*if you are looking for cost effective solutions scroll to the bottom*
Hi, i am Amber. I am 23 years old, married and a college graduate in psychology. I am back in school for social work for my second bachelors and hope to get a clinical masters. In December 2007 after weeks of a swollen leg, sometimes it was so hard i would joke it was a rock and eventually painful, my leg would give out sometimes when i was walking around on campus and eventually it hurt to breathe and i would be winded walking up 12 stairs to my apartment i went to the doctor. The 1st time i went my doctor told me that i was out of shape and pulled a muscle, also that i was "too young to have blood clots". The second time before i was admitted to the hospital he made me wait in his office for several hours before sending me to the hospital with a diagnosis of a blood clot, possible Pulmonary Embolism. I went to the hospital and sat in the emergency room for 14-18 hours total in a bed because the hospital had no rooms. They ran tests and eventually the next day i was moved to a room with windows. I was in the hospital for a few days but i left not knowing what had caused my condition. A few weeks later i was told that the labs they had run at the hospital, they had forgotten one for lupus anticoagulant. It honestly was at that moment that i knew that was what i had as silly as it was. I got my blood taken and sure enough that was what came back.
Then in February i felt pain again and my doctor sent me to get an ultrasound, this time was his fault because he did not call me back for my inr check for a few days and i was REALLY low, and despite my calling it went thursday-tuesday for me to find out. Seriously. Needless to say i dropped him after that and got an internal medicine doctor who knew what she was talking about and believed me and my symptoms. She has been super amazing. In July same year after a trip i got new clots and my new doctor and i discussed how to make this stop, the worrying, the likely hood of another clot in my lung etc. We decided that she would admit me to the hospital, and i would get a filter put in. Needless to say a year and 3 months later i have not been back in the hospital. About a 6 months ago i got a home testing machine called a Coagu-Chek i had a worse machine before that, but i highly recommend the Coagu-Chek. I wish these were easier to get for people, i think many lives would be saved and hospital visits.
So i have Lupus Anticoagulant, also known as Antiphospholipid syndrome. Or from what i heard from an insurance guy yesterday the "no no illness"
They described it as easy to clot or sticky blood. I do not have Lupus & i don't have any other disease. When my husband and i want to have babies i have to take heparin shots twice a day through out the pregnancy and even before. So when we want a family we have to plan accordingly.
I have found cost effective ways to manage this without insurance, though i am trying to get get medical insurance for doctor visits and hospital visits.
Here is my help:
You can find low cost/no cost clinics which can refer you to the hospital and you pay little to nothing there.
In my neck of the woods is Hope Clinic which has several stations around eastern Michigan. You need to make under a certain amount of money.
If you get sent to the hospital and accumulate excessive medical bills many times you can get the hospital to write it off, i did. My local hospital has macauley support. Same deal you need to be poor or have much of your money tied into other things.
Coumadin, i really hope you guys know how to get cheap coumadin with or without insurance. These days if you go to Target, Walmart, Costco, Etc. you can get a months supply for $4, or 90 days for $10. Amazingly cheap. I use Target it feels nicer, and the people seem to know what they are doing.
Heparin shots- these are insanely expensive, but while working with someone at blue cross blue shield they directed me to: (link edited by moderator)
The heparin is amazingly cheap in compared to what it would have been from the drug stores.
I have a home testing machine called Coagu-Chek this has been a life saver but now that i don't have insurance they are pricey. I bought mine online at ebay and got a years supply for what one months supply would have costed me going through a national company.
Questions, concerns, or just a shoulder i am here.
Looking forward to meeting people just like me.
-A