You may not imagine it, but chronic pain affects 21.7% (open in new tab) of women in the United States. It can range from not wanting to get out of bed to not being able to stand it anymore, almost every day, for months or longer. These are the women you work with, see at the gym, or pass in the grocery store. And in addition to the physical and emotional toll, the chronic pain literally torments them.

We spoke with three women who know firsthand the financial burdens they face. Their stories remind us that you never know what life has in store for you when it comes to your health. It is never too late to learn more about health insurance (especially if you have recently started a new job) or to build an emergency fund to cover unexpected medical expenses.

Thirty-eight-year-old Sherry Smith (open in new tab) began experiencing fatigue and joint pain shortly after her son was born 11 years ago and had no idea what was going on. She went from doctor to doctor for a year and a half before she was finally diagnosed with (chronic) Lyme disease," she says." Sherry was also eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia (a condition that causes widespread pain throughout the body), but has not found a treatment that consistently works. She says, "I'm never pain-free. 'Sometimes it gets worse from being too physically active, and sometimes it gets worse for no reason.'

As a result, she has been on a path of trying to figure out what makes her feel better, something that costs a fortune. She jokes that her monthly budget is $40 because "I use so much heating equipment that I constantly have to replace it." 'I also spend between $30 and $40 a month on electrodes for my pain meds.' On top of that, she spends $30 a month on pain cream and Epsom salts. She says, "I used to get monthly massages because my muscles were strained from the pain, but they cost $100 a time, so I had to give that up."

And then there are the supplements. Sherry says, "I spent a lot of money trying to see if one particular diet or vitamin would make a difference." At one point, "I was spending $200 to $300 a month on a supplement program, just trying to find answers." And that was all on top of my traditional medical expenses. I'm very lucky," she says, "and I have very good insurance, but I still spend $6,000 to $8,000 a year in co-pays and lab fees.

Shelley has already spent a lot, but she is not done looking for something that will ultimately reduce her pain. 'I don't think people realize how much it costs to get pain relief,' she says. 'You're always trying to find something that might work.'

In the end, Angela Landberg (open in new tab), 42, was lucky to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was only 18. She was still covered by her parents' health insurance, so she was able to get the help she needed without having to worry about finances. Once she turned 25, however, she was on her own. 'I was working as a temporary worker, so I wasn't covered by my employer's health insurance. 'I had a pre-existing condition, so I could only find a mutual aid plan. This meant that not only did she have to pay high monthly premiums, but she also had to pay a percentage of her medical bills. As a result, she was saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

"I had to constantly decide whether or not to get the medications and treatments I needed. [I knew that if I put everything on a credit card, I wouldn't be able to pay at the end of the month," she says. She says, "And after I turned 25, my [new] insurance didn't even cover things like the physical therapy I needed." Angela's finances began to improve only after the Medicaid Affordability Act was passed in 2010.

She was able to enroll in a better plan (pre-existing conditions are no longer a barrier to coverage) and qualified for Medicaid in 2016 because it was expanded. Says she, "I was able to get my credit card debt down to $10,000, and I've worked hard to get my credit score back to a good place." But this medical debt has taken a toll on me."

Adina Felton, a 42-year-old contracting officer for the U.S. Department of Transportation, needs to take several breaths to name the various ailments that have caused her chronic pain. She says, "I've had lupus and fibromyalgia since I was in my 20s, and for the past three years I've also had a rare form of epilepsy that causes daily headaches and migraines." She also suffers from scoliosis, a condition in which her back is bent in a "C" shape.

Adina uses both traditional and holistic methods to deal with her condition. For example, she goes to all the Pilates classes she can afford and pays over $200 a month. Adina says, "I love Pilates because it's gentle on my joints, it works my little muscles, and it helps me to get my body in alignment at the same time." It has really helped me with my muscle and joint pain." At one point, she underwent acupuncture for 12 weeks (partially covered by insurance) for a total of $480, but stopped when she noticed that her overall pain level did not decrease.

Adina also sees a doctor regularly and takes medications to manage her health. She has fairly good health insurance through her job, so she only has co-pays when she goes to the doctor or gets her prescriptions refilled. But that doesn't mean it's free. 'I pay $65 a month for painkillers and $40 every time I see a specialist,' she says. She sees a migraine specialist once a month, a rheumatologist once every three months, a dermatologist once every three months for a rash caused by lupus, an ophthalmologist once every six months (one of her medications affects her eyes), and a seizure specialist once a year."

While it would be easy to max out the $2,750 she puts into her flexible spending account each year, Adina is less concerned with the amount she spends. 'I do all of this because I know it's something I have to do for myself,' she says. 'It feels very natural to make these kinds of expenditures.'

She also feels that she has a lot of money to spend."

In the 13 years since being diagnosed with both rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, Leslie Lott Welsbacher (open in new tab), 35, has learned to live with both pain and treatment costs." I'm one of those people who gets the bill and pays it, but it's definitely not easy," she says.

"When I was in graduate school, I paid at least $10,000 [for various medical expenses] over a two-year period, and I'm not sure how much more I could have paid if I'd had the money.

Leslie also had to spend a lot for expensive procedures, including paying $3,000 for surgery on her right foot to relieve pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Says she, "After a certain point, it became so depressing that I stopped keeping track of how much I spent."

Recently, Leslie realized that almost all of her money was being spent on medical bills. She says, "Since my diagnosis, I basically haven't traveled for fun. I've only traveled for work or for health meetings where the costs are covered," she says. 'I also limit my socializing to save money on treatment.'

For Leslie, chronic pain has also affected her career choices. She says, "At one point I wanted to be a journalist, but my chronic illness made it impossible for me to work long hours. I wanted to get a Ph.D. in sociology and then go into teaching, but many of my professors told me I couldn't because of my illness." I was told that I would not survive a rigorous academic career because of my illness. It was a very difficult environment to accept. 0]

To the dismay of her professors and the reality of how exhausting it is to teach in a classroom of college students when she is not feeling well, she decided to leave academia. Says she, "It's sad and disappointing to spend six years in graduate school and end up with nothing left." 'Now I'm a compliance officer for a long-term community nursing company, and it's not a job I like.'

Leslie has recently obtained much better insurance through her husband's work, but that hasn't stopped her from looking at potential medical costs. 'I'm pregnant and at high risk because of my illness,' she says. 'If it weren't for my husband's insurance, I would have already spent over $3,300 for treatment so far. People who have only ever had good insurance don't understand what it means to have to pay for something. I am so thankful now that I have good insurance, and I am so glad that I have it.