How to decide on appointments.
This may sound crazy, but having COPD, never really know how long one has left! Especially when in golden years already! I have survived lung cancer now for 8 years, then the COPD kicked in. I have a husband and grown children. But the questions falls in at, what other heath decisions should we keep.
For example, dentists. During the lung cancer, I of course lost all my hair, most of that has grown back, but I also lost most of my teeth. LOL, yeah. only 4 teeth left on top. Wearing a partial does not work for me with the breathing, it restricts in a way, so I do not wear my partial. But now they have these amazing implants, only 4 points and then a full upper can be put in attached easily.
But I do not want to put out the extra extra expense unless I know that I have at least 5 or so years left to enjoy them. Another thing is eye check ups... who knows...
Even with the excellent insurance my husband has at work, ER visits start at $880 plus and they want to be paid right then and there.. My husband is 10 years younger than me, so I look out for this kind of expense, expensive since we have a grand child living with us and my daughter had been left in a wheel chair since she was hit head on my another car. She can not work anymore, so her 2 children are with us. Her partner died of Covid 2 years ago. So all of this keeps waying on my mind.
How one can justify what proceedures we need done, especially since hubby is retiring at the end of this year and I have to rely on medicare....right now only part A.
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Wow, that is a lot to take in daily. I commend you on talking care of your grandchild and your incapacitated daughter. I rely on Medicare Part A & B. It works very well for me. I spent a week in ICU last year for bleeding lungs and mycobacterial pneumonia. The only expense for me was a hospital stay deductible of 1450 dollars. Or somewhere in that area, don't remember the exact amount. I get vision coverage through my wife's insurance and have had an exam and glasses paid for in full this past year. As far as dentistry goes, I just had over 8 grand of work done a few years back and am still missing half my bottom teeth. I do not have the money for implants, so I do without them. I am 68 and who knows how long I will live with COPD. I plan to live as long as possible. As long as I can eat comfortably, I will forego the dentistry for now.
I, myself, would put the care of my wheelchair bound daughter and grandchild before myself. It is just how I am wired. I would only put myself first if I had to, to keep myself as healthy as possible. You need to find a way to keep yourself from worrying about everything so much. That will only make everything worse. You should seek out some counseling and possible community groups to help you cope with all the stuff on your plate. Good Luck and God Bless!This helps alot! I have decided not to get the new teeth, I can chew with what I have. I know there is no magical answer, but it does know what others do in the same process!! Thank you so much for your honesty!!!
Hi dariggins, and thanks for starting this conversation. As our good colleague, , has said - you are managing quite a lot - both medically and family-wise too. I admire all that you are doing and managing!!
There are no assurances with this disease - my personal feeling (as I deal with several diseases and comorbidities, too), is to take as good a care of oneself as is possible and financially manageable. I believe that if I am feeling as good as I can be (medically), then I can help provide care and support for my three grown children, their partners and the one granddaughter we now have. We enjoy our family so!
Naturally, this is a very personal choice and an extremely personal decision. My wife and I are in agreement so we both do what we can for ourselves and each other, too. There are plenty of doctor appointments, diagnostics studies, treatments, exercise, housework - you know - the daily stuff! Once we can do that, we leave as much time (and there can be a lot of time, thankfully), to care, support and help the rest of the family.
Like Dminor, we want to live as long as we can, too, and, remain independent and functional, with all our faculties!
Wishing you the best!
Leon (site moderator COPD.net)
Thank YOU for your openness! I am just getting caught up on your story from over the weekend and I'm glad you decided to share with us. COPD makes life complicated in so many ways -- some more obvious than others. And it's important to have a space to talk through even the most difficult or personal aspects, for those who want to do that. I know it is possible to become very comfortable with eating without teeth, so as long as you are at peace with yourself, that's the most important thing! And you can always change your mind, too. We're always here for you. 😀 -Melissa, copd.net team
That helps so much!! Thank you for your response.
