Karma, Gymboree, and I have to pay how much for that RhoGAM shot?!

[district12ravenclaw]

Friday night, as per usual, Steve and I went to the Ducks game, and watched them destroy Chicago. Fun times.

Saturday, Steve had to work. My parents called and I met them at a cabinet factory outlet to see about getting some new cabinets for our kitchen. Saturday night, the family went to a Kings game, and Steve played at Staples again after the game was over. Their former goalie flew in from New Mexico for the weekend, so Steve got to play out, and he scored a goal, yay!

Sunday, Steve had an early soccer game, and since we didn't go to bed until about 3am, I had no interest in going. We met up with our season ticket friends for lunch, and then headed over to the Ducks game. Unfortunately, we lost to the Kings, boo.

Last night, we had our Becoming a Parent class. Steve had a hockey game at 10, so he left the class about 5 minutes before it ended. Little did he know that it would end up being a huge mistake. As he was hauling ass to the parking lot, his legs gave out from under him, and he went into a nice little tumble, eating shit in the crosswalk. Luckily, only a security guard saw him, and asked if he was okay. He said he was fine, then continued running to the car. His knees and one of his elbows are all scraped up, and he put a hole in his jeans. He fell on his Gatorade bottle, which probably ended up helping him a lot more than he realizes. When he got to his hockey game, he missed a wide open net and a breakaway opportunity. After he got home, he told me that he felt really badly about leaving the class early, and that karma was kicking him in the ass for it. Poor guy.

Today, I dropped off my prescription for my RhoGAM shot. As per usual, Blue Cross is forever looking to screw us over, and this was no exception. I was told by the pharmacy that the injection isn't covered by our formulary, and that we would have to pay for it. That didn't surprise me, but when I heard that the damn thing was going to cost me almost $700(!), I just about died. The pharmacy was nice enough to fax my doctor's office to see if they could get a prior authorization from the insurance company. For the love of God, this isn't exactly an elective injection for me!

To soothe my soul after the shock, I headed over to the mall to redeem my Gymbucks. I could've done some real damage, since there's a ton of cute stuff out right now, but I stuck with my original plan of just the hedgehog stuff. So I walked out of there with these little guys:




I ended up spending a whopping $29 for all of that because of my Gymbucks. Pretty sweet, huh?

ETA: Here is some information about Rh incompatibility.

What does it mean to be Rh-negative?

Being Rh-negative means you don't have a certain protein ("D antigen," or the Rh factor) on the surface of your red blood cells. If you do have it, you're Rh-positive. So the terms Rh-negative and Rh-positive are just ways of further pinpointing what type of blood a person has, beyond the general blood type categories of A, B, AB, and O.

If you're Rh-negative and carrying a baby who is Rh-positive (like the baby’s father), your immune system, which fights off invaders to keep you healthy, will recognize your baby's Rh-positive red blood cells as foreign to your Rh-negative blood and will begin producing antibodies intended to destroy your baby's blood cells. If this is your first pregnancy, chances are everything will be fine. These crusading antibodies usually are not dangerous until subsequent pregnancies, when they've had time to grow in strength and number. This is why you have to worry about the future now. Once the antibodies begin attacking, they can lower a baby's red blood cell count, which can lead to jaundice, anemia, mental retardation, and heart failure. In the most severe cases, it can be fatal in utero (during pregnancy) or shortly after delivery. This condition is known as Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn (HDN), and for Rh-negative women, all future pregnancies are at risk. Fortunately, treatment can virtually eliminate the risk.

CAN MY ANTIBODIES HURT MY BABY?
Yes. The antibodies formed to protect you against Rh-positive red blood cells can pass to the baby you are carrying. They attack and destroy the baby’s Rh-positive red blood cells, causing anemia (low red blood cell count), jaundice, and in severe cases, heart failure. This condition is known as hemolytic disease of the newborn, or HDN.

WHO IS RH-NEGATIVE?
Most people are Rh-positive -- 85 to 99 percent. Percentages vary between ethnic/racial groups. For the 1 to 15 percent who are Rh-negative, their blood type causes no special health concerns and becomes important only when they give or receive blood and, most importantly, during pregnancy. When an Rh-negative woman and an Rh-positive man conceive a child, Rh status becomes especially important.


Frequency of being Rh-negative for certain population


Population %Rh-Positive %Rh-Negative
Caucasian 85 15
African-American 92 8
Hispanic 92 8
Asian 99 1
Native American 99 1

Source: Reid ME, Lomas-Francis C. The Blood Group Antigen Facts Book. New York, NY: Academic Press, 1997.
HOW CAN I PROTECT MY BABY?
Helping parents care for their babies with innovative products has been a Johnson & Johnson concern for more than a century. You can protect your baby (and any future babies) by receiving RhoGAM Ultra-Filtered Rho(D) Rh-immune globulin shots, which prevent Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn by keeping your immune system from making antibodies against Rh-positive cells. Once these antibodies develop, treatment with an Rh immune globulin cannot eliminate them. However, the production of Rh antibodies can be PREVENTED by receiving RhoGAM Ultra-Filtered during pregnancy. Your health-care provider will give you a shot at around 28 weeks of pregnancy and again after delivery if your newborn turns out to be Rh-positive (if the baby is Rh-negative, there's no need). You may also receive RhoGAM at other times during pregnancy when it's likely you'll come into contact with your unborn baby's blood, such as during amniocentesis and/or after any injury to the abdomen.

