Let me preface this entry with this: I can't believe I haven't written in TWO months!! I suppose it was a combination of me being pretty content and being pretty lazy... haha. I hope I still have a few people who would read this--rebuilding an audience is difficult. On that note, if you like what I write, feel free to comment or share! :)
Anyway, now that I'm starting to grow up a bit, I pay for my own medications/gas/food, make my own appointments, and drive myself places. Independence feels good ... but DAMN, it can be frustrating.
I am in a committed relationship with a very fantastic man (ooh, man), and we are responsible. 99% of the time (true statistic), we use two forms of birth control--I take the pill and he wears a love glove. Sometimes, I can be a dumba$$ and forget to take my pill a few times a month. Conveniently, for the second time in our relationship, we had sex without a love glove. Convenient, because of course I forget to take my pill 3 times that month. FFFFFF. I HATE this f*cking pill. I hate how I take so many pills a day, and I hate how this costs me so much money. It's absolutely ridiculous. Every month, I give $25 to the pharmacy for meds, $10 of which go for birth control. I'm tired of scaring him and myself, and I am so tired of hiding all the medications I take from my parents, so I wanted to look into some other options.
I wasted hours on the phone with my insurance company and doctor's office trying to see whether I was covered for certain medications because I am so sick of my pills. I decided I wanted to try Mirena (an IUD) because I was so tired of taking pills every day and forgetting them sometimes. OH my gosh, insurance representatives sometimes just have no clue about medications. I asked what sort of birth controls were covered that WERE NOT pills, and the first rep could not give me any answers. Then, I asked if I was covered for the NuvaRing, and she said that I was covered ... which somehow meant that my co-pay would be $50 MONTHLY. HOW DOES THAT MEAN I'M COVERED?!??
After spending two hours on the phone with my insurance company, with two different representatives, I finally figured out that I was ABSOLUTELY covered for Mirena--which normally costs up to $1000, but would only cost me $20 for FIVE YEARS. This would be such a steal, and it would be so convenient for me.
I went to the doctor for a consultation. Because I am in a committed relationship, I am less likely to get an infection from the placement. However, since I have never had a child before, I can't actually get it placed without the risk of damaging my various girl parts and potentially rendering me infertile. 2 hours, one gynecologist appointment, two swabs, and $20 later, I find out that NO ONE wants to place it in me. I can understand why, but GODDAMMIT, this is so frustrating.
It's times like these that make me so angry that I am a woman. I hate that I have to worry about getting pregnant and having my entire life, reputation, and body destroyed. I hate that I have to pay $10 monthly for birth control while my special someone pays next to nothing compared to that. 96 condoms cost him $35... that's about a year's worth of birth control for him. A year's worth of birth control for me costs me $120.
... And to think I even paid for condoms at one point.
Everyone says it's not that hard to take a pill daily ... but sometimes, it can be a pain in the ass. I take so many pills, and I pay for all of them. For f*ck's sake, my dad JUST found out yesterday that I am taking two antidepressants... and he doesn't even know about the birth control. I hate how I have to hide taking these things every day.
So basically, I'm stuck taking these stupid pills that I hate. I have to worry about making sure I have enough (which means that I have to pick them up every month since I am somehow not allowed to take out multiple packs at a time, which is retarded), I have to worry about making sure they're on me, and I have to worry about making sure that I take them on time and/or in secret.
SURE, these may not seem like ACTUAL problems. BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT? THIS IS SO UPSETTING BECAUSE MY INSURANCE DOES NOT HELP ME AND BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY EXPENSIVE FOR ME IN MORE WAYS THAN JUST MONEY. I haven't had a kid, therefore I can't get this birth control?
DAMMIT.
One potential (small) solution to the birth control at least could be that you and your man split the cost of the pills and condoms? That way it's more of a shared responsibility monetarily, and both the pill and condoms benefit both of you. It's not a solution to everything else you mentioned, but still, it could help? :/
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea, but I honestly don't even know what's fair. I mean, the fairness of the matter really boils down to biology, and males and females are definitely not equal when it comes to how much is contributed during conception and even pregnancy. I'm not really sure what to do; I feel bad asking him for money to pay for my birth control because that is something that I take. At the same time, I feel absolutely ripped off..
ReplyDeleteAND I found out that some people have mega-awesome federally provided health insurance that allows them to buy THREE MONTHS WORTH for $10. WHAT THE FFFFFFF.