Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)

[traptnmypwt]

Hi,

Well let me fill you in on my story. I am looking for people to talk to about PID I had an IUD in place and kept having sharp pains in my lower abdomen and I was quite worried about it. I went to have a check up to make sure the IUD was still in place, and it was. They wanted me to have a full pelvic ultrasound, but I never went. I figured it was all in my head. I had my IUD removed in May, me and my fiance wanted to get pregnant. Immediately I started bleeding very heavily. I was bleeding enough to fill a super plus tampon in about an hour. I really didn't think much about it at first. I thought that it was due to the IUD being taken out and that it was nothing to worry. Then two weeks passed and I was still bleeding just as much and I was in alot of pain. Well, this couldn't have come at a worse time. I had just lost my health insurance. Finally I decided to go to the ER. They did all the tests including an ultrasound and gave me an IV. They finally told me it was PID and informed me of how serious it was and to follow up with a dr. I was given antibiotics intravenously as well as an oral prescription. My fiance went to the dr and he was put on antibiotics as a precaution. I had no health insurance and my dr wouldn't see me unless I was able to pay $200 on the spot. The dr. that the ER referred me to wouldn't see me unless I paid on the spot as well. So I was not able to follow up with a dr.I finished the antibiotics and continued to bleed for another month or so. I start bleeding randomly sometimes and spot all the time. I don't know how it is with other people, but it's been almost 3 months since they told me I had PID, and the smell has never gone away. Everytime we have sex I bleed. I think I still have PID and I'm just so worried. The hospital billed me $40,000 for the 5 hour visit in the ER. I applied for financial assistance through the hospital, but who knows how much they will help with. I don't get my health insurance until August 1. I am worred that I still have PID, that I have major scarring, and that I may have a tubal pregnancy in the future as a result. I'm also worried cause I know that my new insurance company will rule the whole thing a pre-existing condition and I'll have pay for it all out of pocket, or I may have to wait til the pre-existing condition waiting period is over. I geuss you could say I was stupid about the whole thing. I should have had an ultrasound back when my dr advised me to. I probably should have gone back to the ER, but with the ER bill the way it was it just scared me to owe them that much money. I started bleeding badly this morning and don't have a fever, but I'm sitting her scared and in pain. I'm just looking to talk to other people that have or have had PID and find out more about their experiences.

[mastima]

hi, i totally get you and i'm very sorry you've had to go through this. i have been without insurance before. i lived in abroad for some time and when i came back to states with my hubby he could only get a contract position, which means, no insurance. recently, we've relocated and taken a salary cut, but have health insurance....but, while without it, i can suggest that you try to hook up with planned parenthood. they work on a sliding scale, so it will depend on how much your husband makes. the other thing to do, is to find a free clinic. while i was in ny i had to go to one (especially as i was 7 months pregnant and just came back to states and didn't have insurance at the time). i don't know about other states and how their free clinics work, or if some areas even have them, but it IS worth it. the one i went to was awful, awful, awful, but you dealing with the BS is not comparable to NOT receiving medical treatment. and of course, there's the terrible alternative to taking a big knock to your credit. if you can go without a good credit score for a couple of years, you will be able to renegotiate your payment plan and pay a fraction of the cost you initially intended to. you'll have to be on top of things and ask the collecting agency to remove his blight after having worked out an arrangement...since your bill is so astronomically high, another far-fetched solution is to file as self-employed. start an NGO or do anything...if you're self-employed, you become eligible for normal health insurance for a very rough ballpark of 4-800. if you've already looked at purchasing private health insurance, you'll see that being self-employed makes it more affordable than it would be otherwise.

as to PID, i have it myself:( when in NY i had to keep canceling my planned parenthood appt. my husband was between jobs, so i was eligible for cheap--and maybe even free--treatment. but, i couldn't make it because he kept having to have these phone interviews (to get a job) and we have an infant (a babysitter was not an option at the time). needless to say, my bacterial infection was terrible. i don't think i had PID at the time...to alleviate my symptoms *very stupidly* did some homoeopathic treatments at home. having had bacterial and yeast infections before (aplenty), i figured it could be one or both, so i used a peroxide and organic cider vinegar douche...worked--for about a week at time. needless to say, i'm pretty certain that i just pushed everything up there. when things got funny--pain, abnormal discharge, spotting--i googled away and was certain that i was a walking case if PID. i set up an appt after our relocation and since i couldn't wait, went to the emergency room. they gave my my diagnosis and put me on antibiotics. from having read what i did (and you should read A LOT), i don't think that this was sufficient. i have my office visit in a few weeks and will demand an ultrasound. 20 per cent (i've also read 10 per cent) of all women who have had PID are infertile form scar tissue in their fallopian tubes. i was told that the clinical diagnosis (that would be them pressing those parts of my body to see if i felt and pain), revealed that the infection hadn't gotten that far...i don't believe them since i've had pain in those areas, something that could be described as a dull, and sometimes sharp, toothache. never take any one doctors word. if abscesses could always be revealed my pushing up on your stuff, then ultra sounds and liproscopy (spell?) wouldn't be used as much in the diagnosis for PID.

it's your body and your future baby. this is so so important...i'm very scarred that i won't ever be able to have children again. it sucks. and getting medical attention and being as adamant as possible, is really the only way to make sure that your body is in tact, and even then, many women experience a second episode, chronic pain (imagine always having to wonder if you're reinfected during your child-bearing years). with that said, if you haven't had (or none was revealed) abscesses on either of your fallopian tubes, then i would take it easy.

also, look at the prescribed medicine for PID...most of it, like doxycillan (100 MG) and metro--ah, something (the latter being used to simultaneously treat bacterial infections (from what i've read, using both together is more effective)--is actually readily accessible online. if you lived somewhere like NY and asked a 'gyspy' taxi where to find the pharmacies with "doctors" (i,e., immigrants who are doctors in their countries of origin, but not certified in States), you could pay a little extra and get your medicine as well as a diagnosis (insufficient, but doable if you're comfortable with it and know what you're getting yourself into) . or just go there and tell them what you want. more reasonably, go online and buy your medicine that way, taking care to research sources and thoroughly read reviews. there are a ton of online pharmacies, just take care to be as particular as possible. the last thing you want is expired medicine (not only ineffective but often dangerous, especially with antibiotics). i mention these not very ideal solutions because i know what it feels like to sit there in pain, wondering how much the infection, and possible scar tissue has affected my ability to conceive in the future.

i've been on antibiotics for a week now and the pain hasn't subsided as much as i thought it would. but, if i'm not cured, at least i know it PROBABLY isn't getting much worse while i'm on my course of antibiotics.

i wish there was more that i had to offer in the way of useful info. whereabouts do you live? have you looked into free clinics? it may be worth traveling a bit to get to one if you can't find one in your immediate area...i know, here in DC, my pt sitter must go to one (she recently had blood work done to see if she has diabetes) bc she doesn't have citizenship/GC, etc....and probably not proof of address as well. if your state has any pockets of immigrants with limited resources, etc., it may be worth looking into how they receive treatment. surely, they aren't paying 40K for one bill...

hope this helps and the best of luck!

[mastima]

also, don't forget your hubby needs to take antibiotics as well! (he should go to the gen practitioner for this) until you both finish your course, don't have sex for at least two weeks!! reinfection can and will likely happen with your partner passing back microorganisms to you, defeating the purpose of healing...