In addition, it's crucial that Rh-negative women receive RhoGAM or MICRhoGAM following a miscarriage or terminated pregnancy. The Rh factor is present on fetal red blood cells at just eight weeks' gestation. So even if a pregnancy ended in the first trimester, the immune system still will have had time to begin making antibodies to Rh-positive cells. Without treatment with RhoGAM following any terminated pregnancy, even a first full-term pregnancy can be dangerously affected.

Comments

[sucia01.livejournal.com]

Cute stuff! Becareful though I read about tons of Mommys buying to much and then the kiddos don't fit into it when the season approaches.

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm a little concerned about that too, but I figured that since I bought them all in bigger sizes (12-18 months), there will be a decent window of time that he'll be able to wear it. I hope so, anyway :).

[danalc.livejournal.com]

$700 out of pocket?! Holy Moly!

VERY cute stuff! Love the light blue!

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

I know it! I guess my doctor's office talked to the insurance company, and I will get some of it reimbursed, thank God!

[bgum78.livejournal.com]

Cute stuff! What is the shot for?

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Steve and I have an Rh incompatibility. I'm O negative and he's O positive. If the roles were reversed, and I was the one who was positive, it wouldn't be a big deal. Basically, with the first pregnancy, my body creates antibodies to the baby if the baby has positive blood. It doesn't harm the first baby, but with subsequent pregnancies, it could cause some really bad problems, like severe anemia, because of the incompatibility. It's like an allergic reaction.

[mwright626.livejournal.com]

Cute stuff! I just picked up a bunch of Gymbo stuff today too. Just an FYI, they run a little big. So if you WANTED to pick up some 0-3 stuff, it would probably last you a decent amount of time. Not that I need to add fuel to your Gymboree shopping addiction fire :)

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

You know, I was looking at an outfit today while I was there, and thought it was huge for the size they said it was. Luckily, California has great weather year round, so Owen could wear them into winter if they're too big for him.

[solongtogo.livejournal.com]

I got the rh negative shot too..right in the kisser :)

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

I've already told them I want it in my arm; I'm just not a fan of butt shots :).

[luvbeingamommy.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is alot of money for a shot! I seriously don't understand how insurances base what they will pay for on. I mean it isn't like you are choosing to have the shot, it is a must!

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

I know it! I'm sure this is going to be a huge battle.

[rancid13.livejournal.com]

Wow that's a ton of $ for a damn shot! Too bad it isn't one you could just opt out of. :( Hopefully you'll be able to get reimbursed for most of it from the ins co? Why is that little hedgehog so dam cute?! I'm a big echidna fan. I grew up playing lots of Sega and Sonic. :D And what's up with the Ducks losing to the Kings the last two times they've played?? They're like one of the worst 2 teams in the league for chrissakes!! Speaking of Kings, I'm actually going to my first hockey game of the season tomorrow night when the Stars play said Kings. Looking forward to it!

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

No kidding! I loved playing Sonic when I was a kid! It was seriously pathetic that we lost to the Kings, ugh! Some teams we just do not match up well against. Have fun at the game tomorrow!

[jent9202003.livejournal.com]

I had issues for a long time getting my insurance to pay for the Rhogam shot. In the end, I ended up calling DHs HR into the mix. They called the insurance company and asked why it wasn't being covered as it was a normal part of pregnancy. That one call got it paid for. I did mine at the hospital, so prior to that I'd been on the phone all the damn time with the hospital, my insurance, et al to no avail.

So, if you need to, don't be afraid to get your employer (or Steve's) involved to solve the issue.

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks for that heads up!

[jenjunum.livejournal.com]

I'm O- to and Scott is A+, so I'll be getting the shot too. I'll have to see if my insurance company will pay for it. They darn well better. I guess there are always extra expenses you aren't excepting. Cute clothes though. I like to polo onesie.

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

I just can't believe they don't cover it, such a bunch of crap.

[dpangel33.livejournal.com]

That sucks that you have to pay out of pocket for the shot, hopefully you'll get most of it reimbursed.

Cute outfits!! I've had to seriously restrain myself from looking at those clothes or DH might kill me. How do you get gymbucks??

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

It really does suck, so I'm hoping that we'll get something back :).

Thanks! Gymboree has some super cute girly stuff, and their collections go on sale super fast. There are certain periods of time where you can earn Gymbucks, 25 for every $50 that you spend, 50 for every $100, etc. Then they have certain times where you can redeem them, in part or in whole. I spent just under $100, so I ended up with only 25 Gymbucks off a $50 purchase, which worked out perfectly for me today. It's all a very clever marketing ploy ;).

[madismom.livejournal.com]

Owen is going to be the cutest dressed little boy ever! I love the hedgehog stuff.

I would've passed out at $700 too, especially when it's not like you have a choice, geez. I'm hoping the pre-auth goes thru.

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I like to pick out cute things, and while he won't be GQ or anything, I think he'll do pretty well ;).

My doctor's office told me to go ahead and order it and then insurance would reimburse me, so we'll see what happens. I'm prepared for a nice little fight on this one.

[rockysmomma.livejournal.com]

OUCHIE on the $700 (and of course the shot too)

Cute hedgehog clothes :)

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Believe me, the $700 is WAY more painful than the shot ;).

[cat-loverpq.livejournal.com]

Holy moley that's a lot of money for a shot! I'm B- and DH has no idea what he is, so I may be in the same position.

That hedgehog stuff is too cute!

[stevesbabygirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

They may take your DH's blood to find out what type he is, because it's important to know if you're Rh negative. They took Steve's blood in the office, and that's when we found out that he's O positive.