With enough butterflies in my stomach to attract a lepidopterist, I arrived at my appointment Thursday morning to see my newly-acquired family physician…and was not entirely optimistic. (It’s just a personal philosophy I’ve adopted over the years—if pressed, I was probably influenced by Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst from Mel Brooks’ The Twelve Chairs.) As I had feared, the retake on the bloodwork didn’t add anything new to the equation; the doc explained to me that in the five stages of kidney functions, I was in the middle at Stage 3—my kidneys are sluggish and not expelling wastes the way they should. (Stage 5 is dialysis. We don’t want that.)
The reason for the lethargic kidneys is that I am
diabetic. But here’s the rub: because my
kidneys aren’t doing well on their performance evaluations, I can’t take
something like the Metformin pill because that’ll do an even worse number on your kidneys. So I will have to take insulin, and for
someone who isn’t exactly leaping into large piles of money like Scrooge McDuck
this will take somewhat of a financial toll.
Ask me how I know this. Well, my
father takes insulin (he, too, is diabetic) and even though he’s on Medicare a
substantial amount of wherewithal is required to keep him supplied with that
medication. (There was a time when my
sister Kat was in charge of a camp that catered to diabetic kids and whatever
insulin was left over—since they were required to chuck it out anyway—she’d
bring home for Dad. But those days have
come and gone.)
I’ll also have to make major changes to my diet, which won’t
be too much of a struggle, but just as I was adjusting to this news I take a
stroll down to our mailbox and I find an invoice for all that lab work. Modesty prevents me from revealing the amount
owed in the bill…but I have often joked in the past, it was big enough to be a
William. I was able to get in touch with
the lab’s customer service department and negotiate a payment plan…but that
doesn’t even take in what I’ll owe for the “retakes.” Then there’s the appointment with the
endocrinologist to figure out how I’m going to tackle this medical
setback. (When it rains…it pours.)
So activity on the blog will be sparse for the rest of the
week—I’ve got a pair of assignments to finish up, and I can’t take on any TDOY activity until I empty out that
inbox. I do want to profusely thank everyone in
both Yesteryearland and Classic Movie Bloggerland for the swell well wishes you
sent my way when I first broke the news on my medical complaints. We’ll get together here back on the blog real
soon.
9 comments:
Dammit, Ivan, we both need to get better fast. And to be able to pay for it. I do have Medicare, thank goodness. Maybe Obamacare is for you.
Yikes. Sending very best thoughts your way. Ivan.
Bless you, Ivan. Do what you have to do, and take courage that you're an intelligent,resourceful man who will find a way to tackle these great problems.
Between you, Bill Crider, Tommy Hancock, and a few others, I am getting a little tired of reading about bad medical news impacting those in my cybersphere. Good thoughts and prayers heading your way! Now get healthy!
Take care Ivan.
Take care, Ivan - our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Do take care, Ivan! I am just thankful wasn't much worse.
Wishing you the very best, sir!
Ivan, there are several sources for discounts on insulin, usually straight from a manufacturer. For a good word on your blog, they might even comp it for you.
http://www.helprx.info/lantus-discounts-coupons?utm_source=bing&utm_campaign=Search%20-%20HRX%20-%20Drugs%20-%20L&utm_adgroup=LANTUS&utm_medium=search&utm_term=lantus%20insulin%20coupons&matchtype=b&campaignid=140168189&adgroupid=778547351
This is just one of many out there.
Wishing you the best...
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