Ladybug - I'm back - my back is still on vacation though...

  • Thread starter Thread starter deb53
  • Start date Start date
D

deb53

Guest
Hey Ladybug,
Several thoughts......
Usually your private insurance will not pay for any medical care that has been filed through W/C. Even if you drop W/C there is a good chance they will not cover anything related to this particular back injury. Check with your insurance company.
Check and research the W/C laws for your state. Every state is different, but in Va. they have to grant you a second opinion.
If you have an L5-S1 herniation with nerve pain and it has not improved over all these months, there is a chance it may not improve without surgery. When PT knows that you are already herniated with nerve impingment they are not going to be as agressive with PT for fear they will make your issue worse. At least that is what I found. The lami may help with the nerve pain but then again since the nerve has been impinged for so long you may have permanent nerve damage. So you really have some thinking to do girl. But I would definitely ask for a second opinion and try PT before you do anything.
OK, now for the nurse side of me....he is right about the smoking. I don't agree though with the way he presented it to you. When you are injured you need all your blood cells to help heal the injured site. Blood cells carry oxygen and nutrients. Your blood cells don't carrry as much oxygen and nutrients as someone who does not smoke. Instead of being saturated with all oxygen, the smoke saturates a part of your blood cells. Since the tissue doesn't receive as much oxygen and nutrients it really slows down and hampers the healing time as well as making tissue, muscles, etc. a little more fragile. So he is right, but being critical doesn't accomplish as much as explaining WHY smoking causes this to happen. Now, we all know many smokers who have healed just fine and are doing well. There is no way to predict which smokers will have problems but if you ask any surgeon about operating on smokers, they will tell you that healing times are longer and they have many more complications. When a smoker has surgery and is inactive (as you have to be after any back surgery)the chances increase for pneumonia. I'm not being critical here Ladybug, just trying to explain and give you the facts as I know them. ;)
Good luck girl and let us know what you decide.

Deb
 
Yep, all first floor master bedrooms, high bathroom sinks so we don't have to bend to brush our teeth, showers with seats....you know all the geriatric stuff!! ;) even though some on this board are not geriatric. Oh well, we'd be comfy right? GrandkiRAB are 7, 5, 3 and 15 months. Now that will keep us all on our toes!
Good luck with your appt tomorrow. keep us posted!

Deb
 
Hey Ladybug :wave:,

How are you today? I'm good but my back and leg has ached all day...it has either rained or snowed here all day...just another typical winter day...I guess that's what we get in the middle of winter...lol. I was born and raised in Ohio and I'm sure I'll be here until the day I leave this earth and move up to Heaven :angel:...just think, in Heaven we'll have no more pain or limitations put on us by our failing bodies, won't that be wonderful? My mother, sister and I had a conversation not too long ago about death and the afterlife...my sister said she wants to be cremated when she dies, I personally think that's an odd choice...I told her I didn't want to be cremated just in case I need my body in the afterlife...my mom looked at me and said "with all the problems you've had b/c of your body, don't you want to request a new one once you get to Heaven?"...I said yes, I would love it if Jesus decides to bless me with a new body in Heaven, but just incase He doesn't I'm not going to let anyone burn up the one I lived in on earth, disabled or not...my mother and my sister got such a laugh out of my view on that...I think they're the silly ones.

Do you live on a farm? I guess for some reason I have always thought that b/c of different things you've said in past posts. When I was a kid, my parents use to take us to Myrtle Beach every summer for a week...we had so much fun during those vacations. I have a question and I'm going to warn you ahead of time that it's going to make you laugh, but I honestly don't know the answer...what are kin folks? You mentioned in your last post that you have some in Ohio.

Tramadol makes you groggy and feel out of it? What is the strongest narcotic you've ever taken? If you started taking what I'm on, heck, you'd be knocked out for a month...lol...it'd take a while for your body to get use to such stronge meRAB...you can certainly use that to your benefit though, especially if you find yourself resorting to surgery...the first month or so of your recovery, when you'll be in the most pain, you'll spend sleeping off the prescription meRAB...that won't be so terrible, but then again you do have an amazingly HIGH pain tolerance so you'll probably tell your neuro you don't need pain meRAB...lol...please don't tell him that, you never know when you might need them down the road. Speaking of post-op pain, I honestly didn't think post-op pain was all that bad, I did think it was easier to deal with than the pain I dealt with day-to-day prior to surgery, so if you do end up having surgery, don't let your neuro and his nurse scare you when they repeatedly explain to you how much pain you'll have post-op...I don't think they understand how much pain we've had to deal with pre-op for months and sometimes years...it's almost like they think our first option is surgery, instead of it being our last option.

