I've Been Busy; That's a Lie

Hi! Long time, no blog. I could lie and say I've been busy. The truth is I've been sleeping my life away. How am I feeling? I hate that question!  Honestly, I usually say I'm doing good until one day I wake up and I realize that somewhere along the way my 'normal' has changed. Yet, I'll still tell you, "I'm good."

I see my gastro on Thursday and my colorectal specialist on Friday, so I'll be haunting my doctors with my ass for Halloween. Thankfully, I haven't been experiencing pain. Two weekends ago, I shit so much in the middle of the night that I woke up with abs the next morning... I haven't worked out in months. Sounds like a dream, right? Go to bed, wake up 14 times to shit in the middle of the night, and then wake up with abs. My bowels have gotten back to 'normal' since then. I have been super tired. I slept for 26 hours this past weekend. My doctors and I have some talking to do... even though they still don't know about the incident in Texas last December and I don't know if I'm going to tell them.

Enough about that... When I'm not working, sleeping, or shitting, I've been reading "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking". I'm about a third of the way through the book and all I can is wow! It has been eye opening to the way our brains process information consciously and subconsciously. This is a book about psychology and so far learning about priming and thin slicing is so interesting to me. I can't wait to see what else this book has in it!

I've also been finding new music on YouTube. My current obsessions are with Halestorm and Halsey. If you're only going to listen to one of each of their songs, listen to Hold Me Down by Halsey and Love Bites (So Do I) by Halestorm. If you're going for a second song, go for Gasoline by Halsey and Apocalyptic by Halestorm. I'm surprisingly leaning toward more rock selections. The screaming parts are just the therapy I need. 

Lastly, I've been binge watching The Walking Dead on Netflix. I just got to season 5! All I can say is that I would not survive a zombie apocalypse. I'd be one of the first to turn and then I'd be attacking all of you healthy people.

Hello, October

Good news: Cimzia was delivered, which means that it is covered under my new insurance plan! This makes me love my job even more. If you know me, you probably know I'm a nerd for numbers.

Before I only ever knew the estimated cost of Cimzia. Well, here are some numbers from my latest Cimzia order. The cost of Cimzia is $3,159.68 for each month's supply. I'm responsible for 10% of that: $315.97, my co-pay. After subtracting my co-pay, the insurance company has to cover $2,843.71 of the medication. Thankfully, I have a Cimzia co-pay assistance card that covers my co-pay, $315.97, for me so that I get Cimzia for free.

Once I do my October injections that will finish my third year of taking Cimzia. Over those 36 months, I'll have injected myself 72 times. Most of the time I find it easy, but sometimes my head over thinks it and the injections freak me out. Occasionally, they hurt, bleed, or bruise.  I have done all of the injections in my stomach. I could do them in my legs, but for some reason I can't bring myself to do it in my legs. Plus, I figure since it's my belly giving me the trouble it can endure to be the pincushion. Anyways, over those 36 months, insurance has saved me $102,373.56 and the Cimzia co-pay card has saved me $11,374.92 for a total savings of $113,748.48!   If it wasn't for insurance or the co-pay card, I would either be really broke or really sick! Bring on year number 4!

If that's not great enough, get a load of this...

With my new insurance plan, the co-pay for Cimzia that the co-pay card covers actually counts toward my out of pocket maximum even though that money isn't coming out of my pocket. $315.97 * 12 months = $3,791.64 towards my out of pocket maximum.


I finally got my 'Stang back. I love the leather and the stitching! This car really feels too nice to belong to me.

Goodbye, September

I don't know what procrastination says about a person, but I do know I am an expert at procrastinating. If I had the energy, I would probably be stressed. I'm not stressed, just irriated that people can't do their jobs right. I have no trouble sleeping and I don't feel worried. Perhaps I'm depressed...

