. I understand the younger (34) and healthier you are, and the least progressed, the better chance of SVR (would use triple now OF COURSE). I have no symptoms I'm aware of and I don't drink. The schooling I'm doing is intense so I've only worked off and on one day a week. My wife is the breadwinner and she doesn't make much, especiallly since my ins premiums (even on an employer group plan with no pre-existing check) are almost $500 a month. I've been taking student loans to help us survive.
Once I grad though they come due and with this job market i probably won't find work for a while. I'm going into healthcare, so it'd be nice to ideally have the Hep C gone before I start work, plus I don't know if I'll be unable to get insurance; right now at least I'm covered. I think Hep C is protected class under ADA, and due to HIPPA I don't think a future employer would be allowed to run blooadwork on me before hiring (but going into healthcare maybe they can). At minimum if I don't get into a large copmany with group ins I probably won't have insurace (until 2014, when the no-pre-existing clause of the Affordable Care Act kicks in.
I can probably defer the student loans, but from what I hear I probably won't be able to work while doing treatment (even if I found a job). So we're thinking of going ahead and doiing treatment right after I grad. Get it out of the way and if anyone asks why I wasn't working in that 6mo to 1yr I blame the economy.
Complicating things, my wife is going into early menopause so we're trying to get pregnant now. Since you have to wait a year after interferon to have a child, I don't think we'll have time to wait.
So the plan is I stay home with baby, doing treatment, while she goes back to work. She doesn't make much plus we live in the most expensive state in the naiton. I think her income just falls over the line for food stamps. But if I'm "disabled" we should qualify. Also probably for WIC and TANF (which I know nothing about)
The other optioni is to just put off treatment longer, but it'll probably be harder to take a year off later after I've got a career, we've bought a houseand I can't take a year off work cause I'll lose my insurande etc.
Does anyone know about this? I'm not talking about SSDI or anything, just the state stuff to help with food.
I went and saw a respect GE in the area. My ALT/AST have been slightly elevated, less than 1.5X normal at most, sometimes just a few, since then. I I have genotype 1a. I told him I don't want to do SOC available at the time, but would monitor. I check Alt/AST every 6 months and viral load plus a few other things. VL has varied from less than 100,00 to almost a million in these past years. Once a year I do an US. It generally looks fine, liver slightly enlarged. I biopsy ever 5 years, just had one done. Not sure about the details but Ithink stage 0 but with certain abnormal cells evident. I understand the younger (34) and healthier you are, and the least progressed, the better chance of SVR (would use triple now OF COURSE). I have no symptoms I'm aware of and I don't drink. The schooling I'm doing is intense so I've only worked off and on one day a week. My wife is the breadwinner and she doesn't make much, especiallly since my ins premiums (even on an employer group plan with no pre-existing check) are almost $500 a month. I've been taking student loans to help us survive.
Once I grad though they come due and with this job market i probably won't find work for a while. I'm going into healthcare, so it'd be nice to ideally have the Hep C gone before I start work, plus I don't know if I'll be unable to get insurance; right now at least I'm covered. I think Hep C is protected class under ADA, and due to HIPPA I don't think a future employer would be allowed to run blooadwork on me before hiring (but going into healthcare maybe they can). At minimum if I don't get into a large copmany with group ins I probably won't have insurace (until 2014, when the no-pre-existing clause of the Affordable Care Act kicks in.
I can probably defer the student loans, but from what I hear I probably won't be able to work while doing treatment (even if I found a job). So we're thinking of going ahead and doiing treatment right after I grad. Get it out of the way and if anyone asks why I wasn't working in that 6mo to 1yr I blame the economy.
Complicating things, my wife is going into early menopause so we're trying to get pregnant now. Since you have to wait a year after interferon to have a child, I don't think we'll have time to wait.
So the plan is I stay home with baby, doing treatment, while she goes back to work. She doesn't make much plus we live in the most expensive state in the naiton. I think her income just falls over the line for food stamps. But if I'm "disabled" we should qualify. Also probably for WIC and TANF (which I know nothing about)
The other optioni is to just put off treatment longer, but it'll probably be harder to take a year off later after I've got a career, we've bought a houseand I can't take a year off work cause I'll lose my insurande etc.
Does anyone know about this? I'm not talking about SSDI or anything, just the state stuff to help with food.
For what it's worth .. I'm Tx with P/R - 54 shots into a total of 60 in my case ..
Still functioning just fine , Sx are mostly low Hgb related , low stamina / motivation .. a headache not so often and then which doesn't last long , in my case.
I still do what I want for the most part , just don't physically push as hard as pre Tx .. two days before my shots I usually feel real good and fingers crossed after EOT .. physically I'll be able to get back to "normal"... whatever that is for a 54 year old, fairly active guy ...
Got to remember , folks who have a hard time & there are enough of them , but they may not be the majority of folks Tx .. visit forums for support ...
