As someone with Crohn’s Disease, I use a lot of medicine over the course of the year. Whether it is medicine for my Crohn’s, supplements, other ailments (thanks to CD), or just routine medicine, I spend a lot of money. Recently, I received a letter in the mail from my prescription insurance saying that I am only allowed to get 90 days worth of a med from a pharmacy and then I have to use their mail order service.
Ok, so let me get this straight. Instead of being able to go to my local pharmacy of my choice to get a med that I might need right away, I now have to use a service run by an insurance company and wait days to get it in the mail. REALLY????
I need to say first that this is my own opinion. I am not speaking on behalf of anyone but myself.
So, when did corporate America start running our healthcare system. I know it has been going on for a long time..but come on. Not only can you not see any doctor you want, but now I can’t use any pharmacy I want. It was bad when HMO’s came around and all of a sudden they started telling you which doctors you can see and not see. You want to see an allergists? Well, first go to your general practitioner, have them look at you and then get a referral. And you can’t just see anyone. No he has to be in our network. Oh the closest doctor in our network is 30 miles away…we don’t care. Now they are doing the same with our medicine.
The best was when I needed to get approval to take Humira. My insurance wouldn’t cover it. They wanted me to take Methotrexate first. So an insurance company that doesn’t know me or my history is telling me what medicines to take. I think not. And now they are telling me where to get my meds.
What really gets me is what happens when you don’t have any insurance. Well, then you are screwed. If you can’t afford insurance, then the drug companies assume you can’t afford the medicine so you’re not getting it. The same with doctors. No insurance…we then you can’t afford to see me so I can’t see you anymore.
What happened to the days of house calls. What happened to “I’ll take whatever you can afford”. When did doctors stop caring?
Now I know a lot of doctors will be mad at me for writing this..but I don’t care. I hate that it takes weeks to find a doctor. I hate that they all work 9-5 Monday thru Friday. I hate that I have a chronic illness and it is so hard to get treated for it. I live in a very big metropolis area. If I find it hard…what do people in small towns do?
We need to start listening to and caring about our sick a lot more. We need to tell corporations…get out of our medical community.
A Guy With Crohn's 
Like you said, “they” are getting involved at a level that they shouldn’t. We have a life sentence with Crohn’s and we only want to end the suffering and they add to it. My Gi, whom I’ve been with for 23 years has always pushed drugs and surgery. I took my health in my own hands and followed a non-med solution. It worked great for me then and at the present time. She still thinks that I’m “lucky” that im in remission. I know not everyone can do this, but I feel much better being in charge of my treatment as nobody knows me better then me. Like many Crohnies out there we have all been “forced” to learn to live with Crohns in a hurry. Anyone Dx will be shocked, but as a 13 year old, I had to grow up in a hurry. This necessity has made us experts in various fields, mostly for survival but in order to understand our bodies better and get some peace from the suffering.
Please keep posting, excellent work!
Patrick
(@SCDPat)
I take an injection of humira once a week, after becoming tolerant to inliximab infusions which i was having at double dose which i think is 5mg/kg (rough guess i think). I worked out it was roughly at least £3000 every 4 weeks on infusion and now the humira must be something rediculous aswell. For all the National Health Services faults with long waiting times and things, I would never ever knock it. They’ve sorted me right out so far.
I do have to say, that from what I have seen in documentaries, other countries have it better than the US with healthcare. My opinions are more towards the US and it’s corporations. In the UK, you have it a lot easier at times. I wish our country would take some lessons from yours.
Saying that, even in this country some people have had loads of problems getting their local authority to pay for certain treatments and making them jump through hoops or only giving the go ahead for treatment once people have become horrendously ill. Our system still has its faults and its still based around making money for the fat cats but i just feel for people like you in the US that have to pay throught their noses for treatement that should be given to them by right. I thank the stars I’ve got a fantastic doctor that actually gives a fuck about me and has made sure I’ve got the treatment I’ve needed. Hang in there dude.