Socialized Medicine---Rant

Yesterday I received two letters from my insurance company. One dated January 5th stated that all treatment for my feet up to October 6th would be covered and that they has authorized 25 more treatments for my feet. The second letter dated January 6th stated all my physical therapy treatments after June 25th would not be covered because their physical therapist had reviewed the submitted claims and had decided I had no medical need for ultrasound and cold laser on my feet and exercises at home are just as good. Now for those of you that have insurance you know you cannot just call the doctor explain your symptoms and have him prescribe over the phone. He says because of insurance you have to come in and see him so he can diagnose the problem. When I forcefully brought this up on the phone the lady paused and her response was legally they can deny my need based on records. Of course my response was to point out I had surgery in October which was pre authorized by Aetna and yet their PT said I didn't need it? Then I told them according to her letter Aetna has to assign me a person to speak on my behalf. She didn't know about that potion of the letter. Last month Aetna refused to pay my podiatrist because they decided I had dual insurance. Now I have been working at B&W for five years and haven't married or added another person to my insurance. However they never sent me a request asking if I had a second insurance. I heard about it from my doctor's office. It seems insurance is getting worse since Obama took office and it appears our private insurance that we all pay through the nose for is turning into socialized medicine. I for one am upset that now even though I follow the rules I have to spend my days off arguing on the phone. Not because I am trying to get pain killers or collect social security or misuse the system but because I really want my feet fixed so I can be healthy and exercise so that I don't have to use my stupid insurance. At this point I assume the insurance company thought I was going to go belly up and pay but instead I made the phone call and the more I pointed out their flaws in their system all of the sudden the girl pointed out that there is a verbal appeal system in place and took my statement over the phone and promised me she would get back to me by 26th of January. Three months ago I called Aetna because they were refusing to pay lab fees associated with my annual exam because Lab Corp would not code it properly and Lab Corp is not in my network. However, when I have blood work done at work guess which lab is used? Lab corp. insurance companies are doing this because they think the majority of Americans are too passive to force them to do their jobs. They think we won't make the phone calls and we will just pay the bill when it's 100 dollars or 39 dollars at a time. Well that is BS. I think their CEOs are making plenty of money and their corporate bonuses are large enough as it is. I for one don't want to pay hundreds of dollars a month for prescriptions and going and seeing doctors for hundreds of ailments. Yesterday I purchased glasses. While my eye exam is covered, glasses are not. I pay about 10 dollars a month to cover my family and get a discount on frames and contact lenses. My total bill was over seven hundred dollars however if I break that down monthly that's still quit reasonable for someone with terrible vision. I am lucky that my work insurance is currently some of the best in the Texas panhandle but rates are rising and benefits decreasing. My only option is to become healthier. So this whole rant is one reason I am trying to juice. So far doctors and having insurance haven't fixed me feet. Right now money isn't helping nor are prescriptions. Hopefully this will and it will continue to help the inflammation and pain.

Reboot Day 1

Well as you know fell off the juice wagon yesterday. Today. I juiced about 80 % of the time. I had cantaloupe and a bell pepper for lunch. And then a tortilla with a bit of sharp cheddar cheese spinach pepperochini and Red lettuce. Actually feel quite content. I was surprised I had a breakout on my face. A bit of detox or what I had to eat yesterday? Guess I will just watch what I eat and see how my skin reacts. Tomorrow I will juice all day and have dinner at night with my group from work. So far no caffeine and still feel energized. Ttfn

Day thirteen-water and attitude

This morning I woke up. Feet hurt and just felt down. My tongue is flavorless. It's like all the tastebuds have been burned. How do I know this? I decided to cheat last night!! Took a small bite of sharp cheddar cheese. My daughter laughed at me when she saw the look on my face when I tasted the cheese. Doesn't taste so good mom? She asked. It tasted so bad I spit it out. Yesterday I drank water as much as possible and tried to get juices when I could. Not so easy when you work in a laboratory where you can't have food and water. So I guess my whole fast was off kilter. It was unproductive from a juicing standpoint and a work standpoint. They say it takes 21 days to start a habit. I can see how this will pay off. I have gotten into the habit of numerous trips to the store for fresh veggies and I am prepping my juice the night before so I will get in the habit of preparing my breakfast (most likely a green juice ) and lunch( most likely a salad or vegetable juice based soup). Today my goal is to make it through the day without giving up. Juice on!!

Well I did not make it.  The cold this morning made me realize with my active schedule at work I needed to eat. So I ate lunch.  I plan on hitting the juice again tomorrow.  I am now in a rebooters group on Facebook.  I consider myself a quitter but cannot complain.  My hair and skin feel so much better and 9 pounds lost in 12 days is a good start.  I plan on keeping meat out of the diet for awhile.  at least until I get the natural beef I ordered that will not be ready until the end of February. If I add meat protein back into my diet I will focus on organic or natural. Does anyone know the difference?  I learned about it today.   At least from a local meat producer.  If a farmer or rancher decides to go organic or natural there are many packaging issues they may encounter that can triple the price of selling their meat in that arena.  In truth many ranchers are doing grass fed beef in the Panhandle that has no added hormones and only use vaccines that are to treat diseases associated with cattle.  They only give antibiotics to treat sick cattle and keep those cattle segregated from their herds. In addition they only feed organic and know where the food their stock eats comes from.  Its not all unknown as many of the organic producers would have your believe.  In my opinion you have organic farms banging on natural and on the local rancher for the almighty dollar.  So if you live in an area where you can talk to a local rancher you might find someone you can buy from directly that will give you high quality beef.  While the advertising will continue to say who is right and who is wrong, at least we can be consumers that do our research and not believe everything media and newsprint tell us.  Check out this explanation on Maverick Ranch .  I found it very insightful and actually quite honest and what my friend the rancher told me.  While I am all for a mainly vegan diet I think I enjoy a good steak every once in awhile.

