Trying to Make Ends Meet

There are some days that are worse than others when you have to sit down and look at your finances and see what kind of shape you're in.  This past year or two I've had to pay extra attention to where I spent money and from the looks of things, I've got to double up my efforts and work harder at it.  My Social Security check went down by $10 I think it was, because my drug insurance went up $10.  I only just signed up for drug insurance last year because my prescriptions (thankfully) had been next to nothing and I didn't think I really needed drug insurance.  I'm kind of still thinking along those lines but at age 72, I don't dare cancel because heaven only knows what could happen. And because they've figured out every way possible to take our money from us, I have to pay a higher premium because I didn't take out insurance when I first went on SS.  I've had the insurance a year and have used it very little.  Today I bought a prescription at Walmart using my insurance and guess how much it saved me.  27 cents!  Yep. A little over a quarter.  Big whoopie do.

I had gone to this dermatologist a couple days ago and he wrote me a couple of prescriptions. Told me if it was too expensive when I went to pick it up to have the pharmacy call him and he'd try to find something cheaper.  Well, apparently, there wasn't much to choose from (according to Walmart) so he opted to give me this "coupon".  Told me to take it to Walgreens, say I didn't have insurance, and then I could get the drug much cheaper.  I did that but Walgreens informed me they had just recently stopped accepting those particular coupons.  So...on a lark, I took it back to Walmart to see if they'd honor it.  I didn't really think they would but much to my surprise, they accepted it. My $110 prescription ended up costing me $26.  Another prescription he gave me (but I opted to not accept) was also over $100.  What a friggin' racket the drug companies have in place!  I hate those buggers!

Yesterday I saw the eye doctor and she gave me antibiotic cream for my eyelid problem. Haven't picked that prescription up yet so am not sure if it's going to cost a pretty penny too.  She did give me a tip on how to wash my eyes with baby shampoo and cream them so if the drug is too expensive, I'll try eye washing instead.  I also am a candidate for an eyelid lift surgery but you have to go in and take these tests first as Medicare has tighter rules on eligibility now.  It has to be a medical need, not a vanity thing and she's pretty sure I qualify.  I'll do that later.

Today I saw my doctor about my low back pain. Been putting up with it for years and working my life around it but I'm fed up to here with all the activities I can't do...walking, housework, gardening, etc.  Have to sit down all the time and I decided I'd had enough of this nonsense.  I knew darn well it would mean an MRI (one of the reasons I kept putting it off) but I'm gonna do it this time.  My hope is that whatever is screwed up can be fixed with a shot.  I'm none too keen on back surgery AT ALL! No back doctors come to the peninsula anymore so I'll have to see a Bremerton guy and if surgery is needed, that means off to Seattle.  Sigh....  But everyone knows if you live over here away from the hustle and bustle and traffic, health care often means a road trip.  Period.  Still, I'm hoping surgery isn't the answer because I may have to decide against it no matter what. Too often I've heard of people undergoing back surgery and not getting better. Sometimes, they're even worse.  That's the last thing I need.

Anyhow, this was my week for doctor appointments. Always stressful and I'm glad it's over with. Well, mostly over. I still have that MRI to deal with but I did get some pills to chill me out. And Jenni will have to drive me there.

The dermatologist burned off this "thingie" I had been watching and sent it out for biopsy. He figures it's just a benign cyst or something but meanwhile, I'm mighty uncomfortable dealing with the "burn wound".  Funny how it didn't hurt even a tiny  bit to get the numbing shot or the scraping and burning done but the healing period is dang mean.  Gonna lay low for a day or two.  I'm good at that.

Mary Gaboury came to visit yesterday morning and stayed overnight.  We had a whole lot of catching up to do as it had been ages since I'd seen her. (they go to Yuma for the winter)  She waited for me to get done at the doctor's office and then followed me as we drove to 7 Cedars.  She planned on driving back to Port Townsend to stay overnight at her sisters.    I lost $10 and decided that was all I was willing to donate that day.  Left within the hour to head back home. She played on for a while longer before heading to Jefferson County.

I stopped at Sunny Farms to buy produce and then at Walmart to pick up prescriptions and a few grocery items.  By this time, I was hungry so I bought a 6" Sub at the in-store cafe Walmart has there.
Brought it home to eat and then sat down to surf the net and balance the checkbook and get a little depressed.

Mary taught me how to play Skip-Bo while she was here.  I'm not sure if she was being nice or what but I managed to win my first time out.

I think I'm going to kick back the rest of the day. Sue is coming by tomorrow to plant some flowers for me and except for an MRI, I don't really have anything on my calendar for the rest of April.  Come to think of it, though, I do plan on having Sue and Paul over for dinner one night next week for his birthday.

I got these neat pictures in an email recently and decided to work on them so I could share them individually on my blog.  They have to do with "nice things people have done."  Here's the first.

Young guy on train struggling with his tie when an older gentleman stops to give him a tutorial.