Why are we denying your life-saving medication? Let me count the excuses that haven’t worked in the 45 mins I’ve been on the phone with Sarah so far:
Your payment card isn’t updated. (Card being updated. Not sure why? I have no copays.)
There is a deductible. (I’ve met all deductibles. It’s April and I’m me. My deductibles are met in January. Every year.)
There is a “gap copay deductible.” WTH is that and why haven’t I had to pay it any other time I fill this med!?
This is for 30 days and the last one was for 17 days. 🤦🏻♀️ (17 days. On an inhaler that only comes in one size and dosage for 30 days!? Wtf is 17 days anyway!?) (Abandoned “gap copay deductible with no explanation. 😂)
This is for 3 for 30 days. (Omg. If it’s 3 inhalers, you think maybe it’s a 90 day supply!?)
You’re in Florida. I may need to transfer you to another department. (I didn’t move since the beginning of the call! Did YOU!?)
Your xopenex can’t be filled two at a time. (Holy 💩! Rescue inhalers and nebulizer solutions are NOT the same thing!)
You don’t meet eligibility requirements for Medicaid anymore bc or your disability income, so you have to get that squared away with Medicaid and you may be able to call them tomorrow. (Fine!! I’m still on Medicare and in the interim, I need to know where my scripts are so when I fix that I don’t have to go through all of these issues again!)
I’m now talking to Marcus. For Florida. God help me, and God help Marcus. This is why I’m still on Xanax.
Update: It was Genella FTW! In 5 minutes she helped me and gave me more info than the other two people combined in what was actually about 1.5 hours! I started at 1939. Finished at 2113! I can’t WAIT to mess with this stuff again tomorrow! For anyone who thinks professional patients sit around doing nothing all day, this is part of my daily routine. Always. I’ve just never heard them switch excuses so many times in one call. 😑😖😭
I’m a 46 year old mom to 3 kids and grandma to one, a military brat, a music lover, a widow, and an involuntarily retired attorney who got smacked with the most sarcastic and ridiculous disease on earth, completely changing the future I had worked so hard for, and the plans I had for myself and my family. I have a 26 year old stepdaughter who has my 8 year old granddaughter, along with my 21 year old daughter and the baby, my 12 year old, who I’m thankful has grown up just in the right times that my illness doesn’t put her in danger.
My condition, Churg Strauss Syndrome (CSS), or Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangitis (EGPA), as it is currently called, is sarcastic and ironic, just like I am. It is an autoimmune vasculitis that causes inflammation, and one of the primary symptoms is an intolerance to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s). And that irony and sarcasm just carries on throughout the entire journey. One thing it is not: boring.
It is diagnosed in only one to two out of every million people, and was featured on the fifth episode of House MD, if that tells you anything about how rare it is. It is most evident for me in the way it made my asthma go from completely controlled to uncontrolled, no matter what we do.
I’m currently on a low dose of chemo and a biologic in addition to prednisone, and trying to wean off.
My previous life was being a family law attorney. I try to assuage my guilt about my daughter not seeing me as a professional working woman by volunteering as much as I can.
People always tell me I should write more, so here we are. Maybe my escapades can make somebody else laugh, or make someone feel less alone if they are dealing with similar circumstances. If nothing else, it will be something for my kids to be able to read later in life to remember who I was.
Until then, I plan to live the hell out of every single day I am given. And laugh as much as I can, when it won’t cause an asthma/coughing fit. I truly believe laughter is the best medicine. (When it doesn’t cause a deadly asthma attack.)
View all posts by Gladys D. Smith-Mangan
2 Comments
That’s insane. You are far more patient than I am! I usually raise my voice and accuse them of trying to murder me at least once in each conversation. I hate dealing with the front line people. 🤬
And I thought I was being rude. Lol I’ve gotten so used to it that I’m almost just shrugging my shoulders the whole time. I just have such low expectations anymore.
That’s insane. You are far more patient than I am! I usually raise my voice and accuse them of trying to murder me at least once in each conversation. I hate dealing with the front line people. 🤬
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And I thought I was being rude. Lol I’ve gotten so used to it that I’m almost just shrugging my shoulders the whole time. I just have such low expectations anymore.
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