Aa
Crying Out Of Frustration
I am crying as I type this... I cannot believe this is happening to me. I went to my opthalmolgy appt today only to be told that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH MY EYES!!!!!! Not even the uveitis that I was dx with in the ER last week. So I told her that my eyes hurt to the touch, they ache like crazy and although I am seeing fine right now, by the end of the day I won't be seeing so great! She told me I have 20/30 vision and need glasses. Thats funny because before this whole fiasco I was 20/20 so isn't that a sign that something is WRONG! Nope she said, you're just getting older. I asked if there is any rhyme or reason as to why my eyes hurt then, her answer was no.
So I guess I can add my imaginary eye pain to my list of symptoms of my apparent imaginary disease that I've been suffering from!
Oh, she did say that I need to see a Rheumy because I had a positive ANA. (She didn't know what pattern and my eyes were too dilated to see what she wrote @ 1st). Later I was able to make out that its a speckled pattern.
But, hold on to your seats, the nurse gave me my paperwork and she referred me to General Medicine!!! What a slap in the face.
Tomorrow I will call the nurse in the neuro dept, maybe they can refer me to Rheumy. I'm too exhausted and frustrated to even deal with it today. I go to Harbor UCLA which is a County facility, they must think indigent means stupid too. The only reason I don't have insurance is because I reduced my work hours to part time since I am in the full time RN program. I can pretty much dx myself...if someone would ever let me see my test results!!!!!
So I guess I can add my imaginary eye pain to my list of symptoms of my apparent imaginary disease that I've been suffering from!
Oh, she did say that I need to see a Rheumy because I had a positive ANA. (She didn't know what pattern and my eyes were too dilated to see what she wrote @ 1st). Later I was able to make out that its a speckled pattern.
But, hold on to your seats, the nurse gave me my paperwork and she referred me to General Medicine!!! What a slap in the face.
Tomorrow I will call the nurse in the neuro dept, maybe they can refer me to Rheumy. I'm too exhausted and frustrated to even deal with it today. I go to Harbor UCLA which is a County facility, they must think indigent means stupid too. The only reason I don't have insurance is because I reduced my work hours to part time since I am in the full time RN program. I can pretty much dx myself...if someone would ever let me see my test results!!!!!
Hi binx,
Currently I am going to the county hospital that is run by UCLA. Now UCLA and USC both have private hospitals and I don't know if in fact they accept Medi-Cal or not. They most likely do but my problem lies here...
I make too much money! Even working part time I make too much money for no cost Medi-Cal. So I have a SOC (share of cost) that goes according to my income. My SOC is $847.00/month. That means that whatever medical bills I incur, I'm responsible for $847.00 of it. Now that would be all fine and dandy if the great state of CA played like HMO's and made the SOC like an annual deductible. But NO, when you have a SOC it starts over MONTHLY!!!!
So...having Medi-Cal is actually costing me more than being a "Self-Pay" patient at the county. As a self-pay, I would (and have in the past) pay $80 for an office visit, and any tests, labs, etc stemming from that visit fall under that one payment. ER visits are $120.
I found out yesterday that I had about $8,000 in charges from my June fiasco's alone. And now that we're in July my SOC starts over, so my visit yesterday was about $650. Basically, I have to pay$1,694.00 for the last 3 weeks of back and forth. Whereas if I was self-pay I would probably have a bill for about $520. Go figure!
Can't win for losin', especially in the broke state of CA, where they rip you off at every twist and turn!
Thanks for asking though. If there is a way to actually make it onto University grounds, for a small fee, I will jump at it!
Currently I am going to the county hospital that is run by UCLA. Now UCLA and USC both have private hospitals and I don't know if in fact they accept Medi-Cal or not. They most likely do but my problem lies here...
I make too much money! Even working part time I make too much money for no cost Medi-Cal. So I have a SOC (share of cost) that goes according to my income. My SOC is $847.00/month. That means that whatever medical bills I incur, I'm responsible for $847.00 of it. Now that would be all fine and dandy if the great state of CA played like HMO's and made the SOC like an annual deductible. But NO, when you have a SOC it starts over MONTHLY!!!!
So...having Medi-Cal is actually costing me more than being a "Self-Pay" patient at the county. As a self-pay, I would (and have in the past) pay $80 for an office visit, and any tests, labs, etc stemming from that visit fall under that one payment. ER visits are $120.
I found out yesterday that I had about $8,000 in charges from my June fiasco's alone. And now that we're in July my SOC starts over, so my visit yesterday was about $650. Basically, I have to pay$1,694.00 for the last 3 weeks of back and forth. Whereas if I was self-pay I would probably have a bill for about $520. Go figure!
Can't win for losin', especially in the broke state of CA, where they rip you off at every twist and turn!
Thanks for asking though. If there is a way to actually make it onto University grounds, for a small fee, I will jump at it!
dear patientnurse,
do you know if either USC or UCLA med center takes medi-cal? just wonderin'. they might be good options for you.
i am so sorry this is happening to you. very and truly. it's so messed up.
blessings,
binx
do you know if either USC or UCLA med center takes medi-cal? just wonderin'. they might be good options for you.
i am so sorry this is happening to you. very and truly. it's so messed up.
blessings,
binx
Thank you, thank you, thank you all soooo much for your thoughts and support. I am soo glad I found this site because it's times like these when you really need someone to listen that actually understands.
