Strep Throat...No Insurance..No Money????!
Question: I am pretty sure I have strep throat. I started to get sick last friday...and sicker since then. I have been running a fever since yesterday. My throat hurts so bad! I looked in it this morning (my throat) and I can see a white stripe in the back of it. I know strep has white bumps, but this is a white stripe going down the back of my throat! I don't have health insurance and I surely don't have the money to go to the Dr. I called the Dr and an office visit alone is like $150, then a strep test would be an additional $200. Then medicine will be how ever much! I am lost of what to do? What can I do? There is NO way I can come up with the money. Any suggestions?
Answers: I am pretty sure I have strep throat. I started to get sick last friday...and sicker since then. I have been running a fever since yesterday. My throat hurts so bad! I looked in it this morning (my throat) and I can see a white stripe in the back of it. I know strep has white bumps, but this is a white stripe going down the back of my throat! I don't have health insurance and I surely don't have the money to go to the Dr. I called the Dr and an office visit alone is like $150, then a strep test would be an additional $200. Then medicine will be how ever much! I am lost of what to do? What can I do? There is NO way I can come up with the money. Any suggestions?
call a doctors office- dont make an appointment, just ask to speak to the oncall nurse. tell them you have the symptoms of strep and need help, badly. around here, doctors appointments are 60$. im terribly sorry yours are so expensive, i wish there was a nationwide limit on these prices, so they never went more than a few dollars so anyone can go. i dont have insurance either (i do, but they dont pay for anything but office visits, no physicals, no lab tests, ect, it comes out of my pocket and i pay the bulk of it. trust me, i understand.)
anyway, onto the on call nurses. they will go to great lengths to help you in any way they can. its their job. i call them all the time with issues- because i have a health problem, and its just not worth it for me to go to the office. (if i did, i would be bankrupt. they run tests every time, i hate them. :-P)
sometimes, if you go into the office and show them, they can write a prescription. never more than a few dollars for antibiotics for that stuff. (at least not around here).
one of the BEST and easiest ways i avoid situations like this, is i take 500 mg of vitamin c per day. it boosts the immune system, so when you do eventually get sick, (admit it, we all do), it doesnt last as long and its not nearly as bad. ive been working on the bottle i got of 500 tablets for $6 since september. i had strep, it lasted a day. really. same symtoms and everything, my mom was in shock, didnt think it could go away that quickly. iwas fine, i went to work and everything. another thing is, stay in shape. it will help your body fight off disease and infection.
well, let me finish up with what i have to say yet. we need to take care of the problem at hand, yes? for right now, be sure youre getting plenty of sleep. sleep is when your body can fight those infections, because you arent dealing with stress. pile on the blankets! get your body temperature up with a nice warm bath and a stack of blankets. try a lavender scent, it will help you to relax, but there isnt terribly much healing in it. germs have trouble living in very warm enviroments, thats why you get a fever when you get sick. (simple answer). if you keep your core temp up, it will help fight it.
as for the sore throat (i know, it sucks so bad.) gargle warm salt water 3x a day. salt also kills off those not so freindly germs that make you sick and cause infection, as well as soothing some of the pain.
good luck, some of this should be remotley helpful, get well soon!
edit: i was doing some research, and might want to start taking a vitamin now to boost up your immune system. it cant hurt.
onto what i was really researching. there is a point where a line needs to be drawn, and ive been over it twice because i have a bad immune system. you really really need to seek medical treatment if any of these arise, as untreated it will leave you in the hospital, with more bills than you could ever imagine.
Difficulty breathing
Difficulty swallowing food
Unable to swallow saliva
Severe throat pain
Making a noise during breathing
Bleeding in the throat
Swelling of the neck
basically, it means your throat is swelling shut. its deadly. if any of these arise, please, please, PLEASE for you and your childrens sake, please see a doctor, because it can kill you. better safe than sorry, and better paranoid than dead.
heres something i did not think of. at home treatment, drink lots of fluids, but make sure that you are still getting your nutreints with soup broth. it replaces the water, and the salt you lose from sweating. try some advil, tylenol or aleve to reduce the swelling and fever- it hurts the stomach sometimes, but it helps the illness. herbal teas- particularly licorice- have healing properties. so sip on some warm licorice tea with honey. both speed healing. good luck, and get well soon.
Well, you need to go to the doctors. If it is strep and you don't get it treated, the infection can travel to your kidneys and land you in the hospital. It can even cause permanent kidney failure.
try to work with what you have. any cold medicine or anything that will take your mind off it. Rest and drink fluids. You could also try a free clinic if there is one around where you live. you would still have to pay for the meds though. other than going to see a doctor to get a precrip. there really isnt anything else. it will take a while longer to get rid of without meds.
Ok you have stated that a clinic wont treat this which i believe. Do you have money for the meds if you had a prescription? If so maybe get the phone book for a family doctor practice. Tell them your situation and see if they will do a pro bono work on you. I know it will sound desperate but it just might work you never know.
bUY ANTIIBIOTICS. (Amoxicillin 500 mg, take 3 caps per day for 7 days ). It's broad spectrums drug antibiotics, but have special in throat infections.
It is cheap, you can borrow to your friends.
Sorry i don't know, where exactly you live ?
You have to go, strep can eventually kill you if you don't treat it. Call around to clinics and find something cheaper. Some Planned Parenthood clinics offer primary care and the pay is on a sliding scale, depending on your income. I am sure you can find something cheaper than $350. The medicine is antibiotic, which you can get generic and are pretty inexpensive...but the longer you wait, the stronger antibiotic you will need, and they are more expensive!! Call and go now!!
I have no idea where you got these figures from but, a Doctor visit is usually about $35.00. The test, is the Doctor looking down your throat. You can tell him your broke, he can then look and, give you an anti-biotic.
If you have a swollen throat and it's maroon red with white spots, you have strep and should see the doc or it's going to end up pneumonia.
People have died from untreated strep throat.
Stop telling yourself that you cannot possibly see a doctor. Make it happen or you could end up in the hospital with bills for thousands and thousands.
I would call every doctor around and see if one of them is willing to work with you on the payments. You cannot let this go untreated. My brother got strep and wouldn't go because of the same reasons. It progressed into scarlet fever, and his six year old son ended up getting it as well, and I'm sure you don't want something like that to happen. You might even try asking a friend or coworker to help you out. You never know who's willing to help.
BTW, it's also highly possible that you have a tonsil infection. I had one a few years ago, and it made it extremely difficult to swallow. But you need to get it checked to make sure.