Why I’m against the way we dispense the birth control pill

July 31, 2013

I was put on “the Pill” the week I turned 18. I wasn’t put on it for birth control purposes, but because my previously-heavy period had gotten so bad that I passed out from the loss of blood. The doctors figured this would fix that problem.

Birth control pills

What it did was mask the problem. Once I was on birth control pills (BCPs), I could no longer have accurate hormone tests run. The specialist thought I had PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) but it would be another 7 years before I found out he was right. In the meantime, I just dutifully took the Pill every day, as instructed, and assumed I wouldn’t get pregnant and that everything was under control. My primary care physician (PCP) du jour always prescribed it.

A friend of mine was suffering from depression for a long time. She tried changing all sorts of things about her life. She got a new job, tried a new diet, saw therapists, but was still depressed. I saw her a few months ago and the transformation was incredible! She was the happy, upbeat person I remembered from so many years ago! She was dealing with some truly horrible circumstances at home, and yet she seemed happier than I had seen her in 10 years. What changed? She went off the Pill. She said the change happened quickly. She’s no longer in therapy. She’s just avoiding birth control pills. Too bad none of her doctors thought to try that. Apparently, it never occurred to any of them.

A friend of mine found out the hard way that because of a medical condition, birth control pills won’t prevent pregnancy for her. She found when she got pregnant!

I now take a half of a BCP every day. I do this not for birth control, but because I need the boost in my estrogen levels. This is how my endocrinologist prescribes it.

Hormones are a tricky thing. Mess them up, and you could be in serious trouble. I know this from experience and from what I’ve witnessed. So why are PCPs prescribing hormones? Why aren’t women being sent to endocrinologists? Now there’s even talk about making BCPs available over the counter, without prescription!

Let me be clear. I am very much FOR giving women better birth control options. I think that making BCPs widely available is a good thing, but it needs to be done intelligently. Women should receive free visits with endocrinologists. Only endos should be allowed to prescribe BCPs. Endos should be well-versed in the possible side-effects of BCPs. When I got horrible mood swings once a month, when I felt horribly depressed and wanted to cry for no reason, my endo knew to take me off the Pill, let my body settle down, then start me on something else. My PCP didn’t know to do that. After women get these free visits, then BCPs should be available at the local pharmacy free of charge. I strongly believe this.

On the other hand, I do not want to see women getting the Pill without seeing a doctor. This is an unpopular view among my very liberal social crowd, but having more experience with medical issues, I am very ready to confidently take this stand. There are just too many ways it could go wrong. There are women for whom BCPs won’t work as effective birth control, and many for whom it can have horrible side effects. We call it “the Pill” and yet there are many different formulas. Should I take an estrogen-based one or a progesterone-based one? I like the idea of only getting my period 4 times per year, but will that one work for me? I could ask the pharmacist, but what will they know? They have no idea what my hormone levels are. No, women need to see endocrinologists who know which tests to run, how to interpret them, which medications to prescribe, and how to handle the side effects.

Our bodies are too important to just hope that it all works out.

And by the way, if providing free birth control is so important, where are the free condoms? I don’t want to get pregnant, but BCPs won’t work for me, so I need something else (assuming I’m even fertile, but that’s a topic for another day.) Plus, I don’t want to get STIs, either! Condoms should be distributed at doctors’ offices and at pharmacies, free of charge. Those things are expensive! Let’s make it easier for everyone to avoid unwanted pregnancies and STIs.

7 Comments | Educating, Frustration, Healthcare, Medication, Politics, Rants, Relationships: Family & Friends & Dating & Sex, Symptoms | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Inexcusable insurance stress

July 29, 2013

For a while now I’ve been on MassHealth. That’s the Massachusetts version of Medicaid. If you don’t live in the U.S., Medicaid is health insurance for the poor and the disabled. It’s partially funded by the federal government but it’s administered by the states. This means that the type of coverage you have, and if you’re even eligible, is based on where you live. Ridiculous, right? Thankfully, I live in Massachusetts, where I am eligible for MassHealth. In other states I wouldn’t have been able to get it.

