Guaranteed Healthcare

I am 23, born naturally skinny with a few genetic health problems that escalated because of lack of health insurance. According to Blue Cross of California, I am high risk because of a hospital visit in 2005 with "unexplained abdominal pains" and actually implied that I'm anorexic because I'm 1 under the normal BMI. My hospital records specifically state that my visit was followed up with a visit to the OBGYN where the cysts were monitored with an ultrasound along with finding a strip of endometriosis.

I have ovarian cysts, escalated into endometriosis caused by the Depo shots my health care provider put me on without warning me of the risks. They had the nerve to imply that I was too sexually active when it wasn't true. Since the age of 16, ovarian cysts rupture and I am left doubled over for an hour with excruciating pain in my lower abdomen, rectum and private area to the point where I can't move. I have to just sit there until it goes away. On the Depo shot, I would have menstrual cycles that lasted for a month, brown and black in color causing me to become anemic. They told me it was completely normal.

I purchased a high risk plan with Kaiser short term to make sure that I'm okay. I took a long list of issues to the doctor for them to tell me there is nothing wrong with me when I have documented history of pain associated with ovarian cysts and scoliosis. If I sleep on my stomach at night, I wake up not being able to breathe, hurting through my back and chest. The doctor told me "Well, don't sleep on your stomach". I have scoliosis that caused a deformed rib cage. This has gone on long enough. Why are we being treated this way?

I went through the system and resorted to free health care through public resources. It is even documented that I've had labial cysts for five years now. They did nothing for me, telling me I was too sexually active and that they were merely swollen lymph nodes. The same thing happened to my mother when she was my age. The doctors kept telling her that she had bad gas and was too sexually active. She almost died having both my sister and me and had to undergo two emergency Cesarean sections. At the age of 35, they found a massive tumor on one of her ovaries only because she doubled over for the last time and couldn't move for two hours.

I am so frustrated, to the point where I have just become immune to the lack of care I have received. I have fought for so long and now, I just go on about my day figuring that no one will listen until I become wealthy. I cry at night sometimes, hoping and praying that I will still be able to have children some day. Hoping and praying that I won't die too young because of my health issues. The immobilizing pains occur four times per year now, when it only used to be once a year, six years ago.

 What is one to do when even when they have health insurance, they aren't cared for properly? Time and time again, I am turned down by health insurance companies and am instructed to call their High Risk Departments to pay close to $400 for coverage. Why? I can't even get the proper dental care that I need when two of my wisdom teeth are growing in sideways and all four of them need pulled. I don't know if anyone else amongst our people is speaking out against this issue, but it's time to change this! Thank you for listening.