After leaving five messages with my nurse over a 9 day period to get a prior authorization for Cimzia, she still hadn't returned my calls or submitted the prior authorization like I requested. So, I sent my mom to the gastro office to get some answers. I sent my mom with a copy of my ID, new insurance card, and a patient disclosure form authorizing her to access my medical records. It turns out the nurse didn't call back because she didn't think the prior authorization was necessary since she gave a prior authorization for me last year. Can you believe that shit? My mom told her that she should have at least called me back to let me know she didn't feel like doing her job. Thankfully, my mom got the nurse to transfer the prior authorization from last year to my new insurance. I don't understand why the nurse couldn't just give a new prior authorization because that would last longer.

The pharmacy finally let me schedule delivery for my Cimzia, and said that insurance approved the prior authorization. Although during my first attempt today to schedule delivery, the pharmacy said that the prior authorization had been cancelled. Nobody seems to know what they're doing. I guess if Cimzia arrives when I scheduled the delivery, none of it matters.

In other news, while my car was getting leather installed they broke a bolt when they were putting the driver's seat back into the car. Now, they have to keep it in service to fix it. At least they gave me a free rental car. Plus, the leather looks and smells amazing, so it'll be worth it.

Technology Troubles are the Worst

I'm typing this on a kindle. It sucks!  My computer either won't turn on or will turn on for about 10 seconds before shutting down.  I'm going to be so pissed if I can't back up my files. I have lots of drafts and stories that I don't want to lose. Imagine all of my characters just ceasing to exist. I think I'm going to cry.... don't even get me started on thinking about losing my pictures

I used to delete my writings, but then one day I started saving some of them and obviously became so attached that I don't want them deleted. Especially one draft I've been working on for a while. We called her Betty.

Happy Early Birthday

I had a fun three day weekend in Lake Placid. I celebrated Taylor's birthday early with her and the family. Her family is beyond awesome! They are so sweet because they had dinner waiting for me when I arrived. Saturday we woke up early and Mr. C. took us out on his airboat. We saw tons of birds, butterflies, and a couple of baby gators. We even took the airboat on a dry land and got stuck, so Mr. C. had to get out to make it lighter for it move.  By the time we made it back to the house Mrs. C. was serving homemade lasagna for lunch. After lunch, Mr. C. told Taylor and I to get ready because he made us a mani & pedi appointment for 2pm. Mr. C. got a pedicure and Taylor and I got manicures and pedicures. It was my very first mani and pedi. It was quite an experience! I took a short nap afterwards and then Mr. and Mrs. C., Taylor, and I headed to see the movie "A Walk In The Woods."

Sunday, Taylor and I spent most of the morning trying to figure out how to work the C Geo app so that we could go geocaching. Once she figured it out we went out in search for geocaches. We found tons! We even went to the local state park to find some and we ended up seeing a deer and swinging on swings as well. We ate lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, which was delicious. Afterwards, we headed back to the house to take showers and then I took my daily nap. Mrs. C. made pork chops for dinner. Yum! After dinner, we headed to the bar down the street. We started with a jack and coke, then went to a long island iced tea... after which we still weren't  feeling a buzz at all. We took a Johnny Vegas shot (red bull, watermelon schnapps, and silver tequila) and then we felt the buzz. Taylor went up to the live band to request a song and ended up singing two songs (Sugarland's Stay and a duet of Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss' Whiskey Lullaby). I loved it because I had never heard her sing those songs before.  While she was singing I drank two key lime martinis and paid our tab. They tasted just like key lime pie. I should have been drunk, but I was just buzzed. When she was done, we sat at the bar a while longer talking until she was ready to drive home.

Monday, we woke up, had breakfast and lounged around watching TV until it was time to head home.

Airboating

Cake

geocaching

Can you spot the geocache?

Enjoying a drink at the bar while listening to the live band.

I Am One Happy Lady

Prior to Saturday my plan was to trade in my car by the end of the year. I already had the money saved, but I wanted to put as many miles as possible on the Mazda before making a trade. I have had wicked new car fever for the past few months and I was itching to get rid of my Mazda. 

I had an appointment for an oil change at Mazda on Saturday. Somehow I had a feeling that a lot of work was going to be needed although I couldn't tell you what felt wrong with the car, so I blamed the feeling on my new car fever. I hypothesized scenarios with my dad about how much money I should be willing to put into the Mazda (even though at the time I didn't know anything was wrong with it) before saying no since I planned to trade it by the end of the year.   Anyways, it turned out it needed $1800 worth of work done. Something about the suspension, axle, brakes blah, blah, blah... I stopped listening after I heard $1800. I told the service lady not to perform any of the work, so I just paid for the oil change and tire rotation that they already performed and took my old lady (my 10 year old Mazda) home.


