Best hospital in US for degenerative disc pain

  • Thread starter Thread starter mznell
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HEY You! Thanks for the support, everyone! My sister is a real sweetheart who has been dealing with these issues for a long time and it's tough to see what she deals with and not be able to help. She has hypermobile joints that have led to shoulder surgeries for her as well. My foot problem, which is what led me to Health BoarRAB, was caused by a tendon problem. I think there's a connection as far as the tendon problems go for her and I, but the back is probably a whole other issue. Whatever the case, if my sister doesn't join the board, I'll be reading and trying to pass information along to her. She has other problems as well and I think it just gets to be "too much" at times, you know?

I think the Beaumont Hospital system, which our families are both enrolled in, is outstanding. Our main hospital is the one in Troy. My husband and I had several bad experiences at the Royal Oak campus, but that was several years ago. I recently had foot surgery at Royal Oak and couldn't have been more impressed... I was very pleasantly surprised. I used to think that Royal Oak had just gotten too big too quickly and couldn't handle the rapid growth. I'm thinking/hoping those problems are all worked out now and would definitely go back again based on my last experience. Currently, the Troy hospital is expanding, so we'll see how their growth is handled. I was just asking you all what you thought in case there is a hospital that is more renowned for this problem... and having been through back troubles, you would probably be anyone's best resource. I'm so impressed with how much some people know about their conditions when I read these boarRAB... and the sympathy and support you share is incredible. Thanks again!
 
Hey,
An ESI is an Epidural Steroid Injection. It is usually one of the things they try before resorting to surgery. Basically, they inject steroiRAB into the area having the issues. They are very helpful to some and not so helpful to others in terms of pain relief. They don't fix the problem, just offer some pain relief. If they help, sometimes surgery can be postponed for awhile....just depenRAB on what the particular problem is. I'm glad your sister is having some relief from her pain with the oral steroiRAB. Please keep us posted.

Deb
 
Hey.. HEY!

Just in case you didnt know.. DDD is a condition that happens to us all. It's not a disease and it is more of controlling the pain if it sets in and not fixing this, as it can not be fixed. You can't prevent DDD.

I think there is no Best of the Best that is identifiable and more of a preference to the patient being treated on what they think their best of the best they've been to.

I would suggest you seeking out a really good SPINE INSTITUTE/CENTER that has a full center for spine treatment. Then check their credentials as well. You want to make sure the surgeons are spine fellowed (lots of extra specialized training in the spine) and have a good track record. It's okay to have newbies on board but the Center must have some very tenured spine surgeons as the main.

Good luck and keep us posted on your sister.
 
If your sister is reading these posts, then I want to say, "hi," to her! I am sure that once she reaRAB these posts that she will want to join in all of this fun and useful information...I am so thankful to have found this board, whenever I was searching about lurabar spine abnormalities in Deceraber of 2007. The information given by the merabers here is priceless! I have learned more here than I have at most doctor's visits! Please continue to keep us all updated about each of your conditions!
 
Hey,

I hope your sister is doing better and that you have been able to give her some great information that you have found here. Hopefully one day she'll chime in. I went to the practice Herkowitz is in for a second opinion after I broke my wrist. I had some minor tendon damage and wanted to see if the dr in this practice agreed with my dr to not have surgery on it and he did. My son was slashed in the wrist while playing hockey and saw Dr. Collins. Dr. Collins has treated many Det. professional sports players. Their photos line the hallway of the office. Both drs were very nice and gave us good care.

Two drs did the surgery together. My daughter's back was more involved than most pediatric patients her age have. Both of these drs were fellowship trained.

Good luck with your search for your sister. continue giving her such excellent support. I know the support helped my daughter through the tough years. cas
 
Thank you everybody for your posts and helpful information! I'm learning a lot and hope it helps my sister.

Tell me something.... Several people have suggested we consider doctors who have been "fellowship trained." What exactly does that mean? Is it that these docs are trained by the best of the best and have a better insight because of it?

I hear a lot about UofM and have that on my radar... thanks for everything you are all telling me.

