Yowza...

This is scary shit, folks.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type II in 2002 after being hospitalized five times in three years with depressive episodes. I was medicated but not in the right way. I had insurance covering me, which was good.

But I've been on the other side of the fence, where I DIDN'T have adequate insurance. Let me share some li'l vignettes with you:

1) My inconsiderate asshole of a first husband kept me on his insurance when we first split up, but then he quit his job and didn't tell me right away until he was ready to move to St. Louis. Instead of being on COBRA coverage, I went without. I probably would have benefited from having coverage at that time so I could have started on a med regimen, but I couldn't even afford to go to a doctor to get diagnosed with anything.

2) Even with coverage, there are no guarantees. With my previous contractor, we had to change to an insurance policy where we had to meet a deductible before co-pays kicked in. My medications cost well over $500 a month if I don't have insurance to pick up the vast slack, so I had to get my prescriptions filled piece-meal. That was the longest four months of my life. To make it worse, the 3rd party co-payment system we had never worked for me, so my boss had to reimburse me himself but I still had to pay for the initial cost myself...not easy to do when you're paying by the week or two weeks you need. I had to play amateur alchemist and figure out how long I could go without whatever med was the most expensive before I started having crying jags and panic attacks.

If I had it to do over again, I don't know what I'd do, but I am thankful I have a decent insurance policy now. Let's just hope that when we have a new presidency in place, the insurance laws in this country are untangled. Our government owes that to us, I think.