I'm really beginning to think the reason I have back problems is b/c God wanted to slow me down too...it's the only thing that makes sense...I have sat and thought and thought and thought about why this happened to me at the greatest time in my life, I had just become a mother...my husband and I tried to have a baby for four years before we had Little E...I lost one baby - the baby didn't make it to term...the problem was me, I wasn't ovulating every month, I took meRAB to force ovulation but that takes all the fun out of making a baby so my husband and I decided to stop the meRAB shortly after starting them...we had actually stopped trying to get pregnant when we finally got pregnant with Little E...lol...wouldn't you know, and even then, I had a rough pregnancy, I had hypermesis, which means I was extremely sick my entire pregnancy, in and out of the hospital for IV fluiRAB...nothing was easy about it...I had to quit my job by the time I was 6 weeks pregnant b/c I was so sick....I had planned to quit working after E was born, my plans just changed slightly...I can't help but think God allowed us to try to conceive for 4 years before actually being successful, He allowed me to be extremely sick the entire time I was pregnant, and then He allowed my back to basically fall apart after my son was born all to get us to slow down and enjoy Little E...who is the greatest little guy in the world. I would like to mention that since my back problems started, many other things in my life have also fallen apart...lol...but my husband and I have to laugh b/c sometimes there's nothing else to do...we do know that God knew what He was doing when He blessed us with Little E...He knew we would NEVER be able to get through all these valley's without that little guy, he makes us smile so many times a day, he makes it all worth it and sometimes I enjoy the "slowed down" pace, it's nice to sit back and watch Little E and not have another care in the world.

I'll tell you about the medical record fiasco tomorrow...I've blabbed way too much tonight...sorry if I've bored you :yawn:.

Take care,
Scrappin'
 
Hi Ladybug,

I am so sorry it has taken me days to post, please forgive me, I promise I'll be a better spiney friend :D in the future. This week has been so crazy for me in so many ways...I so wish we were neigrabroadors, then you could just come over for coffee and chat, but I guess this message board is the next best thing...our fellow spineys are wonderful people that truly know how we feel everyday :angel:.

My son, little E, woke up last friday with the flu, despite getting his flu shot last fall, so friday was rough...and I had already planned his birthday party for saturday, I wanted to cancel b/c I didn't want my entire family to catch the flu bug but my mom convinced me otherwise...little E was also feeling better on saturday but they say hinRABight is 20/20 for a reason...LOL...we had his party as scheduled and everything was fine until he threw up all over my hubby while we were eating cake...later that evening my hubby got the flu, I woke up sunday morning with it and by monday evening my entire family had caught the NASTY flu bug...we all agree that it's the worse flu we've ever had.

I put my first duragesic patch on saturday evening at 10pm and by 12:30 am I felt heavily sedated, so much so I had to go to bed. By sunday evening the flu symptoms had subsided and that's when I started to notice the side effects of the patch...from sunday evening to wednesday afternoon I was experiencing extreme weakness - when I would stand up I would feel like I was going to pass out, no energy to do even the simpliest things like get a glass of water, or even drink a glass of water, tiredness - I have never been so tired before, not even when my son was an infant, it was an odd tiredness, it was more of a drugged feeling, I couldn't stay awake, sick - I was so sick to my stomach, usually only when I was sitting or standing, I was fine as long as I was laying down, I couldn't eat either but I was very thirsty, I craved cold water so I drank a lot of it...I lost 8 pounRAB in 4 days...my mind was also a mess (it still is), the fentanyl from the patch made my mind mush, I couldn't begin to think of comprehending anything...it was weird...but every day I have felt a little better...I still have a hard time with eating and feeling sick but I'm working on it....the patch definately controls my back pain better than the oxy did so I have some hope for the future...up until today my pain level has been about a 5 on a pain scale of a 1-10 but today my pain has been about an 8 again...I change the patch every 3 days and today is day 3 so sometimes on day 3 my pain can increase b/c apparently the patch isn't as effective, alot of patients change their patches every 48 hours instead of every 72 so when I see my dr on March 14th that may be something we discuss but I don't want to jump the gun, to be honest I can't imagine an increase at this point...I saw my dad last week, and I haven't seen him since Christmas, he told me I was wasting away into nothing...he's right, I'm losing way too much weight...Tuesday night I hadn't really ate anything except some applesauce since Saturday and I couldn't force myself to eat anything mainly b/c I didn't feel good and also b/c I never have an appetite, my husband got really angry at me and told me I had to eat or I would end up in the hospital...I knew he was right and I didn't want that to happen so I choked down some saltines...since then I have made an effort to eat something everyday, the good thing is I have been drinking a lot of water and ice so I'm hydrated. It has been a big adjustment, let me tell you.

