Waiting in a very cold exam room for over an hour while you’re reading makes you very sleepy.
I did it on an empty stomach, too. Without caffeine. Dumb.
Still no MRI. Maybe sometime in the next two weeks, then I have another follow-up with the doctor.
This doctor’s visit was really a waste of my time. They hadn’t received any of my records yet (not my fault, I gave them all the contact info and insurance info, they just didn’t follow-up) and I saw a different doctor this time, so I had to go over everything with him again and do a fourth neurological exam. LAME.
Meanwhile, I have two more physical therapy appointments and then who knows what will happen!
If I have any readers from Washington state, please vote NO on I-1082; this initiative would introduce private worker’s comp insurance to the state at the expense of worker’s health and safety. The initiative would exempt private worker’s comp insurance providers from any regulation – a recipe for disaster.
If I lived in Washington, I think I would be much better by now because I wouldn’t be waiting MONTHS between referrals and treatments. I would be able to go to my regular doctor and receive treatment and referrals without an insurance company inserting itself into the medical decision-making thereby slowing down the entire process.
I was injured in March. It is now July. I was referred for x-rays in April. I received them in May. I was also referred for physical therapy in April. I didn’t start to receive treatment for my injury until the end of May. I was initially referred for an MRI in May and referred again a week ago. It has not been approved yet – and may not be. If I were under the state run system, I would have gone to my regular doctor immediately, and had x-rays and physical therapy referrals go through my regular insurance provider. As a member of a non-profit healthcare cooperative, this process is incredibly fast compared to other insurances.
Meanwhile, I am still in pain. I am still not able to work (at work or at home) at full-capacity. I cannot function or sleep without medication (which is not covered by my health insurance or by worker’s comp).
This system is broken and it isn’t doing a very good job of fixing me. And I haven’t even touched on the fact that because my employer is very small, non-profit, and a religious institution, that there is exactly ONE insurer in this state that will cover them. This creates a whole new set of problems that end up fucking over people even harder… because these insurers aren’t regulated like healthcare insurers!
And all of this makes me very tired.
