My medical bill total this year

Last year the cost my husband and I paid out of pocket for my medical bills was over $10,000. I have health insurance, and about $2,000 of the $10,000 were health insurance premiums.

This year has so far been cheaper because I have been quite sick and have been unable to get to the doctor. My hubby teaches and now that he is off for the summer, I'll be able to catch up on doctor visits. Another reason my medical bills are lower so far this year is that my migraine specialist is no longer in my insurance network so I have been spending a lot of time talking to different people trying to figure out how I can see him and how much it costs.

I've decided to share the tally of my medical bills thus far this year.

$1,023   Health insurance premiums
  1,191   Medication co-pays
     606   Doctor visits
       56   Dentist
$2,875   Total

Migraines so far this year as of 5/1:  50

Continue >>>

Transparent Thursday 2 (note: I'm grouchy as all get out)

1. I have a very hard time understanding what people with accents are saying. As a consequence, I rarely watch foreign movies or anything narrated by any British people.

2. I'm kind of over the whole natural thing. Especially when people say "I wouldn't use anything that's not natural on my body." Just because it's natural doesn't mean its good. Poop is natural but I don't want to slather it all over my body.

3. People being complacent by not contacting political figures about their opinions about issues. It's very simple to contact politicians in this day and age. Lots of websites that will even write form letters or petitions you just add your name to. We live in a democracy and it only works if people vote and communicate their beliefs to politicians.

4. When I tell people how much medicine I take to stay semi-functioning with my myriad of illnesses, sometime people respond "I don't like to take medicine." Duh. I don't take medicine cause I like it. I take it because if I don't, I get depressed, my blood pressure drops so I faint, and I get even more migraines.

5. When I tell people how much medicine I take to stay semi-functioning and someone says, "You're too young to take that much." Unfortunately my chronic illinesses don't discriminate based on age. Kids and old people get them. I've had migraines and neurogenic orthostatic hypotension since I was 11.

Continue >>>

Weird Wordless Wednesday

We got some water at Sam's and Tabasco made the container his new bed:

Looking for more weirdness? Check out:

Continue >>>

Virtual March on Washington

Last week I wrote about the human cost of inaction. Millions of women have been raped brutalized in Congo. They continue to be brutalized without international intervention. Many require surgery to repair the injuries incurred because of the rapes. Please consider joining in by adding your voice to the cause. It is easy to join in. You don't even have to get off your chair! Currently on Facebook, there is a virtual march on Washington requesting that a Special Envoy envoy be sent to Congo to begin diplomatic measures to stop the violence.  The women in Congo need our support. 

Continue >>>