My insurance company thinks my condition is a myth!

That is what my doctor told me yesterday. He apologized over and over but I told him it was not his fault. I could not be upset with him, just at the insurance company. They have decide that sacro-iliac joint dysfunction does not exist and that all of us that have it are just whiny patients who either just want the pain meds or are just plain crazy.

I cannot begin to tell you how insulted I am. Up until a year ago I was the type of person who would forgo motrin and just work through typical headaches and muscle pain. I hated medication (still do) and didn’t want anything to do with it. The insurance company also wants to ignore the established fact that ligaments have less blood supply than other part of the body so the body is limited in being able to heal them on their own. Ligaments also have a high concentration of nerves so the pain is relentless and very real.

I have lived with this pain for over a year now. I have been seen by over eight medical doctors and physical therapist and other professionals. It is constant, unrelenting pain. My MRI’s were perceived as normal in Paris and Sherman even though they were not! I had diagnostic laparoscopy to rule out endometriosis. I was told several things by doctors that were hard to hear. Anything from, “There is nothing wrong with you.”, “It is all in your head.”, “You will have to learn to live with it.”, “You best put off having children indefinitely.” and “We can try to make you comfortable-for the rest of your life.” I was 31 when this happened, way to young to give up on a normal life. Chronic pain is brutal. It is there when you finally get to sleep at night. It is there when you wake up 2 hours later because of it. It is there when your 3 year old baby needs you. It is there when your sweet husband comes home and can bear to see you like that anymore. Pain medication make you sick, depressed, exhausted or not work at all. So you put on a smile and go on, day by day, as best you know how. It wasn’t fair to me or my family.

If we had not moved to Austin, I have no idea what would become of me. My doctor here walked in to the exam room after viewing the MRI films that I had brought with me from Paris-the ones that were “normal”- and after three minutes of examining my low back knew what was wrong. I wasn’t crazy and it may take some time but I can be healed. I well up with tears just thinking about it. I was so relieved, so happy that he didn’t tell me he couldn’t help me. It gave me the hope I so desperately had prayed for.

Those insurance companies should be ashamed of themselves. I know there are some individuals who abuse the system but their numbers are small compared to the people who seriously need help. We are lucky. Even though insurance will not pay for my treatment, we will be able to pay for it ourselves. It will not be cheap but we can swing it. It saddens me to know that some people will not get the treatment they need because they cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket. Why would this insurance company think that this condition is a myth? My guess is to help their bottom line. Trust me, no one would go through months of painful treatments that consist of multiple injections deep within the ligaments and joints and grueling physical therapy if it was all in their heads. Trust me, it hurts.

It is not right that we can pay our insurance faithfully and they have the right to pick and choose what they want to pay for. It is cruel to keep people suffering for their profit.

I had to get that out.

Our old TV croaked…

It was about 8 years old, a Sony 27 inch. You know, the heavy old set type that is a pain to move. It wasn’t modern but it had a good picture and was always a good scale for our small living room. I think it just didn’t survive our last move.

What is strange is that the first TV Tony and I bought (a 20 inch Sony we bought before we were married) is over 13 years old and still works fine. We keep it in our bedroom.

So we began the search for a new one on Saturday. We saw some great deals in the local ads but when we got to the store they were all sold out and the new sales would start on Sunday. So we checked out the local ads online for Sunday-no great deals on the size we wanted. Darn. You know when you finally decide to buy something and then you can’t find what you are looking for? It is kind of a let down! Ugh!

So we went to Whole Foods to buy some uncontaminated peanut butter and I bought a Sunday paper. We were driving home and I was reading the ads. Tony told me that he had already checked out the TV ads on line and there was nothing there but I found a local, family owned business that just sold TV’s and electronics. I was reading there deals aloud when Tony said, “Wait. Are they still open? Where are they located?”

We turned around. Some how we managed to get there before they closed and walked in asked for the item and out of the five place we had tried to buy a TV, they were the only store to actually have the special in-stock! Yay!

We couldn’t fit it in our trunk but it slid in the back seat just fine, so Tony drove Matthew and I home and went back and picked it up. It is a little big for our temporary apartment living room but will be perfect once we move to our new house in a couple of weeks!

Matthew and I have been amazed at how the characters on “Wonder Pets” look life-sized this morning.

Yummmm…

Tony and I had a delicious Valentine’s dinner at The Magnolia Cafe on SoCo.   It was the best restaurant we have been to since we moved to Austin. Heart-shaped mushroom and sun-dried tomato ravioli in a tomato cream sauce for me, portobello fajitas for Tony and black bean and chicken tacos for Matthew with chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. Pure foodie heaven!

They seem to have a little bit of everything on the menu, great prices and colorful atmosphere. It seems more like a place for locals than a touristy place. We will definitely go back again.

Time flies

I was looking through some old photos today and this one popped up. I think we forget sometimes how small our child use to be. He was such a sweet baby then and now he is an even sweeter kid!

100_1428

Happy Birthday, Babe!

Today is very special. It is the birthday of the best man I’ve ever met. I cherish him more than he realizes and I look forward to the many more happy birthdays to come. He such a thoughtful, loving husband and the most attentive, caring dad I have ever had the joy of witnessing.

Thanks for being you. Hope today is as great as you are.

Love,
Paige & Matthew

Fabulous New Doctor!

Today’s doctor visit was amazing. Long story short, there are two different procedures for my condition. We will try one first and if that is not effective we will go on to the second one. I will also have physical therapy.

The doctor took one look at my old MRI’s from Paris (the ones that every other doctor said was normal) and showed me exactly what the problem was. In layman’s terms, it is a ligament syndrome that was made worse by the repetitiveness of getting in and out of my car over and over again for my old job. That’s why the pain is on my left side.

I feel good about everything the doctor told me and I should have my life back after six to eight weeks. This doctor also reassured me that he had done over 8,000 of these procedures and had a 100% success rate. He has never had any complications or even a skin infection for any of his patients.

This is great news and I am hopeful for the first time in a year of pain!

Insurance is here!

I can not tell you how happy I am right now. Tony’s insurance is officially in effect and I have an appointment Friday with a new doctor that was recommended by the only other doctor that was able to help me at all with my back pain!

I don’t want to get my hopes up too high but I have hope now that at least improvement is on the way. I just want to get back to being my old self again. Wish me luck!

Home Inspection

Today is the home inspection. Since the house is less than 2 years old we do not expect anything to be wrong. That is the scary part. Because it is so new, if something is wrong, it will most likely be major-like plumbing or wiring. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

I also decided to join Facebook last night. I decide I held out long enough. Tony accepted me as a friend-so far so good! Just kidding.

Hope everyone coming to Austin for TCEA has a safe trip!