Poll of the Day > I have about $5000 in medical debt I don't tend to pay. Ask me anything.

(+) Yeah! (+)

So, yeah.. as if life didnt get worse with depression and suicidal idealizations I had for about 9 years. I learned to not care about the system
in place if they are charging me insane amounts like that in which I don't care enough to ever pay them a dime. There is a lot of backstory, but to keep it to the point...worked for a while. Got to a breaking point last year. Had a suicidal plan. That fell through. Hospitalized, etc. Now currently disabled due to severe depression. And here we are now. I just felt like I needed to vent and do an AMA since Ive been feeling worthless... : / So, fire away.

/Blogfaqs

If you haven't, you should see if you can get financial assistance through the hospital. I'd be like 300k in medical debt without that at this point (not that they have done anything useful). I think the labs I had drawn last week were over 5000. The medical industry is so insanely overpriced (at least here in america).

Anyway, that all definitely sucks. Whats your living situation?

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right to jail

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YoukaiSlayer posted...

If you haven't, you should see if you can get financial assistance through the hospital. I'd be like 300k in medical debt without that at this point (not that they have done anything useful). I think the labs I had drawn last week were over 5000. The medical industry is so insanely overpriced (at least here in america).

Anyway, that all definitely sucks. Whats your living situation?

Ive gotten FA through one bill I had thankfully. But for these other ones... its a real pain in the ass to try and get FA on the others no matter how many times I applied and check up on it. Its like they are ignoring my pleas even with my shitty situation. Plus it doesnt make it easy for someone who isn't really... mentally all there in the head right now. Anyways, living situation isn't too good. Had to move back in with my parents. I have no income, cant even work with all this shit in my head thats happening to me mentally. But on the flip side, I do see a psychologist every week for no cost just to see if im still alive though. And I guess thats that.

You say you've been super depressed for 9 years, did something happen 9 years ago to start all this or was it purely chemical?

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YoukaiSlayer posted...

You say you've been super depressed for 9 years, did something happen 9 years ago to start all this or was it purely chemical?

Thats another long story. It was more of a downward spiral this last decade more than anything. If there is anything that I would obviously point the blame on front and center would be my older brother. He sexually molested me when I was 9 years old. And I remembered everything what happened that day... it was so painful to always fake a smile around him, and always pretend that everything was ok... that really started to hurt me deeply on the inside for a long time because I couldnt tell anybody. Well, besides here. And of course my doctor.

I cut all contact with him though. Dont want anything to do with him either.

TaKun782 posted...

Thats another long story. It was more of a downward spiral this last decade more than anything. If there is anything that I would obviously point the blame on front and center would be my older brother. He sexually molested me when I was 9 years old. And I remembered everything what happened that day... it was so painful to always fake a smile around him, and always pretend that everything was ok... that really started to hurt me deeply on the inside for a long time because I couldnt tell anybody. Well, besides here. And of course my doctor.

I cut all contact with him though. Dont want anything to do with him either.

if you live with your parents, i'm imagining Thanksgiving is going to be awkward AF.

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WhiskeyDisk posted...

if you live with your parents, i'm imagining Thanksgiving is going to be awkward AF.

He doesn't really come over here on that holiday. My parents go over his house. Now Christmas though? Yeah..that was not good for me. That's when I started to cut contact.

Joe_Biden posted...

right to jail

Look... Come On Man!

Joe_Biden posted...

right to jail

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If it makes you feel better, I once had a $3000 hospital/ambulance ride bill that I just didn't pay. For whatever reason it never popped up on my credit report until almost a decade later, after the pursuit period had ended, so I was able to just dispute it off my history. I can't recommend this advice to everyone, as obviously it's risky, but I got lucky and it worked out for me with zero consequences.

TaKun782 posted...

