Which is probably not helping your freakout, I guess, but I do sympathize -- some drug costs are truly ridiculous, at least when it comes to an average citizen affording it.

My initial googling tells me that a lot of patients are covered by the assistance program, at least to where their copay is $5-$35.

(I also know that part of my freakout -- though, come on, the reality of a $2,500 drug is ridiculous -- is that I'm displacing my worry/stress about my husband's new fun chronic degenerative disease onto stress about money.)

A couple of Hubby's chemo drugs were $45,000 a dose. I think a couple were six figures a dose. I can't say they didn't throw everything at it. But damn, people without insurance must just collapse from the stress of it all.

people without insurance must just collapse from the stress of it all.

The drug for Tim's RA is $2500 a month WITH our insurance. (Or maybe just -- "just!" -- $1200 a month with our insurance.) Which, of course, is a far cry from $45,000. But it's still prohibitively expensive (and yet one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for RA, which is why I wonder how many patients receive assistance from the drug company; it's got to be the majority).

But look. All that aside -- and the money aspect IS stressful -- I *am* beyond grateful that Tim's rheumatologist is smart as hell, perceptive, and has as good of a bedside manner as my Awesome Doctor(TM). Tim just randomly got assigned to him when he called the rheumatology practice, and that was a HUGE stroke of good luck.

And I'm extremely grateful that pharmacotherapies exist that can actually slow or stop the erosion that happens with RA, so he won't be crippled by the age of 55. I really am grateful for all of that. The monetary part of it is just daunting.

I do know a lot of the cost of Hubby's treatments were the cost of the materials. He was getting cool stuff like puff adder venom and extract of rare tree barks and I think a couple of spider venoms. They weren't expecting someone who could read the Latin. By the end he probably could have survived being bitten by 90% of the world's venomous creatures. Or 5% of what lives in Australia.

The latest Miss Fisher's Murder Mystery had a funnel web spider as the murder weapon. And Phrynne is desperately afraid of spiders. Jack was very cruel to her about that.

He was getting cool stuff like puff adder venom and extract of rare tree barks and I think a couple of spider venoms. They weren't expecting someone who could read the Latin.

Tim cannot know about this, because he'd totally go for it.

Tim cannot know about this, because he'd totally go for it.

It's like a very ghoulish bingo. But like Keith Richards, Hubby had trained for years on having exotic chemicals dumped into his system. He was actually kind of sad not to get the medical marijuana, because that was the only box he wasn't getting on the quarterly drug test.

My latest eShakti wish list, which I am looking at instead of working:

[link] [link]

Epic, all my best wishes to you and your mom. I'm sorry you're feeling so overwhelmed and worrying about this scary situation. Remember you have us, for what it's worth.

Here is why I don't believe in office birthday celebrations: One team here does them a LOT. I just learned it's because the boss likes it. Well, the assistant just found out today that his birthday? Was last Wednesday. She didn't know! So they didn't do anything for him, and now she's mortified.

"I'm 57, I don't know this computer stuff." If he annoys me any further, I think I'll say "I'm 55, and I fix this computer stuff."