Monday, December 10, 2007

Frustrated

So for those that don't know, I have some jaw problems that I've been dealing with for the last year or so. Not a huge deal, but a huge annoyance. And a painful one at that. After wearing a splint 24 hours a day for a few months, my orthodontist told me the only way to fix my jaw would be surgery. (mind you, in the beginning of all of this he told me that was the worst case scenario and that he didn't foresee that happening..HA). So he set me up with an oral surgeon that he works closely with and I went to see him two weeks ago. They finally called me back to let me know if my insurance will cover this surgery. Well what do ya know, THEY WON'T. She took me completely by surprise. This is what oral surgeons do, how is it possible that insurance doesn't cover it? Of course, I've been in worse pain the last couple of days for some reason so just when I decided to go through with it, I get that news. The doctor told me before even looking at my chart that he knew I was going to need surgery just from my jaw structure. He said the decision should be a no brainer for me. If I don't have it done, my joints will continue to wear away and I have 80% greater chance of early tooth loss, worsened pain, and possible joint replacement in the future. Sweet right? You would think a surgery as extensive as breaking both my upper and lower jaw for non-cosmetic purposes would be covered no question. Not so much. Not sure what I'm going to do now, I wasn't thinking this was going to happen so I wasn't prepared to deal with it. I don't have many other feasible options, and it's not a cheap surgery. So in summary, I now have to start putting money away to fix my face when I should be putting it away to prepare for kids or to buy a house. Just another speed bump on the road of life I guess. It is what it is. Thanks for letting me vent!

2 comments:

Megan said...

I really have to get ready for work but I wanted to comment. I would be so mad. How frustrating and annoying. Good grief. Gotta love insurance once again and the doctors who throw in the ps after you get the prep done. I'm sorry. That's no good. But you don't want your jaw to hurt anymore. Maybe just get dentures now! haha It'll be worth the money. OH my. Gotta go.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm number 4 that reads these...haha!
I remember your "jaw issues" being issues for a while. Sorry about all that crap going on. You should definitely "fix your face" as you said so delightfully. You don't want to ruin a work of art like that....haha! that was gay... but good luck. Maybe you set up a EMILY OSTERHOUT: FIX MY FACE FUND!
love ya!