Having Rheumatoid Arthritis we know is devastating but the financial burden of it can also be devastating. The quiet truth of how so many suffer through the financial burden of trying to reach a bearable goal of living without pain and it’s no fault of our own.
As I blogged before, we are forever going through changes, constantly changing medications trying to get the right fix for ourselves. The fix that will allow us to live a life that is as bearable as possible is what we are aiming for BUT at what cost. A cost medically we can’t afford to ignore.
Medications we know we need. Our lives are filled with doctor appointments, to your rheumatologist or primary care physician but then there maybe physical therapy that is needed or a specialist or two. With those visits comes the co-pays and maybe co-pays for medications that you may need. You see sometimes we have more than we can keep up with. Should I also mention the special supplies we may need along the way to help with our care, to help with relief from pain or maybe with straightening of our joints or just to get around at all. These are all part of what makes our lives possible. These are the things needed to combat this disease. This is why we may suffer the financial consequences for our abilities to do more for ourselves.
Still the list goes on. Now there’s the unexpected financial burden that hits us all. It may hit some some harder than others. For some there is a need for special services i.e. mri, cat scans to name a couple which can lead to surgery. Unplanned surgeries on our hips, shoulders, feet, knees or hands. The out-of-pocket expenses that comes with hospital stays and surgeries can be astronomical. It can be really difficult and stressful just knowing this but when you have no insurance, limited insurance and even when you are fully insured it still takes its toll. So much to undertake and too much to deal with as we watch those expected and unexpected expenses grow all while fighting this terrible disease. All while fighting to make our lives better through this whole process.
The unfortunate thing is so many are forced to forfeit proper care or care at all because of limited finances which is more than just saying it’s unfair. With this disease, no one can afford not to get care due to the terrible effects of being left untreated. Everyone deserves the best, so as it stands, we also bear the burden of coping with this dreadful disease while dealing with the financial responsibility of this dreadful disease.
We should not have to put aside our health because we cannot afford to take care of it nor should we have to worry about what the cost of being pain-free will be either. It is what we work so hard for and that is being pain-free. But being financially free for some of us is a goal that’s almost as unreachable as being forever pain-free.
Are you worried about and thinking about the debt this disease is causing you and leaving you in? Just one more awful part of Rheumatoid Arthritis, a part that isn’t seen by most (like our disease in some instances) but is still very much a part of who we are.
Be Blessed
photo credit: petelinforth/pixabay
diamondmack
RA AND THE FAMILY FIT 
November 16, 2015 at 5:05 pm
Although I am 35, my husband and I prepare for disability. It may be in 10 years, but it’s slowly coming closer and closer everyday. It’s a huge financial burden.
November 16, 2015 at 5:11 pm
I know it is. My husband works and I’m retired but I hear how bad it can be with medicare trying to get approved and when you do the out of pocket expenses are high especially hospital visits. Thanks again for your support.