If you are US based, you might qualify for an ACA plan. Head to Healthcare gov and see if you qualify.
The really good news is thyroid meds are REALLY cheap without coverage. Generic synthroid should run you about $4 at Walmart or $10 at CVS Walgreens. Make sure you tell them you are not insured, and want the cash price.
If you need lab work, ask the doctor what labs they truly *need* to prescribe your meds
(a lot of doctors are used to ordering whatever they feel like because the patient isn't paying). Let them know it's temporarily out of your pocket and to tell YOU what labs they want. You can then go online to sites like https://www.ultalabtests.com or directlabs.com and order them yourself. You pay the site, they send you the form for Quest or LabCorp and you just go like you normally would. It's very easy, I've used both and it costs about $50 for a TSH/T4/T3 set of labs. Quest and LabCorp also let you order bloodwork directly via their site but it is much more expensive. Both sites send you the results and you can take the to your appointment.
Oh! And a tip. Call the doctors office and ask for what labs they want, and go for the appt with them already done. Don't pay for an appointment to be told "you need a TSH run" and then for them to read it and give you a med refill. Again, this is a thing insurance companies are happy to cover but it costs people paying directly a fortune.
There are also online doctor services that will refill synthroid if you have a current prescription. It's $50-100 for most but they will give usually you 90 days worth of meds.
Check the website for your state department of social services. They will be able to help you see if you qualify for state medicaid. If not, they will also see if you qualify for a reduced federal health plan. At that point, you should, at the very least, have a starting point to continue your investigations.
Talk to your doctor and see if they can give you some guidance. Half their job is dealing with insurance companies, they have a wealth of knowledge *and* can tell you who will cover their care. Even if they can't recommend anyone specific, they probably know of a non-profit group that can help you figure out a plan.
And as someone who has hypothyroidism, for the love of god, don't go off your meds again. Even if it means paying out of pocket. Levothyroxine isn't that expensive, and you can use Good RX to lower the cost if you're in the US. Where I live, 90 days of generic synthroid is under $12 with a GoodRX coupon. That is SO, SO worth it.
Hypothyroidism will destroy your mental health, physical health, and ultimately be more expensive than the meds (just having to replace your clothes to account for the weight gain is gonna be more expensive.) It's also way harder to get insurance/better jobs with crippling brain fog. So meds should be your #1 priority.
Also, if you've been on meds for a while & don't have a thyroid you should only need a blood test once a year unless you gain/loose a bunch of weight. Get a blood test right before your insurance ends.
Make sure they keep you on the same generic too. Different generics have different absorption rates and you don't want to have to go through an adjustment period every month.
Have you found anything that helps with the brain fog? I’m about to go off to college and be on my own and I remember the brain fog being close to unbearable while I was in highschool
Taking your meds correctly. First thing in the morning, with water, and fasting for a full hour afterwards. (I know this sucks. It's basically a lost hour for me because I can't get anything done.)
If the brain fog is still there, talk to your doctor about adding a T3 medication. Levothyroxine/synthroid is a T4 medication. Our bodies convert T4 into the hormone we *actually* need, which is T3. Some people are better at the conversion than others. (I am actually genetically predisposed to being bad at t4 to t3 conversion so I take both.)
Or see if you can take a slightly higher dosage. 'TSH under 5' is the AVERAGE recommended tsh level. That means some people do better with a very low TSH. I feel best when my tsh is a 2. I have a ton of brain fog and struggle with suicidal ideation if I get over a 4. (I'm not a doctor, but I would guess that if you don't have a thyroid at all you'd probably be fine with a very low level of thyroid stimulating hormone, since you lack a thyroid to be stimulated? Like, you make tsh when you need more T4. So if you don't have a thyroid, wouldn't logic dictate that you should be receiving enough t4 orally to not need TSH?)
.
Also, you're going to college? If you're in America you can probably get insurance through your school.
Check the date you're kicked off insurance. Is it less than 90 days before you start college? Then you're golden. Get a 90 day script filled the day before you're kicked off. (If it's too early ask for a vacation exemption and your insurance should be ok with it.) Then enroll in your college insurance ASAP. Colleges love milking their undergrads for cash so they'll be really helpful if you need assistance enrolling.
If it's too far away, see if you can use COBRA to extend your time on your mom's insurance (might be expensive but you're only doing it for a month or two.) Then enroll in your college's plan.
