New and Scared

[Christrd]

Hey guys. I know I havent given much of an update since last time. I did call the Dr. and went to the emergency room. But all they did was keep me there for 15 hrs. and they gave me Tylenol for joint pain. Finaly a real DR. showed up and said that I needed to be put on Ritoxin. Well, that did't go well. My body rejected the ritoxin. So.... they do not know what to do next. Me neather. Oh and top it off, my insurance found out I have a medical condition now so they cant cover me. Talk about kicking a guy when hes down.
So... my question is..... now what?

[Lightwarrior]

Oh and top it off, my insurance found out I have a medical condition now so they cant cover me. Talk about kicking a guy when hes down.
So... my question is..... now what?

Appeal the decision of your insurance company. Write and call your elected offcials, tell them you need pre-existing part of health care reform to be effective now not later. I'm sorry.

[JanW]

I agree with Lightwarrior and would add that you should contact the Vasculitis Foundation. Particularly since they are having their conference right in your backyard this summer, they may be able to hook you up with a doctor there. I would assume the next option for you would be cytoxin if your case is serious enough that this drug can't be avoided. I'm sorry this is happening to you, but you should definitely pursue your insurance company -- I'd bet they will cave if you are persistent enough. Document everything -- time, date of your call, person you talked to, and also see whether your rheumy can advocate on your behalf. Don't give up -- you are young and you can fight this!

[Sangye]

Christian, I'm sorry you're going through this. What do you mean your body "rejected the rituxan?" Do you mean you had an allergic reaction to it? If so, they should give you "pre-meds" of 100mg IV solumedrol (IV form of pred) to prevent that. They often also give benadryl. The hit of pred is absolutely necessary or your body will naturally have an allergic reaction to the genetically-engineered antbody. Even with the proper pre-meds, some people react and require more pred and/or benadryl to tolerate the ritux (these are usually called rescue-meds). It's very rare for someone not to be able to tolerate it with pre-meds and rescue-meds, but it happens. The risk of that is higher the more you get ritux, though--not as much for first-timers.

You have got to get a Wegs doc on your case. While I'm glad someone in the ER figured out to try rtx, Wegs can't be treated with ER docs.

As far as your insurance, assuming they sent you a letter, have it ready when you call California's Insurance Commissioner. They can determine if your company was allowed to resciind the policy or not. Starting this year, they'll be barred from dropping coverage when you get sick, but I don't know the effective date for that. It shouldn't be too hard to find out.

[Lightwarrior]

If you need support, I will be happy to make phone calls, emails on your behalf. Let me know what you need.