Waiting on healthcare...

[a la izquierda]

So, the other day, out of nowhere, my very healthy husband says to me: "Hey, my vision is blurry in one of my eyes." Real nonchalant-like. I don't know if any of you have a partner like this, but my husband absolutely hates going to the doctor for any reason. He's in his mid-30s, cycles 5 days a week, is very fit and is a vegetarian.
Anyway, I digress. He doesn't have health insurance, because Blue Fraud raised his rates 3 times in 6 months, and then he made too much money to renew the low cost, state-subsidized insurance. Once rejected for the insurance, he promptly got laid off. Great. He's got a new job, but is waiting on approval for the state insurance yet again. Meantime, the man is afraid to go to the doctor for his blurry right eye, because he's scared that if he does, he will not be able to get coverage if the problem is serious.
How fucked up is that? I'm so pissed that he may not be able to go to the doctor until August. It's very possible that he has Lyme disease (mountain biking in Oklahoma means you inevitably pick up tons of tiny pinhead ticks). He has a family history of stroke and TIA.

I haven't slept in two days because I'm up at night worrying. :( Thank you, you useless piece of shit politicians who didn't support comprehensive reform. I guess that's okay, since they've got theirs they can screw the rest (that's the attitude of my teabagger sister-in-law, wife of my husband's brother).

[RB TexLa]

1. excatly why I don't tell my wife when I can't focus my eyes or limbs are numb or I'm haveing trouble

breathing or am light headed.

[a la izquierda]

7. Yep, we worry...

especially about health things. My husband is a stubborn ass when it comes to doctor-type stuff. Drives me mental.

[RB TexLa]

11. I do my part. My wife can't worry about what she doesn't know about.

[a la izquierda]

18. That's why he nonchalantly told me...

he knew I'd freak out.

I had an MS scare a couple years ago and my life nearly fell apart I was so worried. It turned out to be atypical migraines that were manifesting themselves as vertigo...but having an MRI on your brain when you're 30 is frightening.

[DemoCat25]

23. That's why your wife stalks you online.

So she can find out what you do not tell her.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. That happened to me and it was migraines

Freaked me out. I went to the doctor and she said I was having a migraine. I said no way, my head doesn't hurt, it's my eye. And she said give it time. And sure enough a week or so later I had a horrific migraine headache.

The good news is there is great over the counter migraine medicine. Get some to have on hand.

[HughMoran]

4. Same here

It freaked me out something fierce the first time it happened. Another time it was so bad I told my coworkers I was going to drive home and lay down. I drove 15 miles looking out of the corner of my eyes because I couldn't see when looking straight ahead. I hate migraines! My quick fix is 2 ibuprofen and an espresso type drink - works within 1 hour.

[a la izquierda]

8. Odd thing is, when the blurry spot started...

he said he had a headache all day. My first thought was a migraine (I have atypical migraines, no headache but optical problems). But now this has gone on since Friday, and the headache is no more...
sigh.

[Warpy]

3. In my case, it's the POS insurance companies

who were supposed to set up high risk pools for sick people within six months but cried until they were given until 2014. 2014! I have a broken bone in my neck, a battered knee, and several other expensive things I've been coping with, hoping for some help in paying for getting them fixed.

I guess I'll just have to continue living on pain pills and I hate living on pain pills. I'd rather get this shit fixed and be able to live on fewer damned pain pills.

God damn spineless politicians, insurance leeches, and all their enablers to the hell I've been living with since I lost insurance in 1987.

As for your hubby, it could be a few things. If it clears, then he can wait for insurance to kick in to get checked out. If it's still there in a couple of days, he needs to be seen. If he goes to an ER, tell him to go just after 7 AM. Shift change has occurred and the rush of patients hasn't.

[a la izquierda]

6. Thanks...

if his eye is still bothering him Tuesday, it will have been 4 days and then he has to go. My university clinic might see him without insurance, and then I can pay the bill over time. I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what they say...

[DUFan]

13. Does the Clinic have an Eye Doctor?

You said your husband is active and it is possible he has torn a retina or a large clear floater has formed. This happened to my husband once while he was swimming. A torn retina is serious and needs attention. A large floater will eventually heal or become less noticable.

[Warpy]

14. Retinal problems are more likely to present

as a partial or complete loss of vision. The floater is a possibility, however.

Eye problems with the exception of a detached retina are generally insidious in nature, occurring slowly. Sudden blurred vision on one side is usually not the eye, which is why I suggested an ER.

[a la izquierda]

16. Well, he actually had blurred vision in both...

but the left eye got better.
Scary shit, I tell you.

[Warpy]

17. Then do get him checked out.

It is probably nothing. If it's a bad something, you want to know it sooner rather than later, especially if he's the usual stump jumping mountain biker.

[area51]

12. +1 (n/t)

[meow mix]

5. happened to me i got early cataract forming in my eye, cant see it just by looking

unfortunatly it does a great job of screwing my vision and i cant afford to fix it. zero health care here

[boobooday]

9. Depending on the state you are in

There may be a high risk pool. If he is diagnosed with something serious, he should be eligible. I was looking into it because I should qualify, but what I found is that you have to be without insurance for six months. That is indeed "high risk" for me. But your husband sound like he has already been six months without insurance. Maybe there is something. I did read that in California, if you opt into the state HR pool, you can't get into the federal without another 6 month period.

So after my investigations into the HR reform, all I can say is, barely better than nothing.

[Coyote_Bandit]

10. I'm sitting here waiting on my phone to ring

A friend suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm on Friday and is not expected to survive. Before an aneurysm ruptures, the victim may experience headache, nausea, vision impairment, vomiting, or loss of consciousness. Or the individual may not experience any symptoms at all.

I saw my friend just a few hours before tragedy befell her. She was active, fully fnctional and doing something she enjoyed that had meaning to her. She did complain of a mild headache which she attributed to allergies. All of us who knew and loved her now wish we had understood the significance of that.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to frighten you. Never in my life did I expect this to happen to someone I cared about. And I do not want this kind of tragedy to befall anyone else.



Please understand I say this as someone who hasn't seen a doctor in over 15 years. And as someone who is tremendously disappointed in the so-called reforms that have been legislated. I do indeed understand all too well your concern about being able to afford necessary care. As a nation we should be ambarrassed about that.

[a la izquierda]

15. A tumor worries the hell out of me...

the brain aneurysm idea is frightening as well. He feels fine, but I know that doesn't mean anything.
Tomorrow, we go talk to his new boss so she can get him on the books and get the insurance stuff handled. I can't wait any more. It may be a month before his insurance kicks in, though.

We're fucked, either way. Thank you, "Best Healtcare system in the World."

[Stinky The Clown]

19. Welcome to "something is better than nothingville"

Yes, it sucks. This is what happens when one starts the discussion at that point halfway between something and "fuck you".

[a la izquierda]

20. No doubt...

i hope he manages to get signed up for the subsidized care today. his eye seems to be getting a little bit better, so we´ll see.
stupid politicians...

[boomerbust]

21. Happened to me

But I was diagnosed as having cluster headaches. Brutal. Had sinus pollups removed. It took a few years but it seemed to relieve the headaches, but my vision in the right eye is still poor. On Medicare with no vision coverage.

[a la izquierda]

22. I'm going to get him vision coverage tomorrow.

If the eye doc clears any major problems with the eye, then we'll worry about regular insurance. He has very bad sinuses, and that he was blurred in both eyes (left eye cleared up right away) made me think of optical migraines.

[mdmc]

24. ..