I went to the specialist gynecologist today about my perimenopausal symptoms. It was surprisingly fast for Ontario to get in, only a month wait time. My last specialist for my heart took four fucking years, but I digress.
I told him all about my symptoms, constant UTIs with no other changes, bleeding gums with good oral hygiene, brain fog, hot flashes, sleep disturbances, itchy ears… he asked me about my medical history and then gave me three options: an IUD laced with estrogen, estrogen transdermally with progesterone pills, or oral pills for everything.
Having heard a few horror stories from some women in my life with IUDs, I immediately shied away from this option. I also have the issue of being severely allergic to almost every metal when getting piercings or wearing jewelry, so this also concerns me having a foreign metal in my body. There’s also the fact that my biological sister had to have hers removed within a month because she had so many side effects.
We discuss the next option, the best option given my medical history, but apparently my drug plan does not cover it. It only covers synthetic oral pills. That narrows it down for me to that option, but it has an issue of blood clots, which is a previous factor for me.
It’s all so confusing to me, and I can’t figure out why my drug plan never covers the drugs my doctor prescribes. I have been on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) since my brain injury, and I have found, more often than not, they will not cover life saving or quality of life improving drugs. It frustrates me to no end.
The monthly stipend already not enough to live on, they make you beg for drugs you need to live. There are four drugs I am supposed to be on for my heart right now and am not, because they are not covered and I can’t afford them otherwise. That is an abysmal state for our disability system.
I’m hoping I will be off ODSP soon. I’ve been working hard to be able to work again, and that’s mostly, because I can’t afford to be disabled anymore. Going into massive debt each month, just to stay alive. I ran my vast savings into the ground over the years I was ill. It’s amazing how fast it goes. A house. Gone. A trailer/cottage up north. Gone. A retirement. Gone. 6 months emergency fund. Gone. Waiting years to be approved for disability, despite my inability to walk or talk at the time.
I did everything right, and I still failed. I never counted on getting sick for this long. Every coverage I thought I had was not the right kind. Never thought it would be an issue, until it was too late.
For the women who’ve been through perimenopause: which HRT were you prescribed, and what actually worked for you? I’d love to hear what you tried, what helped, and what didn’t.
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