it’s now been a week since i met with the surgeon at straub. he’s an italian with a relatively strong accent who studied in the U.S. the good news is he was confident surgery wasn’t necessary, though insisted that i start the drug regiment immediately. all in all it was good news, but meant i need to expedite the request for insurance from the state: quest.

unfortunately, the plan i was put on doesn’t cover the medication prescribed to me, but rather only covers certain kinds of antibiotics and contraceptives. my gastroenterologist prescribed asacol. it seems to be the most commonly prescribed drug for my condition and i’ve learned that two of my good friends from college, who also have crohn’s, take the same drug. the surgeon told me it is often very effective in treating/managing the symptoms. as i may have said before, there is no cure for crohn’s currently, but its is very manageable with diet and medication.

given the cost of the drugs (over $300/month without insurance) i spent the next few days scrambling trying to figure out how i was going to afford this drug i’m going to have to take for the rest of my life and, once again, the waikiki health center proved to be my lifeline. they’ve very recently opened a pharmacy with a sliding scale payment system. what would have cost me full price at costco or longs only cost me $40 at the health center.

(if you’re ever looking to donate to a good cause, the health center is a c3. if and when i ever have disposable income, you can bet i’ll be giving what i can. i’d ask you to do the same, if you can)

i’ve been taking the asacol for nearly a week now and i’m seeing signs of improvement. much of the discomfort has subsided, for the most part anyway, and as my appetite slowly returns, so is my energy level. i’m definitely on the road to recovery, but i’m pretty sure i’ve still got a bit of a long road ahead of me until i’m back at 100%. in the meantime, i’m definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of this medical saga of mine and am looking forward to being ‘normal’ again.

i’ll do my best to continue to update everyone and hopefully as things return to normal, i’ll be posting more to this blog, as well as my other one.

let me conclude by wishing everyone a happy, safe, and healthy thanksgiving holiday. i’ll be spending mine with close friends at a beach house in mokuleia on the north shore of oahu!