Life updates: trail runs, house shopping, and unusual thumb pains
Life Updates, Insurance Frustrations, and the State of Women's Healthcare
Welcome back, friends! Episode Six of the Dual Force podcast is here, and it's a big one. We took a mini break from our mini series — because we make the rules — and used this episode to catch you up on life, share some frustrations, and climb onto a few soapboxes. If you've been with us since the beginning, thank you for sticking around. Six months in, and we're just getting started.
Life Updates: New Ventures and Big Changes
Both of us have had a lot going on lately. Life has been, well, lifey.
Paige is still in private practice and loving it, but she's also taken on a new challenge: adjunct teaching at a community college. She's working with dual-enrolled high school students, teaching three different psychology courses — general psychology, abnormal psychology, and social psychology. It's her first teaching position, and while she's excited, she's also understandably nervous. We'll keep you posted on how the semester goes.
On the personal side, Paige and her husband are house hunting in Colorado. The market is up and down, but she's staying optimistic: "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be." And no, she's not leaving Colorado anytime soon.
The other host has been navigating changes in her own practice, which operates across two locations plus concierge/mobile services. One location is quiet while the other is on the verge of a waitlist — the opposite of what she wanted. She's also been learning some tough lessons about relying on others, especially after a frustrating open house experience with her landlord that fell flat. But in a silver lining moment, she connected with neighboring business owners who are now teaming up to collaborate.
The Open House Saga and a Trail Run Gone Sideways
Speaking of that open house — it was a saga. After weeks of back-and-forth with the landlord, moved dates, and unfulfilled promises, the event happened with almost no promotion. But out of that frustration came new connections with local business owners who share the same vision. Sometimes things don't go as planned, and that's exactly when you find your people.
And then there was the trail run. A planned 14-mile training run for an upcoming trail marathon in October (with 3,500 feet of elevation gain!) turned into an unexpected adventure when AllTrails wasn't exactly accurate. What was supposed to be 12 miles with 1,000 feet of climbing turned out to be 10 miles with 2,000 feet of elevation. Add in 100-degree heat, bruised toes from a previous 14er, and hair that had been braided for three days, and you've got a story worth telling. The run got cut short, but the determination didn't.
Insurance: The Soapbox Section
This is where the episode really heats up. Both of us have been dealing with insurance frustrations, and we have a lot to say about it.
Disability insurance is essential for anyone who owns their own business — if you can't work, you don't get paid. But the application process can be grueling, taking months and requiring extensive documentation. One of us has been waiting over two months, and the application still isn't approved.
Health insurance in the US is its own beast. From fighting over a $200 Oura Ring subscription reimbursement to dealing with surprise bills after being told a different amount, the system is exhausting. And then there's the concept of being "health poor" — people who get sick and lose everything because of medical costs, even with insurance.
For those listening outside the US, here's the reality: our healthcare system is complicated, expensive, and often adversarial. Even when you pay your premiums, you fight for coverage.
Pelvic Health and Mental Health: Why We Don't Take Insurance
Here's something most people don't know: insurance doesn't recognize pelvic floor therapy as a specialty. That means pelvic floor therapists have to code pelvic and urinary/bowel issues under musculoskeletal conditions like back pain or hip pain just to get coverage. And even then, they can only treat what's listed on the referral — not the underlying root cause.
On the mental health side, EMDR therapy isn't recognized through insurance either. And since EMDR sessions often run 60 to 90 minutes, there's no extended time code to bill for — the max is 53 minutes. This creates a system where therapists are underpaid for the work they're doing and patients are limited in the care they can receive.
That's why many specialists are moving toward private pay and superbills. If you have out-of-network benefits, you can get reimbursed — but most people don't even know what their out-of-network benefits are. Call your insurance carrier and ask. You pay them enough.
Serving Underserved Communities
Both of us feel a deep calling to serve people who are underserved in healthcare. Whether it's teen moms, survivors of sexual abuse, or people with chronic pain who've been dismissed by the system, the need is overwhelming.
One of us offers a sliding scale and quarterly donation days, partnering with nonprofits like Second Wind Fund (for teens experiencing suicidal ideation) and a Florida-based organization for survivors of sexual abuse. The other connects clients with nonprofits that can provide the services they need.
But here's the hard truth: we can't do it all. Student loan debt, business expenses, and the reality of running a practice mean we can't sustain ourselves on sliding-scale rates alone. We do what we can — and we wish we could do more.
Endometriosis: A Women's Health Wake-Up Call
Endometriosis has been a major focus lately, with more clients seeking care post-excision or post-hysterectomy. The average time to diagnosis is 15 years of symptoms. Fifteen years.
There's hope, though. The US now has a non-invasive diagnostic approach, and researchers in Europe have found a correlation between a protein in saliva and endometriosis. That's right — spit. It's still in trials, but it's a massive step forward from the current standard of literally opening someone up to see if endometriosis is there.
Women's healthcare in this country makes us angry. Instead of trusting patients who are in pain, the system requires invasive procedures to "prove" what they're experiencing. We need to do better.
Universal Healthcare and Holistic Health
The conversation around universal healthcare is heated in the US, with critics arguing it would mean worse care. But our question is: is the care we're getting now actually good? We're still fighting to be heard, paying out of pocket, and leaving appointments more confused than when we walked in.
Both of us are leaning more toward holistic health, seeking providers who actually listen and take time with their patients. When doctors are seeing 20 to 30 patients a day, how can they possibly give good care? It's a productivity problem, and it's burning out both providers and patients.
Hearing Loss and the Body's Way of Speaking
In a lighter but still meaningful moment, one of us shared that she lost hearing in her left ear after a cold — high pitches are gone, and it's been almost a month. A hearing test confirmed the drop-off, and there's a follow-up coming. The body has a way of telling you when it's had enough, whether through a thumb injury, hearing loss, or just the feeling that you need to stop and take care of yourself.
Thanks for being in our community
We're six months into this podcast journey, and we're so grateful for everyone who's been along for the ride. We have listeners in Turkey, France, and all over the world — not just the US — and that's been an amazing surprise.