A large % of those that feel ok during Tx rarely visit public forum's , if at all and just go about their life in a "normal" fashion , work, family , hobby's ... I have 4 old school friends who went through Tx , never visited a forum and 3 are SVR ... getting on with their life's no problems ... 1 has to re Tx but still not interested in forums ...
Just sharing my experience , Aaron
Still functioning just fine , Sx are mostly low Hgb related , low stamina / motivation .. a headache not so often and then which doesn't last long , in my case.
I still do what I want for the most part , just don't physically push as hard as pre Tx .. two days before my shots I usually feel real good and fingers crossed after EOT .. physically I'll be able to get back to "normal"... whatever that is for a 54 year old, fairly active guy ...
Got to remember , folks who have a hard time & there are enough of them , but they may not be the majority of folks Tx .. visit forums for support ...
A large % of those that feel ok during Tx rarely visit public forum's , if at all and just go about their life in a "normal" fashion , work, family , hobby's ... I have 4 old school friends who went through Tx , never visited a forum and 3 are SVR ... getting on with their life's no problems ... 1 has to re Tx but still not interested in forums ...
Just sharing my experience , Aaron
Woot! Woot! I have worked for my states medicaid program for 33 yrs So much abuse and with job cuts and early retirements our workload is crazy!
"My understanding is that government assistance is based in 'income' and 'need' and 'condition' as opposed to 'medication.' " True, guess I've just read too many horror stories of people being complete disabled by the interferon, which if all true would put one into the 'need' & 'condition' category. Having just graduated from school and being unemployed would put me in the 'income'
But, I appreciate your response, knowing that even those undergoing chemo are expected to "suck it up" and go to work. Of course medicated does not equal disabled.
Believe me, I am among those against big government (except when it benefits me personally har har har), and it would REALLY require swallowing my pride to sign up for food stamps. Though I've got fellow students on Medicaid (our degree program requires us to carry health insurance) I refused to go that route and worked full time the first few years of school so I could have health insurance. I only signed onto my wife's insurance when I could no longer work enough hours to qualify for benefits.
Thank God for my wonderful wife. Without her I wouldn't even be almost done with my degree. This is a 2nd career for me, I went right into IT out of high school and never thought it necessary to get a degree; thought the good times would last forever. Now I need a useful, marketable skill-set and license that I can take anywhere. When the time comes to treat the Hep, I'll be back.
But, I appreciate your response, knowing that even those undergoing chemo are expected to "suck it up" and go to work. Of course medicated does not equal disabled.
Believe me, I am among those against big government (except when it benefits me personally har har har), and it would REALLY require swallowing my pride to sign up for food stamps. Though I've got fellow students on Medicaid (our degree program requires us to carry health insurance) I refused to go that route and worked full time the first few years of school so I could have health insurance. I only signed onto my wife's insurance when I could no longer work enough hours to qualify for benefits.
Thank God for my wonderful wife. Without her I wouldn't even be almost done with my degree. This is a 2nd career for me, I went right into IT out of high school and never thought it necessary to get a degree; thought the good times would last forever. Now I need a useful, marketable skill-set and license that I can take anywhere. When the time comes to treat the Hep, I'll be back.
JbOne,
First, I would like to say that if you ask questions on a forum, you should anticipate that you will receive answers and opinions, some that you like and some that you don't like. So far as I can see, no one used inappropriate language or name called anyone BEFORE YOU DID. I think that you, with little liver damage and not currently experiencing side effects from treatment, need to be respectful to those who took the time to read your post and answer your questions based on their own personal experiences, and refrain from inappropriate language or name calling. If you had taken the time to read the profile of the person you swore at and name called, you would know that this person has advanced cirrhosis, portalhypertension, varices, and liver cancer, all of which are disabling and life threatening conditions, and the combination of which leave limited options. You are not in that situation (yet), so I think that you need to take a step back. There are some people on this forum who are very sick, whose lives are at immediate risk, or who have lost someone due to Hep C complications, so be respectful.
Second, in my opinion, your top priority should be taking care of your health for your wife and your future family. It is not fair for anyone to delay taking care of their health and risk leaving a spouse or a child to care for them or bury them. Taking care of your health means consulting with your doctor and deciding together what is best for you in your individual situation.
Third, you asked about working while on therapy. My husband is in his third round of therapy for Hep C since he was diagnosed in 2007. His liver damage went from F 1-2 to beginning Cirrhosis in 3 years. There is no way to predict an individual's progress with this disease. My husband has worked every day (other than 2 days missed for liver biopsies in the past 4 years) while undergoing each of these therapies. Many people on this forum are working while on therapy. Each individual responds differently to the medications and the side effects are more severe for some than others. There is no way to predict how you will respond, but many people are able to work through therapy.