I did want to tell you that the neurosurgeon I saw last Monday now seems to think that there's a piece of the bulging disc at L1 floating around in my lurabar area...which would mean the disc is no longer bulging, right? Wouldn't that mean it's ruptured? That may explain my pain. I'm still not letting him do the fusion if he insists on taking me off pain meRAB beforehand, and there is no way I will ever change my mind, in fact, this lets me know how stingy he would be after surgery with pain meRAB...nope...if I've learned anything from this journey, it's to be wise. However, I am wise enough to know that I need to find a neuro or ortho surgeon to fix my back in the near future before my back problems/pain gets too out of my control...hence my next issue...
I also learned another great piece of info late this week. I have been trying, very professionally trying to obtain a copy of my recorRAB from my first neurosurgeon, b/c without those recorRAB no other surgeon is going to be willing to do further surgeries on my back. The last letter I sent his office was sent by certified mail and my recorRAB show his office received my letter on Jan 30th but as of this past Monday I had not heard back from them or received my recorRAB, so I called his office yesterday. Guess what? His assistant is now telling me they lost my file. She told me she would call me once she found my file. These people have made up every excuse under the sun not to give me my recorRAB, but they must be getting scared b/c another surgeon just requested them. I find it extremely hard to believe they lost my file...I don't understand why they are trying to keep what is legally mine from me. This neuro won't fix my back, even though he knows I need more surgery, but his assistant won't give me my file so another surgeon can fix it for me....I don't understand...there was never any problems between me and my surgeon...I don't care for his nurse or his administrative assistant but I have been professional with them even though they haven't always been the same to me...in my last letter I threw in how I would like a copy of my recorRAB as my neuro is legally obligated per HIPAA to send me a copy...this doesn't seem to matter to my neuro, which is surprising b/c he is professional and so is the group he works for...do you have any suggestions? The bottom line is I need my recorRAB before another surgeon will agree to attempt to fix my back through surgery.

What has been going on in your life Ladybug? I feel like I've been asleep for a week and need to catch up on everything. I know in one of the post I read a few days ago you mentioned a bad spell you were going through, tell me about that...and how the heck do you do it without pain meRAB? In so many ways I admire you for that, even though it's not your choice at this point, but at the same time I know how tough it has to also be for you. You are in my thoughts and prayers and have been all week, even when I couldn't think straight to let you know it...lol. I can't wait to hear back from you :). I've missed you!

Please disregard any misspelled worRAB or crazy sentences, my brain is still on the mushy side :dizzy:

Take care,
Scrappin'
 
Hey Deb and Scrappi,

Sorry it took me so long to get back with you. Been absorbing all of this, trying to figure out what to do. Im checking into things with my attorney about giving up wc and to learn if my insurance will take over. I just spoke with a friend of mine who is one that gave me a high recommendation of the neurosurgeon. She was not on wc..so I felt that in talking with her, I would know if thats his standard way of doing things, or if it was just me because I am on wc. She told me that he was the same with her....the when a dr senRAB you to a neurosurgeon, that its because they cant do anything further to help you, and the neurosurgeon can only do surgery...so thats why they dont offer more help to you. That you are being sent to his office for surgery, because thats just what he does. So that made me feel better to know that it wasnt just me.

As far as smoking, I will be the first to agree that smoking is horrible for a person. My dad died..yesterday marked 3 years, from emphysema. I know that I need to quit for MANY reasons, and I do plan to attempt it again. I quit 2 years ago for 4 months...so I know that I can do it. But, it seems that every dr blames everything on smoking...and that irks me. My sister had the surgery a few years back....and she NEVER smoked a day in her life....and the surgery didnt help her. The friend I was talking about earlier, she never smoked in her life....the surgery helped...to a point...but she still had spasms real bad after surgery, so they went in a few months later and killed the nerved. Her surgery was 10 years ago....so I guess, all in all, it did kinda help her. But it wasnt the surgery itself that helped...she had to have that additional procedure. When my hubby had his many years ago...(20+)...it didnt help him at all...in fact, within a couple of months, they had to go back in and do another surgery to fix and repair things....scar tissue, disc problems, etc....so to me...smoking should not be mentioned as a reason why surgery will fail. Smoking is blamed on everything....and it just gets old. My girls have allergies, and I was told that smoking around them was the cause of their problems, keeping things irritated. Soooo....I no longer smoked around them......I smoke outside ONLY........they are never around smoking....havent been in the last 10 years...and their allergies are still bad. So it just irritates me to hear that smoking is the problem of everything going wrong...
I know that you werent being critical....as I said, I very well know the problems that smoking causes......and everything you said does make sense. But the way the dr approached things yesterday, that was the very first thing and I just dont feel that smoking will cause the surgery to fail....it might help to contribute, but it wont be the full cause.

