The Agony and the Inanity
Along about mid-December I started having pain in my knee. Of course, this happened while I was enjoying the holidays with family several states away, so seeing my doctor would have to wait until I got home. For two weeks the pain increased, making sleep darned near impossible. The day before my return flight I noticed what looked to be a couple of bug bites on that knee, surprising because of the constant alternating applications of heat and ice. Oh joy.
First stop when I got home was the orthopedic clinic. After a couple of X-rays he scheduled me for an MRI next week. Then I went to my GP for the presumed bug bites. She took one look and, to my amazement, described my last two weeks in pretty accurate detail, including the specific areas of the leg and lower back where the pain had spread. She then explained that no bug had chomped me. “This,” she said, “is what shingles looks like.” After an instructive discussion about nerve pain being unresponsive to either Tylenol or Ibuprofen she faxed several prescriptions to my pharmacy and told me to start them immediately. And she told me the pain might get worse until the meds started working. She wasn’t kidding; I spent most of last night wondering where I could get my hands on a chain saw to cut off that damned leg.
Now that the grisly details are out of the way I’ll get to the point. About a year ago I was advised to get the shingles vaccination. Turns out it is NOT covered by Medicare D, and there’s no way I could pay the $150 cost. Here’s the rub: the first and most essential medication retails for $297, the others are less, but the expense will be repeated for a while -- all covered by Med D. In accordance with the old rubric, the ounce of prevention would have been considerably less costly than this pound of cure.
One of my senators will be in town next week and I’ll try to have a brief chat with him about this weird coverage gap; if that opportunity doesn’t happen, his staffers are always helpful. My other senator will also be advised via a friend who is now one his staffers. Having met and conversed with both men on a number of occasions I have good reason to know that they really do care about the people they serve. I wouldn’t work on their campaigns otherwise.
In stark contrast, my current congressman would respond with his usual inane assertion that my situation is just one more example of why government should stay out of health care, turning it into yet another excuse to try for repeal of ACA. He just keeps giving me reasons to work to replace him with someone who actually gives a damn.
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your Congressman.
Hope you are doing better and the meds kick in soon.
Mine was from the middle of my back to my front around the waist. The pain is the worst pain I have ever had. My neurologist told me it may be permanent if the nerves are damaged. I am hoping it heals soon and I am pain free. This has been six weeks so far.