Friday, November 28, 2014

Celebrate The Small Things -- Nov 28

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating:

  • My health.  Yes, I have some shitty health problems, but they are not life threatening.  I have my pain and struggles, but I'm thankful for this life that God has given me.  I have a wonderful husband, beautiful children, and loving family and friends.  I am blessed in so many ways. 
  •  My 15th wedding anniverary!  Long story short...it's the best "yes" I ever said, and my husband will surely be sainted one day.
  • A wonderful Thanksgiving with fantastic friends and family.  We only have to travel 30 minutes to my in-laws, and I don't have to cook :)

Happy Weekend!  


What are you celebrating? 


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Friday, November 21, 2014

Celebrate The Small Things -- Nov 21

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

Let's start my celebrations by mentioning how awesome my soaking tub is.  With all the cold weather happening, it's been nice to have a nice soak in a hot bath filled with epsom salts.  Just the thought of it makes me want to have a bath right now.

Speaking of cold weather...I'd also like to celebrate the fact that I don't live in Buffalo, NY.  As much as I love snow, the amount of snow those people are dealing with is just crazy!  I hope it slows down for them.




Stay safe Buffalo!  Here is a link if you'd like to see some incredible pictures posted from Buffalo and some pretty funny tweets.  One guy used the wall of snow as a cooler for his beer!

Lastly, but certainly not least, I'd like to celebrate my awesome hubby who gave me an early anniversary present...silicone TARDIS molds.  He knows me so well :)  Here is what I made with them...

https://cyborgsoaps.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/doctor-who-tardis-soap/
Click the pic to check out my new hobby


Happy Weekend all!



What are you celebrating? 


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

MORE Affordable Heathcare? Not Really.

Over the past few weeks I've noticed that my compound creams have started to lose their potency, so I called in to have them both refilled (I have two: one for my neck and one for my ankles). Here is where the fun begins...

Back in September, I received two letters from my insurance company stating that they would no longer be covering compound creams with certain medications in them. Of course, among those listed, were quite a few that I noticed were ingredients in both my creams. Oh joy.

The medications that are no longer covered

I called the pharmacy that handles my ankle cream and told them that before they refilled my prescription that I would like to know how much my cost would be since my insurance coverage had changed. The customer service person quoted me $55 for 4oz of the “cash alternative”. Not too bad! I had heard horror stories of prescription pain creams that were over one thousand dollars out of pocket. I considered myself lucky and was thrilled at my new price. Then I asked what the difference was between this “cash alternative” and my original prescription. I got put on hold as he didn't know the answer.

The inserts that came with my pain creams
When the pharmacist picked up, she told me that my new cream would be almost as effective as the original one, because some of the ingredients were different in this new one and the percentages of the medications used would be lessened to allow for cost savings. Umm, would this really be effective for me considering all these changes? I mean, it's not like I have a little tennis elbow or something. Hmm. So I asked how much the out of pocket cost would be if I just got my original prescription instead of the “cash alternative”. I mean, my current cream seems to be working just fine...it takes the edge off most days. And even though I still have some pain that I have to deal with, it does help. I was put back on hold again.

This time the customer service guy came back on to quote me my out of pocket cost... 

$2263.39

Holy. Fuck.

Well, I guess that's why I've heard crazy rumors about the outstanding costs of compound pain creams...because they are fucking true! This is outrageous! My jaw is still on the floor from shock.

Sooo....I'm going with the $55 “cash alternative” cream. Shocker! I figure that it's worth a try...and what other choice do I really have? It's either this, or I start taking narcotic pain killers for my pain. And I really don't want to do that!

And the compound cream that I use for my neck...I don't have an estimate on that cost yet since there were no more refills on that prescription and my doctor denied a refill over the phone. I have an appointment next week to see her and we will discuss what my options are if I cannot affordably get the same cream as before. Cross your fingers that she has some reasonable answers and options! I don't think I can handle another $2000 quote.

On a related note...

I would just like to say “thank you” to all of the sleazy politicians who have made my health care MORE affordable. You're doing a bang up job. 



 And fuck the FDA.


Friday, November 14, 2014

Celebrate The Small Things -- Nov 14

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

First off, I'm celebrating my bed.  I love love love my bed and I never want to part with it again.  If you missed my post about my crappy bed experience this past weekend, click here.  Long story short:  there's no place like home...in your own bed.

The biggest celebration of this week is the clean bill of health from my daughter's pulmonologist (lung doctor).  Mary was diagnosed with asthma when she was six years old, which was aggravated by severe seasonal allergies.  Since early elementary school, she would get either pneumonia or bronchitis every spring and fall.  Luckily, she's never had to be hospitalized because of this (knock on wood), but did come pretty close once. 

