Houston we are landing....

So my insurance company finally (after 3 months) authorized my endoscopy with a capsule placement. Why it took so long, I don't know - they suck. And believe it or not I actually have good insurance.

But, I still can't understand why my Dr needs more pictures. Wtf? A friend of mine has a daughter and husband with Crohn's, so she has been thru the ringer, with the illness and insurance companies and Dr's. I asked her about this, and she said they run every test they can to make money. Of course. And I thought they cared. My tests are done at my Drs office, they have their own surgical center, so they do it all. And every test they schedule makes them money.

I've decided I hate Drs. I don't know what else to do. I don't trust them anymore. I know they need to make money, but they are supposed to have taken an oath to help patients. What happened to that? It's called insurance companies.

I'm only going to put up with so much, then I am going to let my family dr treat me. He will do anything for me - he's the only Dr I ever met who actually cares about his patients. He takes good care of my husband and kids too.

I just want to feel well enough to enjoy life and work. If I can't work I lose my insurance, and who's going to give me insurance now? I have a pre-existing condition. I'm fucked.

Insurance is supposed to be for people with chronic illnesses, and to be there when something happens - like car insurance - you have it in case of an accident, right? You pay all year, for the just in case occurance. It's supposed to be the same with health insurance - you pay every month so when you get sick it's there. But what do they do? Find a reason to cancel you so they don't have to cover your illness. So why do we even have it? If you have it thru your employer, they can't cancel you when you get sick, but if you are sick enough and can't work, you lose it anyway.

Catch-22 right?

It seems like the health insurance business is just a big fraud. I'm tempted to take the money I pay for my premiums and put them in a health savings account, and use it for medical expenses. My medical expenses have never equalled the premiums I pay in a year. Sounds like fraud doesn't it?

capsule failure- houston we have a problem....

OK, so my capsule test failed because the damn thing never left my stomach, even after 8 hours! wtf. That's why I have to have it placed now, with an endoscopy. Oh craptacular.

And of course my insurance company doesn't want this - oh big surprise. Do they ever want to pay for anything?

So, now I wait, with no meds for anything since they will interfere with the results. I wait for some pencil-pusher to decide if this is necessary.......while I suffer.

What do I say to insurance pencil-pushers? Karma will bite u in the ass some day. And they know it.

More tests???

So, recently I had a capsule test...that fun one where u swallow a big capsule and wear a very heavy belt and monitor. The capsule takes pictures as it goes thru your digestive tract and transmits them to the monitor. Takes 8 hours.

I got a call a few days later and the girl told me it was fine. But the Dr she mentioned I didn't recognize. So, OK. I get a call today and the test failed. The capsule didn't go where they wanted it to. How does that happen? My crohn's is at theend of my small intestine - did it not go thru? is it still in there? Or did it take longer than 8 hours to get there?

And was the first call to the wrong patient? wtf?

Now I have to have it again - but this time my doc is going to go in and place it where she wants. Endoscopically. wonderful. another one.

So, someone has to drive me, cause I will have to be knocked out. Shit.

I mean , I'm not doing too bad. My biggest problemis I don't absorb food or vitamins, so I have to take liquid vitamins and B-12 shots. If I keep my levels up I feel so-so. Fatigue is a problem and so is joint pain. I eat very little since it hurts to eat too much. I'm trying to find liquid food or nutrition. That would help. And I am trying the SCD diet. Works well. Alot less pain. And I found that over-chewing my food helps immensely. Although it takes getting used to.

I still have diarrhea - every morning for the last 20 months. But not all day long. I'm lucky. But I know my body works well on a routine - get up at the same time, and it will react the same every day.

Every now and then I take prednisone for a week or so for the joint pain and the rashes, and it stops for anywhere from 2 to 6 months. whew.

And I am one of those with seasonal trigger - always starts early spring, like in March. so, now that I know, I can get ahead of it - I hope.