5.28.24 - Life Off Birth Control and Insurance Reimbursement

I don't know why I didn't do this years ago. Life off the pill is AMAZING. My moods are better, I have so much energy, my sex drive is back, and I've lost 10 lbs since my surgery without changing a thing. I used to come home every day and sleep for hours. I assumed that was normal or from stress or poor sleep at night. Now, I can get through my entire day with energy and motivation to get things done. Not needing to remember a pill every single day has lifted a mental load I didn't even know I was carrying. There have been several times I've reached for my pill pack at night or had a brief flash of panic thinking I've forgotten to take one for a few days. The relief I feel when I remember I never have to worry about that again is immeasurable. I had a small issue with my incisions after applying Mederma scar gel. Turns out, I'm allergic and broke out in hives on my lower abdomen. This has taken weeks to fully resolve and healing seems to be delayed a bit because of it, but otherwise everything is fine.

My insurance claim finally came through for the actual surgery, and it says they're covering everything at 100%, which is awesome! Unfortunately, I need to wait for them to pay the surgery center, who will then issue me a reimbursement check in the mail for the $2,608. While this is frustrating, the amount I'll spend on credit card interest is infinitely cheaper than a kid would ever be, so I'll take it. My insurance did say that providers are not supposed to be billing patients directly before submitting to insurance, but it's been happening more and more. This brings my total out-of-pocket cost to about $11 for the bloodwork copay, which I could probably appeal if I wanted, but it seems to be too much of a hassle.