Of course, that was before. Now I’ve won my long term disability appeal, so I’m getting my old health insurance reinstated. You’d think that was a good thing, right? Wrong!

Obviously my old insurance costs a lot more than MassHealth. I was on MassHealth not as someone with a disability (don’t get me started on that!) but as someone of low (in my case, nonexistent) income. So I didn’t pay premiums or copays, and I paid only tiny amounts for prescriptions. And my old insurance is used by more doctors, so in theory that’s good. But here’s the problem: referrals.

In Massachusetts, most health insurance plans are HMO. That stands for Health Maintenance Organization, but as far as I can tell their just trying to maintain their balance sheets, not our health. HMOs require that all doctor visits by approved by the patient’s primary care physician (PCP). If I want the insurance to cover any appointment with any specialist (except for eye care, for some reason) then I must get a “referral” from my PCP. This sounds good, until you consider the reality:

  • Many PCPs want to discuss each situation, so that means time, effort, and money (yes, we pay to see PCPs aside from yearly checkups) for each discussion.
  • The PCP can say no because they don’t think you need to see that specialist. That’s one of the reasons it took eleven years for me to be diagnosed.
  • The PCP can say no because they’d rather you see another doctor. Usually they want you to see one within their own hospital network.

I did my research. I asked around. I figured out exactly who I should see. Sadly, they took my old insurance but not MassHealth. I waited many, many months. Then, finally, they started taking MassHealth! I got the first appointment I could, for this Thursday. You see, with MassHealth, specialist referrals aren’t necessary – I can see whoever I want as long as they take my insurance! What a novel idea!

But here’s the thing: I can only use MassHealth as long as I don’t have access to another health insurance. But now that I’ve won the disability insurance case and I’m getting my old health insurance back, I’m going to lose MassHealth. Sadly, the changeover is due to happen on Wednesday. Yes, just ONE DAY before my big appointment! So after waiting for about a year to see this doctor, it all comes down to needing a referral from my PCP.

I called my PCP’s office today. They said they’d run it by her, but told me she usually doesn’t refer to anyone outside of her hospital network. Now, I’m completely willing to leave her practice. In fact, I plan to leave it anyway. But there’s no way I’ll be set up with someone else by Wednesday. That just isn’t possible, especially because no PCP gives a referral before having a first meeting with a patient. So now I’m worried that I’ll miss out on my big appointment and that I’ll have to put it off even longer, all because my PCP may not give me the referral.

The inexcusable part? She wouldn’t withhold the referral because the doctor I want to see is the wrong specialist for my condition or because he has a bad reputation. She would withhold it only because she prefers to have her patients seen within her hospital network. There are advantages to that, of course. She knows the physicians, the medical records are all within the same system, etc. But it is also very limiting. I’ve researched those doctors and they don’t do the treatment I want. The treatment I want is less common, but by no means experimental or unconventional.

I should be confidently awaiting my big appointment, looking forward to new treatment possibilities. Instead, I feel stress that it may not happen. Is this the medical system we deserve? How have we let it deteriorate to this point. This is simply not acceptable.

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Energy work-arounds for a social life

July 26, 2013

Yesterday I had some friends over to my place. We all have chronic health issues, so we all understand how hard it is to do these get-togethers. Beforehand, talking on the phone, S mentioned how great it is that I had the energy to organize this. I pointed out that all I did to “organize” was send a few emails, and that by having it at my place, I didn’t need to expend the energy to go anywhere. See, she and the others thought I was being generous by offering to host, but really, I was saving up my energy by having them here. She laughed and appreciated my “sneakiness.”

Of course, this only works to a certain extent. I was still running around, opening and closing windows to adjust the temperature, getting food and water for people, cleaning up spilled food (I do love my dustbuster!) and generally trying to be a good hostess. By the end I was exhausted, despite having rested most of the previous day, and so I spent all day today in my apartment resting. It has only been in the last hour that I have begun to feel a bit less run down.