Thats another long story. It was more of a downward spiral this last decade more than anything. If there is anything that I would obviously point the blame on front and center would be my older brother. He sexually molested me when I was 9 years old. And I remembered everything what happened that day... it was so painful to always fake a smile around him, and always pretend that everything was ok... that really started to hurt me deeply on the inside for a long time because I couldnt tell anybody. Well, besides here. And of course my doctor.

I cut all contact with him though. Dont want anything to do with him either.

Omg. I am so sorry. It might not feel like it but stay strong itll get better.

TaKun782 posted...

Ive gotten FA through one bill I had thankfully. But for these other ones... its a real pain in the ass to try and get FA on the others no matter how many times I applied and check up on it. Its like they are ignoring my pleas even with my shitty situation. Plus it doesnt make it easy for someone who isn't really... mentally all there in the head right now. Anyways, living situation isn't too good. Had to move back in with my parents. I have no income, cant even work with all this shit in my head thats happening to me mentally. But on the flip side, I do see a psychologist every week for no cost just to see if im still alive though. And I guess thats that.

Dont give up on applying! Most programs sort out by hoping applicants will give up and pay. They will always settle if it means getting something instead of nothing.

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5k is rookie numbers.

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My insurance denied my claims from rehab after they made an exception for the facility my case worker found. So I have an outstanding balance of like $10k at this rehab I'll never pay. It happens.

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Me too, I just don't get any state taxes back

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You will pay it back eventually through your tax returns unless you are unemployed.

Do you have Kaiser? They are the only ones I know of who are complete assholes when one is signing up for financial assistance. Mom cant get them to give her a break on her diabetes supplies, and they are the sole reason she has diabetes.

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You aren't worthless.

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Jen0125 posted...

My insurance denied my claims from rehab after they made an exception for the facility my case worker found. So I have an outstanding balance of like $10k at this rehab I'll never pay. It happens.

What happens if you dont pay it? It just counts as a debt against you forever when youre applying for loans and shit?

or does nobody care and it wont get chased for by anybody?

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FatalAccident posted...

What happens if you dont pay it? It just counts as a debt against you forever when youre applying for loans and shit?

or does nobody care and it wont get chased for by anybody?

They'll try to collect. They can send it to collections and it could affect my credit score but medical debt drops after 7 years so I'm not worried.

They sent me letters sporadically to remind me to call and set up a payment plan but I never have. They don't have my new address so I haven't gotten any letters since I moved.

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Dont worry about it. So many are about to join you in debt over the next year and Im right behind you with my business in shambles currently.

Im also so sorry about that thing doing that to you.

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Could be worse. You can just eat rice and beans for six months and pay it off.

Not to downplay your situation, I get you have other bills to pay.

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FrndNhbrHdCEman posted...

Omg. I am so sorry. It might not feel like it but stay strong itll get better.

Dont give up on applying! Most programs sort out by hoping applicants will give up and pay. They will always settle if it means getting something instead of nothing.

Thanks..I sure hope things do. But like I said, I'm not worried about it. I guess the most important thing to even worry about is just trying to stay alive. Fuck any medical debt right now. And just try and get better as some people would say.

EvilMegas posted...

5k is rookie numbers.

this

my dad filed bankruptcy after committing the crime of having a heart attack while temporarily not having insurance, his hospital bill was over 100k

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My girlfriend was fired while about to give birth for "missing too many days". Despite working while she was in admitted.

Had to give birth with no insurance, bill was 30k. Luckily, we were about to sue for wrongful termination and have them pay the bill.

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TaKun782 posted...

Thanks..I sure hope things do. But like I said, I'm not worried about it. I guess the most important thing to even worry about is just trying to stay alive. Fuck any medical debt right now. And just try and get better as some people would say.

Perfect attitude. Worry about taking care of yourself first! This is an epidemic.

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Just sit down do the math and figure out how much you have to pay off on a regular basis to get rid of it

Hell, I'll do it. Medical debt has low APR. it's likely you'll pay around $5000 when all's said and done.

5000/365 = $13.69

Can you pay $13.69 every day for a year? Can you pay $95.89 every week? What can you cut out of your budget? Do you eat fast food? Starbucks?