Day 12- Skin

So this morning I had to go in early to work. Decided it was a hat day because a shower this early would be a bath last night. Instead of washing my face I just did my trusty old astringent. Usually it takes two cotton pads and it comes back very brown with oil residue. As long as I can remember I have been told I have oily skin. This sometimes means two showers a day to get my hair squeaky clean. Today after using the astringent there was no oily residue. I was shocked. My skin is changing. I had no idea that 12 days could change your skin. Why?

Well our skin is our largest organ and it is exposed to damage the first day our parents expose us to the sun. Go ahead and feel your forearm. Now feel the inside of you bicep. One is smooth the other rough. That's because exposing ourselves to sun and pollution causes the skin to age more rapidly. I am not going to lie I have been to the tanning beds and love the pool in the summer. However I have read that increasing your intake of those vegetables and fruits high in beta carotene can help protect your skin from burning and help you tan more easily. I kept wondering why everyone on the juicing Facebook was talking about dry brushing their skin. I now understand that it stimulates blood flow to the skin and helps exfoliate your skin both needed to help in detoxing and skin repair.

This was sent to me by a friend. You just have to read it http://naughtynutritionist.com/soy/dr-hazel-parcells-the-original-naughty-nutritionist/

Day 11

Well I almost gave up yesterday. Somehow made it through. I finally can admit I am an emotional eater. My 7 year old boxer has compressed discs in his back and we have been trying to help him with drugs lowering his weight getting an orthopedic pad for him. No luck. He is miserable everywhere he goes in house. Last night he lost bladder control. I know I have to make a decision to euthanize him but I don't want to and when I have to start contemplating it. I think about grabbing something to eat. My dogs are like my kids but when you have an animal giving you a wild eye and snapping when you are trying to help him then it's time to do what's right. He is on steroids for ten more days and I want to see if it helps. If it doesn't I know the next step is the right one for him. Kids are mad at him for his behavior I screamed last night when he just squatted and started peeing on carpet. It's amazing that this stress was enough to make me admit I am an emotional eater. Also the weight blip from this weekend made me want to quit. Just that little nudge of disappointment and I was ready to throw in the towel? I guess I give up too easily on my personal life. I need to treat it like I do work and never give up until you fix it or find someone to help you! Amazingly this morning I walked into our standup meeting and there was banana nut bread and different types of popcorn. I didn't feel the loss of missing out on a treat. In the past it would have bee. Oooh I have to try it before its all gone. Instead I drank my herbal tea and when our meeting was finished I headed up to the office grabbed my first juice of the morning and started the day. I still have belly growls but they are not so bad. Have to admit no sugar shakes and that I am none weary tiredness haven't happened in a week. I haven't decided on juices for tomorrow but think may have some grapefruit blends and a few mean greens. The mean greens seem to keep you fuller longer. Today I had 4 juices. Don't know if I will have a fifth or not. I did take my blood pressure today. 128/82. My pulse was 72. My plan is to wait until next Monday to weigh again. I think the guys are lucky. It seems they lose much quicker than us girls do! I keep telling myself it's worth it to reset your life.

End of Day Ten

Well today is rough. I am not feeling bad as in detox but just want to eat. I have tried to do what is required and do other things but it's not working. I have decided to go twenty one days instead of the whole month of January. Food for life states it takes 21 days to start a new habit and so I want to make juicing a habit from now on. I have decided to do 21 days of raw diet afterwards. After today I realize sometime I just have to take it one day at a time. My tongue is still coated so I know I am still detoxing so maybe the mood swings today are just part of the detox. I have five juices ready for tomorrow. Will start back with my h2orange again. I think that helped during the week keeping my sugar stable. Didn't do it this weekend and didn't feel so great. I did make two mean greens for tomorrow and a triple melon---the watermelon wasn't so great that I bought so by itself would have been yucky but the triple blend had a nice flavor.

Day ten

Woke up on my own about 630 am. Usually when I wake up it's because something aches or I am uncomfortable. This morning I feel refreshed no pain in my back, fingers aren't numb from sleeping the wrong way. The only time I usually feel this good is when I am doing intense aerobic workouts five days a week. I feel loose in my muscles and joints and very mellow. I can still feel aches and pains in my feet but they are less than when I went to bed. I now think the pain was actually the juice working in my body. I read somewhere on our juicing group facebook page that you have flare ups in reverse order of injuries. Since my feet were the most recent injury it makes sense. So maybe my feet are on the road to recovery. Scale was up two pounds from yesterday. I guess I am a bit frustrated with all the additional water I drank plus the fact I limited my fruit intake yesterday. I thought it would go down but noticed I was not in the bathroom as much yesterday so maybe more water is the right answer and I am retaining.  I may start weighing myself once a week and just pick Mondays. So in reality I am still down 6.5 pounds from last Sunday so I should not complain. Today I will focus on antiinflammatory juices I do love my big book of juices with all it's great ideas. I will try to post raw vs juice pictures today.  To keep myself motivated I keep doing Internet research.  Today the topic is Leptin.