The Amazing Inflating Blood Test Price! (self sighting?)

[ralerin]

As I've mentioned, I believe I have celiac disease. Today WAS supposed to be the day I was to go for my blood test, but I didn't get it. Why?

Doctor quoted me a price of $101.50 for the celiac panel test at [what I thought was] (local blood testing center) last week. Great! Cost WAY less than I thought! We (mum and I) go to (local blood testing center) and get in line and when my time comes, I get up to the desk. No insurance, so it's self pay. (Note I am running on less than 3 hours of sleep, last night my legs decided it would be an excellent night to seize and cause me pain so bad I wanted to cry, only a heating pad applied to each leg for an hour helped, plus one potassium tablet)

So we smile at the woman behind the desk, hand over my paperwork and she checks the price in the computer.

"That'll be $288.68".

"What?"

"Yes, it's a little bit expensive...your doctor ordered you the full test. But if I pull out this component it'll knock it down to $191.62."

"I was quoted a price of $101.50".

"Let me check. *calls doctor* Oh, no, she called the hospital lab across the street, so you will have to go there."

Ok. I'm tired and hungry at this point, so we shlep across the street. The receptionist is on the phone and I wait for her to get off.

"Yes, could you tell me where the lab is?"

"*blank stare* At our labs across the street."

"..."

"..."

"...Ok, thank you."

Since it was 11 am and I was starving and too tired to give a fuck anymore I went home, had a snack and slept.

Next Tuesday, we will try this again.

Do I put myself into a self sighting category for not paying attention to where the lab was? The blood testing center where I went in the first place is NOT affiliated with the hospital, it was at one point if I remember. The labs for the hospital are across the street (they were moved when hospital decided to do a Big Fancy Overhaul), located at the other end of the building from (local blood testing center). Did NOT want to hike a half mile on 2 hours of sleep, and I was feeling dizzy from no food. So home, bed, sleep. Screw it until next week!

[zombiequeen]

No, I think you were fine. Lack of food and sleep will confuse anyone.
I'm the same way when I have to get tests done.
Good luck, and hopefully you find out some good news when this is all said and done.

[Anakah]

Damn, thats a lotta money for a test! No you weren't sucky. I've done things like that myself. Went to the wrong CT scan place before.

[Android Kaeli]

No, that's cheap for a lab test. A couple of years ago I was going to get a blood test done for my doctor just to see how everything was going with me and had set up an appointment a month or so later to go over the results.

Had to cancel the second appointment because there was no way in hell I was going to pay over $900 for a simple blood test.

[Eisa]

I don't think you were an SC. I've had a similar problem of having to go all over before when I needed to have blood tests done to check my thyroid. I went to the lab in the hospital. Then discovered I needed to check in at the front desk first. [Er, ok...] Then had to go back to the lab lol. It was kind of annoying, particularly since the policy hadn't been changed that long ago [it used to be that you could just go to the lab if your doctor had given them the paperwork, which he had]. But oh well!

Hope it goes smoothly next Tuesday.

[fma_fanatic]

There is a reason why DaDairyDruid feeds the beast (me) before we do anything that will entail us not eating for a few hours. I get really snarky when I'm hungry, so it's better to give a sacrifice to the beast than to be at the mercy of my wrath.

Poor man, and people wonder why we've been together for so long.

Hope things go better for you next week.

[blas]

If you don't mind an overshare, I had two samples taken for my last colposcopy (read it right before you panic, colposcopy NOT colonoscopy lols) and one before insurance was over $400 and one was actually over $900. For two effing samples plucked from my cervix. Two little pieces of tissue. Not sure what made the difference between the two, but holy shit Batman!!!

Oh, and insurance didn't cover all of that. The colposcopy itself is well over $500, and the medical field, being as greedy as it is now, breaks down every single instrument that they use on you and every single sample that is taken and you are charged for each thing. It is awful. There is even a "medical handling fee" for everything as well!

[wagegoth]

ralerin, personally, I would skip the blood test for celiac disease; it's notoriously inaccurate, and easily affected by medications and food (I know from experience). My MD told me that if I quit eating gluten and the symptoms cleared up to just go with the diagnosis.

The best current test is a biopsy, and without insurance you probably could not afford it.

[ralerin]

Thanks, wagegoth, but I did it already. The phlebotomist was good.

As a footnote: I spoke with the receptionist behind the desk and she did a slight when I told her the price that <local blood testing center> quoted.

"That is fishy, we send our samples to them anyway."

So hm!

[MoonCat]

Sounds to me like they weren't clear about where you were supposed to go. Here's what happened to me when I was supposed to get a stress test:

- Called for appt. Was told "next Tuesday at (time)."
- Went to hospital, reported to dept, was told "we don't do those on Tuesday. There's no doctor available to read it." (this, in a hospital???)
- Got new appt. for following day. Went in, got all electrodes hooked up, etc. Sat and waited. And waited. Nurse came in, looking upset, and said the doctor was overbooked and couldn't get in that day.
- Got a THIRD appt. for a Saturday so I didn't have to waste anymore of my paid sicktime.
- Got billed for TWO TESTS, even though the first one hadn't been completed and I never got on the treadmill the first time.

Oh, and my friend was scheduled for a colonoscopy, went through all the "system cleansing" you have to do for that, went in for the test and was told his doctor was in Spain. They had never booked the appt. on the doctor's schedule and she went on vacation.

Good luck, I hope they get your health issue figured out and fixed!

[Mikkel]

Oh, and my friend was scheduled for a colonoscopy, went through all the "system cleansing" you have to do for that, went in for the test and was told his doctor was in Spain. They had never booked the appt. on the doctor's schedule and she went on vacation.

That cleansing is very unpleasant , if I was told to do that twice because of their screw up I don't know what I would do.

[Captain Trips]

... my friend was scheduled for a colonoscopy, went through all the "system cleansing" you have to do for that, went in for the test and was told his doctor was in Spain. They had never booked the appt. on the doctor's schedule and she went on vacation.

That really bites as, in my experience, the "cleansing" is the worst part of it. (But then again, I was unconscious when they did the actual procedure.)

[zombiequeen]

My husband had to go through one of those cleansings for a set of x-rays and dyes for his kidney stone. That was in...February I believe?
He's still complaining about how much it sucked.

[Mikkel]

That really bites as, in my experience, the "cleansing" is the worst part of it. (But then again, I was unconscious when they did the actual procedure.)

I did the first 75 centimetres without any drugs but then it began hurting, they stopped the procedure and gave me something which made the rest very pleasant . The procedure itself is fine, the cleansing suck.
It was very interesting to see my appendectomy scar from the inside too .

[Ironclad Alibi]

That really bites as, in my experience, the "cleansing" is the worst part of it. (But then again, I was unconscious when they did the actual procedure.)

My wife did the cleansing thing, went in for the procedure and was supposed to be out for it. Part way through she started commenting on the video screen and shocked everyone. They said she wasn't suppose to be awake and gave her a booster shot to put her out.

The last time I had one I was drugged but awake the whole time. I found it to be very painfull ... because where they inserted the IV needle hit a nerve and it hurt the whole time. They didn't want to reposition the needle since they had a good flow. The procedure was otherwise painless. But what do I do with the photo they gave me?