Don't get depressed over a number if it doesn't mean anything. Use it as an excuse to eat more vegetables. you can pay it over 3 years. A lot of people have debt like that in their car. I owe $4000 in car debt, I'm not depressed about it. Though it is bullshit that you were charged that much. Only in America.

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Yellow posted...

Just sit down do the math and figure out how much you have to pay off on a regular basis to get rid of it

Hell, I'll do it. Medical debt has low APR. it's likely you'll pay around $5000 when all's said and done.

5000/365 = $13.69

Can you pay $13.69 every day for a year? Can you pay $95.89 every week? What can you cut out of your budget? Do you eat fast food? Starbucks?

Don't get depressed over a number if it doesn't mean anything. Use it as an excuse to eat more vegetables. you can pay it over 3 years. A lot of people have debt like that in their car. I owe $4000 in car debt, I'm not depressed about it.

yes, starve yourself to feed our medical overlords shitizen. the obvious problem is the common man's unwillingness to pay artificially inflated prices for dubious services. kneel before your insurers, peasant! and beg for their mercy too!

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They've clearly got him by the balls. Good skill to have, recognizing that. He can do what a lot of us do when we get pissed off about predatory medical bills and support single payer politicians.

Or he can buckle up and make a lifelong ordeal out of $5000. Probably not a good idea given his mental state.
https://www.ovlg.com/education/what-can-you-do-when-a-hospital-sues-you-for-medical-bills.html

Fruits and vegetables help your mental state, btw.

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Yellow posted...

Just sit down do the math and figure out how much you have to pay off on a regular basis to get rid of it

Hell, I'll do it. Medical debt has low APR. it's likely you'll pay around $5000 when all's said and done.

5000/365 = $13.69

Can you pay $13.69 every day for a year? Can you pay $95.89 every week? What can you cut out of your budget? Do you eat fast food? Starbucks?

Don't get depressed over a number if it doesn't mean anything. Use it as an excuse to eat more vegetables. you can pay it over 3 years. A lot of people have debt like that in their car. I owe $4000 in car debt, I'm not depressed about it. Though it is bullshit that you were charged that much. Only in America.

I get nothing right now. Zip, nada in income. But even when I was working, I always spent well below my means. Eating healthy, etc. even working a shitty job I think maybe it was 11 an hour? Cant remember. But I knew how to budget like a madman.

What kinds of things do you enjoy doing?

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YoukaiSlayer posted...

What kinds of things do you enjoy doing?

Hmm.. well, I do enjoy cycling a lot. Its kinda hard to do that since the weather around here is getting colder. But I did paint my first ever Bob Ross inspired painting the other week. It turned out pretty good I think, and Im hoping to continue doing that and maybe start to paint more stuff..

Wow thats pretty cool. I always wished I was good at drawing or painting. After I recover from my illness I intend to give it a real effort.

What was your painting of?

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YoukaiSlayer posted...

Wow thats pretty cool. I always wished I was good at drawing or painting. After I recover from my illness I intend to give it a real effort.

What was your painting of?

I actually got a picture here to share with ya. Keep in mind, its my first ever wet on wet painting. But definitely man... its worth to at least give it a try. I mean, I did it just out of years of watching Bob Ross and learning the techniques he constantly talked about during the show which I think helped me a lot.

Wow that looks amazing! I should probably watch more art videos since all I can do is watch youtube these days. Would be nice to at least know a lot of the theory and ideas for when my wrists finally work for more than a minute without aching. I do that with cooking already which I picked up a huge interest in since I've been limited to just plain brown rice for almost a year a half now. I plan to get super into both those things if I ever get well.

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YoukaiSlayer posted...

Wow that looks amazing! I should probably watch more art videos since all I can do is watch youtube these days. Would be nice to at least know a lot of the theory and ideas for when my wrists finally work for more than a minute without aching. I do that with cooking already which I picked up a huge interest in since I've been limited to just plain brown rice for almost a year a half now. I plan to get super into both those things if I ever get well.

