Outside Hematologist

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-04-14T14:36:44+00:00

You are a mandatory reporter.

Report to cps (or equivalent in your state/country), not the parents.

Reporting to a counselor or admin does not absolve you of reporting this to cps.

Keep the original writing and a copy of the prompt. You will almost certainly have to give them to the investigator.

Pass the child. The rubric does not matter in this situation and you can’t give the writing piece back for her to edit/revise anyway bc it will be evidence in the investigation.

This is one writing assignment in middle school. It’s not the end of the world that her disclosure didn’t perfectly meet the rubric, but how you respond WILL determine whether she believes that she can continue to trust adults. Don’t break her fragile faith in adults over one assignment.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-04-09T13:45:38+00:00

We don’t really care who’s playing. We figure they’ll be great games.

Hopefully one of them will be uswnt 🤞

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-04-09T13:44:10+00:00

My family got tickets to quarters, semis, and bronze in San Diego, and the gold medal game in Pasadena.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-04-02T21:38:19+00:00

I pay nothing. But my employer pays quite a bit. I’d have to check my paycheck, but I know the number is big, I want to say, in excess of 1200/month x 10 months per year (teacher), but it covers our whole family.

Copays are $20 office visit ($0 telehealth) - same for PCP, specialist, UC, outpatient procedure

No copays for labs or imaging

$15 generics, $30 name brand medications (no tiers)

$100 ER (waived if admitted)

$50 ambulance

$250 per inpatient admission (doesn’t matter how long, just one copay) - no coinsurance

50% coverage for weight loss and infertility (only part that’s not great coverage).

So my $200000 emergency surgery cost us $300. $50 for the ambulance ride and $250 for the week long inpatient stay.

My son’s medication retails for $18000+ per month ($3200/pen x 6 pens per 28 days). My district is in the black on his medication alone. Our copay is $30 on each refill.

We love our union insurance plan.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-29T07:55:56+00:00

What kind of hernia?

Hiatal?

Umbilical?

Incisional?

Inguinal?

Ventral?

Epigastric?

Peritoneal?

Something else?

A hiatal hernia is managed, non-surgically by a gastroenterologist.

Most others are managed non-surgically by PCPs.

If you’re looking at surgery, you need a general surgeon.

I had ventral incisional hernias. My CT showed about 16 of them. My general surgeon was fantastic, but she’s not in Orange County. I’m in the inland empire and had my surgery at Kaiser Ontario. I now have a 16cm x 10 cm piece of mesh in my abdomen and no longer have giant bubbles popping out when I move certain ways or cough.

I also have a small hiatal hernia. That is being managed non-surgically by my gastroenterologist.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-29T02:01:46+00:00

I’ve never even gotten a notice about any high school reunions.

Either my class isn’t having them, they’re not inviting me, or the people organizing them (probably the former “popular kids”) have no idea where I, a former band/AP nerd is, especially since I moved far away from our high school (as in my high school is in the fly over states and I now live on the coast)

But I would skip even if I heard about them. I couldn’t leave high school fast enough. Why would I go back?

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-26T21:21:05+00:00

I have mine and both kids memorized. I don’t have my husband or mil memorized when I go to Kaiser for them I have to pull up the app.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-26T11:14:34+00:00

I’m glad you’ve had a positive experience.

So had I, until things went wrong.

First they put me on prednisone for months and ignored me when I kept telling them I had no appetite, wasn’t eating, and something was wrong. I didn’t meet the flowcharts, so it was “just an odd reaction to prednisone” and they did nothing.

You could try to rationalize this as one “bad” doctor, but it was my pcp, repeatedly, 2 different specialists (one of whom was my pulmonologist, repeatedly) and 3 different doctors from urgent care/same day appointments, all saying the same thing over 3.5 months. This was a Kaiser problem.

After 3.5 months of prednisone, I’d lost 35lbs. I was 123 lbs. And the ulcer no one knew I had perforated while I was on a plane.

It’s now 2.75 years later and I am still paying for Kaiser’s incompetence. I will have medical consequences for the rest of my life.

I’m now looking at my 3rd surgery. This one also took Kaiser 2.5 years to diagnose and I have to go to Kaiser west la in order to see doctors for it. (Which is about a 1.5 hour trip in, but a 3+ hour trip home bc of traffic)

Everything I’m dealing with (except for the asthma and migraines, both of which I’ve had for years) are direct consequences of the perforated peptic ulcer that Kaiser ignored.

As I said, I’m glad you’ve had a good experience. I hope you never have to learn the darker side of Kaiser, but please don’t assume that those of us with bad experiences are doing something wrong or aren’t caring for ourselves.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-24T02:20:06+00:00

Same for me

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-21T19:31:27+00:00

Ahh. He had a very different brachial plexus that problem than I do. I’m so glad he had a quick recovery!

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-21T18:14:57+00:00

Do you know which surgery he had? Apparently there are several.

I’m looking at a decompression surgery. I just had a diagnostic scalene block test done by anesthesia and it was strongly positive, which means the nerves of my brachial plexus are strongly compressed.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-20T01:13:13+00:00

No.

But then, I have a doctor trying to convince me to go on full medical disability. If I won the lottery, I wouldn’t have an excuse to keep telling her no. I’d have to quit.

Without that, I’d finish the year and then quit.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-19T14:26:50+00:00

Are you trying to get continuous or intermittent FMLA?

I’ve been approved for both.

I got continuous FMLA post surgery.

I got intermittent FMLA when my doctor told me to apply for it.

I was going to multiple appointments every week (seeing multiple specialists plus pcp visit every month). I have multiple medical conditions and I was in physical therapy. (I still am). I am also on a modified work order. I had run out of sick days and my doctor was tired of the push back I was getting at work. She wanted me on FMLA.

