... but I'm still grateful for it.
When I was growing up, I either had no insurance or crappy insurance. My dad is a jockey, and since horse racing is considered one of the most dangerous sports, most insurance companies see him as a huge liability. Before I married the hubby, I hadn't had insurance for over a year- and didn't know for the first few months that my dad had canceled it. Also, I haven't had dental insurance since before I was in high school. So lets just say having tricare makes me feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
I hate going to the doctor, and refuse to unless I'm in horrible pain, or I have a sore throat (when I was little the doctor told me I was prone to throat infections/ strep... I just now am growing out of it and only get strep about twice a year, instead of every other month). About 5 months ago, I started having extremely bad cramps during my period. I have always had worse cramps than most people I know, but this was like rolling-around-crying-in-bed cramps. Then about 2 months later, I started getting a sharp pain below my belly button that would last 10-30 seconds and then go away. A few times, I even woke up in the middle of the night rolling around in pain. I kept telling myself, "If it hurts one more time, I will go to the doctor." Finally, one night I went to bed with a dull aching in my stomach, and the hubby told me that if I woke up with the pain we WERE going to the ER. The day I finally gave in was the day that we were flying home to AZ for Christmas break, so we left for the ER at 4 am. I was the only patient that morning, and all the doctors and nurses (or corpsmen I guess lol) were so nice and attentive. I did a couple exams, and ultrasounds (it took an hour!), and found out that I had an ovarian cyst on the OPPOSITE side where I was having most of the pain, which is because the blood flows out that way (I know, gross, I'm sorry). There was nothing they could do but give me pain meds and refer me to go to my PCM in a few months. Well when I talked to my doctor, she made me a little nervous:
Doctor: -looking down and writing on clipboard- Did they tell you what kind of cyst it was, like a simple cyst, or..
Me: No, they just told me that I had an 8cm cyst.
Doctor: -looks up from clipboard now- 8 cent..i..me..ters?
Me: Yes.. -looks at hubby for confirmation, who reiterates 8 cm-
Doctor- well that's really big, and your really small. Lets set you up for an ultrasound.
Here's where I encountered my first problem with tricare- I have been waiting for two weeks for the referral for the ultrasound. The pain is worse now- my cramps start 2 days before my period and last a few days after. They are so bad that I am constantly on vicodin during that time (which makes me super talkative, and then super dizzy and I HAVE to go to sleep), so its a long cycle. I also get sharp pains when I move a certain way that cause me to hunch over and YELL. Its scary having pain so close to my ovaries, and so intense.. I just want to get it over with. Plus, my biggest fear is the word infertility.
On another note- I went to the dentist yesterday for the first time in almost 5 YEARS. It was so painful to have my teeth cleaned since it had been so long- I was almost in tears the whole time, and it still hurts to chew. I have quite a few cavities (not bad enough to have to get shots though!) which tricare only pays half of, so we are going to have to do it in 4 visits to pay for it. I couldn't believe the estimate. Also, I have to get my wisdom teeth out, but I got a referral to Balboa, so I'm hoping we can get it done for free, yeah!
That was probably super boring information that you didn't want to know about me, but that's my life, and that's what my blog is about : )
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