Thanks! Im happy you like it!! It took a lot of concentration to do, but it was fun making it the best I could possibly make it. I do hope your wrists get better. I mean.. nothing sucks more then not having to use your hands and such without them hurting. And when they do get better, send me a PM cause I wanna see what you come up with ^_^ If there is one thing I love the most, is art and people visions behind it.

I will do my best to remember that. If I make it through this current rough patch, I think I have a pretty good chance of recovery over the next few months. Just gotta survive my mystery hepatitis (that isn't viral, autoimmune, or toxic somehow), deal with my several infections, get off omeprazole, then get my gallbladder removed, then figure out the right combination of MCAS meds, then possibly get my neck surgery. Man it actually seems like so much when I write it out but I should have improvement at every step so hopefully I can draw and eat other stuff before too long.

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YoukaiSlayer posted...

I will do my best to remember that. If I make it through this current rough patch, I think I have a pretty good chance of recovery over the next few months. Just gotta survive my mystery hepatitis (that isn't viral, autoimmune, or toxic somehow), deal with my several infections, get off omeprazole, then get my gallbladder removed, then figure out the right combination of MCAS meds, then possibly get my neck surgery. Man it actually seems like so much when I write it out but I should have improvement at every step so hopefully I can draw and eat other stuff before too long.

Whoa...thats a lot of medical complications. My I ask how did all of this get so bad?

It's kind of hard to be sure honestly. I have a theory but both MCAS and my neck issue are super rare and not well understood so annoyingly there aren't really any doctors that can just tell me whats going on.

So first I need to explain MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome). It's a rare group of conditions where mast cells just don't work right. Mast cells are essentially your allergy cells and they work kinda like land mines. When they work correctly, coming into contact with certain things causes them to basically fall apart, releasing a bunch of chemicals useful for healing (this process is called degranulating). Most notably histamine and cytokines but there are other chemicals too. These cause inflamation. Mast cells also have histamine receptors so it can cause a bit of a chain reaction. Some degranulate which releases histamine which hits other ones causing them to degranulate.

MCAS means they are degranulating when they shouldn't. Typically this is because they are hyperreactive so if normally it'd need to fill like 20 receptors with histamine, mine might only need 2 receptors filled. It's also possible for them to be unstable and just fall apart from nothing sometimes which at high enough levels will cause enough histamine to be released to start a bit of a chain reaction. They don't currently know why this happens although theres lots of reports of people getting this after recovering from covid so hopefully that brings more awareness and research.

Usually MCAS results in anaphylaxis type symptoms but there is a lot of variety and it can cause gut problems or brain problems or really anything problems. It generally results in intolerance to a lot of foods and substances even in extremely small amounts. My symptoms are atypical and seem to mostly affect the gut and brain.

The other rare condition I have is technically 2 conditions. CCI and AAI. It's a lot more simple. The top two discs of my spine are very degenrated causing those vertibrea to be unstable. This frequently causes them to put pressure on the spinal cord and brainstem.

Theres a fair amount of people with MCAS, connective tissue disorders (most commonly EDS), and CCI/AAI. It seems likely that the extra inflamation from the MCAS is causing the connective tissue in the body, in this case the spine, to get inflamed and degrade much faster than they should.

This impacts the nervous system and gives people dysautonomia which in turn causes the bodies regulation to be worse, which results in less stable mast cells and then more inflamation and it's just a vicious cycle. Typically, it's not deadly, but it can be extremely debilitating and people can die from anaphylaxis or falls from dysautonomia.

My cases seem to have an especially synergistic effect on food intolerance where eating triggers mast cells which causes swelling that further impinges on my spinal cord/brainstem which makes me lose control of my body, start convulsing, and just generally feel like I'm about to die. It's the exact symptoms of brain swelling which is what I'm worried is the cause. Brain swelling isn't typically from anything this temporary though and generally is not detectable on tests like MRIs unless they happen to take one when I have the swelling and even then it might just barely show up if it at all. Of course, I could get similar symptoms if it was just disrupting my nervous system more harmlessly.

