Been sick in a pretty major way for a long time. No insurance. Help pls :(

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Lost Fragment

Obsessed with 4chan
This is gonna be long since a lot has happened that deserves explanation, so bear with me. I'll try to give the truncated version.

Around the end of 2010 I started feeling a tingling in my chest every once in a while, right around where my heart would be. I also felt constantly fatigued. But these things weren't severe enough to really affect me so I went about life as usual. Though I did go in and get my thyroid checked since thyroid problems run in the family. Everything came back fine.

Then last April I started to constantly feel short of breath, so I went to the doctor. After getting an x-ray, he told me that I had early emphysema (smoker of 15 years until then) and that my symptoms would improve in time if I quit smoking, which I did.

A month later, things didn't really improve, so my doctor recommended me to an asthma specialist. Went in and my lung function significantly improved with asthma drugs, and after spending $10k on a heart image thing/ct scan/something else he told me that I have asthma, not emphysema. So he gave me a bunch of asthma meds and sent me along my way.

Around this time I started feeling an uncomfortable pressure in my chest and stomach. Note: when I say "uncomfortable pressure" I do not mean pain, because it didn't hurt. It just felt like my innards were all jumbled up inside me and suddenly it didn't feel like I had enough room in my body for everything. Sitting upright became very uncomfortable, but my shortness of breath did improve.

Around this time I started feeling so fatigued that I felt like something was seriously going on, so I went to the ER and got a blood test done. Mono, they said.

A short time after that the muscles in my shoulders started to feel weak and weird, almost in a similar way to my chest and stomach.

That was around 7 or 8 months ago, and while I'm not feeling the tingling, the shortness of breath, or the pressure in my chest, I still feel the general fatigue, muscle weirdness in my neck (which feels like it might've spread down to my upper chest and under my arms), and a weird feeling in my lower-right abdomen. Almost like I constantly have gas bloating in that area that won't go away. My quality of life and ability to function feels disrupted in a major way. Mostly because sitting upright feels very, very uncomfortable to me, but lately I've been trying to force myself to sit upright anyway to see if it helps anything.

What the FUCK is going on? And more importantly, what's the best way for a broke dude with no insurance to find out what the fuck is going on? I was able to get a pass on part of the $10k bill I racked up for that small handful of tests last year, but I still owe a lot that I'm negotiating on. I feel like I'm going to go bankrupt before I even find out what's up. Yeah, I know I need to go to a doctor anyway, but I haven't because I'm scared of what they'll tell me, and scared of seeing the bill afterwards. I can't just keep on hoping that one day I'll wake up and feel better, though, because things obviously aren't getting much better.

Oh, and since I moved back in with my parents I don't seem to qualify for a lot of poor-people benefits, but I'm still looking into a lot of things. Some days I feel like I'd have more options if I lived in a homeless shelter. America.

Help me please =/
 
Do you work out at all? You sound a lot like how I felt when I was sedentary and had anxiety issues. Working out legitimately helps cure a lot of the problems you listed.
 
JzeroT1437 said:
Do you work out at all? You sound a lot like how I felt when I was sedentary and had anxiety issues. Working out legitimately helps cure a lot of the problems you listed.
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I was starting to around the middle of last year. Then the docs told me I had mono and that too much activity could exacerbate it, so I stopped. I still don't, moreso because with the way I feel all the time it seems like it would make things worse. I need to try it anyway though.

xxracerxx said:
Do you eat well and exercise, or are at least active? How old are you? Are you overweight?
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Don't eat that well, don't exercise, and I haven't been too active over the past 6 months. I'm 29 and not overweight, though I have gained about 15 pounds over the past 3 or 4 months. Mostly due to relative inactivity, I'm betting.
 
Lost Fragment said:
Don't eat that well, don't exercise, and I haven't been too active over the past 6 months. I'm 29 and not overweight, though I have gained about 15 pounds over the past 3 or 4 months. Mostly due to relative inactivity, I'm betting.
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You started smoking at 13?

I suggest trying to change up your diet with healthier food. I know eating shitty makes my body feel awful.
 
