So Friday everything got squared away as far as my appointment for my MRI goes. I knew I was going to be a pain in the neck for the poor scheduler and I didn't disappoint. Thankfully she was so nice and helpful and when she got to a point that she couldn't answer my (stupid) questions, she got a tech on the line with us who was also super nice and able provide even more details.
First of all, it took a few doses, but my back of the headache went away with the prescription of Fioricet w/Codeine. (Except yesterday it came back, I'll get to that) So I was feeling pretty good. I called Northside to get things scheduled and talked to a very nice lady and explained that I needed to set up an MRI, that she should have the order from my doctor. She did. Then I said that I had made the mistake of googling a closed MRI and that I might be a tad claustrophobic. Well, she said, the facility that the doctor wanted me to go to did not have an open MRI and also she said what I already knew, better pictures come from a closed. I told her that I definitely wanted to try to do the closed but I had a ton of questions and maybe I would feel better and not so nervous (ha, not likely) if I could just get those answered before the appointment date. She said she would do her best to make me feel more at ease. I first asked how long the procedure would last....around 40 minutes was her answer. Ugh, 40 minutes of not moving. Sounds unbearable and I know if I move at all it will just take longer. Ok, moving on. Will my entire body go into the tube thing or just my head, since it is just on my head? She seemed apologetic, but unfortunately most of my body will be going in the tube despite the fact that it is only on my head. Great. Tube-like coffin, here I come. I was pretty much pacing around my room at that point. Was my head going to be in a cage? Was I going to be strapped down? At this point, the poor scheduler didn't know what to say. She said could I hold a second while she got a tech on the line with us? Sure. Another very nice lady joined the line and nice scheduler explained that I was a first time MRI-er and I was a bit nervous. To say the least. Turns out, my head won't be in a cage, but will be in a helmet. Really not that much difference there. Laying on a fluffy pillow would've put me at ease, put in a helmet does nothing but make my blood pressure raise and make me panic. And I haven't even seen it yet. As far as being strapped down. She seemed to consider before answering this. She said they don't have to strap me down, I can just lay there. I seemed to consider before saying they would be seriously sorry if they even tried to strap me down. But I didn't say that. I said that I had read online that a lot of people brought in their own music to listen to and that kept their mind off what was going on...sadly, this is not an option at this facility. But most importantly, what is an option, is me getting a prescription from my doctor for a sedative/medication for anxiety that I can take right before the MRI to help me get through the whole thing. You can bet that I took care of that today. My appointment is for 10am this Wednesday, with my check in time at 9:30am. The closer it gets, the more nervous I get.
And then, today, to add just a little more to my anxiety, I had to deal with the most ridiculous call ever from insurance. Yesterday, my back of the head headache came back. And in the middle of the night last night, it woke me up, felt like a knife going into my head and has felt that way most of today. The prescription was not working at all. And I took two doses so I wasn't sure what to do about it. So I felt terrible. Right before the most annoying call ever, I had a call from a super nice guy at Northside (do they employ all of the nicest people ever or what?!) getting me pre-checked in or whatever and verifying info and oh, yeah the little matter of cost. Turns out an MRI on the brain is the bargain price of $885, just $115 short of my deductible. Oh well. At least they are super nice and only need 1/3 up front and we can pay the rest in payments. I no sooner take care of that then my phone rings again and it is so and so from Blue Cross and he verifies some of my info and then verifies that my doctor (that he named, he didn't ask for his name from me or anything) wants me to have an MRI. Uh, yeah. He goes on to say that while he sees that I am planning on having it at Northside (a place he doesn't know the rating of....meanwhile I am silent, thinking really? Guess he didn't do his homework) and it will cost four to six thousand dollars but I could have it at all these other random top rated places that could only cost four to five hundred dollars (names of places I have not heard of, he might as well said Bob's Drive-Thru MRI's)....I really haven't said anything and have no idea what he wants me to say.....then he is like do I want to schedule it at one of those places?? Um...NO. Also, guy, I JUST got off the phone with Northside and we JUST were told how much it is going to be (not to mention partially paid) and you aren't even close at all with how much you said it is. So he is like, well, no, you will have to pay more than that, and then I say, maybe, but not more than $1000 because that is my deductible. This guy is literally arguing with me and saying that my doctor really doesn't know what he knows (is he kidding me??) and that I can go anywhere to get my MRI and take the CD of images to the doctor (oh, yeah, I am sure that is how it is done....I watch Grey's Anatomy, I have never once seen McDreamy look at a CD of images). I really started to get angry. I said something like "I don't mean to be rude" although I probably didn't care if I was being rude at all, and then I said I know that he is not a doctor so I am going to go wherever my doctor tells me to go for my MRI. And that I know, based on what our coverage is, that we should NOT have to pay more than our deductible because of Northside being one of the covered places to go, etc (I know this because I had my baby at Northside and even though I had to have a c-section, we still only paid the deductible). I also told him that I already was taking medicine to treat migraines that hardly worked because of insurance not covering what the doctor tried to prescribe to me (I think I did a whole post on here about that) and I am already so nervous and scared about this MRI that this is a one time thing (hopefully) and I won't be doing it over, we will be getting the very best pictures possible, so this is it. The guy was just relentless. I was so angry and so fed up that I told him that I didn't care how much it cost, I was not interested in a hole in the wall MRI place. He gave me a phone number and some stupid website to check out in case I changed my mind, which I WON'T, and I finally got him of the phone. Later, when I told Michael, who double checked and verified that we would only have to pay our deductible at most, he said that he thought maybe it was someone Blue Cross would pay a commission to if they could get me to change my mind and go to a cheaper place. Only makes me more annoyed. I just want to call back that number and tell that idiot that no matter how much it costs Blue Cross, we will NOT have to pay a cent more than $1000. But, I will (probably) not do that. Although, the next time I have to deal with insurance, the next one of their 'representatives' that calls me and dares to suggest to me what to do versus what a doctor what told me what to do....heaven help that person.
Anyway, I hope that Wednesday is not as bad as I fear. At least I have two little pills to bring with me that will hopefully take away the majority of my anxiety (or maybe just make me pass out?). I really just want it to be over with. I hope that the doctor is able to find a reason for my headache issues (ones that can be treated, nothing life-threatening, that is an entirely different worry altogether) and can maybe find a way to prevent them from occurring so often.
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