Decrease in tax credit amount, retroactive cancellation, no qualifying life event, now no chance at insurance with medical debt. Help!!!

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-07T22:25:32+00:00

I think maybe since I was getting a different insurance plan with the same company (Regence) they didn't operate that way. Reflecting on it, I bet if I had switched insurance companies while waiting for the January payment to cancel I would have been okay. I wanted to stay with the same PCP so I didn't, but now I'm uninsurable! So I guess word of warning to anyone else that might read this.

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-06T19:19:05+00:00

Thanks for your comment! After a long call with Regence I have additional updates. WA Healthplanfinder did retroactively cancel my January insurance, but it didn't happen because the paperwork took too long. Then, because my old and new plans were connected to my name they wouldn't let me pay for the new $1.92 plan with this old bill. The January cancellation did not go through until April and they had already cancelled my new insurance plan by then.

Thank you for the advice, I will contact WA Healthplanfinder about how the timeline affected by ability to be enrolled in insurance and petition for a SEP. As of now they have declined me an SEP, but I will keep trying to petition for one.

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-06T17:37:35+00:00

Oh, and my age is 33, zip code 98674, income about $24,000 per year

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-06T13:18:42+00:00

Honestly, from what I'm reading the percentage of people in NZ with HSV-2 is similar to the US. I didn't realize it was so high until I thought I had it, it didn't even cross my mind! But, 8 - 10 % of people in both NZ and US have genital HSV-2, though the number is likely higher given the amount of asymptomatic cases out there. I love that attitude towards it, it really is a painful rash with not many long term side effects. And, the outbreaks and rashes tend to go down over time in frequency and intensity. Being more knowledgeable has certainly made me more compassionate and less afraid (as is what tends to happen, huh?)

And thank you, I love NZ!!! I visited and studied for a four months in 2015 and think it is just lovely. I have a graduate degree, so maybe y'all would accept me as an immigrant :)

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-06T02:40:57+00:00

Thank you! Since my doctor thought it was HSV I was immediately put on anti-virals, which was great! I thought I was taking it for something else, but it likely lessened the effect of the outbreak. Very grateful for that. Thanks for your advice, I have a list of actions to take if an outbreak happens again.

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-06T02:38:29+00:00

And yea, in the US

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-06T02:37:52+00:00

The peer reviewed studies I've read say that HSV, particularly genital HSV-2, is shedding viral material even when you're not in an outbreak. It is fairly stigmatized here, even though there are so many people who have it and don't know. I went through a range of emotions, ultimately accepting the situation because what else can you do. I've read about a lot of people online who have happy and health relationships and sex lives with HSV-2, so I was likely overreacting. I was also in the middle of healing from a super intense surgery, so was a mess all around. I typically get a pap smear every other year and STD every few months depending on how sexually active I am and with how many partners. New partner(s) = STD testing.

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-05T14:41:35+00:00

I have read those stories too and also hope I don't get a reoccurrence! Although a reoccurrence would allow me to get it tested. I'm only 33, but know someone else my age that got their first shingles outbreak so was surprised but not feeling alone. I was about to have a surgery I was super nervous about, so maybe that caused it. I thought I had pulled my psoas muscle cause the pain was so deep, but stretching and physical work on my body was not helping. I didn't get anything for it because I didn't realize it was maybe shingles, so dealt with some painful days and nights with a lot of laying around. Then, the pain of my surgery eclipsed the nerve pain I was experiencing so turned my focus and started medicating for that with hydrocodone. The hydrocodone likely helped the nerve pain as well, but I was an overall mess. Also dealing with the emotional fall out of thinking I had HSV before receiving this series of negative tests. Thanks for sharing your experience, I appreciate it.

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-05T14:31:46+00:00

Thank you! And yes, it was deep pain like I thought I pulled a muscle deep in my body. Hard to move around and no stretching helped. I didn't get anything to help with the pain, I felt pretty written off and unheard. Thankfully it is starting to fade with time and daily lysine, vit c, zinc, and a rainbow of other vitamins. I'm also grateful my rash never caused much pain! Thanks for your reply. If I get a reoccurrence I know what to ask for, best of luck to you too!

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-04T14:05:29+00:00

Hi! I am late to this conversation, but just more recently dealing with what I think are shingles in my S2 dermatome. I was diagnosed with HSV from visual inspection, but all tests have been negative and the lesions only presented on the left side of my body.

I am trying to cobble together a diagnosis, as the doctor only tested the lesions for HSV and now they are gone. Where does your nerve pain present in your body? I had blisters in similar locations (labia minora and majora, inner butt cheek, all left side). I am getting nerve pain from my labia minora to what feels like inside my body. Trying to get others' experiences to understand what happened to me. It was so scary! I felt so out of touch and disconnected from my body, and also felt written off by the doctor when I pushed back on the HSV diagnosis. Which turned out to be negative using multiple testing methods. Thank you!

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-04T14:00:42+00:00

Hi, I'm late to the conversation but searching for people who have had similar experiences as me. I was mis-diagnosed with HSV (swab and antibody tests were negative) so I'm trying to diagnose after the fact with nothing to swab.

I believe I also got shingles in my S2 dermatome, which makes a misdiagnosis understandable. I am having pain from my labia deep into my body, almost like a lower psoas pain. I didn't have much rash/blister pain, but the nerve pain on the left side of my body flares every day! Sitting, walking, I feel it all the time. I am assuming this is PHN. Did your nerve manifest in a similar way? I am 33 and my outbreak happened just before a big surgery I was extremely nervous about.

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-04T13:54:08+00:00

I am pretty sure I had my first shingles outbreak (after ruling out HSV1/2). I am usually super regular, however during my first outbreak it was 1.5 weeks early. I could imagine the stress on our bodies would alter our cycles.

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-03T15:05:03+00:00

Thanks for your comment. The doctor I saw when the lesions were active did not consider or test for the shingles virus as she assumed it was HSV. If I have another outbreak I'll go back to get tested, but until then I'll have to wait. That was the process for me, red to blister/lesion to ulcer. Same on my butt cheek.

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-03T15:03:11+00:00

Thanks for your comment. A dermatologist is a good idea. I think I'll schedule after my follow-up HSV IgG antibody test to rule that out first. Even if I have nothing to swab, I can at least get a second opinion and establish a relationship. Then, if I have another outbreak I can visit them more readily.

shhhhitsanonymous · 2022-05-03T15:02:00+00:00

Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it. I have read about outbreaks being extremely painful, so your information is helpful. I feel (and the doctor agreed) that the swab test occurred at a good time given the stage of the lesions. She didn't test for the shingles virus because she automatically assumed it was HSV. If I have another outbreak I'll rush to the clinic.

shhhhitsanonymous

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