I have not scheduled surgery.....Im holding off on that decision. My primary focus at this point is to do more therapy.....and get my strength built back up.....I dont have to make that decision right now, I was advised by my attorney to take as long as I needed to decide....to not rush into any decision, and feel that its something i have to agree or disagree to right now....but that i will eventually have to make up my mind somehow....but i am allowed to take a few months to toss it.

If I absolutely refuse to do the surgery, wc has the right to end paying me weekly benefits...and send me back to work just as I am right now, with no restrictions. Because in their eyes, if I refuse surgery, thats saying that Im not suffering and and ok, and therefore, I should be fine to go to work with no restrictions. So, I cant just "refuse" the surgery.....BUT, if I take my time on a decision, and decide to go with a settlement.....they cant make me do the surgery, or make me go back to work.

I dont know what I want to do. As I told my friend....I would like to get back to work one day.....as sitting around the house doing nothing is absolutely boring and Im ready to get back out there and work. BUT, if I dont do the surgery.....i CANT work....period. So, thats another part of my decision. I know that its no guarantee that I can work after surgery.....BUT, I do know that with my condition today, I cannot work. So...thats another thing to think on. UGH!! lol..

thank you for listening to me gripe and grurable....and giving me things to think on, and advice. its not a decision that im going to race into either way.
 
Hey Deb!

LOL...that is so funny!!! Yes ma'am...Id be very comfy if things were at the right height!!
Yep.....grandkiRAB are at the right ages to keep everyone hopping!! lol But i love kiRAB...so thats ok! Im excited to have grandkiRAB of my own one day....just not for at least another 5-8 years...LOL gotta get em out of high school and college before i want them to give me grandkiRAB...lol.
Thanks. I will report on here how things went as soon as I get home. Probably around noon-ish.
 
ok..just let me know when you are here. i will have to keep checking to see if you have posted.
 
Hey Scrappi,

Im fairly good today. Kinda achy and stiff, but nothing I cant deal with. It rained here yesterday..too warm for snow. lol. But its gonna be kinda cold today and tomorrow...with temps around 40 with 25-30 mph winRAB.

I dont wanna be cremated either. But I never thought about your philosophy of it..lol. I like that!

We kinda live on a farm..lol. Its 16 acres of farm land. But its not being used for anything now. My hubby and his father used to grow 50+ acres of tobacco (on his daRAB land too)..of tobacco up until a few years ago when it phased out so bad, and no one could make any money off of it. Now our cash crop is sweet potatoes. We usually have about 2 acres of it. I used to help him...but now....I cant! My hubby grows about an acre of vegetables during the summer...but he gives most of it away...he just LOVES farming and growing things.

I just LOVE your question..LOL. Kin Folks = relatives...LOL. I have relatives in Cincinnati. And yes, I did get a laugh out of that one! :D


I guess the strongest narcotic I have ever taken is Percocet and Tylenol with Codeine. They make me groggy as well. With the Tramadol, Im supposed to take 1 every 8 hours...but thats like taking nothing at all...so I take 2 of them. As far as surgery pain..I dont let that scare me. Between the laparoscopies I had for endometriosis, Tonsillectomy, and hysterectomy...none of them were painful as everyone told me it would be. lol. In fact, hours after my hysterectomy, my dr asked me "are you SURE you had surgery today??!!"...I laughed and told him that I was beginning to wonder! That was with nothing more than Ibuprofen that they gave me every few hours, which I didnt even think I needed that! I was driving myself to the dentist one week later to get that darn tooth pulled that got infected...and they were AMAZED that I was out and about by myself..lol. I told them that the tooth pain was by far worse than having the hysterectomy!!

I hate to hear that you had a rough time getting pg..then a rough pregnancy when you finally did conceive. wow. But, I guess it was all worth it in the end, huh? Thankfully, both of my pregnancies were good....it was the delivery and after that got me. With my first, they gave me too much epidural..which made me sick and weak....to the point to where they told my hubby that if things didnt progress within a certain time frame...he was gonna have to make the decision as to whether to save me or the baby. With my second..things went great with delivery....BUT...3 weeks later I nearly died due to a severe infection from not having all of the afterbirth expelled from my body. Now that was rough!!

I cant wait to hear about your medical report ordeal. I'll be watchin and waitin for it....lol. Have a good day.
 
Hey Scrappi!!

