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Finding Money For Endoscopy Test

oaktownboy

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oaktownboy Newbie
oaktownboy
Posted

my insurance will not cover the test and i need to know if there is any state or federal money available for tests like this one

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mmaccartney Explorer
mmaccartney
Posted
my insurance will not cover the test and i need to know if there is any state or federal money available for tests like this one

Why won't they cover it??? If a doctor that is part of their "plan" deems it as medically necesarry, aren't they required to cover it?? (Mine did, but I still had to cough up 20% of the cost as I have an 80/20 plan....)

tiredofdoctors Enthusiast
tiredofdoctors
Posted

Call, complain and B**** like heck. Then write a letter stating that, should there be a significant problem that worsens because they won't cover the necessary testing your doctor requested, you will hold them responsible and will report it to all the news statios and your newpaper. That should do it. Trust me.

floridanative Community Regular
floridanative
Posted

tiredofdoctors is right. Raise total cain until someone gets a grip and lets you have the test. I have come to find out that there is not much worse in our culture than insurance companies. They are the driving force behind all the bad medicine we are all experiencing - from everything to sinus infections to Celiac disease being misdiagnosed.

For my biopsy I was told I had a $250 co-pay but then I switched docs to have the test. New doc says I only have a reg. specialist co-pay. Both my insurance company and the hospital where I had the test say I don't have to pay anything upon arrival, and I only have the $35 co-pay to the doc. This did not seem right so I called my insurance company again and they said since I'm now having the test in the hospital, I had no co-pay. So now three months later I get a bill for $250 co-pay. Oh and of course I have already paid the doc $35 and I had to have the test at 1 pm when I felt like jerking my iv out to drink it and was starving. All this to save $250.....which of course I didn't save and apparently, this way I'm paying $285 when you include the doc's co-pay. How people who own insurance companies sleep at night - I'll never know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry:

cultureslayer Rookie
cultureslayer
Posted

IF it's just to confirm the diagnosis, I've skipped it. I work in a medical field and I don't trust doctors. They give me enough crap when I'm awake, no way they are putting me under for anything less than major surgery.

tiredofdoctors Enthusiast
tiredofdoctors
Posted

As far as being put to sleep, they didn't give me enough "juice" -- I was awake for the endoscopy and the colonscopy -- including polyp removal. I kept moaning to try to tell them that I could feel it -- they saw me watching it on the television screen :huh:

When it was over, I quoted exactly what the doctor said. The one nurse looked at the other and said, "She wasn't out NEARLY as much as we thought she was." DUH . . . . Didn't the sounds I made each time he cut give them a hint????? <_<

cultureslayer Rookie
cultureslayer
Posted

Yeah, I am one of those people that require an exceptional amount of anesthesia (my body processes it quickly obviously). I could definitely see that happening to me.

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tiredofdoctors Enthusiast
tiredofdoctors
Posted

That was the THIRD time it has happened to me. One time, it was when I was medically paralyzed, and I couldn't move anything to tell them that I was AWAKE! Yuck. I really didn't like that too much.

cultureslayer Rookie
cultureslayer
Posted

Ugh. I always tell them (even when I'm going in for a filling) that I'm hard to anesthetize and will take more than they think I should. It's also hard to get Drs to take me seriously when I complain of any pain because I don't take motrin. It takes about 1.5 to 2x the max suggested dose to do anything worth taking a pill for, and at that point I start to feel strange. Otherwise it just takes the edge off of light soreness.

