scared, vent..... (long)

[bluemanda]

Hi everyone-

I am getting scared. I tried not to worry about it, but seeing as how I am going to be uninsured for the first time in my life in two days, i am scared.

I was laid off at the end of the year (along with others) and they kindly paid for our insurance for the month of January.

I thought for sure I would have a job by now. Nope.

I just had an experience that freaked me out. My face went numb, then my hands, and I got really dizzy. Talk about getting scared.

I have to call tomorrow and cancel my nuero appointment, it is next month, but I won't have insurance and I sure won't have out of pocket money. Unemployment still hasnt kicked in. But that won't pay for house, car, food, power, meds, and appointments.

That's another thing. I have two or three weeks left of Rebif and then I don't know what. I need to call and see about getting help for that too.

So much for being confident I could find a job in a month.

I have been really lucky in not needing much management in my MS life, but that thing with the dizzy and numbness has really scared me.

I am not bad enough to qualify for disability and I really shouldn't try until I need to. But, if I can't keep taking meds and getting extremely stress it might get to that point. Sad, for my Granny passed away. I hate seeing my Mother so sad. Then the stress of no insurance and no job. My family is 100 miles away.

My BF is on disability as he has a different auto-immune disease. That won't cover my bills and his. He is a talker, not a great listener. He has many frustrations and is vocal. Mutters about it all the time. That doesn't help me. His frustrations make me on edge.

I am sorry this is so long but I needed to get this off my chest to try to help ease the stress a little rather than it build and build.

I feel like I am going crazy. I need to go back to work. But, there are just some things I can not do anymore. Sigh.

Thank you for "listening"

[Just MS me]

I to have these worries, as we have been laying off a few at a time for several years, I am not sure how medicade(sorry spelling) works, there are new laws about insurance, but I do not know how they work, but you could contact mssa and they may be able to help

[jessiesmom]

Losing your health insurance

Have you reviewed the website www.healthinsurance.alabama.gov? This might be a good place to start your search for insurance.

Do you qualify for Medicaid? Your county department of social services might be able to help you with that area.

Has your former employer provided you information on COBRA? It is very expensive but until you can find something more affordable it might be worthwhile. My family's benefits come through my husband's employer. When he lost his job several years ago we found that it was important not to be without insurance for more than 63 days. If you are without insurance for more than 63 days you could be virtually uninsurable.

As to your Rebif, immediately contact MS Lifelines. I have always found them very good to deal with. Ask to talk to a reimbursement specialist. I have even been in tears on the phone on occasion and they handled the situation well.

The stress of job loss and all that entails is something to which I can relate. It just shouldn't be like this.

Good luck.

[woodstock]

I'm so sorry for your situation. With the symptoms you've just had and your insurance situation, I would suggest calling your neuro to see if they will see you by Jan 31. Hopefully they will and perhaps they will even prescribe a 3 month supply of rebif to tide you over if the insurance will cover that.

[pjsSissy70]

I know exactly where your coming from. I had a major relapse in October and couldnt work. Was on FMLA until that ran out, was on short term disability til that ran out now Im giong for long term disability and SSI.

I have no insurance, but luckily my neuro is working with me to pay it off and he even lowered his office visits by 120.00 per visit. I told him and the office staff of my situation and they are bending over backwards to help me get the medical help I need.

As far as the meds, most have an assistance program. You can get ahold of the manufacturer or go thru MS society for the information. Im on Copaxone and the place I go thru is Shared Solutions. They put me in contact with AssistRx. Good luck to you. Hope it gets better for you.

[Thinkimjob]

All my best. Hopefully when the stress eases, the symptoms will, too.

[Tracelyn]

I found myself in that situation in June of last year. I was laid off from a job I had for over 10 years.

I was able to obtain my Avonex at no charge from Biogen Idec. Before my insurance ran out I spoke with all of my doctors and asked them write new rx's with double the daily dosage and allowing 3 month refills at a time.
This helped out a LOT.

I was finally able to obtain medical insurance through my temp agency as of Jan 1st. The cost is much higher than I would like, but at least I am able to see my doctors if I need to.

As far as your recent symptoms, that could be caused due to stress. I know that does not make feel any better, but I do know that when I knew I was being laid off, waiting for the shoe to drop, I had a host of symptoms that drove me crazy. Once things were done and I found a sense of direction (got a job working as a contractor) they improved.

Stress is not good for our MS, as I am sure you know. If you do not take anything depression or anxiety, you might want to speak with your doctor/neuro. They can help you out.

[LisaL77]

I hope you can get all this resolved.

[poohb3ar]

Hi everyone-

I am getting scared. I tried not to worry about it, but seeing as how I am going to be uninsured for the first time in my life in two days, i am scared.

I was laid off at the end of the year (along with others) and they kindly paid for our insurance for the month of January.

I thought for sure I would have a job by now. Nope.

I just had an experience that freaked me out. My face went numb, then my hands, and I got really dizzy. Talk about getting scared.

I have to call tomorrow and cancel my nuero appointment, it is next month, but I won't have insurance and I sure won't have out of pocket money. Unemployment still hasnt kicked in. But that won't pay for house, car, food, power, meds, and appointments.
....

I have been really lucky in not needing much management in my MS life, but that thing with the dizzy and numbness has really scared me.

I am not bad enough to qualify for disability and I really shouldn't try until I need to. But, if I can't keep taking meds and getting extremely stress it might get to that point. Sad, for my Granny passed away. I hate seeing my Mother so sad. Then the stress of no insurance and no job. My family is 100 miles away.

My BF is on disability as he has a different auto-immune disease. That won't cover my bills and his. He is a talker, not a great listener. He has many frustrations and is vocal. Mutters about it all the time. That doesn't help me. His frustrations make me on edge.

I am sorry this is so long but I needed to get this off my chest to try to help ease the stress a little rather than it build and build.

I feel like I am going crazy. I need to go back to work. But, there are just some things I can not do anymore. Sigh.

Thank you for "listening"

bluemanda! how are you doing?
you've left us hanging on how you're doing we're worried and care about you.

bless your you certainly have a lot going on. no wonder your MS is going crazy!!!! just one or two of those stressors would send me into a tailspin!

i know how the numbness and dizziness is really scary. i was terrified when it hit my whole body 1/2 overnight, the rest of the body by 5 days was all numb and my world was spinning.
i was writing my will, etc.
but that was 2002! and i continued to work as a preschool teacher until the end of the 2006 school year. would have stayed longer, but they had some bad ideas about disabilities.

anyway, i say that to assure you that if the meds (steroids) which you really need to call neuro if you haven't money or not (they usually work on payment plans) to stop the numbness and to keep it from spreading.
but i'm living proof that it can spread through out your entire body and are still able to be productive.

believe it or not, if it doesn't go away, you actually get used to the fact that you feel like you have rubber gloves on, the dizziness can be controlled by a simple pill (i take 5 mg diazepam 4x day).

sounds like you need a heart to heart w/ BF. yes, he has problems, but so do you and there needs to be mutual understanding and sharing going on. esp. if he's making you worse!

since it's been awhile since you've posted on this i'm praying that you're doing well and haven't felt the need to vent or reach out to MSW.
but we would love to hear from you one way or another!

take care and God bless ya!