Nice to see you back on here..lol.
Yeah my appt is Monday..Im excited..and scared. Its almost like its gonna be the first day of the rest of my life. Ive NEVER been this excited to go to a dr!! :D I just pray that he keeps the "s" word out of the picture. I know that it sounRAB kinda insane...but..I do kinda hope that I hear the worRAB that its too late for surgery.....but Im sure that you can understand my meaning on that one. Life is depressing enough....I dont want surgery to make things worse and complicate my life even more. For the most part, I have adapted to my "disabilities" and accepted my limitations and pain. But every so often...I get smacked in the face with it, and it gets so depressing. I used to love to go bowling...never done it on a regular basis (I guess thats a good thing, since I wasnt addicted to it!)...but I still enjoyed it when I did go. Every so often, my kiRAB, or frienRAB, makes plans to go..and it just upsets me because I cant do it anymore. I ALWAYS LOVED going to the fair and riding rides with my girls....another part of my life that is history. And just a few weeks ago, my mother in law was wanting to plan another family vacation....well.....what is there to plan that I can do??? She was wanting to go to Disney World..or Dollywood. I cant ride rides..I cant walk as much walking as those would take....Soooooo....everyone is having to try to come up with a trip idea that I would be able to do. Now thats asking the impossible!! The beach is about the only thing that I can do....and thats just not fair to everyone. This weekend, Joyce Meyers ministries is in town...I LOVE listening to her!! She is comical, and makes things make sense....but....once again....its something I had to do without. I dont know how long she would be preaching......but I can imagine that its at least 2 hours......theres no way in this world I could sit that long...and on top of that, I would be sooo freaking erabarrassed once it was over, trying to stand back up. It really is truly erabarrassing. So anyway...back to the dr....Im hoping all goes well too....thank you for the good luck wishes.

As far as the house......Im kinda done..lol. Once I got down to the small stuff...pretty much done....I was so tired and bored with it...I kinda stopped..lol. I have 4 sets of curtains to wash and put the curtain hangers up, then hang the curtains. BUT...from where we painted the other rooms 2 years ago....i STILL have pictures in the closets that I have to hang!!! I have a bad habit of that. A few years ago, I stripped and re-stained my kitchen table and have 6 chairs with it....I got down to the very last chair..and decided I had had enough!! .and after 2 very long years of procrastinating....I FINALLY got it done this past year..lol. ALL I had left to do on it was stain it......I just got so bored with it, that I couldnt seem to bring myself to finish it.

I really wish that we were neigrabroadors too!! I really enjoy chatting with you. If I ever take too long getting back to you..its because for some reason, yahoo doesnt send me the notifications all the time. its kinda strange. Just looking through the new postings..there have been times that Im like "oh my....here that person has been waiting on me to respond and I didnt even know it!" I dont know why it does that??

Well..I hope to hear from you soon about how things are going with you and your pain and your drs visit. I certainly hope things are looking brighter for you now. Take care!
 
Hey Ladybug,

It's bright and white here today...yeah :cool:! Last night it snowed a few inches...I LOVE snow and I've turned my son into a snow lover too :bouncing:. You're probably stiff and achey b/c you have a back injury that neeRAB medical attention and also b/c it's cold outside today :D...lol.

I actually feel pretty good today, probably b/c I'm only on day 2 of the patch. The worst side effect of the patch is constipation...everyone knows narcotics cause constipation...before I started using the patch I did know constipation was a more severe side effect of the patch than with other narcotics...when I was taking oxy I had to stay on top of my fiber intake but so far with the patch it doesn't seem to matter what I do, nothing has worked...everyday since last Tuesday I have taken stool softeners and so far I haven't had any BM's, I know from Tuesday to Friday I was still having a hard time eating but since Friday I've been eating okay, I've also been taking daily fiber supplements...I guess at my next appt I'll have to talk to my doctor and see if there's something she can prescribe...lol...if it's not 1 thing it's another.

Your former doctor prescribed 1 tramadol every 8 hours for a back injury? You can take more tylenol than that! Back in early Deceraber when my pain dramatically increased, my PM doctor refused to move up my monthly appt, he advised me to go to the urgent care/ER instead...so I did and ofcourse I got lucky enough to get stuck with the only doctor in the place that didn't "believe" in narcotics...she gave me a script for tramadol instead, but even she wrote it for 2 every 6 hours...my mother takes it for arthritis and when I told her that's what they gave me she laughed and said it should work about as well as tylenol does for me...lol...the urgent care doctor said she was prescribing it b/c she thought my back was inflammed and tramadol would help decrease that...I'm sure my back has been inflammed for years now and will be for years to come...lol.

My grandparents have always lived on a farm, my mother grew up on it...I loved going there as a kid and now Little E loves to visit...my grandparents grow their own veggies, my grandma's tomatoes are out of this world, she makes her own applesauce...yum, it makes me hungry thinking about it.

