Thursday, September 17, 2009

Contact Me!


I'm here to help...that's obviously the point of this website. So I've decided to make myself more accessible. If you don't want to post your questions under the comments section, or want to have a more in-depth conversation, I've set up an email account reserved specifically for this blog. Please feel free to contact me at onstim@gmail.com.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Cindy McCain--Migraine's New Spokeswoman

My boss sent me this article last week and I was really excited about it.

Generally speaking, I'm not a Cindy McCain fan. But in this circumstance, Cindy McCain may actually make a great spokesperson for the cause. She may have enough sway with the powers that be to actually accomplish her goals, which is very exciting. Her goals seem pretty lofty...but in this case I think it's a good thing. We need someone like her to get the word (and the money) to the right people. Migraine research and treatment are long overdue for some more attention. I truly hope Mrs. McCain can be the one to help the cause take that leap.

When I was so disabled by my headaches last year, I talked to several people about the possibility of going on medical disability for them since I could not seem to keep up a full time work schedule. It turns out that unfortunately it's nearly impossible to get disability assistance for simply having migraines. I think it's because unless you have them, most people don't understand the severity of these types of headaches. And because there are so may causes for them. That makes them harder to classifiy that most other medical afflictions. But sufferers know just how dibilitating they can be, how they can affect your life. It's time for the decision-makers to pay attention to that and change accordingly.

So I say "go Cindy!" I only wish it wouldn't have taken you so long to take some action. Oh well, better late than never, I suppose.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I Don't Know What To Say!

Well, it's been nearly 14 weeks since my surgery and I guess I haven't written much because there isn't much to say...which is a good thing. I seem to have gotten the programming worked out as best I can, and have been feeling quite good. I usually have a little bit of a headache, and don't therefore feel good enough to often do anything horribly physical like working out, but at least the pain isn't always in the forefront of my consciousness and I am living a normal life.

So normal, in fact, that I actually got married on September 4 and took a vacation that weekend. That's a pretty big step for me, since for the last few years I haven't been able to plan one day in advance, much less weeks or months in advance. It was nothing too exciting...just went to the courthouse and then went to a nice resort and Yellowstone for the weekend but I felt great. I drove a lot, drank some wine, and no headache. Not even a little, which was such a blessing.

I still seem to be getting a migraine about once a month (I've had 3 since my surgery). These are headaches that the stimulator doesn't help...I just have to turn it off an rely on my migraine rescue drugs (i.e. Zomig). And acetominophen (Advil) seems to help a lot too, oddly enough. Sometimes I get upset that I still have headaches at all but once a month is a heck of a lot better than nearly every day.

I'm still fighting with the insurance company, but now for different reasons. There are parts of my surgery that they say weren't "medically necessary." I don't know how some random dude behind a desk in an insurance office gets to decide that, but it's the sad truth of things. There are about $5000 worth of charges that they don't want to cover. Seeing that I've already spent $5000 out of pocket this year, and didn't work or get paid for 4 months, I cannot afford to pay it. I plan to appeal their decision but am still waiting to see if my doctor will just write off the charges. I'm ready to fight them though, I don't care if it's a long haul. Bring it on. I've also heard from several different people that if you pester and annoy them enough, the insurance company will eventually get sick of you and just pay the charges. And if there's one thing in this world that I'm good at, it's being annoying!

P.S. Oh, and wow, over 1000 hits on this blog site! Not too shabby! Thanks for reading!