Thursday, July 24, 2014

Out Of Commission

I went to an immediate care clinic because my arm was hurting unmercifully; I had to have some pain pills at least for a few days.. I'm fairly certain I have a torn rotator cuff. I can't lift my arm more than a foot up from my side in any direction. Won't know if a tendon is involved unless I have an MRI. My insurance has a $6000 deductible. I don't have that lying around. When I paid the bill at the clinic, the bill was half as much if I paid cash rather than using my insurance, So I paid cash which means that didn't go against my deductible. It was the same thing at the pharmacy. There's something seriously wrong with my arm but there is also something seriously wrong with the medical care and insurance systems. if i post anything else it will be without capitals or punctuation - even with a pain pill i can feel my shoulder burning - i think shoulder pain may be the worst - thanks for reading and for all your comments

14 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear this Linda. I found that doing slow gentle movements in a hot shower helped to regain some mobility. Glad you got something for the pain, I hope it will relieve inflammation as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are some of the exercises I did in the shower. When I was in a lot of pain I could only move my arm a few inches, over time I could move it more.
    http://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/Images/Rotator%20Cuff%20Exercises_tcm28-180809.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a drag, particularly now when you are finally getting your kiln and all. Take it easy; give yourself time to heal
    I hope you get some relief soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. hi michele, thanks, i read i should do the exercises i,ll check out your link thx

    hi suzi, thanks, murphy's law, without the pain pills i don't know what i would have done

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is not fun; it happened to my brother-in-law after forty years of moving 55 gallon drums.
    My insurance was 2500 deductable when I was in my fifties and sixties, but rose to five or six toward the end. I just prayed for the best.
    And, I am sorry you don't have a valid receipt for medical care. Something's really wrong there.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Linda, I'm so sorry. My uncle just had surgery for his rotator cuff and he's still hurting a few weeks later.

    Can't you submit your receipts to your insurance company yourself? A lot of practitioners are basing fees on who submits the paperwork since it's so time consuming for them to deal with your insurance company. So you save money by doing the work yourself but the amount you paid still goes toward the deductible.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sorry to hear it. Both my shoulders are a far cry from what they were before wear tear and accidents got a hold of them.A buddy who is a full time potter had surgery 3 mo ago and is still not all the way back. GOOD LUCK

    ReplyDelete
  8. So sorry to hear of your injury! I had a torn rotator cuff injury about 6 years ago. It is painful and takes a while to heal. I have Kaiser HMO and as Michele suggests go to their link. It is all better with no surgery, no shots, thank goodness, through exercise/stretches and hot/cold compresses and Motrin.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Doggone it Linda..just Doggone it to heck and back!! I was keeping good thoughts for you that it would not come to this. It's just the pits! I hear you about the insurance. Hubby being self-employed, he and his partner pay a great deal for insurance as it is. They both turned 60 a few weeks ago...guess what, their insurance went up $500. a month!! They also have an incredibly high deductible. Fortunately, I have Medicare, but many Drs. won't accept it anymore. Isn't it interesting they would charge you double if you had insurance!! I hope you can get better somehow, with gentle exercise..do let us know about the Kaiser thing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So sorry about your shoulder, and more so about the insurance problem paying for care. I hope that you can ease into healing somehow. Definitely cut back doing anything with it for a while, and then gradually move through those exercises...torn things need to mend slowly, wherever they may be. Just wish you are able to do a little bit of clay work whenever you feel up to it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am really sorry to read about your pain. David has similar pain in his left shoulder and has difficulty feeding himself, because he is left handed.

    ReplyDelete
  12. So sorry to hear about your injury. Do you know how you did it? You may have said in an earlier post and I missed it. I had this injury years ago... pushed myself too far doing Yoga once. It takes a long time to heal... and even then, some need surgery (I didn't, but it took almost a year). So take it easy and give yourself time to heal.

    ReplyDelete
  13. thanks all,

    doing better but can only type standing up so my left arm is hanging free can't lift it up much yet

    Not sure how I did it I think it was cumulative over time.

    less than a year for medicare, counting the days.

    will check into submitting receipts myself and see what they say

    will start exercises next week.

    hope to not have surgery, read on the internet it wasn't recommended for those over 60 as they don't heal as well,

    we shall see what I can do on my own to get over this set back

    thanks again

    ReplyDelete

I love suggestions, questions, critiques, thanks for your comment