The hidden cost of chronic illness

I was inspired by this article to go back and look up my amazon purchase history and see what story it told. I quickly noticed that a large amount of my purchases were health related products. As I looked at when and what I bought I noticed a pattern in my purchases that coincided with the ups and downs of my illness. I also noticed that if you added up all my health related purchases over the last few years, it came out to a lot of money. What's really mind boggling is that most of my purchases were not made on amazon so this is a very small sampling of how much money I've spent over the years on my health. I wrote a post about how expensive chronic illness a while ago was, but I didn't fully take into account all the extra things I bought to make my life more bearable.

Just to be clear, I am not endorsing these products.


2010- 8 orders placed, most were books

In June of this  year was when I first began having symptoms. I read a lot because I was too tired for much else.  I spent a lot of time going to different doctors trying to figure out why. but I wasn't yet in a lot of pain. I still had faith that the doctors would find out what was wrong with me (the joke is on me).

2011- 16 orders placed, more books

This year I started getting sicker. I was getting frustrated by the lack of help from doctors, but I still thought if they could find what was wrong with me I'd be cured.  In December I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and I thought I would be cured in 6 months. I knew it would be a hard 6 months, but at least I had an end date.

2012- 15 total orders

This year brought a lot of crushed expectations. The 6 month window my doctor initially gave me proved to not be accurate. I had spent a lot of money fighting Lyme and it wasn't working. So I did
some research on herbals and decided to try this one. Unfortunately as what often happens with unproven cures, it didn't help.

Samento, 31.52

2013- 29 total orders

This year brought poorer health and poorer spirits. I began to realize I was never going to be cured, but decided to work on lifestyle changes and try some more natural options. A few things helped and a few things didn't, but I spent a lot of money.  The heating pad I bought was heating pad number 4 since I first got sick. (I've had at least four more since then and none lasted, so I wouldn't recommend the product as long lasting).

Passionflower, 6.38

COQ10, 13.59

Activated Charcoal, 14.99

Heating pad, 34.88

Yoga for Arthritis, 7.00

2 Enzymatic Fatigued to Fantistic System Energy Revitalization, 27.98 each

2014- 54 total orders

This year brought more practicality. I'd tried herbals and multiple natural solutions and ironed out what worked for me and what didn't. This year I tried to get my body to recover from the damage the antibiotics did to my body and find ways to deal with the constant pain. 

Periobiotic toothpaste, 14.99

Compression gloves, 18.99

Foam massage roller,  35.77

Plus 4 more other health related purchases too boring to list.

2015- 28 purchases so far

This year so far as been all about finding ways to deal with the pain. My pain levels are at a record high, my hands and legs swell on a regular basis. I try to deal with it in anyway I can because doctors haven't provided any answers.  

Last years compression gloves didn't make it very long, so it was time for a new set. 

Compression gloves, 14.95

Time to try compression socks too. It's unfortunate that I live in such a hot climate and I'm covered in compression wear!

Compression socks, 13.00

I hoped this would support my knees more, and it did but it doesn't last very long and gets pricey very quickly.

Kinesiology tape, 11.97

We'll see what the rest of the year will bring. I have no doubt that I will try to find more things that can help me deal with my pain and fatigue, and most likely they'll cost me a great deal of money.