I will speak with the neuro nurse tomorrow, I will ask her for a referral for a neuro-opth dr. Right now I'm kind of stuck because of this insurance thing (which is another long story for another time) so I have to stick with county so I can pay a flat fee for service. I have Medi-Cal but it's not worth having, my bills are higher with it.
Anyway, I didn't sleep well last night because my legs and hands kept going numb and I woke up swollen today and with a headache (yeah it's back). And something's going on with my short term memory, I called my mom today to ask why she didn't call me back, and she told me that she had and we had an in depth convo that I can't seem to remember. Then I called my friend and told her "I haven't spoken with you in days!", and she told me we spoke yesterday after my appt. I feel like I'm losing it :(
I'm trying to pull it together so I can muster up the strength to fight this uphill battle.
I will speak with the neuro nurse tomorrow, I will ask her for a referral for a neuro-opth dr. Right now I'm kind of stuck because of this insurance thing (which is another long story for another time) so I have to stick with county so I can pay a flat fee for service. I have Medi-Cal but it's not worth having, my bills are higher with it.
Anyway, I didn't sleep well last night because my legs and hands kept going numb and I woke up swollen today and with a headache (yeah it's back). And something's going on with my short term memory, I called my mom today to ask why she didn't call me back, and she told me that she had and we had an in depth convo that I can't seem to remember. Then I called my friend and told her "I haven't spoken with you in days!", and she told me we spoke yesterday after my appt. I feel like I'm losing it :(
I'm trying to pull it together so I can muster up the strength to fight this uphill battle.
How are you doing today? I'm hoping you plan to use that frustration, kick some booty and made an appointment for a 2nd opinion.
UGH!!! Sending REALLY BIG HUGS your way! There has been so much going on here lately, I just know someone has got to catch a break soon...
I agree with Binx, you should seek out a second opinion with a neuro-ophthalmologist. I think they would be way better with what you are dealing with.
I don't really have anything to say (for once!) but that we are here for you and are listening! Please take care and keep us updated.
((((HUGS))))
Sarah
I agree with Binx, you should seek out a second opinion with a neuro-ophthalmologist. I think they would be way better with what you are dealing with.
I don't really have anything to say (for once!) but that we are here for you and are listening! Please take care and keep us updated.
((((HUGS))))
Sarah
dear patientnurse,
please try to see a neuro-ophthalmologist. regular ophthalmologists aren't going to know how to deal with what's going on with you. you had a preliminary dx of uveitis which is an inflammatory eye disease.
i live in northern CA, so i don't have any recommendations, but i googled neuro-ophthalmologists in LA and found this guy:
www [dot] pacificspecialists [dot] com /krauss [dot] htm
i can't speak to anything about him, but he has been affiliated with university medical centers which may mean he is a "thinker".
gosh, i feel for you so much. it is so incredibly difficult to know there is something wrong and have docs say there isn't. i am so sorry and i'm sending you lots and lots of support. i would be crying, too. in fact, my eyes welled up when i read your post just because i know exactly how you feel.
please take good care.
(((((hugs)))))
binx
please try to see a neuro-ophthalmologist. regular ophthalmologists aren't going to know how to deal with what's going on with you. you had a preliminary dx of uveitis which is an inflammatory eye disease.
i live in northern CA, so i don't have any recommendations, but i googled neuro-ophthalmologists in LA and found this guy:
www [dot] pacificspecialists [dot] com /krauss [dot] htm
i can't speak to anything about him, but he has been affiliated with university medical centers which may mean he is a "thinker".
gosh, i feel for you so much. it is so incredibly difficult to know there is something wrong and have docs say there isn't. i am so sorry and i'm sending you lots and lots of support. i would be crying, too. in fact, my eyes welled up when i read your post just because i know exactly how you feel.
please take good care.
(((((hugs)))))
binx
ACK! BIG HUGS
Yeah, that's where I am. I saw my opthmaologist in December/January and he indicated it might be dry eye and there were some other tests that appeared to be missing (cancern types.) I used wetting drops for months which didn't help at all until my other symptoms started showing themselves to me --- things that dry eye isn't caused by - double vision, change in color perception and then my VEP is clearly perplexing.
It's frustrating!!! I feel like the doctor's don't take enough time to really listen to their patient anymore. My opthmalogist listened but couldn't see anything wrong. I don't think my issues are obvious on the optic nerve. I'm surprised considering your other Neuro issues they didn't order a VEP. Can you call your Neuro?
I'm still having ongoing issues. It's been 9 months of intermittent pain on movement (which has gotten better in general) and all the remaining damage remaining. I'm at a loss. I'm at their mercy. It's extremely frustrating. I'm sorry. BLAH! I'm here to listen.
Yeah, that's where I am. I saw my opthmaologist in December/January and he indicated it might be dry eye and there were some other tests that appeared to be missing (cancern types.) I used wetting drops for months which didn't help at all until my other symptoms started showing themselves to me --- things that dry eye isn't caused by - double vision, change in color perception and then my VEP is clearly perplexing.
It's frustrating!!! I feel like the doctor's don't take enough time to really listen to their patient anymore. My opthmalogist listened but couldn't see anything wrong. I don't think my issues are obvious on the optic nerve. I'm surprised considering your other Neuro issues they didn't order a VEP. Can you call your Neuro?
I'm still having ongoing issues. It's been 9 months of intermittent pain on movement (which has gotten better in general) and all the remaining damage remaining. I'm at a loss. I'm at their mercy. It's extremely frustrating. I'm sorry. BLAH! I'm here to listen.
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