Kacy

Kay, I can't imagine how frustrated you must be with all of the run around from your new dr's office. It seems like no one knows how to do their job anymore, and it's up to the patient or client to do it for them. I have a friend with a lot of medical issues and she's constantly having to go to one specialist or another. She is forever having to straighten something out - either the wrong date for the appt, a test not being ordered, the test results not getting to the dr, etc. She always brings copies of her bloodwork or other test results along with her to the followup visit because the dr who ordered the testing either didn't get them or can't find them. I have to say that our experience with Medicare for my husband was totally opposite of yours. Pretty much no issues with anything. I know that different parts of the country have different plans available, but his was the traditional Medicare. I don't know if that makes a difference or not. We were very fortunate. It was stressful enough dealing with his medical issues, let alone having to deal with approvals, billing, etc.

Kay, I didn't even think about the inhaler because you had mentioned at first you thought it was an allergy to the spices in the one product. But then I remembered my husband having the same issue with an inhaler. I guess it can be a common side effect. I can't remember which inhaler it was because it seems like they were always trying out new ones. But it did help him when he switched to another one. Also, they told him to rinse his mouth after using any inhaler (which you probably already know and do) and also the pharmacist said a "spacer" might help. Just wanted to pass along in case it might help.

Yes, it would help if they actually knew what they were doing. I think most of us here are stressed enough without any more added in. I actually had a dream the other night that I was sitting in a restaurant and an old friend and her husband were sitting at the table next to me. We both got up at the same time to say hi and I just automatically gave her a hug. I could feel her kind of pull back and then I remembered - we aren't allowed to hug anymore! That's pretty sad, as far as I'm concerned. Now, I do believe in being aware and careful, but I'm not afraid of every person I pass at the store, thinking they must have the virus. Obviously, I don't want to be around someone coughing all over everyone. But they shouldn't be out in public anyway. I think most of us here would agree that this would all be a lot easier to deal with if we still had our spouses here.

I agree that the masks are definitely a controversial subject. Personally, I only wear one because we have to. I do believe the virus is real. I just don't believe it's as bad as we are being told it is. I think the liberal media is to blame for the constant attempts at instilling fear in everyone and also for not reporting any opinions that don't go along with their agenda. There are many, many experts that do not agree with Fauci and his buddies. I think keeping us all isolated has had a worse effect than the virus itself.

B12 shots might be covered under Part B. Maybe look into that.

Good thing you had made arrangements for someone to drive you home. I can't believe they thought you could drive. And then to have to sit over 2 hrs in a paper gown. I hope you're doing as well as can be expected. I know you mentioned before about someone helping you. I hope she's able to do that. Sure is hard not to have our guys around when we need them....

I'm in a similar situation as you, Karen. I'm lucky to get reimbursed for my premiums by my former employer. My husband's company also gave a contribution towards his healthcare when he retired. Since his health wasn't good when he went onto Medicare, we choose the best Medicare plan that paid pretty much everything. Even with his many doctor visits, CT scans, MRIs, chemo treatment and two stays in ICU, we didn't have to pay a thing. My premiums have only gone up probably less than $20 a month for my Medicare supplement in the last 4 years. We have an Area on Agency group that is part of our state health insurance agency. They hold Medicare seminars this time of year and explain a lot of the options. It was always at a nice restaurant and included a free lunch, which was nice. What I liked about it was that since they don't sell insurance, they have no reason to sway you one way or another. You could make an appt to talk to them privately to choose a plan. They also would go over your list of medications and help you choose a prescription plan. You can do that on the Medicare website also, where you enter your prescriptions and it shows you the total yearly cost for the plan. So, you're not just comparing the monthly premiums. It can be overwhelming when you start getting all of those ads in the mail this time of year, including ads from people who will profit from selling you a particular plan.

Kay, I thought the insurance companies were required by law to notify you in the Fall about any changes. I know we always receive a letter stating any changes. It's hard enough wading thru all of this stuff without them then changing things up again. What a mess!

Gwen, I understand. It's hard enough to make decisions without the added stress of it being close to a date filled with so many memories. If you're happy with Premera, I would ask them about a medigap plan to help cover the 20% that the rest doesn't cover and also about the prescription plan.