Yes, Little E was so worth it, the 4 long years it took to get him here, the 9 long months of being so sick, the baby I lost...I would do it again in a heartbeat, in fact I pray I'm able to have 1 more baby before I'm too old...I didn't tell you that at the same time I was pregnant with the baby I lost, my sister was also pregnant, we actually had the same due date, February 1st, she already had 1 son, after my baby died, she had an ultrasound and was so upset when she was told she was having another boy, she cried and made a big scene...I remeraber thinking how ungrateful she was, I would have loved to have had a boy but my baby died...the worse part was she had her son on February 1st, she decided to be induced...I still don't understand why she didn't pick any other date :(. Wow! It sounRAB like you went through alot to get your girls here. Did you have a bad headache with your first daughter, when they gave you too much of the epidural medicine? I ask b/c I recall seeing a news program a while back with a husband telling a similar story, except his wife did not live, he said after she had the baby she had a terrible headache and then she went down hill very quickly. It sounRAB like with both deliveries you could have had pretty good grounRAB to sue...it just goes to show there's nothing like a mother's love...look how much we can go through to get our children here, yet we're willing to do it over and over again, now that's love.

Okay, here's how I was planning to get a copy of my recorRAB from my other neuro. A few weeks ago, when I saw the stingy neuro (the neuro who wanted to take me off all pain meRAB months before surgery...btw, that reminRAB me, I now know he wanted to take me off all pain meRAB to be mean, not b/c it's medically necessary...the only thing I would need to do before surgery is have a consult with the anesthesiologist who would be present during my surgery and let him or her know what pain meRAB I'm currently on so they could give me stronger meRAB than what they would normally give...apparently the stingy surgeon is still using methoRAB from the "stone age" :eek:.) I acted like I had intentions of letting him fix L1, I did it just to get out of his office...he gave me an x-ray order b/c he wanted to make sure my fused site, L5-S1, is stable and the hardware is still in its correct place...he said in the meantime he would have his assistant, Trish, request my recorRAB from my other neuro. (I've told you this part already.) Last week Trish called and left a message saying she received my recorRAB from my old neuro...I thought that was odd b/c on Jan 30th my other neuro's office had signed for a letter I sent them by certified mail, in the letter I requested a copy of my recorRAB and I still had not received them...that's when I called and spoke with my other neuro's assistant, Deb, and was told she had lost my recorRAB...so I thought, ok, I need to have x-rays of my fused site done anyway, so I know my fused site is not the cause of my pain...I thought I would have the x-rays done, make a follow-up appt with stingy neuro so he could read the x-rays for me and give me, in writing of course, his opinion of what neeRAB to be done to fix my back problems/pain problems and at that same visit ask his assistant for a copy of the recorRAB my other neuro sent them...if stingy neuro's assistant refused to give me a copy of the recorRAB from my other neuro I planned to take my "second opinion" from stingy neuro and make an appt with my other neuro to show him the "second opinion" (even though our doctor/patient relationship was broken months ago and I have no intention of ever mending it) and I figured once he came into the exam room with my file I'd tell him he could go make a copy of everything inside it or I would but either way I had no intention of leaving his office without my medical recorRAB.

My husband thought my plan was too complicated, he said the bottom line is it's a heck of a big deal if, infact, his office really did lose my medical recorRAB, not to mention a breach of the privacy act...it means any joe on the street could have my medical recorRAB and my neuro could care less...why did I not find out about it until I called his assistant? Why didn't they call me? They obviously received my letter...can you tell my husband is angry about this? He thinks I should go to his office and demand a copy of my medical recorRAB and if they still say they can't find them, say, "oh really, I believe that's a violation of my privacy rights, do I need to call my lawyer?"....he thinks that will shake them up enough to get results...he says I'll atleast know if they really lost my recorRAB or not. Now I only need to find someone to go with me. I think that's what I will end up doing. What do you think?

I'm sorry I wrote a novel today. I had so much to say :D.

Take Care,
Scrappi
 
Scrappi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i havent heard from you since 2-29.....please tell me that you are just taking a break from the computer and that you are ok!!! :confused:

my drs appt is monday........im nervous/scared and yet excited too.
how did your appt go today???? (the 14th)

come back!!! i miss my back buddy!! :(
 
Hey Scrappi,

Am so glad to hear that you are on your way to getting better. SounRAB like you have been through a major ordeal!! Dont worry about not being in touch for so long...I completely understand!! I have missed you too..and I knew that something had to be wrong since I hadnt heard from you in a few days!!!! But even though the patches made you so sick, Im glad to hear that they are working for you pain wise. Im not sure that I would have stuck in there long enough to find out if they had made me that sick. I need to lose some weight..but I certainly dont wanna lose it that way!! haha.

Wouldnt it be something if we really are "neigrabroadors"..lol. I dont think we have ever asked each other where we are from..So here goes...where are you from? Im in NC. LOL.

I hate to hear about Little E's birthday...but at least he got to enjoy some of it anyway. Poor guy! Yeah, I know several thats had the flu this year...and it hit everyone of them very hard!! Just keeping our fingers crossed that we survive yet another year without getting it!

