Rant-Money

I cannot deal with the cost of this disease anymore.

My dad got laid off and I can't find full time work with benefits, so my insurance is out of pocket. The first 3 months of asacol I took, I paid full price for the script. 400/month for a college student, and I was paying rent at that time two.

I currently work for ten dollars an hour, and drive an hour and a half each way to get to my job because I can't find anything closer. I mean, I got rejected from a waittressing position at a chain sit down restaurant. My job does not pay benefits and it's seasonal and ends the end of next week. I've had to pay for grad school applications, a new (used) car, and student loans. My other loan has it's first payment due this month.

And to top it all off my GI's office is billing me nearly 400 dollars, for what I don't even know. They said I signed an agreement giving them permission to charge me if I didn't pay them, but I never received an invoice or a phone call from them. I have no idea what to do about this.

I just can't afford anything right now, and I see all the people I know who graduated even 2 years ago living on their own, married, etc while I'm stuck living in my parents basement and I STILL barely have enough to pay my bills (and pretty soon I WONT have enough money). And every time I feel like I can start saving money, something like this hits me. Grad school aps. A speeding ticket. A charge from my GI's office. Whatever. It's always something.

At this point, if I don't find another job soon I don't know how I'm going to avoid bankruptcy.

Go to a GP for your meds, get your meds for free. When you get in a better situation you can change things.

You're the one doing virology/epidemology (or something along those lines, right?). If so, I'm like 99% sure that when you get into grad school and are on an assistantship, you'll have insurance. Granted, it isn't always the best policy in the world, but at least it's insurance. So, just do your best to keep afloat until then!

Interesting. Everyonee I know is in their 30s and in the same exact situation you are in. I hope you pull yourself out quickly. The economy is bad right now, everyones pockets are tight. 

Are you eligible for P&Gs patient assistance program?

http://www.pgpharma.com/patient_assistance.shtml

I don't keep mentioning it for fun... It is an AMAZING program and has saved me from illness.

Worst case scenerio, order from Canada. it's a lot cheaper there and generics are available. I've been taking Ipocol. It works the same as Asacol.

People expect that they are on their feet when they are in their 20s but reality is that most people are not.

Malkavian...As others have said, take a look at patient assistance programs. Also, if you can't pay the $400 to the GI then speak to your doctor or the clinic admin about it.

Everything is negotiable, and often in these kinds of situations people are willing to give you some sort of a break. And while your waiting for a patient assistance program to come through you can also ask for some med samples from your doctor to get you through till then.

This disease can be very expensive, especially without insurance. But this is also just a crazy time for many people given how bad the economy is, so hang in there and keep looking for the right job or grad school and you'll get through it sooner than you know.

Just an idea - not sure if anyone suggested it - try the OTC probiotics.  Align works great for me - was the first thing I took for diarrhea and it worked.  It is about $28 a month.  Worth trying!

ElaineNY

Too bad you can't get a job as a yougurt tester, because then eating yogurt WOULD be your job. ;)
teehee at my *bad* joke

I wish my job was to be paid for my posts on Healingwell.com. Just give me a couple of bucks for each post from now on and I could save some serious cash. Just a thought.