It's very frustrating. I get these super terrifying attacks and they might be harmless OR I might be on death's door and incurring brain damage and theres just no way to tell unless I happen to die from it or they invent some better tests. I've thought "these are my final few seconds" so many times over the last year while convulsing and crying.

To make it worse, no one seems to understand MCAS or have even heard of it so when I'm at the hospital, they have no idea how to treat me, because I react to basically every medicine. All they can really do is watch and give me epi if I get anaphalaxis or try and resuscitate me if I die.

However, thats obviously only some of what I mentioned. The rest is more recent but it's mostly because of my diet. Due to MCAS I react to every food. The one I react to by far the least is brown rice. Everything else destroys me. I add a few drops of oil or butter to the brown rice? Convulsing on deaths door. I take a sip of orange juice? Death's door. I take 1/10th dose of pain meds? Deaths door. Ensure, or vegetables, or meats, or sugars, or anything else thats not brown rice or water? Deaths door. Well ok actually bananas aren't quite as bad as everything else. They make me feel bad but less so than most other foods.

Brown rice does not have many calories and is obviously devoid of some nutrients. To compensate somewhat, I eat 6 meals of it a day (resulting in about 1600 calories) and take a multivitamin. The multivitamin messes me up a bit but I'm taking only 1/3rd the daily dose so I've been able to manage it. This has been going on for 17 months and I've lost 96 lbs from it. I'm currently 119 lbs, 6 ft, male. Being malnourished to this degree has really taken a tole on my health and it led to me getting first a mouth infection, then somehow salmonella, then a boil that might be from MRSA all within like a month. In addition to that, my liver enzymes spiked up a ton (to about 16x the normal upper limit). The weird thing is, I've had basically all the tests for viral and autoimmune hepatitis and theres nothing reasonable that could be causing toxic hepatitis. My GI said he has never seen something like this and that he has no idea what to do.

Fortunately, as of tuesday they had stopped rising at least so hopefully whatever caused it is getting better. They want me to take antibiotics for the other infections but I'm a bit worried. Antibiotics fuck me up BAD because of MCAS. When I had the mouth infection, I tried 3 different antibiotics and they all fucked me up.

I've been in the ER twice in the last few weeks and the second time they found a gallstone and previously my gallbladder hadn't been ejecting bile as well as it should. I did find a case of unusual presentation of hepatitis from common bile duct minor obstruction so currently thats my best guess for the hepatitis.

Oh, I also lost the ability to sweat when this all started.

I didn't mention omeprazole. Early on I had hemorrhagic gastritis and esopagitis they found during a endoscopy. They put me on omeprazole to lower stomach acid and heal it. It worked and they told me to keep taking it. Sadly, this is an evil med and fucks you up if you stay on it. Trying to quit causes SEVERE rebound acid. This mixed with my lack of ability to sweat and other symptoms makes me feel neuropathic heat all over when I get heartburn. It's awful. My whole body is just in an icyhot hell. I've determined to get off of it though because it's really bad for you so I'm trying to taper down after failing to quit cold turkey.

None of the docs gave a shit for the first year or so and kept telling me it was all in my head. Me and mom did tons of research though and that led us to seeking out other doctors to interpret my MRIs and then get a digital motion x-ray which confirmed the CCI and AAI. We were insistent about getting me tested for MCAS but annoyingly the only specialist in the state is ultra backed up so it took us like a whole year to see him and then a while for the testing (which is just a 24 hour urine collection I could have done literally day 1 and I'd be fine by now).

Now that I'm on death's door from being malnourished they suddenly care but it's made my condition incredibly difficult to deal with. They all tell me to go to mayo but I can't afford it. Still, if I can just get to where I can eat, I should recover quite a bit.

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