Frican healthcare BS

Ugh. I've been waiting to schedule an MRI until our insurance stuff settled. It finally did and we now have it figured out, but it's through Coventry, which is mostly a midwest thing (not surprising, since Eric's employer is now based in Omaha). Not a whole bunch of doctors accept it out here (including my gall bladder surgeon or the GI doctor she referred me to), so now I have to find new doctors and get authorization for everything. What a pain in the ass. And it's not even like I can just make a phone call and be done with it. Apparently, everyone I need to talk to only has voicemail and I have to spew all my info and sit around twiddling my thumbs for them to get back to me.

I just want to get fixed, damn it!

Ok, so I guess I missed something somewhere (old age LOL)....you need to have your gallblader out?.....sorry some days I think I am losing my mind....We will have to talk gallblader stories....there are somedays I wonder if it was better to keep mine in and just have the attacks evveryonce in a while,I guess mine had not gotten so bad, becouse sometimes your body just does not like not having a gallblader to process some of the things that you eat.....

Yeah, I had an attack shortly after Sarah was born and another even worse that had me take a fun little ambulance ride to the hospital. At the time, I didn't know it was gall bladder, and it's still not 100% definitive that that's the root of my attacks. The ER doctor found I had gall stones, but he also thought it may be cardio, which is why I had to go to a cardiologist to get an ECHO, a stress ECHO and a CT done on my heart, all of which came back normal. So then my PCP sent me to a surgeon for the gall bladder. She said since the attacks don't follow all the classic symptoms of gall stones, she wants me to see a GI doc before she does elective surgery. Then, we got interim insurance, so we put it off until Eric was hired FT and then waited until we saw what was covered...and then found out the surgeon and GI referral weren't.

On top of all that, my OB/GYN ordered an MRI of my pituitary back in August because I still haven't gotten my period yet. Again, I waited until we were sure we were covered and now that I can schedule it, I have to get authorization from insurance before the hospital will schedule it. So, I have to go back to the OB/GYN office, give them the new insurance information, wait for them to hear back from the insurance company, and THEN I can finally schedule the dang thing.

At least I know that this is most likely the reason I'm not losing weight. My body still thinks I'm in baby mode, so it wants to hold onto everything, no matter how few calories I consume or how many I burn off. I just have to get back on cycle and I should start dropping without a problem.

So, in the meantime, I'm gonna go have me some ice cream. Bleh.

If I had some Ice Cream, I would go have some with you right now too after reading all that.....I hate Dr.s and test.....and I wont even go into why I cant lose weight......maybe I will just go have a glass of wine instead...LOL

Finally having my MRI this afternoon. I also have a lovely $95 copay.

Hope everything turns out ok.....

$95 is not to bad....when I had my MRI for my headaches in April, due to our high deductable,it was over $700....that sucked when we got that bill.....we thought it would be only the 10%.....forgot about that extra $700 "bridge" amount that we have to pay out of pocket every year......

Yuck! I guess $95 wasn't bad in comparison.

The test wasn't so bad. If it was a little less noisy, I could have taken a nap.

Update:

The MRI was normal, which is good and bad news. The good news is that there's no tumor or anything on the pituitary. The bad news is we still don't know what's wrong. My ob/gyn put me on the pill to see if that would stimulate things. Wouldn't you know it...yesterday was Day 3 of the placebo and I GOT MY PERIOD!!!

Woo-hoo! I'm so excited. Means that things aren't TOTALLY screwed up. My prolactin levels are still up though, so I have an appointment with an endocrinologist in February. My thyroid levels are normal, but that was just from a simple blood test. Apparently, blood tests don't always pick up thyroid issues, so my PCP wants me to see the endocrine doc to run some more tests. That would explain my problems losing weight and the high prolactin. But, we'll see.

As for the gall bladder, I've decided to experiment. I stopped taking Prilosec for my acid reflux. I haven't found any definitive answers, but I've come across several articles and things online that indicate Prilosec may interfere with normal pituitary function. So, without the Prilosec, I'm forced to avoid anything that might flare up the acid reflux, which is also the same things that usually bother my gall bladder.

It's a PITA and I'm kind of cranky about it, but I think it could be better for me in the long run. It certainly can't hurt to eat healthy...and maybe I'll accidently lose a few pounds, too.

Well, good news on the MRI. Sucks getting your period, but I understand how you can be happy!!
I have the same problems and NO, they have to actually breakdown your thyroid levels. A normal blood test will not show it. They will probably make you do a 24 hour urine collection also.
I have a whole endocrine problem which also started my Psoriasis. Make sure you pick a good DR and whatever you do don't see Dr Nagel in Phx. I can't remember his first name, but he was a total ass to me. Even though he found out my immune issues and said a lot of it was causing my weight problems, that I should stop eating whole pies! Can you believe that crap? Whole pies? WTF!
I cried and cried in my car. Anyway, please make sure you find an endocrinologist you feel
very comfortable with. I went on synthroid for a little while and I felt like total
crap on it. I have yet to see a new endocrinologist becuase I had such an horrible experience.
My dermatologist, who sees me for my psoriasis, keeps pushing me to see a new Endo.
I figure if my thryroid isn't causing me too many problems then I will just wait. I have a very large thyroid gland and sometime I feel like I am choking because it seems to swell.

Ugh, I am rambling.

Let me know how everything goes.

Thanks for all the info, Mimi. That's all good stuff to know...can't believe that doctor said that to you! How awful! I would have laced into him and let him have it, for sure. I'm going to Dr. Lalani in Scottsdale. We'll see how he is.

It's been a week off the Prilosec now. I am soooo crabby, almost depression-like symptoms. I think that's from the BC and period, though. I made the mistake of having pizza for dinner last night. Ugh, I woke up with horrible reflux several times last night. Trying to decide which is worse...watching everyone eat pizza while I can't or just suck it up and live with the reflux.