And the Cow Said Moo?!

So Ian had to be taken completely off of straight cows milk this past week.  After he went almost 2 weeks with out cows milk and his eczema disappeared, we reintroduced him to just a few ounces of cows milk over a two-day period as I was trying to wean him off of his last nightly feeding from me.  Well, with in about 12 to 24 hours his eczema returned in full force.  We were bummed to say the least but knew that we may have part of the answer to the puzzle solved. 

However, as I explained to one of our pediatricians this past week that we believed that Ian was allergic to cows milk and why, I also explained to her that I was concerned about the fact that after 2 weeks of no vomit at dinnertime, which included him not vomiting with in the 12 to 48 hours after receiving milk, that he once again "up-chucked" his dinner at our family pool party on Fourth of July, for which more family members had the privilege of being present for such a sight again.  (Please take note that I am fully aware of the fact that Justin had the wonderful privilege of being blessed by Ian's dinnertime surprise not only on 1 but 2 separate family occasions; but at least this time he only witnessed the aftermath! LOL!).   

So this is where it all got tricky.  The doc agreed after hearing about the 4th of July that Ian should be taken off of straight cows milk.  However, there is still concern that he is experiencing another problem besides sensitivity to cows milk.  He is either having some problems with acid reflux or has a texture problem with his foods as he is vomiting specific foods up.  So she said in 2 weeks she thinks she could have a very good idea whether it is acid reflux or not.  She wanted to write him another 2-week prescription of Zantac, for which I told her my insurance wasn't allowing.

You see, on Tuesday morning, Little Man ran out of his Zantac, for which he had one more refill.  Like in times past, I picked up the phone and called the pharmacy, pushed a few buttons and hung up the phone like normal.  About an hour later, I got word from the drugstore that I had to call my insurance company.  I informed the doctor that after the aggravating phone call, I discovered that our prescription plan had very much changed this year.  They told me that Zantac was a "maintenance" drug and to keep costs low, I could only get it by mail order now for a 90-day supply.  I told them that was outrageous as my child was out now and we were busy trying to figure out his dietary issues and that we may not even need the meds much longer as we were trying to sort things out.  They proceeded to tell me that it would take 14 days for him to get the mail order supply and for which I told them was absolutely absurd!  I was put on hold for which the rep returned with only an answer and option for the delay in Ian receiving his meds.  She told me to call the doctor and ask them to write up a 90 day script for Zantac.  I told her that that was ridiculous and I was unwilling to pay that copay and receive that amount when there was a possibility that he would not remain on it much longer.  She said that there was absolutely nothing else she could do.  I told her that they were just "backing me into a corner" and it was wrong of them.

After our pediatrician heard about my phone call, she proceeded to tell me that about four other families had been complaining about the same problem as well and that they were displeased.  With that said, we devised a plan for Ian for the next two weeks and she said that one of her staff would call our insurance and explain to them why they did not see the need as of yet for Ian to be placed on 90-days worth of Zantac.

Well, to make a long story short, after nurse J spent an hour on the phone with our insurance and after one of our doctors spent sometime on the phone with them as well, the insurance company said that 90 days worth of Zantac would be the only way they would pay for Ian's script.  I found this absolutely appalling!  Outlandish!  Not even a doctor who was explaining that as we sort out Ian's dietary needs that a 90 day supply as of yet, was not necessary, the insurance company ultimately called the shots.  Why have doctors if the insurance companies run the show!  I am not paying 90 days worth of meds when my son may not need to be on it.  What happens if they pull him off of Zantac and place him on something else?  What? I will have paid for meds he didn't use and take perfectly good meds off the shelves that could have been used for someone else!  Should I ascertain the thought of selling the extras on the black market? This whole thing is so very absurd to me!

It is plain to me that the real root of the cause of rising health care benefits has not been sought out by any stretch of the imagination.  The current administration has once again shown me their ignorance on the subject matter.

So the plan for Ian and the next two weeks is simply this, in order to beat the "system" for the short term, the doctor wrote a script for Prevacid instead. She wanted him to go through the weekend with out trying any new foods and with out any dairy products so that his eczema had time to clear up so that we could start with a "fresh palette" by tomorrow--Monday.  She wants me to give him some yogurt on Monday and later in the week some cheese.  While these two items are dairy products, the volume of cows milk and the amounts are different then receiving straight cows milk; and therefore, he may react differently to them.  We are to look for sensitivities to these 2 foods via eczema and such.  If he does well with those we will continue on and introduce a little bit of soy milk or rice milk.  And then wait and see.  If he doesn't improve his very picky eating and/or vomiting, we will be looking into an eating clinic for him where they will help us determine what his dietary needs and/or problems are and whether he should remain on Prevacid or the like.