It's my turn to growl at the stupidity of "for profit" insurance companies. I had been having migraines on the left side of my head for a couple months. Ended up in the emergency room with labrynthitis (vertigo) last November. Had sinus pain too and they gave me antibiotics thinking it was an infection. Finally, after the third antibiotic, the doc ordered a CT scan. More below the squiggle
Through the CT scan they saw a polyp in the sphenoid sinus. The ENT also ordered an MRI and the radiologist confirmed the polyp. Ended up having sinus surgery Monday, January 30, 2011. Lo and behold, the biopsy came back that it was brain matter! Turns out I had a congenital issue with my skull and due to my age, good ole' gravity and maybe my brain needing more room, it bulged through a little hole and into the sinus. It could be seen when the CT scan and/or MRI's were looked at in a closeup view but not in the regular view. I think that was a big oops on the radiologist's part.
This is when it gets interesting. Due to having the brain matter cut into, I have been leaking cerebral spinal fluid since January 30th. There is a concern that if I get sick I could get meningitis, so I'm on another antibiotic. I'm avoiding crowded places and pretty much sticking close to home.
I was sent to a really good neurosurgeon in Sacramento, a 40 minute drive. He wanted to pull the brain matter back in by doing major surgery through the temporal lobe. A little scary, but heck let's "get 'er done!" Once the surgery date was set, we found out the insurance we have will cover the doctor but not the hospital where he does the surgery! Badda bing badda boom.
We're appealing but I don't hold out much hope for any change. We now have to start all over again. The ENT is putting in a referral to the neurosurgery department at UC San Francisco. Not a fun drive and much further away.
I'm not complaining much because at least we have insurance as so many don't. But even those of us who pay for our insurance, the insurance companies still pull the strings like we are little puppets. It's all about their profit, not about the patient.
Today was a tough day and I needed to vent a bit.
I'm still gung-ho for universal healthcare. I believe this idiocy would not be occurring and I'd be done with the hole in my head and brain leakage (most folks that know me think that's why I have the personality I have anyway.) So, I will keep on dripping, staying close to home and meandering my way through DKos until I get another surgery date!