Listening to the still, small voice

I have been having some (not so fun) issues with my left leg in the last few weeks.  My doctor(s) attributed it to my MS and put me on a steroid dose pack.  While that reduced the swelling on the MRI, it did not resolve the problem.  What is the problem? Muscle atrophy.

Atrophy (according to Wikipedia) is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body (in this case my left leg).

God has a whole post about atrophy in His body (the church) swirling around in my brain.  But, that will come at another time.

This post is about how God speaks to us.  He didn’t just speak to people in Bible times and then stop.  His Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us- if we listen.

Yesterday, returning from the doctor I was not in a happy place.  Trying to digest the fact that my muscle is atrophy-ing (no idea if that is a word) and they don’t know why and they don’t know how to stop it was overwhelming.  Making the appointments for all the tests they want to do to figure out the cause of the problem was overwhelming.  Trying to figure out how to discuss all this with my husband without him panicking was overwhelming.  Letting myself think of how unfair it is to have MS, Lupus and now- something else causing this issue- was overwhelming.

I had brought my Bible along for the ride (cause I can’t drive right now) but couldn’t bring myself to open it.  I did, however, turn on the radio and one of my favorite songs that we sing at church came on.  The song is “I will Rise” by Chris Tomlin.  There are many words that instantly touched my heart but here is the line that grabbed my soul:

There’s a peace I’ve come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There’s an anchor for my soul
I can say “It is well”

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

Overwhelmed?  How about the fact that Jesus overwhelmed the grave?  That is overwhelming, not my temporary, temporal circumstances.

Feeling still a tad angry, I said to God “help me”.  And three words came to my mind (and I know that I know that I know God put them there)

Check your medications.

Clear as day and something that none of my doctor’s had bothered to do.  As soon as I got home I googled muscle wasting and the names of my medications.  Second med I typed in had a big warning about this problem.  Not trusting myself, I called my pharmacy.  My pharmacist researched it, called me back and said “Call your doctor right now.  You need to have some blood work done”.

Yes, I have called my doctor and yes, they are on top of it.

But, isn’t God awesome?  And, what if I had continued in my overwhelming pity party and not reached out to Him?  Would I have heard that still, small voice?

Hearing God is a finer thing!

Frugal Friday- Cutting Health Care Costs

A research study was released this week that showed that the U.S. spends more money on healthcare than any other country in the world. So, one would assume (remember how dangerous that can be) that the quality of our healthcare would also be ranked number one. But, NO! We actually fall somewhere around 28th or 29th. Why? Because we focus on treating illnesses instead of preventing them before they occur.
And you are wondering what does this have to do with living frugally? Well, let me share with you….

Our medical expenses in this house are the second biggest expenditure (second only to our mortgage). This is largely due to the fact that I have a chronic illness. However, even our kids are expensive when it comes to healthcare costs. Well child visits, immunizations, ER visits (they are boys :0), orthodontia, the list goes on.

But, did you know that you can save money on your healthcare costs? Here are a few ways:
~Know your health insurance policy inside and out. For example, we have a PPO policy so we can go to any doctor we want. But, if I put the effort into calling around and finding an in-network provider we will pay 20% out of pocket (OOP) rather than a larger percentage of the entire bill.
~Know the rules of your policy- how long you have to file a claim, how long you have to add a child to your policy. For example, a friend of mine had a baby in June. She is busy taking care of four kids and didn’t remember to add her baby to their policy. She then got bill after bill for the baby’s medical care. She called her insurance company to be told that she had missed the 60 day time limit to add the new baby so now she had to wait until January for the baby to have insurance coverage. So, right now the baby’s medical appointments, immunizations, etc all have to be paid OOP. Ouch!
~Prescriptions- Unless you have a prescription plan that allows you to pay a flat fee for your prescriptions you need to shop around. One pharmacy may charge a higher retail price for the same drug, resulting in your co-pay being higher than it would be at the pharmacy down the street. Also, don’t forget to make sure that you get the generic prescription if that is an option.
~Keep a record of your insurance paperwork. When you get the explanation of benefits (EOB) from your insurance provider, file it. I can tell you countless stories of how that has spared me from paying a bill. The hospital or physician office would send me a bill and I would compare it to the EOB and fax it to them as proof that insurance had already paid x amount of dollars. They aren’t going to do that leg work for you but it is worth it in order to save money.
~If you need a procedure or specialist appointment preauthorized- make daggone sure that all the t’s have been crossed and i’s dotted before you get to the appointment. You can think all is well and find out months afterwards that your insurance company is refusing to pay because some small detail fell through the cracks. Be vigilant!
~Lastly, don’t forget that many medical expenses are tax deductible including the mileage for going back and forth to appointments, getting labs drawn, etc. Even your insurance premiums are tax deductible depending on the amount of your annual healthcare expenditures.

It can seem like a lot of work to keep up with saving money in the healthcare system. However, it is worth it especially if healthcare becomes a major expenditure for your family!