I was also resting today because I am going out tomorrow. Because of the weather, I wanted to be indoors. The friend I’m going out with suggested a few possibilities. I chose a small museum for which I can gain free admission through an old job perk. She’s thrilled to go, and I can save both money and energy. I’ve been there many times, so I know that it’s easy to navigate with lots of comfortable seating throughout the place, a great elevator, and small manageable rooms. Luckily, they change exhibits often, so it’ll still feel like a new experience for me. My friend is driving, so that saves me energy too. And with my handicapped parking placard, we should (I hope!) be able to park close to the entrance. She will buy food at the cafeteria and I will bring my own so that we can eat together there.

I have no plans for the following day, so if I’m tired then I’ll just stay home and rest.

This isn’t perfect, and I’m far from my energy goals, but it’s a start. By resting, hosting, and planning shorter activities, I can at least have a bit of a social life. It may not be the social life I used to have or the one I want to have, but I’m still incredibly grateful for every bit of it.

How do you manage your energy limitations? What do you do to maintain a social life? Please share any ideas you have!

2 Comments | Educating, Expectations, Fatigue, Frustration, Isolation, Limitations, Rants, Raves, Symptoms, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Incredible what 2 years can bring

July 24, 2013

The other day I wrote what has so far been my  most popular post. I felt inspired, so I wrote it. And then I went on with my day. But that night, just before bed, I looked at my calendar and saw the note I had made for myself a while back: it was the 2 year anniversary of this blog!

Anniversary

I feel bad, like I forgot a friend’s birthday. This blog has been so helpful for me, and I forgot its anniversary! It got me thinking, too, about how much has changed since I started writing this.

Two years ago I was just starting to feel much worse, which in hindsight is probably why I started this blog when I did. I wrote every single day for months, until my energy waned and I was forced to cut back. Still, even now it’s rare for me to have a day that I don’t think about what to write here. I have so many ideas, so many posts composed in my mind, and I hope that one day I can type them all out.

Two years ago I was typing into emptiness. My mom would sometimes read my blog, but that was about it. Now I have Subscribingdozens of readers on my mailing list, many more who follow me through twitter, and probably more I don’t know about who use Feedly, Digg, or some other reader. I get comments, which mean so much to me. It’s fantastic to know that people enjoy, are touched, or feel comforted by this blog. I want so much to reach out, and this my way of doing it.

Two years ago I thought I communicated well about my illnesses. Now I know better. As I write about things I often don’t even think to discuss, I realize how much I censor, whether intentionally or not. When I question if I should write about something, I realize that if I can’t be open about it here, in relative anonymity, then I must be pretty closed in real life. And when people comment on certain posts to say how rare it is to have these discussions, I remember that I’m not the only one with this problem.

Two years ago I was working full time. I knew my days of working full time were limited, but I expected to count them in years, not weeks. Now I have been out of work for almost as long as this blog has been around. I didn’t immediately return as I had hoped, and I’ve been coping with that. I don’t know if I will return to work some day. I hope that I will. But I’m trying to accept the uncertainty of it all.

Two years ago I thought I knew what was causing the worst of my health problems. Now, through a lot of research, I’ve found multiple other possible causes. I’ve discovered ways that I’ve been improperly treated. I have learned about new tests that need to be run. I have looked for new practitioners to see, including “non-traditional” ones.

Two years ago I thought I could never make “drastic” changes to my diet. Now I’ve redefined “drastic” because the changes are so worthwhile that I no longer think of them as being difficult. Food doesn’t matter. Health matters. Food is a means to an end for me, so I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure my food isn’t making me sick.

Two years ago I needed to vent. I got frustrated by so many health-related issues. My family and friends tried to understand, but they just didn’t get it. Now I have you. You understand. Sometimes things happen that suck and it helps to commiserate with people who’ve been through it themselves. Insensitive comments and rude actions need to be changed, but we also need to deal with them ourselves on a case-by-case basis. You’ve helped me do that. This blog has been more cathartic than I ever would have imagined when I started writing it.

So thank you for two wonderful years. It’s been a wonderful journey so far and I’m looking forward to seeing it continue.

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Edit: I forgot to mention that this is my 357th post here. In case you were wondering (I was, which is why I went back to look it up.)

1 Comment | Expectations, Frustration, Isolation, Job, Raves, Support, Symptoms, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

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