Prost said:
What state do you live in?
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Kentucky.

NotTheGuyYouKill said:
Did doctors rule out fluid build-up in the abdomen/chest?
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I don't think they've ever mentioned it, so I guess that's a no.

xxracerxx said:
You started smoking at 13?

I suggest trying to change up your diet with healthier food. I know eating shitty makes my body feel awful.
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14. So around 15 years.

And yeah I need to start eating better. But I've always eaten like shit. Maybe I'm just getting old and not able to not give a shit anymore.
 
OP you may have GERD. I had many of the exact same symptoms and it turned out to be GERD. Only difference is that I wasn't a smoker (but I drink a lot). Smoking is still a contributor of GERD.
 
Lost Fragment said:
I don't think they've ever mentioned it, so I guess that's a no.
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Someone in my family had some sort of pancreatic illness that was accompanied by fluid build-up in the abdomen and chest. Since you described a sort of pressure, I'm curious if it's fluid build-up. They had to use a tube to drain it out of her. It was nasty and green/black coloured.
 
Mono can fuck you up for a looong time. There may not be anything new and wrong with you, you are just kind of a wreck from mono, smoking for so long, and generally being out of shape / inactive. It's difficult to say, not least of which because I have absolutely no medical training or education whatsoever.

But it just sounds like you have a lot of things that could be contributing to your issues.
 
Sounds somewhat similar to what I went through and in the end it was anxiety. Couple days on ativan literally made every problem I was having go away. Read up on the symptoms of anxiety. They pretty much cover ever ailment you could imagine. Worth looking into. I went through a year or two of misery trying to get a solid diagnosis (shortness of breath, weak heart, weak knees, chest pains, hands shaking, constantly tired, etc) until they tried a benzo
 
hokahey said:
Youre 29 and not employed somewhere that offers a healthplan?
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That's another good question.

Also, if you're enrolled full time, most university offers their students health insurance through the school.

If not, you could consider enrolling at a nearby school, taking Pell Grants to pay off tuition, and gain school insurance all at the same time :P Health insurance + schooling for a degree. Win win.
 
Joe Shlabotnik said:
Mono can fuck you up for a looong time. There may not be anything new and wrong with you, you are just kind of a wreck from mono, smoking for so long, and generally being out of shape / inactive. It's difficult to say, not least of which because I have absolutely no medical training or education whatsoever.

But it just sounds like you have a lot of things that could be contributing to your issues.
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Yeah. I went back to see my doctor a few months ago and he said that mono can last for a year or more in some cases. But he also said that the mono shouldn't be causing the muscle weirdness.

But yeah, I'm also bipolar so I'm sure general anxiety is contributing at least a little bit.
 
Tapiozona said:
Sounds somewhat similar to what I went through and in the end it was anxiety. Couple days on ativan literally made every problem I was having go away. Read up on the symptoms of anxiety. They pretty much cover ever ailment you could imagine. Worth looking into. I went through a year or two of misery trying to get a solid diagnosis until they tried a benzo
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What were your symptoms?
 
Mono is pretty awful. Not much you can do about it but just wait for it to go. I had it in college and i almost contemplated dropping out for awhile
 
shadyspace said:
What were your symptoms?
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Weak heart, couldn't catch my breath ever, hands shook constantly, I could feel my heart beating throughout my entire body constantly, very weak knees, chest pains...few others. I felt like I was dying, and that there was something really really wrong with me. Doctors said I had everything from mono to possibly early parkinsons.

I also smoked for 10 years before all this.
 
Lost Fragment said:
Yeah. I went back to see my doctor a few months ago and he said that mono can last for a year or more in some cases. But he also said that the mono shouldn't be causing the muscle weirdness.

But yeah, I'm also bipolar so I'm sure general anxiety is contributing at least a little bit.
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Oh, if you're medically diagnosed as bipolar, you might actually qualify for medicaid through your state, or at the very least their mental health services. Definitely fill out the medicaid application and mention your diagnosis.

