Overload

Today... Not good.
Very overwhelmed with financial situation. Lots of important things pressing my "I am going to freak out" button. Which consequently sends my body into a MS meltdown. The anxiety and stress feeds MS. It is amazing to me how my physical body shuts down when there is too much mental stress. And my mental functioning shuts down when I have too much physical stress. It is obvious now why they say stress is the worst thing for MS. Yet with an MS diagnosis and having your life as you have known it come to a complete halt, that alone is upsetting. Add your new sudden financial crisis. You can't work, you can barely walk, you have pain , confusion and loss of memory. You are on medications that have exhausting side effects.  You realize it is a fight to get ahold of needed doctors, a fight to be actually heard by them and taken seriously, a fight with insurance issues, a fight to get the help you need, your fight is to constantly prove your condition in a society that doubts you first. Keep in mind your fatigue and symptoms only worsen with each added stress. But stress is what you should avoid to manage MS. What a crappy card this disease dishes out. This isn't a pityparty but rather me putting my feelings into words so that maybe later I can disect each worry/problem into a solution. I get so emotionally caught up with anxiety that I can't think. My ability to multitask is gone. Putting more than one thing on my plate is really hard for me to handle. To remind myself of what the hell I am doing...

SSDI - Trying to say the right things to help get benefits. They say if approved i would get $825 a month which would solve most financial problems. Still need to scan and print all medical records and send to social security office before they will make a decision. Thankfully I have been dilligent in keeping anything medical related. After all is received, it takes around five weeks.

Gene Testing - Apparently my insurance would like me to do gene counseling AGAIN but with a counselor of their choice to determine whether or not I need it. Thankfully phone or video interview. I need to fill out my family tree and history of cancer, and that my mom has the BRCA1 cancer gene, meaning I have a 50/50 chance of having it myself. If that does not seem worthy of gene testing I don't know what is.

October 24th

Lyrica - I dropped off a folder to my primary care Dr. Snow with the needed paperwork to apply for free or discounted Lyrica through the manufacturer Pfizer. I filled out my bit, he has to fill out his bit... Sign and fax it. After they receive it it takes 5-6 weeks.

Other resources - Waiting for the financial help information from the National Multiple Sclerosis So iety in the snail mail. Included would be the very few resources available to me in Nevada.
One resource may be assistance with utilities.

Budgeting - I had left budgeting up to James to try to decrease my stress, but that is not working out as we are short on money every month causing worse stress and anxiety than if I had just done it myself. I am going to suck it up, take my anxiety meds and create a better plan for us.

Dog Food - I have yet to apply for assistance for this, but there are resources in my area.