At the pulmonologists recommendation, we started Mary on allergy shots three years ago,  and since then she has been bronchitis and pneumonia free (knock on wood again).  At her worst, she was on 5 different medicines:  Flovent (an inhaled steroid for her lungs), Nasonex (allergy med), Zyrtec (allergy med), Elestat (prescription eye drops), and Benedryl (because even with all the other allergy meds, we still needed Benedryl every four hours during the peak allergy season!). 

We used to go see her pulmonologist every three months, for many years.  We now only have to go twice a year for a check up.  During her visit yesterday, the doctor said that Mary's lung functions were great, about the same as last time...and that's with her being off all her medicines!  As long as we keep up with her allergy shots every three weeks, she seems to be staying in pretty "normal" health.  I'll take it!

Now ask me how much money the new orthodontist quoted me for the braces my son has to get next month :(  It's never ending! LOL

Stay warm everyone and have a Happy Weekend!



What are you celebrating? 


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The Princess And The Pea

My weekend away with my hubs was very relaxing, but not as restful as I had hoped.  That is the super short version of events.

Ever since I was a teenager, I've suffered from back spasms on and off.  Because of my bone disease, all the bones in my body, including my spine, aren't formed the way they are supposed to be.  This causes my muscles to want to protect my bones when they move a certain way that my muscles don't think they should be moving (can't we all just get along?  Apparently not).  Before I was put on my current medications, the spasms used to happen 3-4 times a year, as opposed to the once or twice a year now.  But even if it's not in full on spasm (meaning I can't move for days), there are many times that it is achy and annoyingly bothersome.

In general, I usually have a hard time sleeping in any bed that isn't my own (I have this all natural latex mattress at home and it's awesome!).  I've had better luck with high end mattresses, like the few Tempur-Pedics that I've slept on, and even air mattresses have been good when traveling (well, good enough).  If I don't have any of these, I end up with back pain, sometimes for days.  It makes for very uncomfortable traveling.

This past weekend was the third time that we've stayed at this particular bed and breakfast.  The past two times we stayed in two different rooms and both were very comfortable.  Since it's such a beautiful house to stay in, we've tried to stay in a different room each visit.  Well, the room we slept in this weekend had the softest bed that I think I've ever slept in--ever.  It was so soft that we just sunk into it.  I imagine that many people would feel like they were sleeping on a cushy cloud and would enjoy the entire experience.  I did not.  

Luckily I travel with an arsenal of medicine (just in case) and so after waking up Sunday morning, completely exhausted from getting hardly any sleep for the second night in a row, I started the muscle relaxer routine.  I took 2-3 Flexeril pills a day for the past 3 days. Today is the first day that I'm Flexeril free.

My back is almost all the way eased up...I can still feel where it's a bit tight in one spot.  Thankfully I didn't have any appointments in the beginning of this week and so I was able to stay in bed while my back worked itself out.  And many thanks to my husband...for, once again, picking up the pieces while I'm stuck I bed feeling like crapola.  I love you Jason!

What kind of mattresses have you found to be helpful for problem backs?

 

Friday, November 7, 2014

Celebrate The Small Things -- Nov 7

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week has been a rough one... I had a steroid shot on Tuesday and my head has been really sore ever since.  I get this procedure done every three months to help with my occipital neuralgia.  Because it's gotten so frequent, my doctor mentioned to me that I may consider seeing a surgeon for a consult to cut off (burn off?) my occipital nerve.  I told him that I'm soooo not ready for another surgery yet!  He encouraged me to at least do some research on it so I know my options.

On a brighter note...

A super cute thing happened this week...my two year old nephew "talked" with me on the phone...really I just said hello to him and told him that I loved him.  My brother said that he waved to me and blew me kisses!  I definitely have to Skype them next time so I see the cuteness that is my nephew :)

The biggest celebration this week is my upcoming weekend...my husband and I are celebrating our anniversary a little early this month and going away to a wonderful bed and breakfast that we've been to before.  Not only will I get some alone time with my love, but I scheduled a massage for Saturday morning that should help my poor little broken body feel better.  I can't even explain in words how much I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend and some much needed pampering and relaxation!

I look forward to catching up with everyone next week.  Happy Weekend!

Edit:  After writing my post, I realized that Nov 7 is my 1 year blogging anniversary!  That snuck up on me...I'm glad I realized it just in the knick of time!  So, Happy Bloggerversary to me!

What are you celebrating? 


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse