We might remember my recent surgical attempt to rid my body of Smeagol the embryo? Yes, good. My Explanation of Benefits (EOB) just came through for that.
The total the hospital and various providers charged to the insurance: $48,961.80
The amount my insurance company paid out to the various providers: $12,295.33
The amount I will have to pay out of pocket: $1,263.94
In a perfect world everyone would have this same (or better!) level of health care. Would an uninsured woman be able to get a D&C for a missed miscarriage? What about laproscopic surgery for a suspected (but not yet confirmed) ectopic pregnancy? I'm thankful to have a job that provides these benefits. Do I wish they covered infertility treatments at the same level as everything else? Absolutely. But I would much rather have this very good medical with infertility at the current level of coverage than sucky medical.
In other news, Smeagol's presence is still evident in my HCG level. Today's beta was 62. I was hoping it might be at zero, but the continued downward trend is good enough. Hopefully next Friday will be the magic day.
Showing posts with label abortion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abortion. Show all posts
04 January 2013
20 December 2012
This is the Pregnancy that will not End
Yesterday's beta was 1003. Yes, that is an increase. Thanks, Universe.
My incisions look good; however, now there's some regret over saving my tube. My doctor thinks if she had just removed the tube we wouldn't be in this situation. So . . . . after leaving the doctor's office I went to the lab to have a CBC and profile. Either this afternoon or tomorrow I will go back to the office and have a methotrexate injection. That's right . . . now I get to have a chemical abortion. I'll have to pick up the medication from the pharmacy of a local hospital and take it with me. If I go tomorrow, I'll stop by the lab and have blood drawn for another beta test.
I will start vaginally bleeding again in 4-7 days. In 4 days I'll have my hcg level checked and then again 7 days from the injection. Then weekly until it's back to baseline. Some people need a second injection. The information they gave me also said some people don't respond to the methotrexate. Which one will I be? Let's start taking bets!
At the very moment what upsets me the most? NO ALCOHOL UNTIL HCG IS BACK TO BASELINE. WHAT?! Fuck you, Smeagol.*
*Smeagol is what we named this embryo. It was partly thanks to my nephew. Our first pregnancy/miscarriage was Delbert. We didn't really name the second one. The third one(s) was/were Dinobaby RAWR. Also, my 3 polyps that were removed were named Larry, Curly, and Moe.
My incisions look good; however, now there's some regret over saving my tube. My doctor thinks if she had just removed the tube we wouldn't be in this situation. So . . . . after leaving the doctor's office I went to the lab to have a CBC and profile. Either this afternoon or tomorrow I will go back to the office and have a methotrexate injection. That's right . . . now I get to have a chemical abortion. I'll have to pick up the medication from the pharmacy of a local hospital and take it with me. If I go tomorrow, I'll stop by the lab and have blood drawn for another beta test.
I will start vaginally bleeding again in 4-7 days. In 4 days I'll have my hcg level checked and then again 7 days from the injection. Then weekly until it's back to baseline. Some people need a second injection. The information they gave me also said some people don't respond to the methotrexate. Which one will I be? Let's start taking bets!
At the very moment what upsets me the most? NO ALCOHOL UNTIL HCG IS BACK TO BASELINE. WHAT?! Fuck you, Smeagol.*
*Smeagol is what we named this embryo. It was partly thanks to my nephew. Our first pregnancy/miscarriage was Delbert. We didn't really name the second one. The third one(s) was/were Dinobaby RAWR. Also, my 3 polyps that were removed were named Larry, Curly, and Moe.
13 December 2012
Money Money Money
Doctor's office just called. The karyotypes are going to be resubmitted, so the cost won't be as astronomical (hopefully). So that's good.
I started poking around in my online medical chart. For some reason it didn't automatically occur to me that my surgery and hospitalization would be there. My discharge instructions are there too. So that's kinda nifty. But there's this so black & white under surgical history:
Treatment Abortion Missed 1st Trimester W/ D&c
| 12/5/2012 |
09 December 2012
My Surprise Abortion
Tuesday morning I went to my doctor's office for an ultrasound. Monday morning I had a beta HCG test drawn and instead of continuing a decline the result was over three times the value of a week before. One thought was I could have lost a twin, but the second embryo was growing. However, the ultrasound didn't show anything. She could see a lot of tissue, but nothing else visible in the uterus or tubes. She was concerned that there could be a molar pregnancy that was obscured by the vast amount of tissue. She said I needed a D&C this week. She looked at her schedule and said she had time the next afternoon (Wednesday). It was overwhelming. I was by myself, because it's Josh's busy time at work. Up until this point the only person who knew we had been looking at a potential loss was my sister. I knew I would have to tell my parents, because I would need a ride to and from the hospital. Part of me wanted to insist on waiting for more blood work or another ultrasound, but I let myself be carried along. It was hard to discuss much through all the hysterical sobbing.
The result was a 1:00 show time for a 3:00 surgery and the rest of the week off work. So in addition to my parents I would have to tell my boss something. While still at the office I texted my sister. Then as I was pulling out of the parking lot I called my parents. Despite an attempt to hold it together I broke down. (Over the past 4 years I've become very adept at the sobbing while driving). Once that was figured out I called Josh at work and told him that they were going to do surgery to remove the tissue and that my parents were available to drive. Back at work I waited for my boss to get back from meetings and I simply said, "I'm having outpatient surgery tomorrow and will need the rest of the week off." Usually he asks questions, but he didn't and I didn't want to get into it.
With food, water, etc all banned after midnight, I spent most of Wednesday morning in bed. I had started bleeding more overnight, so I put a call in to the doctor's office to find out if they still wanted me if I was bleeding. The answer was still a big yes. My doctor wanted to make sure all the tissue was removed. I was thinking about doing dishes, but decided I needed to stay out of the kitchen--so hungry, but mostly sooooo thirsty. Josh called a little before noon to say we should wait for him, because he was going to be able to make it home. My parents arrived with snacks for post-surgery, a new robe, and fuzzy socks.
At the hospital, my parents dropped us off at the front and then went to park the car. Josh and I walked into the admissions office and once I gave my name, we found our seats. Almost immediately I started feeling a sharp pain on my left side. It became progressively worse as I was checked in and led upstairs to the ambulatory surgery waiting room. Waves on nausea. I had Josh move the trash can close and find me a box of tissues. In the back of my mind I wondered if my parents would find us, but I couldn't focus between the nausea and the pain. My parents did show up. My mom went to find a nurse and my dad sat beside me with his hand on my back as I shook and sobbed. When my mom came back she went to the bathroom for a wet paper towel for the back of my neck. Eventually a nurse came out to make me trade the trash can for a shallow kidney shaped pan. A few minutes later they took me back to a room, so I could change and answer a million more check-in questions. The pain continued to worsen--spreading down my left leg to just above my knee and then up my back to the middle left side. My blood pressure was ridiculously low.
Almost as soon as they finished getting my stats (which included a domestic violence screening) the OR called for me to get prepped. A nurse brought my family back. It was hypothesized that the pain was simply miscarriage. It could feel different because molar pregnancies attach differently. When it was time for me to go, it was decided Josh would go with me for prep. We went down separate ways since the initial prep would have to be done before they brought him back. With each moment that passed the pain worsened. I cried as they wheeled me past the waiting area where Josh sat.
I don't remember the exact order of everything that happened next. There was the constant pain. Eventually an IV was started, Josh was brought back, pain meds were injected into the IV, more pain meds were injected into the IV, a nurse assisting my doctor's current surgery came out to find out what was going on so she could report back to my doctor. They had heard from ambulatory surgery that I wasn't well. My blood pressure was more reasonable. At some point my doctor came out of surgery with the nurse and another doctor. They did an ultrasound to check for fluid in my abdomen, which would have indicated a ruptured tube. There wasn't any. So the plan remained the same: D&C, look for "products of conception," if there aren't any then go looking for an errant implantation (starting on the left). Then more waiting. While we waited, I had Josh rub the pain in my leg. Then they took him away. And I was alone.
In the actual OR prep room I was moved to the operating table and the anesthesia was started. My doctor was there. She stood with her hand on my shoulder. I cried as I fell asleep. It was no longer from the pain in my side--the medicine had taken care of that. It was the realization that this pregnancy was over now. I had mourned it multiple times, and this was the absolute end. My doctor offered comfort, promising we would get this figured out. I heard them discussing the order of things and then I woke up.
It was 7:30 pm when I woke up. I had been under anesthesia for about 3 hours. After the D&C they froze the removed uterine lining, which took an hour. Then when no "products of conception" were seen they started laproscopic surgery. My left Fallopian tube was very swollen and was leaking blood. They were able to remove the offending cells and clots without removing the tube. When my doctor reported back to my family, she said there was a 10% chance of another ectopic and if that happened they would just removed the tube.
I"ll handle the details of my recovery in subsequent posts.
The result was a 1:00 show time for a 3:00 surgery and the rest of the week off work. So in addition to my parents I would have to tell my boss something. While still at the office I texted my sister. Then as I was pulling out of the parking lot I called my parents. Despite an attempt to hold it together I broke down. (Over the past 4 years I've become very adept at the sobbing while driving). Once that was figured out I called Josh at work and told him that they were going to do surgery to remove the tissue and that my parents were available to drive. Back at work I waited for my boss to get back from meetings and I simply said, "I'm having outpatient surgery tomorrow and will need the rest of the week off." Usually he asks questions, but he didn't and I didn't want to get into it.
With food, water, etc all banned after midnight, I spent most of Wednesday morning in bed. I had started bleeding more overnight, so I put a call in to the doctor's office to find out if they still wanted me if I was bleeding. The answer was still a big yes. My doctor wanted to make sure all the tissue was removed. I was thinking about doing dishes, but decided I needed to stay out of the kitchen--so hungry, but mostly sooooo thirsty. Josh called a little before noon to say we should wait for him, because he was going to be able to make it home. My parents arrived with snacks for post-surgery, a new robe, and fuzzy socks.
At the hospital, my parents dropped us off at the front and then went to park the car. Josh and I walked into the admissions office and once I gave my name, we found our seats. Almost immediately I started feeling a sharp pain on my left side. It became progressively worse as I was checked in and led upstairs to the ambulatory surgery waiting room. Waves on nausea. I had Josh move the trash can close and find me a box of tissues. In the back of my mind I wondered if my parents would find us, but I couldn't focus between the nausea and the pain. My parents did show up. My mom went to find a nurse and my dad sat beside me with his hand on my back as I shook and sobbed. When my mom came back she went to the bathroom for a wet paper towel for the back of my neck. Eventually a nurse came out to make me trade the trash can for a shallow kidney shaped pan. A few minutes later they took me back to a room, so I could change and answer a million more check-in questions. The pain continued to worsen--spreading down my left leg to just above my knee and then up my back to the middle left side. My blood pressure was ridiculously low.
Almost as soon as they finished getting my stats (which included a domestic violence screening) the OR called for me to get prepped. A nurse brought my family back. It was hypothesized that the pain was simply miscarriage. It could feel different because molar pregnancies attach differently. When it was time for me to go, it was decided Josh would go with me for prep. We went down separate ways since the initial prep would have to be done before they brought him back. With each moment that passed the pain worsened. I cried as they wheeled me past the waiting area where Josh sat.
I don't remember the exact order of everything that happened next. There was the constant pain. Eventually an IV was started, Josh was brought back, pain meds were injected into the IV, more pain meds were injected into the IV, a nurse assisting my doctor's current surgery came out to find out what was going on so she could report back to my doctor. They had heard from ambulatory surgery that I wasn't well. My blood pressure was more reasonable. At some point my doctor came out of surgery with the nurse and another doctor. They did an ultrasound to check for fluid in my abdomen, which would have indicated a ruptured tube. There wasn't any. So the plan remained the same: D&C, look for "products of conception," if there aren't any then go looking for an errant implantation (starting on the left). Then more waiting. While we waited, I had Josh rub the pain in my leg. Then they took him away. And I was alone.
In the actual OR prep room I was moved to the operating table and the anesthesia was started. My doctor was there. She stood with her hand on my shoulder. I cried as I fell asleep. It was no longer from the pain in my side--the medicine had taken care of that. It was the realization that this pregnancy was over now. I had mourned it multiple times, and this was the absolute end. My doctor offered comfort, promising we would get this figured out. I heard them discussing the order of things and then I woke up.
It was 7:30 pm when I woke up. I had been under anesthesia for about 3 hours. After the D&C they froze the removed uterine lining, which took an hour. Then when no "products of conception" were seen they started laproscopic surgery. My left Fallopian tube was very swollen and was leaking blood. They were able to remove the offending cells and clots without removing the tube. When my doctor reported back to my family, she said there was a 10% chance of another ectopic and if that happened they would just removed the tube.
I"ll handle the details of my recovery in subsequent posts.