Gwen, Ask about Plan G or Plan N. The plans are all the same no matter which insurance co you go with, but the cost will be different and the yearly increases will be different. I don't think all plans are available everywhere. If you go to Medicare.gov and put in your zip code and age, it will show what plans are available. If you click on "compare to other plans" in one of the plan descriptions, it will bring up a chart that shows the different plans and what they cover. That way you can see what each plans covers. My husband had Plan F, which covered everything but is the most expensive and not available to everyone anymore. I think Plan G is the next best. We decided to pay more monthly rather than worry about ending up having to pay a lot later. Here is the link for the medigap plans: https://www.medicare.gov/medigap-supplemental-insurance-plans/#/m?lang=en. If you call your state office of insurance, they should be able to give you the premiums for each plan available thru each insurance company.

Most doctors in our area accept Medicare, so that's one reason why we choose the original plan as opposed to an Advantage plan. Which plan you choose for your supplement really makes a big difference. Of course, the better the plan the higher the cost. Since my husband went to the doctor a lot, we choose Plan F for him and they basically paid for everything. Even with all of the MRIs and CT scans and even chemo treatments, we paid nothing. His premium was around $200 a month though. I know some of the Advantage plans have zero premium. Most of the original Medicare plans don't include a prescription plan. It's really important to check every year to make sure your particular prescriptions are covered by your plan and also are in the same tier. They sometimes drop medications or move them to a higher tier. Around Sept or Oct, they are required to send out a letter explaining any changes to the plan for the next year.

Gwen, I don't post here often but I wanted to ask if you were aware that there is help available in each state to help with choosing the best Medicare plan for you. I know you mentioned meeting with someone but wanted to post this in case you weren't aware. If I remember right, you mentioned you live in Washington. They should offer some help in choosing either the original Medicare plan or an Advantage plan. Also, they should be able to advise on choosing a prescription plan, if you don't go with an Advantage plan. What I was told is that it's better to go with the original Medicare plan and a supplement rather than an Advantage plan, but generally costs more in premiums. There are some restrictions with switching between the two. With the original Medicare plan, you can go to any dr who accepts Medicare as opposed to the Advantage plans where I believe you can only go to their drs. Here is the link: https://www.insurance.wa.gov/get-free-unbiased-medicare-counseling-your-area. Mary

Gwen, I'm so sorry. I hope you and Ally are both doing better this evening. As if the nights are bad enough - now something to make them even worse. I hope the meds help her and you both get a good night's sleep. And this on top of the anniversary date, I'm sure, was very difficult. Hugs to you... Mary

Kay, What a pain to have to deal with ins stuff, especially a mess from a few years ago. I find I don't have much patience for things like that anymore. I wonder if the Dept of Insurance in your state could help. Seems like they're not making it easy to get it straightened out.

Gwen and Marj, you are both in my prayers. I hope that things start to go better soon. It's so hard to deal with these things without our husbands. Will be thinking of you both. MLG, I don't really understand all of the breathing/oxygen issues when someone has copd, but I know that turning up the oxygen isn't always a good idea. What I don't understand is why the drs and nurses don't seem to know that. Before my husband passed away, they kept turning it up and when I questioned the fact that his 02 level was at 100% and wasn't that a concern for someone with copd, they said no, it was good. Mary

So, he had bitten before? I wondered about that, but thought the owner would have at least told you beforehand. That was really irresponsible on her part. If I had a dog that had a bite history, I think I would keep him pretty close to home and not put him in a position to possibly injure someone else. Hope you're doing okay. Mary

I've been a dog lover all of my life too and as I've gotten older, I find I'm a little leery of a lot of dogs - even ones that don't appear to be aggressive. Guess I've heard too many stories about incidents like this.

Oh Kay, I'm so sorry. I hope you're okay. I thought it was wonderful that you were able to spend time with him and how great it was that he had someone to walk him. I can see where you wouldn't be able to trust him again. It's so hard to know why animals do things sometimes. I'm sorry for both of you.

Sometimes the rescues have volunteers closer to you that can do a home visit. Or they network with other rescues. When I adopted one of my setters from a national ES rescue, they had a volunteer from Brittany Spaniel rescue do the home visit because she lived nearby.

