My blood chemistry and cell counts are still iffy, but they’ve improved, presumably by not taking the meds suspected in contributing to the condition. The over all condition is called hemochromatosis w/complications, and in my case it’s a serious version; they’ve told me to have two pints of blood removed asap, it has to be done on a lab/outpax facility while wearing a pressure cuff to make sure it doesn’t get too low. Sooner or later though, I have to take these meds or something like them.
So, with all that, the recent heart attack and the mild pneumonia, and the lingering chance there could be a serious marrow or lymph issue going on as yet undetected, I was able to get CIGNA to generate a short term disability case number and begin that process. Which may or may not be approved, meaning I’ll have to fight for it, again. If it gets approved in the end, I assume my job and health benefits are safe for the duration of recovery, plus I’ll get some STD pay. If not, I’ll be tossed to the curb by my employer in the midst of all this shit while pretty close to dead broke. Hoping for the best and just knowing I probably don’t have cancer makes it much more bearable.
Man, that sucks — being sick like that! I really hope you are able to handle the blood-removal and that it helps a lot. Also hope for no complications from the drugs, and that you quickly get declared disabled, and get benefits soon. Please ask for donations if you think that would make a difference.
Please keep us informed on what happens.
What? Someone is willing to pay you to get STDs?
Good luck to you and I hope it all goes much better than you expect. As a canuck, I cant fathom a system where you can get fired just for getting sick. As bad as I think your health care crisis is, I think you’re “at will” employment is probably a bigger travesty. Sorry to go political on you.
As an American, I can’t either. In fact, I’m reasonably certain it’s illegal. That, of course, doesn’t stop companies from doing it every damn day.
Hemochromatosis? Hereditary hemochromatosis? Did you have genetic testing for that? And what complications? What is your ferritin? Because hemochromatosis generally doesn’t cause changes to the blood counts. You would need weekly phlebotomy for many weeks to get hemochromatosis under good control. It’s not an ASAP/STAT sort of condition; it’s a chronic condition that develops slowly.
Hi,
You didn’t accept my teeny donation through Paypal. O.k., it’s barely enough for a sandwich, but please accept it anyway.
Still rooting 4 u.
You’ve lost a lot of weight recently. Maybe your marrow is still making enough homoglobin for that larger body.
Maybe Reg. I’ve read some on it, this is simplistic but basically, it sounds like there’s two extremes on the spectrum: there’s one version where a person retains a little more iron than they should and that can be serious, but it’s also fairly well understood and can be treated managed with known reliable methods. There’s a more extreme version where iron from the marrow or organs or somewhere seems to be leaching into the blood, that can be less treatable, it can ultimately require transfusions, and it can eventually lead to fatal complications.