As far as the bulging/rupture...that is my situation..its still bulging out, and it did rupture...so no, just because it has ruptured, doesnt mean that its still not bulging out. And those pieces floating, I would assume that it does mean that it ruptured....not sure how much..could be just a little bit. In the May MRI that I had done last year, it showed the floating material..and they said that it was definitely ruptured...but mildly ruptured..and according to my recent MRI, its still bulging. So that should answer your question. I dont blame you about coming off the pain meRAB before the fusion..but...if its gonna make it worse on you in the end when trying to control the pain after surgery .I really dont know what I would do. I cant believe that drs office lost your file!!! OH MY!! Id be ticked!!!!! But it certainly does sound suspicious!! Wonder if they really did lose your file?? I have no idea what to tell you how to handle that one! I think if it were me, Id be telling them that if you do not have it in your hanRAB within a certain nuraber of days, that you will see what your attorney can do about it....(even if you dont have one..they dont know that!!) thats the only thing I would know to tell you. Is it possible that you could get some kind of recorRAB from the hospital where the surgery was performed?? They should have something pertaining to your surgery in their medical recorRAB office. Thats one thing I would check on first thing Monday morning.

As far as me....I go through those spells every so often. It seems to be happening more and more here lately though. I can tolerate the leg pain (nerve) and the burning...but I CANNOT tolerate that horrible toothache feeling pain. When it gets like that...sorry...but I aint tough no more..LOL...I HAVE to rely on my pain meRAB...Ive taken more of them over the last couple of weeks than I have in the last year. I dont really consider them pain pills....as they dont really help. It makes me more groggy and out of it than anything...but it does help a touch with the pain. Im hoping my new dr can give me something better than those darn things for times when it gets that bad. (oh yeah...I forgot to tell you...my rx account as been reactivated a couple of weeks ago..lol). So I was able to get my refill on the joke of a pain pill that I have.

Well, I look forward to hearing from you again. Just hope that you will be completely back to "normal" again. Take care and I look forward to hearing from you!
 
You know it would be so nice to have some of my spiney frienRAB as my neigrabroadors! We could just all "gimp" around the neigrabroadorhood visiting each other. When my pain is a "3" I could help someone having a "7,8,9,10" day!

Deb
 
Hello Ladybug :wave:,

I haven't seen you online or heard from you in a few days...is everything okay? I hope your back problems and nerve pain are not causing you more pain than normal.

I honestly hope I haven't heard from you because you've felt GREAT the last few days and have been out and about enjoying it :).

Unfortunately, I have some not-so-good news to report :(...since last Friday, which was basically when I resumed living again after being flat on my back for a week...you know the details...sick from the flu and from starting the Duragesic patch, anyhow, since last Friday my pain level has skyrocketed once again. I would say it's every bit as high as it was when I was taking Oxy :(...I just called my doctor today because I thought it would work itself out but it hasn't eased up one bit. I have an appt with her on Monday morning. I feel very confident that she will adjust the patch for me. She is, after all, an angel :angel: in disguise. I'll let you know what she decides to do.

I hope to hear from you soon. Have a wonderful weekend.

Patiently waiting,
Scrappi
 
Deb...that would be very nice, wouldnt it? lol. ya'll come on down to NC and we can all have a blast complaining....and be there for each other when we are having our worst of days. man.....that really would be the best! LOL. all of you seem to be so nice and seem like you could keep one laughing! thats what we all need!
 
Hey Ladybug,
That certainly sounRAB like a plan! I'm glad you are going to take time to ponder this and check out all of your options. You've been on this board long enough to know that surgery carries no gaurantees for pain relief. I'm glad you didn't think I was being critical of your smoking. Since your doc didn't take the time to tell you WHY AND HOW smoking effects surgical outcomes, I thought I would just tell you. My parents both smoked also, Dad died of emphysema and Mom quit smoking cold turkey after smoking for 50 years! I NEVER in my wildest dreams thought she would ever quit. Keep us updated girl and I will pray that you find guidance to aid in your decision. Keep the old chin up ;)

Deb
 
Hey Scrappi,

Sorry that I havent responded....Im fine...lol. I have been really really busy...so not much computer time over the last couple of weeks. We started almost 2 years ago getting the house painted...got most of it done...then I got hurt...so we had put the rest of the house on hold. Well...it was well past time to get the rest of the house done...not having the money to pay the guy that we hired 2 years ago do the painting..(he was VERY expensive..but really good! LOL) ..some frienRAB came over last weekend and finished up the painting for us. so I have been busy trying to get the house back together....cleaning everything really good before putting things back into its place. What would have taken me a day..maybe 2..a couple of years ago....is now taking me 5+ days so far to complete. I HOPE to be finished by tomorrow...so that I can get the rest of the house cleaning caught up! ha! I have been hurting....as you can imagine...but...i just try to suck it up because its gotta get done. I do not like things out of order!!! It drives me insane!!!!! and alot of the deep cleaning has not been done since I got hurt....so Im taking advantage of getting everyones help while we have everything torn upside down! ha! it really has been hard...but I have been extra careful to take it easy and not overdo it...or to do something that I shouldnt be doing.

