Posts by Sandra Adams39

I’m pretty sure my OB-GYN doesn't have an ultrasound machine on-site, but honestly, I don't really care if I have to head over to the hospital or not. It’s all the same to me whether I get checked out by my local doctor at a neighborhood clinic or make the trek to the main hospital. Either way, I’ve got to travel to get there, so it just feels easier to stick with my regular doctor in the neighborhood and then deal with the hospital stuff only when it's absolutely necessary.

I just moved to the new NYC area, so my closest specialist is in Arlington. Can someone please just tell me where exactly in Arlington that is located? An address would be great.
I’m planning to schedule a Pap smear through Medicare and pay $27 out of pocket to have the results ready within a week, and I'll probably handle the swabs through Medicare too.
I went to a private clinic once before, and Dr. Smith told me during the exam that everything with my ovaries looked fine. He said there was no need for an ultrasound because it would just be a waste of money.

The thing is, my periods have always been irregular—meaning I wouldn't get them every single month, maybe every two or three months—which didn't seem strange to him. Honestly, I wasn't impressed with his approach. Since I've been on birth control for years, my period comes predictably every month. My current gynecologist, who's actually down at the coast right now dealing with some stuff, suggested I take a six-month break from the pill, so I started that recently. Of course, I still need to get bloodwork done to make sure everything is okay and to see if I should even stay on the pill at all. Also, when I first started seeing my new partner, I had these awful issues where my ovaries would ache and cramp up every single time we had sex... it was terrible. All of this makes me feel like something really isn't right with my ovaries, so now I want to insist on getting every single test possible... Pap, swabs, bloodwork, and an ultrasound.

Regarding the ultrasound through Medicare, how does that process work? Do I find my gynecologist's referral and then just head to the hospital?

Look, I’m not being cheap. I’m not paying extra just because I can. I’m paying for the luxury of actually getting my results in a week instead of playing the waiting game for a month. Especially now, since everything seems to be going sideways with my health lately, I’ve decided it’s better to just get everything handled at once.

Oh, one more thing—quick question on this. Regarding ultrasounds, does Medicare cover those through a public clinic like Gini? I did one privately a few years back, but I was thinking about trying to go through Gini this time since I'm assuming it wouldn't cost me anything out of pocket...

I was just scrolling through that thread about the four swabs every woman needs in her life, and some girl mentioned she actually got hers covered through public health at the Gini clinic... she even went into detail about how much everything cost per test.😕

Anyway, I'm mostly just relying on my supplemental insurance coverage.

Yeah, I’m based in NYC... now I just have to figure out which clinic is actually within driving distance for me.😁

So, I was reading some stuff online claiming you have to pay out of pocket for social clinics$233 and I was just floored. Like, newsflash: I am definitely not made of money. Since I’ve been dealing with some health issues lately, I went to a different clinic near where I'm staying right now, and the doctor there basically threw a bunch of stuff at me. He said once I get my paperwork sorted, I need blood work, then pills, then he wants me to request swabs... something about a mucosal check, blah blah blah. Honestly, he talked so fast I couldn't even wrap my head around half of what he was saying.

Besides, I already have to shell out about $33 just to get my Pap smear results back, so adding a few hundred more for these extra swabs is just way too much for my budget right now.

Do you happen to know how long it usually takes to get test results back?

I was reading online that private providers charge somewhere around $500-$233, which honestly has me a little worried they might try to bill me for that too... also, does anyone know which hospital you're actually supposed to take this to?

Quick question: does anyone know if there's a fee for getting swabs done at a community health clinic? I’m talking about the standard public clinics, not private practices.

I need to get some swabs, a Pap smear, and a few other things checked out. Usually, I haven't had to pay a dime for a Pap, except $27 when I specifically requested a rush turnaround so I'd have my results within a week.

I know I'll eventually need to take the results over to a hospital, but right now I'm wondering if I'll be charged anything at the clinic level and, if so, roughly how much?

Also... which hospital should I even head to for this? I've never actually gone through the process before.

thanks