28 September 2012
Habitual Aborter
Now that I've had three miscarriages, that's my official diagnosis. The doctor warned me, because it'll be on paperwork and probably on the EOBs from the insurance company. Apparently it really upsets some people, but for the most part I'm neutral about it. I know spontaneous abortion is the medical term for a miscarriage. The part of me that isn't neutral is amused. I know. Very mature.
Doctor: Do you know what the medical term is for women who have multiple miscarriages? It's not very nice.
Me: No . . . . (trying to think of what it could be)
Doctor: Habitual aborter.
Me: [snickering (because I'm polite. I saved the outright laughter for once we got in the car)]
Here's the thing. I support a woman's right to choose. And not just in certain circumstances. I believe the only valid reason for an abortion is because the woman has decided that's what is best for her specific situation--whatever that situation might be. I think some women going through infertility treatment feel conflicted about this if they started out pro-choice. But I'm unmoved from my position. An abortion is a decision that should be made by a woman and her doctor. Or the woman and her partner. Or sometimes just the woman by herself. Does it suck that I desperately want to pregnant and can't keep a pregnancy going while some women are ending what could turn out to be healthy pregnancies? Yes. But a lot of things suck. And as my dear mother was so fond of saying, "Life's not fair." She's still alive, but I just haven't heard her say that since I was a child. You see, we stopped saying "that's not fair" pretty early on in life.
My doctor suggested we keep tring with the injectibles and IUI, because that worked. I asked what additional work-up there could be now that I'm a habitual aborter and I've been existing with the belief since May 2011 (2nd miscarriage) that once I hit three SOMETHING would be done. Well, that thinking is sooooooo 2011. They don't do that now. But after some blah blah blahing she said we could do karyotyping. I called the insurance company this morning to check on coverage and they said it has to be pre-approved. So now I'm waiting on that. 90% will be covered once it's approved. I'm sure it still won't be cheap. But I guess it would be nice to know if we're just wasting our time.
Also, today I broke my rule about never telling Work anything. I've decided I want some time off. My family is planning a last minute trip to Myrtle Beach. I had been thinking my husband and I should try to get away for at least a long weekend. So this works out. Vacation therapy, right? So I talked to HR about taking time off and whether it could count as something other than vacation. She was very supportive and thinks it's going to work out. I just have to get the okay from my boss. So I figure I have to tell him. Ugh.
Doctor: Do you know what the medical term is for women who have multiple miscarriages? It's not very nice.
Me: No . . . . (trying to think of what it could be)
Doctor: Habitual aborter.
Me: [snickering (because I'm polite. I saved the outright laughter for once we got in the car)]
Here's the thing. I support a woman's right to choose. And not just in certain circumstances. I believe the only valid reason for an abortion is because the woman has decided that's what is best for her specific situation--whatever that situation might be. I think some women going through infertility treatment feel conflicted about this if they started out pro-choice. But I'm unmoved from my position. An abortion is a decision that should be made by a woman and her doctor. Or the woman and her partner. Or sometimes just the woman by herself. Does it suck that I desperately want to pregnant and can't keep a pregnancy going while some women are ending what could turn out to be healthy pregnancies? Yes. But a lot of things suck. And as my dear mother was so fond of saying, "Life's not fair." She's still alive, but I just haven't heard her say that since I was a child. You see, we stopped saying "that's not fair" pretty early on in life.
My doctor suggested we keep tring with the injectibles and IUI, because that worked. I asked what additional work-up there could be now that I'm a habitual aborter and I've been existing with the belief since May 2011 (2nd miscarriage) that once I hit three SOMETHING would be done. Well, that thinking is sooooooo 2011. They don't do that now. But after some blah blah blahing she said we could do karyotyping. I called the insurance company this morning to check on coverage and they said it has to be pre-approved. So now I'm waiting on that. 90% will be covered once it's approved. I'm sure it still won't be cheap. But I guess it would be nice to know if we're just wasting our time.
Also, today I broke my rule about never telling Work anything. I've decided I want some time off. My family is planning a last minute trip to Myrtle Beach. I had been thinking my husband and I should try to get away for at least a long weekend. So this works out. Vacation therapy, right? So I talked to HR about taking time off and whether it could count as something other than vacation. She was very supportive and thinks it's going to work out. I just have to get the okay from my boss. So I figure I have to tell him. Ugh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)