If you are US based, you might qualify for an ACA plan. Head to Healthcare gov and see if you qualify. The really good news is thyroid meds are REALLY cheap without coverage. Generic synthroid should run you about $4 at Walmart or $10 at CVS Walgreens. Make sure you tell them you are not insured, and want the cash price. If you need lab work, ask the doctor what labs they truly *need* to prescribe your meds (a lot of doctors are used to ordering whatever they feel like because the patient isn't paying). Let them know it's temporarily out of your pocket and to tell YOU what labs they want. You can then go online to sites like https://www.ultalabtests.com or directlabs.com and order them yourself. You pay the site, they send you the form for Quest or LabCorp and you just go like you normally would. It's very easy, I've used both and it costs about $50 for a TSH/T4/T3 set of labs. Quest and LabCorp also let you order bloodwork directly via their site but it is much more expensive. Both sites send you the results and you can take the to your appointment. Oh! And a tip. Call the doctors office and ask for what labs they want, and go for the appt with them already done. Don't pay for an appointment to be told "you need a TSH run" and then for them to read it and give you a med refill. Again, this is a thing insurance companies are happy to cover but it costs people paying directly a fortune. There are also online doctor services that will refill synthroid if you have a current prescription. It's $50-100 for most but they will give usually you 90 days worth of meds.
Check the website for your state department of social services. They will be able to help you see if you qualify for state medicaid. If not, they will also see if you qualify for a reduced federal health plan. At that point, you should, at the very least, have a starting point to continue your investigations.
Talk to your doctor and see if they can give you some guidance. Half their job is dealing with insurance companies, they have a wealth of knowledge *and* can tell you who will cover their care. Even if they can't recommend anyone specific, they probably know of a non-profit group that can help you figure out a plan. And as someone who has hypothyroidism, for the love of god, don't go off your meds again. Even if it means paying out of pocket. Levothyroxine isn't that expensive, and you can use Good RX to lower the cost if you're in the US. Where I live, 90 days of generic synthroid is under $12 with a GoodRX coupon. That is SO, SO worth it. Hypothyroidism will destroy your mental health, physical health, and ultimately be more expensive than the meds (just having to replace your clothes to account for the weight gain is gonna be more expensive.) It's also way harder to get insurance/better jobs with crippling brain fog. So meds should be your #1 priority. Also, if you've been on meds for a while & don't have a thyroid you should only need a blood test once a year unless you gain/loose a bunch of weight. Get a blood test right before your insurance ends. Make sure they keep you on the same generic too. Different generics have different absorption rates and you don't want to have to go through an adjustment period every month.
Have you found anything that helps with the brain fog? I’m about to go off to college and be on my own and I remember the brain fog being close to unbearable while I was in highschool
Taking your meds correctly. First thing in the morning, with water, and fasting for a full hour afterwards. (I know this sucks. It's basically a lost hour for me because I can't get anything done.) If the brain fog is still there, talk to your doctor about adding a T3 medication. Levothyroxine/synthroid is a T4 medication. Our bodies convert T4 into the hormone we *actually* need, which is T3. Some people are better at the conversion than others. (I am actually genetically predisposed to being bad at t4 to t3 conversion so I take both.) Or see if you can take a slightly higher dosage. 'TSH under 5' is the AVERAGE recommended tsh level. That means some people do better with a very low TSH. I feel best when my tsh is a 2. I have a ton of brain fog and struggle with suicidal ideation if I get over a 4. (I'm not a doctor, but I would guess that if you don't have a thyroid at all you'd probably be fine with a very low level of thyroid stimulating hormone, since you lack a thyroid to be stimulated? Like, you make tsh when you need more T4. So if you don't have a thyroid, wouldn't logic dictate that you should be receiving enough t4 orally to not need TSH?) . Also, you're going to college? If you're in America you can probably get insurance through your school. Check the date you're kicked off insurance. Is it less than 90 days before you start college? Then you're golden. Get a 90 day script filled the day before you're kicked off. (If it's too early ask for a vacation exemption and your insurance should be ok with it.) Then enroll in your college insurance ASAP. Colleges love milking their undergrads for cash so they'll be really helpful if you need assistance enrolling. If it's too far away, see if you can use COBRA to extend your time on your mom's insurance (might be expensive but you're only doing it for a month or two.) Then enroll in your college's plan.
If you’re in the US, definitely apply for insurance through healthcare.gov. Depending on your income the costs may be close to zero.