Have you tried rescueme.org? Some of these writeups state they are calmer: http://husky.rescueme.org/Oregon#all1 Of course, "calmer" might mean calmer for a husky. My English Setters are active and they're 9 and 10. I know I'll probably not have another setter when they're gone - unless it's a very calm one, which is kind of rare. As for the pit bulls, I have nothing against them, but I do the people that continue to breed them. It is a major problem when so many shelters are full of them. Also, I would try to find a rescue group (not a shelter or humane society) to adopt from. Nothing against shelters, but I think for the most part, rescues keep their dogs in foster homes longer so know more about them before they adopt them out. Most rescues get dogs from the shelter, so they say you're saving 2 - the one from the rescue and then the next one that they now have room for in the foster's home. The only problem with rescues is that they sometimes seem to be a pain with wanting to do home visits, etc. Some really go overboard, IMO, but I do understand where they would want to make sure the dog is going to a good home because they put their heart and soul into the dogs.

Kay, Have you looked on Petfinder to find rescues closer to you? I think they still list shelters and rescues by area. If you could find a dog you're interested in that is living in a foster home, you'd be able to find out if he/she is good with cats and get answers to most other questions you might have. I know around here, most of our shelters are full of pit bulls also. It's pretty sad.

I really understand people not calling because that can be kind of awkward, and I'm sure they don't know what to say. I'm really okay with that. Don't want to be asked to go to lunch anyway, because I just don't feel like it at this point. But to not even send an email to just say hi and ask how I'm doing? Or even send a card in the mail? That I don't understand.

Kay, Yes, they were all 4 Cavaliers. I knew before adopting them about the heart problems, but didn't realize how quickly it would take them and how young they would be when we lost them. We had two dogs before them - one with kidney disease and one who was diabetic. We managed their diseases for quite a few years. So, that's what I was expecting with the heart issues. When you said about Arlie being attacked by other dogs and not fighting back, that's pretty much the way they were. So gentle and sweet. Made their suffering even harder to accept. I know what you mean about things being meant to share. It seems like all of the places we went just wouldn't be the same going by myself. Or even going with a friend. It's just all different now.

Jackie, I so understand everything you are saying. I started really questioning my faith when we lost one of our dogs 5 years ago. She was only 7, and we had only had her for two years. We loved her dearly. We knew the breed had heart issues but never expected to lose her at such a young age. She died in my husbands arms. The following year, we lost two others - both to heart disease. One died in my arms on the way to the ER. The other died in our home after bringing her back from the ER. A year later, we lost the last of the original 4 that we had adopted of that breed. And now, I have lost my husband. I've lost them all within 5 years time. I was the same way as you. I was happy just to be here spending time with them. Other than our grown kids, it was just us. And now they're all gone. I can't understand why it had to happen. Why any of them had to suffer like they did. The other day, my son and I went to dinner. I saw 2 couples from church that are probably ten years older than me. Not that I would wish anything bad on them, but I wonder why we didn't get those extra years. It's so hard to understand and accept. Like everyone else, almost all of the people who were around right after the funeral are no longer in contact with me. I understand their lives have gone on, but some I've never heard from since the funeral. Not even an email. When I sent a family member a note the other day wishing her happy birthday, she asked me if I've been staying busy. Stay busy doing what? The person I did everything with is gone. Right now, I'm lucky to do the things I have to do. I have no ambition to do anything else most of the time. Could they possibly think that life has just gone on for me? Mary

Kay, It's so hard when we've put everything we have into caring for someone, and then they are gone. I've spent hours and hours researching whatever disease or illness my husband had or my dogs had. And then when they passed away, I didn't know what to do with myself. Our lives revolved around them, and now there is nothing for us to do. There is no purpose any more. Somehow, I guess we need to find something to fill that void, but I'm not sure how to do that. Nothing else seems important. In time, you will bring another dog into your life. I think you're like me - you need a dog in your life. I hate to admit that I kind of rushed into getting another dog after we lost our last female Cavalier, Molly. She is probably part Cavalier and while she is a great dog, she doesn't have the personality of my other dogs. But she was very close to my husband, so that was a good thing. With Allie, it was just like you - love at first site. You'll find the right one when you're ready. I think I may have posted this years ago when I lost my little Allie, my heart dog, but wanted to post again. I think it says it all.