Emotions of Lupus

Working on Taxes and Waiting for Test Results

Dear Diary,

I spent the day waiting for test results and working on our taxes—in bed. I mean, all day…. Laptop and mouse on my laptop tray. Bank statements, mortgage statements, compiled medical and prescription expenses all over the bed. Good grief!

My tolerance for processing the details our finances has fallen pretty low. The only numbers I want to see are the zeros of our credit card balances. Ha! Unfortunately, that’s a real challenge when I have so many medical expenses. You’d think my having a primary and secondary insurance would cover everything, but not so much. For some reason (probably having to do with the new healthcare law), several of my doctors have opted out of participating in health insurance plans altogether. They instead choose to operate on a cash basis. In some cases, I’m able to file with my carrier to get some reimbursement, but not always. That’s the case with this Lyme disease specialist that I see out of state. He was a former Medicare participant, but he opted out, and his patients now have to pay out of pocket and agree not to even try to get reimbursement. Thankfully, he does offer a “Medicare rate,” which is about 20 percent lower than his regular rate.

All I can say is thank God I’m able to pay for my medical care and my medicine. Can you imagine how much worse things would be for me if I couldn’t?

Taxes were interrupted when Hubby brought in today’s mail. An envelope containing my blood lab results was in the pile. I’m a bit overwhelmed by what I think they mean. (This is precisely why I shouldn’t get courtesy copies of my labs.)

The out of state doctor ordered these as part of the Lyme disease test follow up. I expected him to request tests for co-infections, but not these routine tests for thyroid disease, diabetes, B12, hemoglobin A1c, etc. Of course, a couple of the results came back abnormal. My B12 level was 1610 units. That’s a bit on the high side; almost double. My tests also revealed higher than normal hemoglobin A1c, the test for diabetes. Thankfully, it wasn’t high enough for full-blown diabetes, but I am borderline diabetic. I knew that.

It’s just one more thing to add to the list—Lupus, Lyme disease, MTHFR C677T, EBV, etc. I can’t even remember them all. What the heck is going on with my blood?!

I don’t have the results from the Lyme co-infections blood tests yet. These co-infections are bacteria that often accompany the Borellia Burgdorferi (Bb) bug, known to cause Lyme disease. The idea is that the treatment for Lyme disease will be much more effective if the chosen antibiotic kills all related bacteria, not just Bb.

I’ll get those when I see Dr. M in 10 days.

Love,

Olivia

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