New symptoms, when to see Dr. No insurance

[cordelia]

No Dx yet. 2 years ago had neuro workup- Clinical dx, but no official one as normal MRI.
Initial symptoms: facial numbness, loss sense of taste and temperature, throat spasms, leg spasticity/weakness, fatigue. cold all the time.
Recent: Past 3 weeks and getting worse not better. Severe muscle spasms in upper left arm, can't lift arm above head. Left hand weakness/spasms. Pain in left armpit. sudden blurring vision, fatigue, can't seem to get warm, bronchitis symptoms started 2 days ago.
: a few muscle relax. left from last year, OTC pain relievers, hot baths, heating pad.
I don't have any insurance, Neuro visit is $250.00 no payment plans. GP out of office for another week.
Full-time student, family to take care of, and no time for this nonsense.
Cora

[SalpalSally]

Welcome Cordelia. I hope we can be of some help and support for you.

[agate]

Welcome[1].jpg

Welcome, Cora--and thanks for seeking us out though it's too bad you're having these medical problems. No one wants to have health problems interfering with our lives.

Lots of people gamble on their continuing good health and do without health insurance. I did that--and really regretted it. I hope you can find a way to get some insurance soon, or maybe you'd qualify for Medicaid?

Quite a few people with MS start out with normal MRIs. Eventually--maybe many years later--the MRIs start showing MS lesions, I think.

I'm not sure how we can help you. The "Useful Websites" thread at the top of the page here might help with some links to sources of help.

Looking forward to getting to know you better.

[renee]

Cordelia-
i didn't have health insurance when i got knocked out of the ring .
It made sense to me then and 16 years later it still does.
i had 2 or 3 jobs and didn't make enough for insurance without the cost being a hardship.
If I became very ill I would hand over my savings and retirement. If i continued to be healthy
i would have had a civil service job w/bennies and savings intact for a while at least.

Some of your symptoms are very distressing to me.
As much of a tough guy as you and a lot of us are, illness will not necessarily back down.
Your family wants you as healthy as can be and i assure you that the physical deficits
that can result from waiting for symptoms to pass can be quite devastating.

IMO you need to see a doctor or get a referral asap.
Assuming you are in the states there is probably an insurance program for which you would be eligible
If you are not immediately eligible there are other sources of financial aid.

If I were in your position I would call the doctor on call and bring up the most uncommon symptoms
to accentuate the seriousness of what is going on.
Blurring vision, severe muscle spasms in upper lefft arm, pain in left armpit and inability to raise
arm over head. Your other symptoms are more common with the general population.

If doc on call can't see you ASAP, then go to an Urgent Care center or a reputable GP who can get you in asap.
If none of that was available I would go to ER- perhaps calling hospital financial assistance beforehand to see about
sliding scale payment. Many of your assets wouldn't count in computation of ability to pay and
since it sounds like you have dependents that would reduce any payment.

Most hospitals get beaucoup money from the feds and they are obligated to use it for patient care.

I am being directive.
That is because I waited for medical opinion and became a paraplegic in a week.
The only thing i regret these days is not telling posters to get on the stick right now.

Permanent disability is a bigger drag than any half healthy person can imagine.

Please take care of yourself aggressively.

[Parsi]

Welcome to the forum. I hope you'll feel comfortable with us.

Do see a doctor as soon as possible. Waiting won't benefit you, it might even harm.

[Sunshine]

Could be the bronchitis is causing a pseudo flare. Your hot baths can also cause pseudo flare.

[Virginia]

Hi Cordelia, welcome to the forum!

In my opinion, you have been given some very good advice by Renee regarding seeking medical advice and treatment. That may be easier for me to say than you feel it is for you to do. However, it sounds as though you are young and have a family. Your first obligation is to get help for yourself and in the long run that might be helping them. It is too serious a disease not to try and do something. If they recommend one of the drugs (assuming you get a diagnosis) then there are drug companies that may very well help you with this.

I wish you lots of luck in finding a solution. Please keep us posted.

I hope you enjoy being a member of the forum.

['Lissa]

Find a nonprofit medical center in your area. They are required to provide some charity care. The criteria for who qualifies may vary so check with their patient services first to see if you qualify. Also, checking into Medicaid is a good idea. If that isn't possible, there is also a low cost health insurance program in every state which was started under the health care reform law. They are called high risk pools. You should also check into that.

If you can't qualify for, or afford, any of these options then you should still seek medical care and worry about paying it off later. You should ask to make payments that you can afford. It may take some rearranging of your budget but it is better than being permanently harmed because you didn't seek medical care when it could have helped you.