A Tad Angry

Medical insurance companies must have a lot of fun messing with people. They always seem to have a legitimate reason for why something isn’t covered. I always hang up wondering, “Well, just what IS covered then? With all the money I am paying, I’d assume something like this would be covered!”

I was completely prepared to have my angiogram Tuesday morning. We’d arranged for a baby sitter for the kids, I had work on standby in case I wouldn’t make it in, and I had filled out the questionnaire they needed. Then the phone rang ….

Monday at 3pm, I got a call from the hospital saying that my procedure had been cancelled. The reason? My insurance company would not authorize it. The hospital told me that the ordering doctor was not available to talk with the insurance company, so it was cancelled. (My doc is out for a couple weeks for a medical procedure.)

I called my doctor’s office, knowing that another doctor was filling in for mine. I explained that I needed the doctor to do a “peer to peer” with the insurance company to get the authorization. I was scurrying around making calls to insurance, to the hospital and my doctor’s office. In the end, the doctor was able to get ahold of the insurance company, however, they said they would not authorize the angiogram until I did the stress test.

The stress test is tomorrow. I have no idea what it is going to show, but I got an email today saying that I could schedule (REschedule) the angiogram, and if they felt like I didn’t need it, they’d cancel it. Well, obviously, my doctor seemed to think that I needed it. Since when do they get to decide what tests I need and don’t need? It’s ridiculous!

As angry as I am, I will wait patiently….

The Heart of the Matter

You may recall that I had a little trip to the ER recently.  Well, after my week off I had a visit with my primary care doctor to follow up. 

I was cleared to go back to work and I really have not had any issues.  She ordered two tests for me – an angiogram and a stress test. Those will happen next week.

While at the hospital they ran the enzyme tests to see if I had a heart attack, but they were negative.  However, the baby aspirin and nitro that the EMS crew gave me may have stopped something according to doctors. 

My angiogram was scheduled on a day that I was supposed to speak in front of a class of EEG students.  When I called the director to see if we could reschedule the talk, I explained what happened. 

Her background is in cardiology.  She told me that based on what happened, it could be something ischemic.  If you are unfamiliar with that:

Ischemic heart disease (IHD), also known as coronary artery disease (CAD) or coronary heart disease (CHD), is a condition where the heart muscle doesn’t receive enough blood and oxygen. This typically happens due to plaque buildup (atherosclerosis) in the coronary arteries, which narrows them and restricts blood flow to the heart

Dizziness and sweating are symptoms. I experienced both before going to the ER.    Lightheadedness is also a symptom and I get that on occasion. So it makes sense.

From all I have read on an angiogram, if there is any type of blockage they will place a stent in during the same procedure.  I have a feeling this may happen.

There is some cardiac history in my family.  My maternal grandfather died of a heart attack and my father has a stent.  During that procedure we found out he had actually had a couple small heart attacks and he didn’t even know he had them.

Either way, my stress test will happen a couple days after the angiogram.  One way or another, they should be able to tell if there is an issue with my ticker.

To say that the incident was a wake up call is an understatement.  The day after, I rejoined Weight Watchers.  Something I should have done a while ago.  I’m two weeks in and down 11 pounds.  I really hope to stay focused and have better success this time around.

I will keep you posted.