I'm sorry that this is kind of messy. I'm not good at posting on reddit but I am desperate for advice.
Illness info: I am 23 years old and have a chronic illness. Specifically, I have ulcerative colitis and my life revolves around going to the bathroom. I can't eat before I have to go to work or school because I might get really sick. There isn't really a diet that my doctors can recommend because my body pretty much discriminates against all food equally. It's pretty horrible but up until this morning I had hope that eventually I would get it under control. This morning, I found out my body has been rejecting drug option #1 and that I just have a 40% chance that drug #2 will be effective. Some background: In order to treat my disease there are three medication options: #1 and #2 work using the same mechanism, #1 being a bi-weekly self injection and #2 being a bi-monthly IV infusion (2 obviously being a stronger dosage). #3 uses a different mechanism and is also given via infusion, but has some very serious side effects, specifically cancer, that has a significant increase for younger patients. My doctors have strongly discouraged me from taking #3. All of the drugs are, of course, incredibly expensive before health insurance. I do take some other medication that help treat the symptoms but not the cause, and they are expensive even with my insurance and I am in and out of doctor's offices all the times (those co-pays add up).
Financial info: I am currently under my mother's excellent health insurance, but in less than 3 years I will turn 26 and that will be gone. I am a graduate student getting a masters degree in music. While I have no debt (scholarships and part-time jobs have funded everything) and some money invested in a Vanguard mutual fund and mid-cap, I am starting to get very very scared about life when my mother's health insurance is gone. On this career path, I will not be out of school until I turn 28 and then I will be LUCKY to get an adjunct job right away. Optimistically, I could be 35 before I get a full-time job in my field. I was prepared for that and then got diagnosed with this disease two years ago.I am obviously very scared about the future of the ACA because the whole "pre-existing conditions" part of that is very pertinent to my situation. I am struggling to see the point in doing what I love when I am going to be too sick to enjoy life because I can't afford medication. I don't know what else to even do with my life or how to change or even if that would help at this point. I basically have less than three years to figure out how to get health insurance when I'm 26. Even if I switched career paths today, I'm not even sure if I would be okay in three years.
Questions: What should I do? Are there options I have that I am missing? Should I give up on my passion? If so: What options are out there for someone with a bachelors in music? Are there graduate programs that would help me get a better financial career?
Edit: took out something potentially political regarding the ACA and tried my best to tidy it a bit.
Submitted September 12, 2017 at 01:23PM by mycolonhatesme http://ift.tt/2wXdCCh
