Healthcare in America is falling apart. Rapidly. It's not news.
We've all heard it. Michael Moore even made a movie about it.
But what that actually means to most of us never really sinks
in until it's too late. Including me.
I never really thought much of the Doctor's office, other than
as the place to go when I got the flu or some bad sushi. I never
imagined what my life would be like today, or how much I would
need a Doctor. That was then. Now I am two and half years into
a battle, not only to get a diagnosis, but also against a never
ending stream of governmental red-tape that would make your head
spin. Why a battle? I'll tell you.
Up until two and a half years ago, when I got sick I went to the
Doctor's office and usually paid cash. My kids were insured, but
I couldn't afford insurance for myself (and didn't get sick all
that often) so it was just the way things were done. Then I started
getting dizzy spells that were lasting all day long, randomly
tipping sideways when I was standing, and near constant ear ringing.
It got so bad I couldn't work anymore. The Doctor told me it was
vertigo and would go away soon. Two months later, it was still
the same. He then told me that it was probably Meniere's Disease
and there was nothing he could do. I'd have to see an ear/nose/throat
specialist. That one visit took about forty five minutes and cost
almost a thousand dollars. The ENT told me I should see a neurologist.
Understanding that I would need help, I filed for MediCal, the
government's answer to health insurance. My local Doctor decided
first to run me through a series of X-rays, blood tests and other
things, all of which were normal. MediCal cancelled me three times
over the next year or so, and then denied me approval for an MRI,
which my Doctor told me I needed before seeing a neurologist.
Expecting the Doctor to call me when it was cancelled, I didn't
find out for two months. When I asked what took so long to tell
me, I was told (in front of my wife and kids) "You're a MediCal
patient. I make thirteen cents on the dollar to see you. You just
aren't one of my priorities". I filed again and was denied
again. I finally had to write a letter to State Assemblyman Paul
Cook, who got finally MediCal to approve the MRI.
The day I got the MRI it was over two years since the beginning,
and I had been repeatedly turned down for disability (all kinds).
It was determined that I wasn't "disabled enough" to
receive any government help and that with no diagnosis, there
must be nothing really wrong. Regardless of the fact that I am
constantly on the edge of vomiting, am always dizzy, my ears constantly
ring, I tip over several times a day, and I experience what's
known as "brain fog". I don't know what I could do now,
or who would hire me, but evidently the government thinks I have
a chance at something out there... (I do run a net based store,
but sales have tanked in the last couple years)
A couple months ago, I finally got to see the neurologist. He
walked in and told me, "Some doctors want to know everything
about your history. I am different. I want to know how you feel.
Right now". I described what I was going through in as much
detail as I could. He tapped my knees and elbows, asked me to
cross my legs and uncross them, looked at the printout of my MRI
results and said "It's not neurological". End of appointment.
I was stunned. No opening the MRI on the computer and taking a
little walk-through, no case history... this guy couldn't care
less about how long it took to get that appointment, or the fact
that I was thousands of dollars in debt (due to how long that
appointment took to get, and the lack of government help). I have
a new local Doctor now (an actual MD for once). When I told him
what the neurologist said, he told me "They make next to
nothing seeing you. What you need is a doctor with something to
prove. If I were you, I'd start over. Go back and get another
ENT, and go through it all over again. Maybe this time you'll
get the right Doctor." Start over. It's been two and a half
years, and I couldn't even afford the gas to drive down to an
ENT, much less go through this all over again.
I have done some research of my own and found that Meniere's can
present the same symptoms I have. I have also found that it is
a condition which can only be diagnosed by process of elimination.
Test for everything and when you can't find anything (even on
an MRI), it's Meniere's. According to the Meniere's
Disease Information Center, "there is no specific test
for Meniere's Disease. Therefore, the purpose of diagnostic
testing is to determine whether there is any other "testable"
disease that is causing the symptoms. If all testing for
other diseases and conditions that can cause the same symptoms
fails, the patient is said to have "Meniere's Disease."
It seems to me that this condition has been met - in abundance.
Why I still have no diagnosis is a mystery to me.
I am an American. I am a father, a son, a husband, and a guy who
has always worked. Because I have MediCal, I am a man whom the
Doctor's have no time for. And without the financial help of of
friends of family, I am also a guy who the government would let
starve to death... because I'm an inconvenient patient.