CMCM Rising Star
CMCM
Posted
my insurance will not cover the test and i need to know if there is any state or federal money available for tests like this one

Is there a particular reason for an endoscopy, other than wanting "to know for sure"??? Why not just handle it yourself by going thru Enterolab....get the full panel gluten sensitivity test for $369 and you'll find out if you have antibody reactions going on, malabsorption, casein sensitivity, and a gene test is thrown in as well. Together with the knowledge you get from this easy to do test, you can then follow the diet for awhile to see how you do. Ultimately, the treatment for this is the diet and the doctors, after spending a ton of your money on all this often-vague and inaccurate testing, will just tell you to go on a gluten free diet and that's that. They're rarely any help in that part of things. For myself, I saw no reason whatsoever to support an inept and clueless medical system with lots of my hard earned $$$.....far more than the $369 I spent at Enterolab, that's for sure. I learned what I wanted to know very easily and cheaply. If you read this board thoroughly, you will find a LOT of people who went the traditional clueless doctor route and spent a LOT of money, time and continued suffering, only to eventually in desperation go to Enterolab to get their answers. By the way, you can bet $$ that your doctor will know nothing about Enterolab. Doctors aren't very cutting edge in most cases. If they haven't personally had experience with a condition, then in their minds it might not exist. Go to www.enterolab.com and do some reading....lots of information there about their testing and ideas about celiac disease.

oaktownboy Newbie
oaktownboy
Posted
  • Author

i have been on the gluten free diet for a couple months now and i keep getting worse and worse. my intestinal problems continue..i have no hope left..that's why i need the test..

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    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens.  I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium.  I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells.  When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly.  This is safe and nontoxic.  Vitamin D level should be above 70 nmol/L.  Lifeguards and indigenous Pacific Islanders typically have levels between 80-100 nmol/L.   Levels lower than this are based on amount needed to prevent disease like rickets and osteomalacia. We need more thiamine when we're physically ill, emotionally and mentally stressed, and if we exercise like an athlete or laborer.  We need more thiamine if we eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates.  For every 500 kcal of carbohydrates, we need 500-1000 mg more of thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  If there's insufficient thiamine the carbs get stored as fat.  Again, recommended levels set for thiamine are based on minimum amounts needed to prevent disease.  This is often not adequate for optimum health, nor sufficient for people with absorption problems such as Celiac disease.  Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts.  Adding a B Complex and additional thiamine improves health for Celiacs.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine helps the mitochondria in cells to function.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins.  They are all water soluble and easily excreted if not needed. Interesting Reading: Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/ Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34857184/ High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766160/ Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/ Vitamins and Celiac Disease: Beyond Vitamin D https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11857425/ Investigating the therapeutic potential of tryptophan and vitamin A in modulating immune responses in celiac disease: an experimental study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40178602/ Investigating the Impact of Vitamin A and Amino Acids on Immune Responses in Celiac Disease Patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814138/
    • Jane02
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Jane02 · Posted

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @Jane02,  I take Naturewise D 3.  It contains olive oil.   Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets.  Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking.  Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the jar, and thus may be irritating to the digestive system. I avoid supplements made with soy because many people with Celiac Disease also react to soy.  Mixed tocopherols, an ingredient in Thornes Vitamin D, may be sourced from soy oil.  Kirkland's has soy on its ingredient list. I avoid things that might contain or be exposed to crustaceans, like Metagenics says on its label.  I have a crustacean/shellfish/fish allergy.  I like Life Extension Bioactive Complete B Complex.  I take additional Thiamine B 1 in the form Benfotiamine which helps the intestines heal, Life Extension MegaBenfotiamine. Thiamine is needed to activate Vitamin D.   Low thiamine can make one feel like they are getting glutened after a meal containing lots of simple carbohydrates like white rice, or processed gluten free foods like cookies and pasta.   It's rare to have a single vitamin deficiency.  The water soluble B Complex vitamins should be supplemented together with additional Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine and Thiamine TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) to correct subclinical deficiencies that don't show up on blood tests.  These are subclinical deficiencies within organs and tissues.  Blood is a transportation system.  The body will deplete tissues and organs in order to keep a supply of thiamine in the bloodstream going to the brain and heart.   If you're low in Vitamin D, you may well be low in other fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Have you seen a dietician?
    • Scott Adams
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product. 
    • trents
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By trents · Posted

      Contact them.
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