And if you're not doing school, the Health Kentucky insurance would be your next best bet (I would really suggest school insurance or medicaid first though, as charity based insurance is limited).
 
Prost said:
Oh, if you're medically diagnosed as bipolar, you might actually qualify for medicaid through your state, or at the very least their mental health services. Definitely fill out the medicaid application and mention your diagnosis.

And if you're not doing school, the Health Kentucky insurance would be your next best bet (I would really suggest school insurance or medicaid first though, as charity based insurance is limited).
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I've tried. It's apparently pretty hard to qualify if you're bipolar.
 
You know you could just get insured. You're 29 and it doesn't seem like your medical history is that absurd. You may pay a little more than average in monthly premium, but it'll be worlds better than not being insured. I really don't think you'll have a problem.

I had my wife on a single plan for a while (it worked out better for me to be a single with children at my work), and it was a pretty good plan for about $130 per month. So say you have to pay triple that. Seems worth it to me.

Edit: OP, what state do you live in?
 
Damn, OP. I remember your thread from last April about quitting smoking and the whole COPD deal. Sad to hear that it's gotten worse (or better in some ways too? Sounds like you're breathing better, at least).

Your situation sounds a lot like what I've been going through for 10 years now. Though since I haven't really handled my situation that well at all, I can't give you much advice. =/ I'm on Social Security disability, have been for the last six years, but that's not something I like suggesting to people, since there's a certain stigma that comes with being on SSDI that a lot of people don't really like. Hell, most of the time I don't even like telling people that I'm on it, just out of fear of their reactions ("You're living on MY tax dollars", etc). I guess all I can say is good luck, man.
 
LordCanti said:
That really isn't uncommon.
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If so, thats a shame and pretty inexcusable. We can curse America all day long but why is a 29 year old living at home and not working enough to be on an employers health plan? Even McDonalds offers a shitty "better than nothing" plan.
 
Lost Fragment said:
I've tried. It's apparently pretty hard to qualify if you're bipolar.
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Still worth trying imo.

But basically, your choices come down to this:

1) Insurance through work
2) Insurance through school
3) Insurance through medicaid as long as you have children or a qualified disability
4) Charity insurance
5) Paying for private insurance on your own
6) Negotiating medical services with hospitals/doctors directly

If I were you, I would do the school route. It's easy, and the federal government will pay for your schooling through the pell grant (based on your income). If living with your parents is an issue to qualify for some of the above services, have you parents charge you for rent and create a lease agreement as proof.

Hope this helps. Good luck!
 
LuchaShaq said:
Welcome to America where you're better off rich or dirt poor. Anyone in between is just fucked.

It's insane.
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Or you work for a living and have benefits.

It's not insane. And its not a secret. Adults without insurance know the risks, getting insurance isn't hard.
 
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I think I can answer your question.
 
Honestly it sounds like GERD. Heartburn a lot of times doesn't literally feel like heartburn, but can radiate through your neck, arms and jaw. It's a very non localized pain especially if experience acid erosion
 
Start going for longer and longer walks, work your way up to running eventually. Buy a water bottle of about average size, like 20-25 oz. or so. Drink about three to four a day. You'll pee a lot, obviously, as people don't usually drink that much. From my experience, it seems like most people are at at least a mild state of dehydration all the time. Remember, thirst is one of the last signs of dehydration.

Change your diet to be mostly fruits and vegetables with some whole wheat breads, noodles, meats, etc, but try to eat mostly FRESH food. Eat food that can actually go bad, before it does! Try juicing if that interests you. If you start with just that, I guarantee you that you'll start feeling better. Getting through the first few days will be difficult, but once you start to feel better and better you'll be "addicted" to remaining healthy.
 
hokahey said:
If so, thats a shame and pretty inexcusable. We can curse America all day long but why is a 29 year old living at home and not working enough to be on an employers health plan? Even McDonalds offers a shitty "better than nothing" plan.
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You can fuck right off with this stupidity. There are plenty of people with fucking masters degrees unemployed. The fact he's 29 and works somewhere that doesn't have good healthcare is no slight on him whatsoever.
 
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