by Tricia
My knees have been bugging me for some time. I have been dismissing it – I guess I really wanted to make sure that there was a problem before we spent the money to try to find out what is wrong. We do have health insurance, but it covers 70% of our health expenses (for the most part).
The fact that I couldn’t do something that I loved to do (drive) really bothered me. So I made the appointment for yesterday.
It turns out that my knees are not tracking properly. The movement should be smooth but it is clunky. The doctor said I could attempt to correct the problem myself by working on my inner thigh muscles. I guess they are really weak compared to my outer thigh muscles so it causes my knee to be out of whack. She also said that I can go to physical therapy where they will help me correct it.
For some time now, we have been doing so many things ourselves to try to save some money. Part of me wanted to decline the physical therapy to avoid the cost. I could read up on how to strengthen my muscles and handle it myself. If it didn’t work, I could then seek out a physical therapist. The other part of me said that maybe it is time to get that outside help. We are talking about my knees here. Without them, I can’t walk.
I told the doctor I would go to physical therapy and I start next week. They will evaluate my condition and develop a treatment program. Then I will have a better idea of how much this is going to cost. Right now I’m trying not to think about it too much.
She also prescribed medication for another condition that I have. I haven’t taken medication for it in years since I didn’t want to spend the money on it and it wasn’t bugging me too much. Not the smartest thing I have done. I did fill the prescriptions she gave me and they will cost about $100/month. That’s with my health insurance co-pay.
Just like the physical therapy, I’m trying not to think about the medication cost too much. It will be another expense that will need to be worked in the budget. BUT – that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to search on ways I can lower that cost. Of course, if I find anything I will let you know 😉
