I had an emotional breakdown.

First some good news. Actually this blog will be like a negative sandwich. I have positive stuff at the beginning and some good news at the end. We went to the Cold Play concert which was awesome. They came all the way into the back of the crowd to the section right next to us and sang my favorite song “Scientist”. I LOVED it. AND….because I am so cool, I got a video of it on youtube (I get to check one more item off the bucket list) AND I figured out how to add a video to the blog. Check it out.

He he. I'm so proud of myself.

We went to game 2 of the Pistons which was awesome. Then the Pistons traded Chauncey and McDyess for Iverson. I see that it is good for the Pistons especially next year when they will have a ton more money, but at the same time, I’m not sure he is a good fit. They look like a completely different team without Chauncey and so far they are playing pretty crappy with Iverson. He’s kind of a ball hog. We also went to the Michigan State vs. Purdue game (this is after the breakdown) which was cold but awesome. Then, Iowa beat Penn State, so if Michigan State beats Penn State (and Ohio State loses) then they could be big 10 champs and also go to the Rose Bowl. SWEET!! Go Green!! We also went to the Last Comic Standing show here in Michigan and saw the 5 finalists from the last season. Fun stuff.

Now let’s talk about my big emotional breakdown I had. I think I have these breakdowns because of the fact that I have such a good attitude about everything all the time. I have small amounts of negativity through all of this but I don’t acknowledge it. Those small amounts of negativity have to go somewhere and I think they sneak into my subconscious. They all hang out together and figure out a little plan of attack to be released all at once when the opportunity presents itself. I am not a crier when I get sad or scared for the most part. When do I cry??? I cry when I get angry, frustrated and just plain mad. If I feel like I have been wronged and am being treated unjustly, then, all of that negativity that has been congregating in my subconscious sneaks out and then the meltdown happens.

Background story: I have a tooth that broke (almost in half) eating a peanut M&M when I was 18 years old. Go figure a peanut M&M could do that. I had a filling on that tooth then another filling and then had to get a crown because the fillings kept falling out. I got that crown fixed because it didn’t fit and then this crown broke a couple months ago. I went to a new dentist to get it fixed, but Insurance only covers the new crowns every 5 years. Of course, it was right under 5 years since I got the last one so I had to pay the full $1,200 for my new crown. Then (as you might remember from my journal) I had the worst tooth pain in my life and I had to get a root canal on that same tooth a week later. (misdiagnosis??)

I went to the oral surgeon referred to me and asked their price on root canals. Then, I called my insurance company and asked what they covered of that price which was 80%. So I paid $240 (my 20%) that day and got the root canal. Then, I get a bill in the mail a week ago saying that insurance didn’t cover the rest and I still owe $450. WTF?? So, I called the office and they said insurance only pays a set amount on root canals (obviously they think root canals should cost less) and they only pay 80% of that charge. Not what I was told. The lady from the surgeon’s office was really short and rude to me like I didn’t do something right and this surprise was my fault. What else could I have done to prevent this?

So, I have paid $100 twice for fillings, $500 twice for the crown (when insurance covered them) $1,200 for the latest crown, $240 for the root canal and now I need to pay an additional $450 for the root canal. I still haven’t gotten the hole on the crown from the root canal filled. I feel like I am being ripped off and I didn’t want to give anyone any more business until I feel like all these charges are fair. So I still have a hole in my tooth to be filled and who knows what that will cost. This tooth has cost me $3090 already. This is what it cost to someone who HAS insurance. Crazy huh? I would have just pulled it out of my mouth if I had known it would be that much.

So, I called Kevin to tell him about this situation and I ended up starting to cry. Then the floodgates opened and I was getting a little hysterical. Then it got into me apologizing for being such a financial burden to us as I was crying uncontrollably. Then it got me going about how stupid my insurance is and how unfair it is and how mean all these people you have to deal with are. “They cannot quote the amount they cover over the phone. If you want to know what they will cover on a procedure you have to fill out a request form and wait for an answer that takes 6-8 weeks” Yeah, because anyone getting a root canal has 8 weeks to wait. You can’t win no matter how diligent you are. I thought I crossed all my T’s and dotted the I’s and I am still getting this surprise bill. It makes me so mad.

As I am getting more and more worked up and crying my brains out of frustration about this situation and my entire health and financial situation altogether I am in the car on my way to get my MRI results and infusion of Zomeda. I’m sitting at a light and as I’m crying to Kevin and…. BOOM!! I get rear ended. Yep, this girl hit me pretty hard. I had bad whiplash. She sees me and thinks I’m crying because she hit me and I am just about as low as you can get now. Then, I had Kevin (who I was on the phone with when I was hit) call the cops because he said I needed to file a police report because my car was running funny and you need a report if you do an insurance claim. The cops came and told me they recommend that I don’t do a report because the accident will show up on my record and my car insurance will go up. It doesn’t really matter anyway because I just changed my car insurance to not include collision because it costs too much to cover the worth of my car. TALK ABOUT IRONY. Great, so now I am screwed by car and dental insurance. ARRRGGH!

One last thing to top it off…I wasn’t supposed to have a root canal while being on Zomeda because I could get such a bad infection that my jaw could essentially rot and I would have to get it all dug out and have my entire jaw reconstructed. (Worst case scenario) The surgeon didn’t tell me anything about this and I went and had a Zomeda infusion after the root canal. (Supposed to wait 3 months before and after) I know you are all thinking that a malpractice claim will fix all my problems, but that’s not my style. I will talk to him and make sure he understands what happened. I had an X-ray today to make sure I don’t have an infection in my jaw. We’ll see. Maybe we can come to an agreement that involves a $0 balance on my current bill.

Okay and here is the bottom of the negativity sandwich. More positive.
Since then, I brought this issue up at the Rack Pack meeting and we devised a plan of action to deal with these bills, make some calls and not have another emotional breakdown. I had the X-Ray today and hopefully the results are good. I’ll let you know how all this crapola works out. I got some important blood tests back (CA2729) and they went down (down is good) 30 points to 335. I had a MRI and everything looks stable. Can’t be upset with those results. I feel fine. Last happy news, today I knocked off a few items from my bucket list. I got a cool video on Youtube. I reconnected with an old friend from childhood. Lastly, I sent the check to pay for our tickets to my 10 year high school reunion. AND I am in the process of scouting out the right dance class to take.

Long entry because I had to rant and haven’t written in a while. I won’t let so much time pass next time. Hope everyone is wonderful and don’t let your dental insurance screw you over.

Insurance tip: ALWAYS ALWAYS – Write down the name and ID number of the person you talked to on the phone every time you are given information about your health insurance. File it exactly where your medical bill will go in the future.

Peace love and no more meltdowns
Shannon