Obviously, I decided not to put the money into the Mazda. Once I got home I talked with my mom and dad. I was pretty set on getting a new Mazda6. However, I asked my parents to go with me to look at Mustangs to rule them out. My dad came along for fun because he also wanted to test drive one and I felt my mom came along because she's mom and I'd like both my parents there to consult with. Although I half expected my mom not to support the whole idea of getting a Mustang. Test driving seemed like a logical thing to do because I've never driven a Mustang before. Ever since I was a kid I have wanted a Mustang. In fact, when I first saw the 2015 body style of the Mustangs, I was disappointed because I knew this would be the year I would be in the market for a vehicle. I dislike the rear end of the 2015 Mustangs, but I went to Ford to make sure I really didn't like it. After all, it's been a dream since I was a kid. 

I told the sales guy I was looking for a coupe... preferably black. I also let him know that I liked the 2014 body style better than the 2015, but I needed to see the 2015 to rule it out. He took us to the pre-owned section first. This is where I found a black 2014 Ford Mustang Coupe V-6 with 26K miles on it for $18,900. I loved the body style and loved the way it felt when I sat in it, but I asked the sales guy if we could look at the 2015's and then maybe come back to the 2014. After looking at the new 2015 Mustangs, I knew right away I didn't even like it enough to test drive one. We headed back to the 2014 to test drive it. The guy made a copy of my license, told us the test drive route, and sent us on our way unsupervised. The sound of the engine was music to my ears. By the time I pulled back onto the lot, I was in love.

After my dad took it for a spin, we looked at the Carfax. The fact that it had been a rental almost made me walk away, but it was a certified pre-owned Ford that came with more warranty than a new vehicle. My parents and I discussed it and they didn't think it was a bad decision to get it, so I financed it. Adios Mazda! My credit score was beautiful and I qualified for their special APR. I did purchase some additional warranty to protect my investment. Plus, that gave me more peace of mind since I was apprehensive about it being a rental.  I even found out that they ordered leather for the vehicle and that was included in the price, so I'm going to schedule an appointment to get leather installed when it comes in.

Overall, I saved a ton of money by going with a pre-owned. I absolutely love it and that's how everyone should feel after getting a car. I have no buyers remorse. I certainly don't regret not getting a Mazda6. The Mustang is so much fun to drive! I can't stop smiling because I am one happy lady.

Switching Insurance Plans

At first, I wasn't concerned about switching off my parents' insurance plan and onto my own plan through work. However, I freaked out a little with the switch fast approaching. 

What if my current doctors aren't in network? What if my medication is no longer covered? What if I have to find new doctors and I go into a bad flare while waiting for "new patient" appointments? What if I have to find a new doctor and they want me to do a colonoscopy?

Those thoughts above are toxic. The negative and worrisome mindset is addictive and exhausting. I had to shut it down and go back to being nonchalant about the whole thing.  When dealing with insurance and doctors, I expect a crisis on the horizon. On the flip side, I am an adult and I probably have as much experience with insurance and doctors as your grandma. Plus, I have others with more experience in my corner. My plan is to take it one day at a time and handle any changes as they come because worrying about the "what if's" won't be beneficial.

Before I shut down the negative thoughts, I called my pharmacy to inquire if I had any refills available for Cimzia. To my surprise, I did. Wow, I got the refill without having to call my doctor to request it because the pharmacy communicated with my doctor! Anyways, I asked if I was cleared by insurance (still my parents') for a refill, or if I had to wait for my refill clearance to become available (I can only refill once every 3 1/2 weeks or so, so the refill window is sometimes tight). To my surprise, I was cleared for a refill. Long story short, my September dose of Cimzia was covered by my parents' insurance and will be here this week, which means I have a longer period of time to figure out my new insurance plan. It's a huge relief!