Prescription assistance and hand surgery

Two big things today:

1. Just was informed by my pharmacist (and Healthwell Foundation confirmed) that my benefits for the year have ended. Turns out they only cover about six month's worth of copays for Humira, so now I must seek out another foundation to help with the nearly $300 monthly copay. My doctor is very active with the Humira folks, so he's already on it.
2. Went to see a hand surgeon this morning. He doesn't want to do joint replacement yet, with the possible exception of my right hand thumb. Instead, he wants to start slowly, just removing the nodules on both hands. He says that many people get great results simply from removing those annoying soft-tissue nodules that form all over the hands.

I will undoubtedly have that surgery, and I'll let you know how it goes. He suggests one hand at a time, with about a week's recovery time for each, two weeks before I can get back into the pool for water aerobics. :-( I'm already doing some calendar-checking to see when I can take a week off with no adverse effects to my speaking--I'm a little scared and nervous, but I also know this is a simple procedure and a relatively short recovery time.

In the meantime, I have another appointment with the surgeon next week to look at Xrays of my hands before we dive in.  In the next few days, I'll take pictures of my hands and see if we can get some before-after going. Just understand that this is a bit difficult for me to do--I've taken to hiding my hands in pictures, so posting this will be a bit, er, uncomfortable.

But I do believe that building awareness and community are the best ways to reduce fear and help others take charge of their own health, so I'll just have to get over that, now, won't I?

Comments

[Lee Hopkins]

Okay; you post photos and I'll reciprocate by sharing with you what it's like living with a clinical depression I've had since I was 5 years of age and has made my life a living failure since. I promise that I will keep our mutual challenges something between us, okay? xx

[michael jones]

I just want to say that the water aerobics are something really great! It is real pleasure doing them!

[Susan Diaz]

Hand surgery is done to improve the hand, the wrist and the upper limb functions. The procedure is considered safe still complication may arise like infection, blood clots, loss of feeling or motion, etc, which can be generally treated. By choosing an experienced and a qualified surgeon one can reduce his or her chances of risks. Know more consult here Hand Surgery Westchester, NY