By Adrienne Dellwo, About.com Guide August 6, 2011
"We do not cover maintenance treatments."
That's a quote from a letter I got from my insurance company when my
doctor put in a referral for me to continue with massage therapy. It's
a policy that, to me, seems to run counter to actually treating a
chronic condition like fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, or
the myriad other problems we typically have.
That policy means that I and many others like me cannot get regular
massage, chiropractic or acupuncture so that our conditions remain
stable, which means that we have to stay on the symptom roller coaster
and only get those treatments when we're going downhill fast. It's
lousy, but it's a reality.
To get me through these in-between times, when I'm not getting help
for my sore muscles and myofascial pain syndrome, I have to take extra
steps at home. I've paid for a little massage out of my own pocket,
but it's not something I can really afford. My acupuncturist taught me
a little acupressure, and that can help. We bought a cupping kit (a
Chinese treatment for muscle pain) and I use it frequently. My husband
helps out with a little massage here and there. Still, these aren't
replacements for the maintenance treatments that could keep me feeling
and functioning better.
I wind up taking more pain meds and using a lot more ice packs during
these down periods, and eventually I slip downhill enough that the
insurance company relents ... for awhile.
Continue the conversation at:
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2011/08/06/temporary-treatments-for-chronic-conditions.htm
---------------------------------------------
Send posts to CO-CURE@listserv.nodak.edu
Unsubscribe at http://www.co-cure.org/unsub.htm
Too much mail? Try a digest version. See http://www.co-cure.org/digest.htm
---------------------------------------------
Co-Cure's purpose is to provide information from across the spectrum of
opinion concerning medical, research and political aspects of ME/CFS and/or
FMS. We take no position on the validity of any specific scientific or
political opinion expressed in Co-Cure posts, and we urge readers to
research the various opinions available before assuming any one
interpretation is definitive. The Co-Cure website <www.co-cure.org> has a
link to our complete archive of posts as well as articles of central
importance to the issues of our community.
---------------------------------------------