Fourth, you asked about insurance coverage for medications. In my husband's case, on all three therapies, the only way we knew for sure what his insurance would cover, was when the doctor submitted it to insurance and wrote the letter stating his medical need. Within 1-2 weeks we were contacted by the insurance company to tell us what would be covered and what our co-pay would be. I wouldn't recommend making a decision based on talking to a representative on the phone who does not have the specifics regarding your treatment from your doctor. Our co-pay is currently about $85 per month for Peg, Riba, and Incivek (Telaprevir). It will increase if/when he needs additional medications such as Procrit or Neupogen as he did with treatment #2. Again, this has to be prescribed and submitted by your doctor before you will be able to find out the specifics from your insurance company. Chances are your insurance company will require you to use a specialty pharmacy that they contract with to handle specialized medications.
Good luck on your decision making.
Advocate1955
First, I would like to say that if you ask questions on a forum, you should anticipate that you will receive answers and opinions, some that you like and some that you don't like. So far as I can see, no one used inappropriate language or name called anyone BEFORE YOU DID. I think that you, with little liver damage and not currently experiencing side effects from treatment, need to be respectful to those who took the time to read your post and answer your questions based on their own personal experiences, and refrain from inappropriate language or name calling. If you had taken the time to read the profile of the person you swore at and name called, you would know that this person has advanced cirrhosis, portalhypertension, varices, and liver cancer, all of which are disabling and life threatening conditions, and the combination of which leave limited options. You are not in that situation (yet), so I think that you need to take a step back. There are some people on this forum who are very sick, whose lives are at immediate risk, or who have lost someone due to Hep C complications, so be respectful.
Second, in my opinion, your top priority should be taking care of your health for your wife and your future family. It is not fair for anyone to delay taking care of their health and risk leaving a spouse or a child to care for them or bury them. Taking care of your health means consulting with your doctor and deciding together what is best for you in your individual situation.
Third, you asked about working while on therapy. My husband is in his third round of therapy for Hep C since he was diagnosed in 2007. His liver damage went from F 1-2 to beginning Cirrhosis in 3 years. There is no way to predict an individual's progress with this disease. My husband has worked every day (other than 2 days missed for liver biopsies in the past 4 years) while undergoing each of these therapies. Many people on this forum are working while on therapy. Each individual responds differently to the medications and the side effects are more severe for some than others. There is no way to predict how you will respond, but many people are able to work through therapy.
Fourth, you asked about insurance coverage for medications. In my husband's case, on all three therapies, the only way we knew for sure what his insurance would cover, was when the doctor submitted it to insurance and wrote the letter stating his medical need. Within 1-2 weeks we were contacted by the insurance company to tell us what would be covered and what our co-pay would be. I wouldn't recommend making a decision based on talking to a representative on the phone who does not have the specifics regarding your treatment from your doctor. Our co-pay is currently about $85 per month for Peg, Riba, and Incivek (Telaprevir). It will increase if/when he needs additional medications such as Procrit or Neupogen as he did with treatment #2. Again, this has to be prescribed and submitted by your doctor before you will be able to find out the specifics from your insurance company. Chances are your insurance company will require you to use a specialty pharmacy that they contract with to handle specialized medications.
Good luck on your decision making.
Advocate1955
I did get SS Disability during my first tx ( 10 yrs ago) It took 8 or 9 months to get a check from them. Tx is usually over by then with today's triple tx. I still had to go bankrupt a couple years later. I was way less fortunate than you in that I didnt have a site like this to gain info from. My tx was based on fear rather than fact, and it was the worst time of my life by far. You on the other hand are armed with probably as much info as the person treating you, and have time to make a wise decision based on facts. As others have mentioned tx is very challenging and not to be taken lightly. There is also nothing telling you at this point that HCV is a death sentence for you. Everybody's body handles it differently. Be aware that you do have this issue, and protect your liver. But dont let fear be your guide!! Learn all you can and make the best choice for your family, and yourself. Your wife's concern is very understandable, but it sounds a lot like my choice to tx the first time. Good luck to you in all you do!!
After talking with your doctor, if you decide to wait to treat, please come back to this forum when you do decide to treat. There is help from the med companies to help pay for the drugs. Plus people here have a great deal of knowledge about Hep C and also about the side effects and managing the side effects.
Also, as you found out, half of the staff at the insurance companies don't know what is covered. I had the same problem figuring out what my insurance company would cover. I spoke with at least 6 different people and evey single one of them told me something different. In the end, my insurance does cover all of the medications excpet for a relatively small co-pay (which I think the drug companies may cover but I have not asked them to cover the co-pay).
Best of luck to you in your endeavors.
Also, as you found out, half of the staff at the insurance companies don't know what is covered. I had the same problem figuring out what my insurance company would cover. I spoke with at least 6 different people and evey single one of them told me something different. In the end, my insurance does cover all of the medications excpet for a relatively small co-pay (which I think the drug companies may cover but I have not asked them to cover the co-pay).
Best of luck to you in your endeavors.
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