NO!
One costs more than I budget for food, toilet paper, OTC pain killers, pens, dish and hand soap, light bulbs, and treats to take to my Class of 1966 luncheons. That is to say it is stinking pricey. The other is affordable, an old drug that requires close monitoring.
It turns out that the delay in doing surgery on my breast cancer wasn’t naughty surgeons playing golf, but the surgeons waiting for my genetic testing results, which finally came back. It seems I am genetically predisposed to develop pancreatic cancer (kiss your butt goodbye) and prostate cancer (there seems to be a butt theme here…)
Knowing these genetic predispositions, the insurance companies are more likely to pay for regular testing. That’s my understanding. If one can understand insurance companies.
I will spare you my diatribe against big pharma and how degrading it is to have to prove to a mega-billion profit-making phamaceutical company you are poor enough to get the OVERPRICED FOR AMERICANS blood thinner at an affordable price, but it would reveal my true political bent as a closet Bernie Sanders supporter who didn’t vote for him because third party candidates for president just suck votes away from one of the two actual candidates likely to end up in the White House. So there!
Speaking of “butts”, I am butt tired of sharing financial data with these companies. Wasn’t the DOGE business and Musk all about sucking out all of our personal financial information held by the IRS (among other illegal, un-American, unconstitutional things)? Hey big pharma! You want to know if I’m poor enough to get a price break on your OVERPRICED FOR AMERICANS pills, send Musk an e-mail.
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Take that!
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On a more pleasant note, I get to see the breast cancer surgeon today at noon. After the consultation, a surgery date will be established, one hopes before prostate or pancreatic cancer might occur. One at a time, boys.
I will ask the breast cancer doctor about the blood thinner medication so I am clear if it is Okay to swallow that yet. For Nurse Diane’s sake, I hope it’s “Okey doke, Doug! Your cardiologist, his nurse, my nurse, and I are all on the same team! And we want you dealing with the ‘Afib’, as the cute, expensive commercials you keep seeing on television abbreviate the condition so a non-medical, as we call you, can remember the condition and ask for the expensive pill, not the one poor people have to take.”
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I’m happy to announce that someone had to cancel their 9:00 am appointment tomorrow with Vic, the lady who cuts my hair. I get to have my hair and beard cut then instead.
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Damn cat!
I think you would have to stop the blood thinner for a week before. That is what my husband had to do when he had hernia surgery. I am pretty sure Eliquis will sell at a discount. Please try these: https://www.bmspaf.org/ and https://www.eliquis.bmscustomerconnect.com/savings
I met the surgeon later that day. He recommended two weeks to be very sure.
Doug
Thankful for my low-dose aspirin. And sending you prayers and good thoughts as you navigate the medical system.
Yep, take that, too!
Doug
I hear you, and agree the system is broken, and continually changing at this time.
Sometimes there are workarounds, depending on what the particular ailment is, where one lives and what facilities and medical expertise are available within traveling distance, though finding them as well as navigating and implementing the workaround can take considerable time and energy. The patient may not have the time or energy, especially if they are seriously ill. You and Andy are in my thoughts and prayers, always.
I live within 57 miles of a decent hospital, but the highest level care is 4.5 hours to Denver, 4 hours to Ft. Collins, and 2.5 hours to Rapid City. Of course, even higher levels like the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota are an all day drive away.
Doug
Yes it’s a rotten system.. between the pharmaceutical houses, the medical industrial complex and the insurance companies.. it is a wonder we survive it. Difficult enough to deal with all of this when feeling 100%, but when we aren’t well, it is no fun. The one thing we can always count on is Andy being the best… and always adorable. Love to you both.
Yes, Andy is the best medicine!
Doug
My brother was put on that $$$ thinner after he needed a pacemaker. The cost nearly gave him a heart attack and he’s on it for life. I agree with Louis. If congress had the same healthcare we do, it would be changed.
Exactly! This isn’t a country of equality, it’s one of justice and Healthcare for the 1% and some joke of the two for the the rest of us.
Doug
Oh, isn’t that the sad truth.
I wish Congress had the same healthcare we do. I’ll bet they’d improve it in a week!
I totally agree!
Doug
Healthcare is such a mess in this country. I wish everyone in Washington could get on the same page about something that will work.
Oh, but the hoi polloi might get ideas…. I agree!
Doug
I hope the doctor goes well and please take care. chuq
It went well. He answered all my questions, let me know what to expect, and was a very good listener.
I am encouraged!
Doug
I don’t remember if I told you I take Xarelto. Maybe you have need of a more expensive blood thinner. But my cancer and bone drugs are horrifically expensive. It’s all covered by a Medicare Savings Plan, through Medicare and Washington state partial Medicaid. Washington is liberal on that front and I can even have an inherited IRA I rarely withdraw from. My oncologist and his staff seem very good at finding full coverage for all my stuff. My sister recently had breast cancer and a lump removed and is too young for Medicare but is getting everything covered by the state and Medicaid. She’s fine but for a lung problem caused by a very rare reaction, .01%, to the last chemo she took. There are also cancer groups on Facebook where you can talk to people. Forgive me if I’m repeating myself. Best wishes on the surgery and recovery. You can always message me on Facebook, too, Messenger.
Nebraska isn’t so blessed! The whole state is full of ignorant, inprogressive good people who crap themselves at anything they think is “socialist” while accepting hslandout from Washington.
As the tourist videos for my state put it, Nebraska, it’s not for everyone.”
D
I wish you were over here
Hey, I would be very happy to be there!
Doug
Or in Australia, Derrick. Yes, I’m still alive! 🙂
So good to read you again, Yvonne. Are you still picking up shopping lists?
Hi. No, I stopped blogging years ago.
I knew you weren’t blogging
Hmm, I wish there was some way you could get a prescription from a Canadian doctor so you could just toddle over to London Drugs (a drugstore chain in Canada) and pick up the blood thinner for a reasonable amount. My daughter in Vancouver says that not all drugs, specifically the ones imported from the States, are “cheap,” but the Canadian version of Medicare subsidizes a lot of purchases.
I was also thinking…I participated in a medical study and as a “reward” for the researchers harvesting my genetic data, they also ran tests for a variety of diseases and physical traits. Happily I have nothing serious in my family DNA, but some odd traits came up, like a dislike of cilantro and an ability to avoid addiction to alcohol (which I was told is common in Japan: we just turn red and throw up 🙁 ). Anyway, I wonder if you could be eligible for something similar. But how frustrating you have to wait for some insurance company to decide if you need treatment! A friend who worked in mental health said we must be the only country where an insurance agent decides whether you deserve medical care.
Yes, a minimum wage insurance agent in all likelihood, too. What an insurance agent has business making long distance medical decisions without any physical contact with patient anyway is a crime in my mind.
Doug
Sure hope all goes well with surgery and you can also get the medicine and finances sorted … Completely agree with you about all that insurance stuff, that’s why we’re in bad financial shape … Also agree about DOGE and Musk. Now Andy, he’s a sweetie, no matter what …
Aw! There is
IS Andy….
Doug
we hope you can solve the blood thinner problem with your surgeon and we wish you all the best … please come back with good news…
The good news is I met the surgeon, not at the 22 noon appointment time, but immediately after dialysis, a much appreciated courtesy. Also he was very informative, a great listener, and I have a good preview of what to expect, what circumstances require radiation, and why he feels that may not be necessary in my case. It was a pleasant meeting, actually.
Doug