#immunosuppressed

I’m itchy, constantly. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t itchy, it’s driving me crazy.
All the dermatologist have to say is, “keep putting your cream on” Well the cream obviously doesn’t work otherwise I wouldn’t of been on toxic drugs for the past 3 years. Putting cream on already irritated skin just makes it worse, even just moisturiser.. But the dermatologists can’t seem to understand that, unless I’m the only one who experiences this.
I’m tired, I don’t want to sleep because when I sleep I scratch, I wake myself up scratching, or my sheets have stook to me from blood and weeping sores so I move then it rips. It just seems never ending.
No one ever thinks that eczema can be this life altering but it is, it affects everything about my life, from not being able to go in then sun due to medications I’m on, what I eat, what I wear.. It’s horrible and nothing seems to be working to get it better. Rant over.

Yesterday was National Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Day. It’s a bit of a pointless holiday, and I didn’t even know it existed until about 3 hours ago - I’m guessing due to the fact that the Arthritis Foundation is shit, has a 1 star rating on Charity Navigator, and has been accused of misusing funds in the past. So….they probably haven’t had time to roll out an advertising campaign.

In any case, if you didn’t know, RA is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system is a worthless idiot and attacks your body’s own soft and joint tissues, and can potentially render them useless through damage and deterioration.

I have RA. But I am lucky. My RA was diagnosed very early and I had it treated very aggressively.

I am also lucky because I have insurance that helps offset the cost of my revoltingly, ridiculously, disgustingly expensive medication. One month of Enbrel costs anywhere between $3,400 and $3,800. See?

It’s such an expensive medication that I actually have to use two insurance plans to afford it. Which means, if I did not have insurance, I’d be paying approximately $45,000 per year simply to stay alive.

And that is for justone of my medications, as you can tell from the above photo, where I’ve blocked out all the other medications I am also required to take to stay alive. Paying for Enbrel out of pocket would leave me unable to afford rent, food, or clothing - other things which are also required to stay alive.

Though I am currently fortunate enough to have a job that provides me with healthcare, I’ve been without insurance in the past. Back before the Affordable Care Act, I was unable to stay on my parents’ plan when I graduated and then was constantly denied coverage due to my pre-existing conditions. I basically roamed around LA, terrified of getting into a catastrophic accident while simultaneously attempting to treat pneumonia in the back of a CVS.

Obamacare is not without its flaws, I acknowledge that. But if your garbage disposal is broken, you don’t burn down your house and start over - you fix the fucking garbage disposal. So in honor of National RA Awareness Day, which is, as we’ve established, a real thing - please consider writing or calling your representatives (especially Paul Ryan) and telling them that repealing ACA without a replacement would be disastrous. It is important, and saving lives, and making it so people don’t have to choose between bankruptcy or having their immune systems kill their own bodies.

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Contact Your Representatives: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Contact Your Senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/

Contact Paul Ryan: https://paulryan.house.gov/contact/