Would've asked for the person that told you you could come in again as a walk in, hen asked her for he gas money you just blew back and forth. Probably a blessing in disguise.

I thought you had new insurance coming in place of the old come Jul 1.

If your new insurance ER benefits are better than the old, then wait.
From the way you described it, they are not.

So the way I look at it

1) choose a hospital that takes both the old insurance and the new insurance. IF you don't, then followup tests ordered under old plan but performed and billed to new plan will be out of network which you do not want nor can you afford.

Do it ASAP and get as many tests as they need in as short a time as possible in order to figure out wtf is wrong with you. A least 1 MRI guaranteed. don't know what shift you're on, but 2pm and 4:30 pm are great times to hit the ER as is 330 am after the drunks with knives and guns have all passed out You need to go in ibuprofen free so that whatever it is that is inflamed IS inflamed when they image it. If it's NOT inflamed and hurting like a MF, the tests will come back normal and no one will take you seriously.

Sux but that's the way it is. Gotta go in limping and wincing. I don't envy you.

But if it's gonna cost you more LATER than now,

DO IT NOW, ASAP so you get as much covered under the old insurance as possible.

Also, they will refer you or schedule you folllowps with SOME doctor or doctors. Make it abundantly clear that all those docs need to take (new insurance) or you can't afford to see them out of network----not because your life is in the red and you can't afford any of this. None of their business. They'll get it figured out.

You can't afford to go---but you can't afford to NOT go.

Once Jul 1 comes, you can't afford it even more.

Go. As long as you pay the bill before collections starts, or set up a payment plan, you'll get back in the black.

As an aside - think VERY HARD about
1)when did this start
2)what triggered the first occurrence or if it's just been progressing
3) If it is a result of an injury "suffered at work"

The last one is critical as if you say yes, it will trigger worker's comp proceedings, and, if you belong to a union, they may be able to help you $$ if you have to be off work.....

Been up too many hours...Gnite.

Go

 

I did go in un-medicated, and haven't taken anything yet...

I don't remember there being a trigger, just a slight pain... Kinda reminded me of a twinge from sitting too long in one position... I think this started in 2009... Severity and frequency of occurrence have escalated since then, to where the pain is near constant and pretty severe... When I'm home, it usually only gets to around 6/10, but when I'm at work(standing on concrete for 12 hours, nothing to sit down on), the pain goes off the end of the scale, I can barely walk at all, and for the first five miles or so after leaving work, I can barely drive(new development)... Sometimes I wish for the Taurus back so I don't need to use my left leg... Usually though, by the time I return home, the pain recedes back to a 7/10 or so...

...and as much as I would like to receive benefits, I can't even begin to claim I did this at work... I did sprain my left knee working for Osmose, but didn't take time off for it, and I have aggravated that injury twice at my current job, last time being Monday... But not related to the same pain, I don't think...

 

No I didn't read his last post. I can barely keep up with these ones. I'm caring for 3 kids...working 5-6 days a week...taking care of the house with no damn help and trying to figure out whether or not I'm going to leave my boyfriend...so I'm sorry if I didn't realize he posted about this or whatever...just trying to keep caught up here.

Now as for you mister...you can send them $5 a month and they can't send you to collections so that's no excuse. So just get on it. Either way you're damned if you do and damned if you don't...but if I were I'd go in and find out Wtf is wrong.

 

Yeah, I'm probably leaning in that direction... Now, I just gotta get myself to be in the worst pain of my life and go into the ER... The issue is that while I'm home and not working, the pain is bearable, and my lower leg doesn't go numb... Maybe I need to walk a mile or so on concrete/asphalt before I go in...

 

Just go to work unmedicated, fight your way through the day, and go straight to the ER from there. The exact conditions that make it unbearably painful.

Just don't wear jewelry etc anything that can be jacked.

It's June 25th -- do NOT wait for the weekend b/c it will take you 5 hours to be seen after you get there........

 

So, I went to an urgent care clinic(not the ER), and explained my symptoms, and the doctor examined me... He basically applied pressure along my sciatic nerve(right next to my spine) and there was no reaction on my end, which according to him rules out sciatica, but he said that since he isn't my PCP, he couldn't write an order for any imaging without dispute from the insurance company, and approval would likely take more than the rest of June... Which has me basically screwed unless I go directly from work to the ER(not guaranteed to work either), which isn't possible anyway due to my co-worker that I carpool with...

 

Well I say you better figure it out and go to the ER and get some images done.

 

I'm not the only one chasing your *** to get some REAL help for yourself. Now it's the weekend. Go walking, go jogging, go do whatever while not taking ibuprofen, get nice and inflamed and go to the ****ing ER already before you create more irreparable damage than you already have.

You seem to be finding every reason you can to NOT go to the ER and likely get diagnosed in 4-5 hours.
There is a reason you are avoiding the ER :you are frightened as to what they will find.

Anyone in as much pain as you better damn be frightened. It's your brain's fight or flight response and it is both instinctual and normal. You're in flight mode, avoiding the issue.

Which is more important---

Your back/leg heath for the rest of your life

Or

driving your buddy home?

The problem still exists whether you deal with it or not.

So overcome the fear, get inflamed, and go to the ER.
Your family will be counting on you for years for both your mobility and your ability to put food on the table.

You'll end up paying for all this via a payment plan. Many people with **** insurance do. There's no shame in that. Hospitals would rather collect the full bill over time than collect nothing.

Fear is natural.
Fear is instinctual.
And fear can be overcome.

The fear of NOT knowing should be greater than the fear of knowing.

You have the mental strength to overcome your very rational fears.

Do it

 

Actually, during work last night, I made arrangements with my co-worker for him to borrow his wife's car either tonight or tomorrow night, and I plan to go to the ER directly after work... Not sure whether tomorrow morning(end of my shift coming up tonight) or the morning after, but it's going to happen. I'm just plain sick of being in pain, and not knowing why. I'd like to be able to explain to my boss why sometimes I just can't run, or why I limp slowly around, or why sometimes I have to sit down on something... I would like for my nemesis to have a name, and most importantly, I want to be cured, if I can be...

Yes, I'm scared of finding something irreparable, and I'm just as scared of the potential for debt accumulation... I just wanted to exhaust all other avenues before taking the (financial)plunge...

I just want to feel twenty-something again, instead of fifty-something... I want to be normal(at least physiologically)...

 

You're doing the right thing at the right time.

Please let us know what the outcome is if you are comfortable w sharing.
Hoping for the best......