CHARLESTON, TENNESSEE -- Over two years ago I started having severe headaches every time I went to bed. Multiple doctor visits resulted in MRI, neurologist visit, physical therapy, and several medications. Nothing made any difference. By the middle of 2017 the occurrences increased in intensity. By now, I'm not able to sleep except between the attacks that came about every 90 minutes.

Finally, in December 2017 I found a description on Mayo Clinic's website that described in complete detail what I was experiencing. I immediately made an appointment with my doctor and he offered "an experiment." He sent me home with an oxygen machine to use while I slept. Mayo Clinic's website confirmed that the attacks I was experiencing were treatable with oxygen. After a three night trial, all my attacks stopped, I slept, I felt normal for the first time in over two years. I went back to tell my doctor and he told me to keep the machine until he could contact my insurance and order the machine for me.

What arrived was an oxygen tank that would only last 12-13 hours. I immediately knew that would not work. But because that was all that I was told my insurance would pay for, I tried it. Here is the result: I would go to sleep, and a cluster would wake me up. I would grab the oxygen line and turn on the machine. When it subsided, I would turn it off to save oxygen. Try to go to sleep, wake up again, turn it on, turn it off... Since the pain had already taken hold, I was never able to get complete relief because clusters will cause migraines. So for four days, I had migraines during the day, and the repeated cluster attacks at night.

I called BCBS to find out why I was rejected for a machine that would run all night. The woman on the phone told me she was "writing all this down." The next day I went back to my doctor to discuss options. He told me he would "investigate, and contact BCBS and let me know." The next day the oxygen company (Lincare) called and said they were bringing out another full machine to replace the empty one.

The very next day, LINCARE called and said, "BCBS has denied paying for a machine for you and an oxygen tank. We will be coming to take it back." After the call, I called BCBS to make an appeal and gave a detailed history to Michael (who was very patient and sympathetic). He told me he would submit it as an expedited appeal and I would get an answer in 72 hours. When I hung up, I had a good cry from all the frustration and confusion and also quite a bit of hatred for an insurance person that will deny a request based on a form.

In about an hour, BCBS called me back. They said they were reviewing my appeal, but needed my doctor's number. (WHAT?). So I gave it to her. Then, in a few minutes, she called me back and said, "Your expedited appeal has been changed to 'regular processing' because we could not reach your doctor."

Every medical prescription I have tried to fill with BCBS has been denied and I've had to appeal to get it covered. Overall, I am a healthy person and I've resorted to natural medication to replace the prescriptions. This, however, has me over a barrel. If I can't sleep, or rest, or function normally pretty soon the medical profession by the stupidity of BCBS will have me on multiple medications to get me what they will call "medically necessary." May God do to them and more also as they have done to me.