So…how’ve ya been?
I’ve been telling myself for a while that I needed to relaunch this blog. I thought I could find plenty of time during the pandemic. I struggled for topics to blog about, though. Days seemed to melt together until it was hard to figure which day of the week or date it was. It didn’t seem to matter anyway – we were just getting up, putting on our sweatpants, and interacting with the same small group of people for over a year.
My diary was so boring that I didn’t even consider blogging. Here are some diary examples:
Day 20 (or 5 or 1,284):
Wearing my blue sweatshirt today. It rained, but that’s OK since I stayed inside all day.
Binge-watched the second season of Homeland.
Day Whatever (and don’t ask what day of the week it is, since that only matters for TV schedules):
I can’t figure out the original color of these sweatpants because they’ve been washed so much. I think they were once blue. It was really hot today. In the Early Times, that would have triggered my heat sensitivity. Now I’m OK in my temperature-controlled biosphere…or I would be if someone (glares at offspring) hadn’t eaten all of the potato chips.
Binge-watched seasons 3 and 4 of Homeland.
Don’t get me wrong. I am fully aware that COVID did not wipe out the chronic disease community. It may have increased it, if current speculation turns out to be true.
The speculation about increased chronic disease revolves around the premise that viruses have a role in chronic disease susceptibility. Pre-COVID research looked at a possible connection between the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and chronic illnesses. As people are battling lingering health issues after their COVID-19 infections, researchers want to determine whether exposure to the COVID virus triggers a chronic condition..
An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that 10% of COVID cases lead to prolonged symptoms. These patients are called “long-haulers”. The CDC reports that there have been more than 33 million cases of COVID-19 in the US. If the COVID virus leads to chronic illness, that implies that millions of Americans could be diagnosed with Long COVID. Many long-haulers only experienced mild or moderate COVID symptoms, and some didn’t need hospitalization, but they’re dealing with chronic conditions months after contracting the virus. It’s too early to tell if or for how long these symptoms will persist.
But whether or not they join our definitely-not-fun-idea-for-a-party, there are far too many of us living with chronic illness.
So, what’s next?
First, I’ll need to dust off my soapbox so I can climb on top of it again. I’ve got plenty of stuff to talk about, and I’m ready to do it now.
There are so many issues people have been enduring – and will endure – that need to be addressed:
- Safety for the immunocompromised as the world opens back up and mask requirements go away.
- Affordability of care – there’s a conflict between the diagnostic tests doctors require to heal their patients and the ability to pay for those tests.
- Cost of prescription drugs, including my least favorite donut flavor – the Medicare donut hole that leads to 25% copays on some prescriptions.
- Copay accumulators, step therapy, and other tricks insurance companies use to deny care or force patients to spend more.
Over the pandemic, my family’s endured situations that have had us saying bad words and making naughty gestures at insurance companies that I’ll share.
- Since ER costs are covered whether it’s in-network or out-of-network, does it matter what ER we go to? Short answer – YES.
- How badly do you have to grovel for financial assistance with medical expenses? Go ahead and get on your knees now. Or you can just cut the red tape and lie down on the floor.
- If your doctor thinks you need to go to the hospital, then you can just go there, right? You’re so naive.
- Why I hate prescription drug TV commercials, especially the ones that say you may be able to pay just $10 a month for your medicine. Hint: don’t bet on a $10 copay if you’re on Medicare.
- Why I bang my head against the wall about the Medicare donut hole. See previous answer. Plus, my doctor doesn’t like my head-banging since I had a head injury a couple of years ago.
Since July is Chronic Disease Month, now is the perfect time to bring the blog back to life. Join me on my wild ride back to providing advocacy, education, and support.
Unfortunately, one thing is still the same that a quarantine could not resolve.
PEOPLE.ARE.CLUELESS.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/index.htm
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2771111
