I Hate Dialysis Message Board

Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: Desert Dancer on October 06, 2011, 04:11:06 PM

Title: How bad is it, really?
Post by: Desert Dancer on October 06, 2011, 04:11:06 PM

Just came from the pharmacy, where I discovered I've fallen into the 'doughnut hole' for coverage of my Sensipar. I now have to pay $1000 per month until I reach 'catastrophic coverage' levels.

I'm sick to death of playing games with these g&dd%mn insurance companies. Screw them and the horse they rode in on.
I'm seriously considering saying F%ck you to Amgen and just getting the damn things removed. I'm sick of this bullshit EVERY. DAMN. MONTH. Seems to me the surgery would be a one-time thing and no more worries.

How bad is the parathyroid surgery? How risky? How painful? How bad is the scar? How long is the recovery?

Title: Re: How bad is it, really?
Post by: jbeany on October 06, 2011, 05:13:15 PM

Mine was an overnight stay.  I had to go in for a nuclear scan a week or two before, which wasn't bad, just uncomfortable trying to hold still on a metal slab, like all scans.
The surgery itself is minor.  I have a barely visible horizontal scar at the base of my neck, about 3 inches across.  It's faded enough that few people even realize it's not just a natural wrinkle.  I used mederma scar ointment on it to make it even less visible.  I had to stay one night in the hospital.  I had to do D the next morning before they released me.  They did frequent blood tests all night long, checking calcium levels.  I ate a lot of tums for the next two weeks - every time my calcium dropped enough to make my lips numb again.

Title: Re: How bad is it, really?
Post by: brandywine on October 06, 2011, 05:58:23 PM

So sorry to hear about your situation. I'm not even sure I know what the drawbacks (in the long run) are for that surgery.