Ok for a period of at least several years I've had this lump on the top of my wrist. When I flex my wrist down, it protrudes out and appears to be about the size of a large grape (not how big the protrusion is, but how big the bulge as a whole appears to be). I'm not completely sure if this is the result of an injury I sustained as my days skateboarding, hehe, or if it has just grown over time. Basically though, I'm planning on seeking diagnosis/treatment for this through my current insurance company, and I would like to know what my best bet is. General practitioner? Go to an ER and say I fell on it the day before and am having pain now? Also, I am not condoning any kind of falsehoods here, but if I were to say that the condition has existed since BEFORE the time I had insurance, would they refuse to treat it? Thanks to anyone who can help...

It's most likely a ganglion cyst... I don't know much about them, but you can look that up and see if it fits.

Can anyone give some advice as to the insurance situation? Would an outpatient surgery be covered even if I tell them that I've had it for a period of a couple years (when I've only been insured for several months)?

Your policy should have a section on preexisting conditions. Sometimes they won't cover them at the beginning, but after a certain waiting period they do.

It says: "The time period based on your enrollment date of your coverage during which services related to preexisting conditions will not be covereed under this health benefit plan. Late entrants will be subject to an 18 month preexisting condition limitation period. We will credit the time period that you have maintained continuous creditable coverage against the 18 month period to reduce your specific preexisting condition limitation period..."

I have NO idea whatsoever what that means. Could anyone PLEASE tell me? If they won't cover my condition, should I bend the truth to make it fit within the time limit (or would they be able to tell, based on the condition)?

And to anyone who has specific knowledge of ganglion cysts, what do you know about draining them on your own with a hyperdermic (this is just a request for info, not asking how I would go about doing it)?