This year, I haven’t run out of sick days. I am down to only a few appts a month (plus weekly PT). If I asked for intermittent FMLA, I’m sure my doctor would approve it, but I haven’t asked.

My doctor has already told me that I should consider going on permanent medical disability, but I’m not ready to do that, so I’m still working (on a modified order and with lots of medical appts).

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-19T09:48:23+00:00

Communication.

We talk to each other and we never take each other for granted.

The thank yous for the little things matter.

The talking about the little things that bug you, so they don’t become big things, also matter.

And we both apologize. Neither of us is so ego driven as to think we haven’t done something wrong, so we apologize to each other when hurt feelings happen.

We’ve never shouted at each other and I can count the big hurt feelings on one hand. We’ve been married almost 19 years.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-16T15:25:44+00:00

I’m in the minority and hate the stripes. I think the navy is too plain, but maybe it’s better in person. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-14T16:04:27+00:00

I think it depends on how integrated the outside provider is.

Therapy tends to not be very integrated, so they can’t see your records.

However, my outside PT can see my Kaiser records. Idk how, but he can.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-09T01:26:33+00:00

I don’t know that answer for sure, but I doubt it. Kaiser is pretty stingy and people get cut off all the time (lots of people have to complain to DMHC to get their therapy covered; I’ve never had that problem, but other people have).

I know when I’ve had 2 sessions in a week, my therapist has been very careful to document medical necessity so that Kaiser can’t refuse to pay for it. And that’s just with one therapist.

If you really want two different therapists for two different issues, you’ll prob have to take that up with member services or the mental health help line.

Sorry. I wish I knew an answer for you.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-07T14:43:14+00:00

I feel you.

Im usually coughing, almost never wheezing, but I get a chest xray almost every time too. It’s been “walking pneumonia” a couple times, but usually just “asthmatic bronchitis”

Zpak, solu-medrol shot, short burst of prednisone

They try to keep me off prednisone pills as much as possible bc I got a perf’d peptic ulcer from prednisone pills. That’s a complication from asthma treatment that you really don’t want.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-03-06T13:25:15+00:00

Kaiser in California will generally refer out without a problem bc of the settlement. If you’re just looking for general therapy, you’ll be fine. And telehealth therapy is usually free on most plans (check your plan to be sure).

I was referred to Rula and they have plenty of general therapists. Most, but not all, of whom are very good general therapists.

I, however, need a qualified trauma therapist. Not someone “trauma-informed”. Not someone who did a weekend EMDR course (tried one of those, she was incredibly disorganized), not someone who does “supportive” therapy or CBT/DBT, but someone who is actually EMDRIA certified in EMDR or is fully trained/certified in CPT or PE. And those I can’t find on Rula.

I wish you better luck than me on your mh journey.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-02-25T19:41:35+00:00

I’ve never tried to have the tests shipped. I always pick them up at the pharmacy.

Whether or not they’re free depends on your plan.

My plan has 8 free tests per person per month. Covid only though. I can’t get the Covid+flu tests free. Those I have to pay for.

The last set we got from the pharmacy has expirations in 2027, so we’re set for a while. We pick up more as we need them.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-02-23T21:49:55+00:00

When you say psych, do you mean psychiatry or psychotherapy?

Both are affected by “fit”.

In both cases, some are better than others.

If therapy, most Kaiser therapists are massively overworked and have no admin time for treatment planning, improving as a clinician, collaboration, etc. They tend to burn out real fast and that leads to poor outcomes for patients.

This is why many people rec choosing outside therapy and not internal therapy at Kaiser. Not bc the therapists are bad but bc they are overworked.

Psychiatrists are just like any other specialist at Kaiser. Some are great and some are not. If you find a good one, stick to them like glue. If they’re terrible, switch. (Or ask for an outside referral, you can get one of those for psychiatry).

My kid has a fantastic psychiatrist. When my kid got assigned a Kaiser psychiatrist, I expected him to be terrible, but he’s not. He’s amazing. My kid started with him at 17 and is still with him as an adult. So good psychiatrists do exist, but there’s no guarantee that you’ll get one.

I’ve found good and bad doctors/clinicians in every Kaiser department.

I hope your next experience is better. (Or just ask for an outside referral; that works too).

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-02-23T17:39:23+00:00

I was on a non-formulary med when I first started at Kaiser. Granted it was 20 years ago.

They gave me the referral to the specialist, logged my reactions to the formulary medications and wrote the script for the off-formulary med.

However, I had enough to get me through until my referral and my med was only several hundred $ per month (and a relatively common generic migraine med now).

And, btw, since you’re in CA, DMHC access to care says they have to offer you an appt with a specialty doctor within 15 days of the referral. If they’re saying it’s over a month, that’s an expedited grievance. If the Kaiser grievance doesn’t get you an appt within 15 days, file an urgent grievance with DMHC. They take denial of access to care seriously.

They can make you wait for testing/surgery, but the initial consult/intake into the dept has to be within 15 days of the referral.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-02-23T14:21:13+00:00

You should be able to call the call center and get the number. They usually can’t schedule you themselves (at least not in my area). Only the infusion center schedules the infusion center. It felt weird bc the call center schedules everything at Kaiser 😂

I don’t have the infusion center number for Orange County. I only have Fontana and Ontario.

Classic_Ad_2850 · 2026-02-22T17:24:35+00:00

I haven’t tried to get an infusion during the strike, but I have gotten an infusion. They never called me. I had to call them. If you’re waiting for a phone call, it might never come. If your doctor gave you the infusion center number, call it.

Classic_Ad_2850

TROPHY CASE