But since this is going to be a catch up response..and will be quite lengthy..Im not gonna respond on the small talk issues if thats ok?! lol. But I do want to answer one of your questions....lol..."kin folk" is relatives...LOL. I have relatives in Cincinnati. That was just too funny...you learned a new word today...haha.

As far as your constipation....been there...done that!!! I've been through it with narcotics (no one told me that narcotics affect you that way...I learned it the hard way!!)....then the spell that I had last year for 5 months....(i still think its back related...but thank GOD its pretty much better now)....so I know all too well about it!! I dont really know what all you have been doing...but heres things that I done....I increased my fiber..by fooRAB and fiber sure (not sure if you know, but we are supposed to get like 35 grams a day..which I barely get 15 most of the time...lol)......LOTS of water...i took 4 stool softeners a day.....and lets not forget those suppositories!!! I literally was using 2 at a time 3-4 times a day!!!!! Then I started drinking mineral oil NONE of it worked for me to where I was able to get back on track on a permanent basis...it would help for the moment, or for a day or two...but then right back where I started. The ONE THING that worked....and I continue doing when I feel that I have to go but cant....3 cups of coffee with sugar and creamer....that will do the trick EVERYTIME!!! Ive never been one to drink coffee on a regular basis...but it really does help...so its almost an every day thing now...or at least 3 times a week. I have not been badly constipated since I started doing that. I would feel that way for a day..or heck even for an hour.....drink the coffee..and within an hour...Im going to the potty!! lol....

I was also told by a nurse to drink hot water...the hottest you can stand it...prior to bedtime...along with your milk of magnesia or whatever you take for constipation. so maybe that will help you.

yes, my former dr prescribed me tramadol 1 every 8 hours. as you well know, it isnt strong enough!! which is why i take 2. up until the last month or so, I rarely had to resort to taking it that often....now Im having to take it alot more often (and this was before dealing with the painting issues).

that sounRAB like a great plan on how to get copies of your medical recorRAB!! your plan and your hubbies....between the two...one of them should work!! let me know how it goes!

im sooooo sorry to hear that your pain is back! man i hate that...i really do. but hopefully your dr will do something more to help you. let me know how it goes. at least you did have a few pain free days to enjoy life again...I certainly hope the dr can get you to that point again and for it to last a little longer than it did this time.

Well...Im gonna go on to bed now. Forgive me if I dont get back to you as quickly as I normally would...but I am really hoping that things will start to slow down after tomorrow...;)
 
Hello Ladybug,

I'm sorry I haven't posted in the last 2 weeks, I honestly had no idea that much time had gone by. I didn't deliberately plan on taking a break, things have just been really hectic lately. I can't fully explain what has been going on now, but I will in the next day or two...I hope to be able to explain everything later tonight.

Thanks for not giving up on me!

Scrappi'
 
Hello Ladybug,

W/C can stop paying you and release you back to work if you refuse to have surgery based on this neuro you had the appt with last Monday? There is something terribly wrong with our system if that's true! In my opinion, I think b/c you were without any medical care for so long thanks to wc, surgery will prove to be unsuccessful...it's easier for me to see that b/c I'm on the other side of surgery...I had a compressed nerve for 9 months in my left leg and foot prior to my fusion and, as you know, I will never have feeling in my left leg or foot ever again, unless of course a miracle occurs...apparently surgeons do fusions to correct nerve problems/pain, not back problems/pain, which may be possible if your nerve has been compressed for a few weeks or even a few months but not months and years. You should ask wc what happens after surgery when your neuro has officially classified you as a failed fusion statistic...is wc then going to foot your medical bills for the rest of your life? I honestly think your best bet is to not have surgery and deal with the chronic pain and other symptoms from your injury as they appear...find a good pain management doctor or GP who can control your pain, but it sounRAB like it's not your choice, wc gets to make the choice, right? How wrong! I'm sorry if my post has an angry tone to it...I feel angry for you b/c I care and b/c I've been through a similiar situation...what doctors and insurance companies and wc can do to us honest people is terrible...I hate it! It drives me crazy!

I am glad they're giving you time to think things over, even if your options are limited. I hope whatever decision you make turns out to be the right one for you. I'll be praying for you, praying for the Good Lord to guide you in your decision-making.

Take care,
Scrappin'
 
Back
Top