Cigna Came Through

I have been battling with Cigna for almost a year, trying to get them to pay for one of the dexamethasone injections I had back in November of '09.  I had four of these injections in a four-month period of time and they paid for all but one.  The only explanation they could ever give me for denying payment was they wanted to know if I had any other medical insurance.  When I told them no, I do not, and offered to provide them a letter from my employer as proof, I was told that would not be necessary and the claim would be paid.  But it was not!

We are talking about $1600, so I did not, could not, let it go.  As I continued to call Cigna, trying to get to the bottom of this, it lagged on.  Eventually I was told the only way I could get resolution was to file an appeal because it had been more than 365 days since the service date.  Really?!  I call repeatedly for nine months offering any information necessary to get the claim paid and now I have to file an appeal because they can't communicate with each other?

I jumped through the hoops, spent a weekend compiling my notes, writing a summary of the events, and mailed the appeal certified mail.  Then I waited again.

Three weeks later, I got an impersonal statement simply stating the claim has now been paid as if nothing happened.  Of course, I am relieved.  But an brief note of apology would have been nice.  Nearly a year of worrying what we would do if we had to come up with $1600, monthly phone calls to Cigna restating the story, and the inconvenience of going through the appeal process and not a single acknowledgement of their incompentence in handling the claim. 

Well, nonetheless, I am relieved and, of course, grateful for my health insurance and for all Cigna has paid through this ordeal.

Blown Speaker

Last night a good analogy came to me to describe how I now hear.  It is like listening to everything through a pair of speakers where one speaker is working normally (my left ear) and the other speaker is blown and produces a constant hissing, buzzing sound with little to no other useful information coming from it (my right ear).  Just like listening to this pair of speakers, I have to filter everything I hear through this annoying hissing.

I am used to it and most of the time barely notice.  But it is really frustrating to carry on a conversation in a room where several other people are talking or if there's music in the background.

All that being said, still no more vertigo.  So I am happy, happy, happy about that!  Life goes on...

Feeling Better and Better

Just a quick up-date to document for myself, and anyone else who gives a rat's-you-know-what about my ear, how I am doing.

It is now 35 days since my last gent shot and 15 days since my last episode of vertigo.  I am now confident that the gent has done its job once again and I am doing the happy dance!

Based on my previous "successful" gent experience, I know moving forward that I may still experience some woozies from time to time, but I am hopeful this period of relief will be better and longer.  Though as those with MM know, there are no guarantees.

As of the last day or two, the ringing is winding down to a quiet(er) high-pitched hum, the pressure in my ear is all but gone except for a sensation of fluid sloshing around in there when I shake my head, and my hearing is also a bit better.  Nothing is staying the same and nothing is getting worse.  These are all symptoms that contiued to come and go during my last vertigo-free period, so I will expect more of the same this time.  But, assuming more of those little vestibular hair cells were destroyed by the 3rd shot, it's hard to know what to expect.

So I will simply celebrate every day of freedom from spinning... the rest is nothing more than a nuisance.

Frankenstein

The last intratympanic gentamicin injection seems to be doing its job.  No more vertigo!  But part of the recovery process includes compensating for the loss of balance cells in the affected ear.  I am able to function pretty well in well-lit areas, though walking on the curbside of a sidewalk can be tricky.  However, walking in the dark is a whole other animal.  It turns out that, beside the ears, your eyes and body mechanics are the other components of balance (I mean, really - who thinks of this stuff unless it is forced upon you?).  Without a focal point to focus my eyes on, I sway like a drunken sailor in the dark.  To make matters worse, I have plantar faciaitis in my left foot which causes sharp heel pain, especially after a period of rest.

So night before last I get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and as I am bouncing from side to side and limping down the hallway with my arms out in front of me to keep from running into the walls, I realize I must look like Frankenstein's monster after being shot in the foot.  The image of myself as the green-faced goon with the aby-normal brain, or in this case ear and foot, made me LOL! at 3 a.m.  And for the rest of the day, as well.