Hope you are all doing welll today. I wasn't around these boarRAB much the last couple of days because I was at the doctor myself having a walking cast put on. I had foot surgery in Deceraber.... tendon trouble. My sister has tendon troubles in her shoulders ... go figure ....
 
"Hey" ... Haha... Thank you both for the post. I joined this board for a foot problem so I have much to learn about backs, spines, etc. I tried to get my sister to join this board a while ago but, unfortunately, she is thoroughly overwhelmed, depressed, you name it. I'm trying hard just to help her find some relief, however brief or minor. Yesterday morning my sister called me and was frantic with pain... it had been building for days. I told her all she could really do was get to the hospital and at least the pain management specialists could hopefully get things under control for her..... which is exactly how it went. After giving her meRAB, they took an MRI and concluded that the same things she's had going on in her neck (which was operated on this past summer for cord impingement) is now affecting her lower back... I should say "affecting her back more." She's had trouble with the entire spine for a while. Anyways, the docs gave her pain meRAB, brought her blood pressure down (they believe it was elevated from the pain), and gave her some sort of steroiRAB (?) to bring the inflammation down. She came home today and went directly to sleep after all the stress, medications, etc. We are in Michigan.... in the William Beaumont system if you know of it... good hospital but unsure if it's the best for her situation. I will follow your adivce and do a little detective work ..... it will have a pretty big learning curve, however, even though I do have some medical knowledge and experience.... just nothing with backs and spines. I've worked with the elderly and been involved in hospice..... Wow, I can't stop talking. Thanks for listening!
 
Hello, hey...My heart and prayers go out to you and your sister. I pray that eventually you can convince your sister to join the board. I know that we all could help lift her spirits and answer any questions that she may have. Just please let her know that we are all praying for her and hope to meet her soon!
 
Hi Hey,

My daughter was diagnosed with congenital spondylolisthesis when she was about 11 (a slipped disc that she was born with). A few years later with her active lifestyle and dancing her slip advanced and pain began to be with her all of the time. We knew that since she was a pediatric patient that she should be seen by a pediatric orthopaedist. Her ped ortho does all but dealt a lot with scoliosis. After a year of pain and many nonsurgical interventions, he suggested surgery and we booked a date.

Her dr was wonderful. He helped us get in for the second opinion at U of Mich earlier than the office was giving me. He encouraged me to go to the dr that we felt the most comfortable with. Diagnosis and treatment plans were similar at both so we decided to stay at RO Beaumont because it was close to home and my daughter really liked her dr that she had been seeing for years. I actually cancelled her first surgery date and he tried another nonsurgical option. A few months later an mri also showed stenosis. So we rescheduled surgery for June of '05. She had a two level fusion. The ped dr did the surgery along with his adult spine partner.

Her drs were not from the practice that Fishgrund is in but my son and I have been to that office to see other drs in his practice - hand surgeon for a second opinion for me and Dr. Collins for my son.

We considered going to a pediatric hospital in Dallas where a relative is at, but she said we would not be able to travel back for about a month post op. I couldn't see staying at a hotel trying to recover from this surgery alone with my daughter so we crossed that off our list and decided to stay in Detroit. There are other highly ranked orthopaedic hospitals in the country - Mayo Clinic...

Tell your sister that you get so many questions answered here. I lurked for almost a year before I posted. Even by just reading posts I knew exactly what to ask her dr at each appointment so nothing was a surprise to us. cas
 
Brooks Rehab Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla. This is where I was supposed to go but the insurance co doesn't want to pay. They afr recommended by a lot of people.

Good Luck
 
Thanks for the update, hey...I am sorry that the pain relief isn't lasting for your sister. I pray that the doctor(s) will find something that can give her consistent pain relief. How is she emotionally doing? Tell her that we are all thinking about her and praying for her! Sincerely, Tam
 
I guess I should get back on track with this post and ask what input people have about hospitals. My sister is with Beaumont in Royal Oak and also in Troy, Michigan. I've listened to everyone's input about the doctors' credentials, etc..... very valuable..... thank you. I know the Detroit Red Wings go to the group my sister sees.... Hopefully, this means they're verrrrrrrry good...? I'm still reading about the doctors' backgrounRAB, and thank you again for all of your posts.
 
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