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Old 09-09-2008, 08:36 PM
 
2,902 posts, read 10,070,295 times
Reputation: 421

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Hello Seattleites,
I very recently moved to Seattle with my boyfriend and we are just loving it here. However, we are in of some desperate help. My boyfriend is 23 years old and is in school but he currently has no health insurance. He is in that awkward "too old to be under mom and dad but still a student and not working full time" stage.
Recently he has been having terrible back pain that radiates and waxes and wanes. It actually started before we moved (so it has nothing to do with the move or changes).
Sometimes he is almost pain free but recently and especially today he has been in TERRIBLE pain - the kind of pain where you can't really function, all he can do is lay in bed in certain positions and moan. It's really heartbreaking.
Does anyone have any advice on what he can do or where he can go to get some sort of free or inexpensive health care? If he had insurance, I would have actually taken him to the emergency room today, but of course, he refuses, because it'll cost him so much money. I am convinced he needs at LEAST a basic X-Ray and probably an MRI (ouch! $$$). Does King County offer any type of services for people in his situation and if so, does he have to be a resident of the state or county? We are still residents of our old states...
Gosh this is such a bad situation, PLEASE let me know if you have an advice, he can't live like this. Thank you so much,
GL
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Old 09-09-2008, 08:55 PM
 
9,618 posts, read 27,342,201 times
Reputation: 5382
Try the Country Doctor or Carolyn Downs clinic. They will treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. I know people who have been to both of these places and like them.

Country Doctor Community Health Center - Welcome
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Old 09-09-2008, 09:10 PM
 
2,902 posts, read 10,070,295 times
Reputation: 421
I will call them both tomorrow. That's a good start, thank you! More suggestions please?

I seriously doubt he'll be able to find anywhere to get a free MRI.

This sucks.
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Old 09-09-2008, 09:32 PM
 
9,618 posts, read 27,342,201 times
Reputation: 5382
I've had a lot of back pain, and when it hurts, it's the worst thing in the world.
I've had symptoms like you've described, which turned out to be a disk injury. So you should definitely find out what's going on, but for pain relief, there is a low cost acupuncture clinic on Beacon Hill. It's not a substitute for getting a good diagnosis, but I've had good pain relief from acupuncture for my back.

communi&middot chi
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Old 09-09-2008, 11:50 PM
 
Location: Seattle
101 posts, read 297,855 times
Reputation: 73
Goo to www.crisisclinic.org then click on community rsources and it will give you a choice of which services you are looking for. It is a listing of community resources including free and low cost medical services including contact information in the King county area.
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Old 09-10-2008, 10:21 AM
 
522 posts, read 2,627,009 times
Reputation: 179
I have no clue where you should go, but it looks like you got a dew starting points! I hope you find the help that you need.
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Old 09-10-2008, 01:11 PM
 
1,169 posts, read 5,268,448 times
Reputation: 750
Also, you can head to the library where there are several books on managing back pain. I found one 20 years ago and it made a huge difference. The worst thing for most backs is to lie around in bed or sit all day.

The internet also has plenty of good sources, here's where you can find some good advice and some stretches that should be done every day.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/t.../htm/index.htm

Last edited by AzDreamer; 09-10-2008 at 01:12 PM.. Reason: typo
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Old 09-10-2008, 03:46 PM
 
1,305 posts, read 2,755,376 times
Reputation: 238
Quote:
Originally Posted by guylocke View Post
Hello Seattleites,
I very recently moved to Seattle with my boyfriend and we are just loving it here. However, we are in of some desperate help. My boyfriend is 23 years old and is in school but he currently has no health insurance. He is in that awkward "too old to be under mom and dad but still a student and not working full time" stage.
Recently he has been having terrible back pain that radiates and waxes and wanes. It actually started before we moved (so it has nothing to do with the move or changes).
Sometimes he is almost pain free but recently and especially today he has been in TERRIBLE pain - the kind of pain where you can't really function, all he can do is lay in bed in certain positions and moan. It's really heartbreaking.
Does anyone have any advice on what he can do or where he can go to get some sort of free or inexpensive health care? If he had insurance, I would have actually taken him to the emergency room today, but of course, he refuses, because it'll cost him so much money. I am convinced he needs at LEAST a basic X-Ray and probably an MRI (ouch! $$$). Does King County offer any type of services for people in his situation and if so, does he have to be a resident of the state or county? We are still residents of our old states...
Gosh this is such a bad situation, PLEASE let me know if you have an advice, he can't live like this. Thank you so much,
GL

Which school? Many schools require you to have health insurance so it's a little surprising that he doesn't have any. Regardless, does his school have a medical clinic? I know they have one at the UW and I'd imagine they have ones at the other schools. My alma mater didn't charge for appointments and that was really cool.
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Old 09-10-2008, 06:20 PM
 
Location: WA
4,242 posts, read 8,775,391 times
Reputation: 2375
Not all schools require or offer health insurance to graduate students. They could care less about them.
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Old 09-12-2008, 01:41 PM
 
2 posts, read 24,657 times
Reputation: 14
Default Try Basic Health

As far as immediate care, it looks like a lot of folks have given good ideas. I recently joined Basic Health for a health insurance plan. It is for low income people and only has a specific amount of clients it can hold at one time. Even if you get on a wait list it may be worth your while to investigate as the monthly rate is $17, which is as affordable as it gets. Good luck.
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