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Back Surgery and needing help

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It worked!! I left a message with his staff and I now have an appointment for Thursday! I can't even express how relieved I am. And also pleased with myself. I actually did it.

Make them acomplishments instead of burdens.

Interesting. I don't really think of the things I'm not getting done as burdens. But if I think about getting help with them, I quickly think I'm a burden. But yeah. I can start focusing more on what I accomplish.
 
Well, my guinea pig got super sick. Got home about 4am last night from the emergency vet. Headed there after work yesterday. (She's doing ok). I'm putting a positive spin on it. Thank goodness it happened now, not just after surgery. I just sat down after doing stuff and thought, "I am not in pain and then realized I'm still functioning in emergency mode and have feelings and stuff shut off". Yay for dissociation?

Accomplishments-
I managed work yesterday and got Miss Pig to the emergency vet, which may well have saved her life
I did all my animal care today, including syringe feeding Miss Pig, fluids for the cat and a short walk for the dog
I am about to do therapy.

After therapy I plan to sleep. When I wake up and see what a mess the house is, I'll take a look at this and remind myself of what I've got done.

tomorrow is the MRI.

I am pretty sure at some point I am going to melt down
it's been a bit much lately
 
Tomorrow is my appointment with my surgeon. I didn't ask my friend to come with me. I don't know. She didn't offer so I didn't ask.

Now I'm getting nervous. I feel like I should have planned out questions but that never seems to work for me. I'm getting nervous for the appointment.
 
Guess the doctor's appointment has upset us? That combined with our guinea pig being sick is too much maybe. We kind of shutdown or something.

The news is what we feared and suspected. He thinks a fusion is what I need. As much as I don't want that, it's a big, freaking surgery, I am sort of relieved? Because it addresses the whole problem area. But that means a day or two in the hospital and a longer recovery. Really freaked out about staying in the hospital.

first he wants the radiologist to change the wording on the MRI report because he's concerned they didn't focus enough on the disc that's touching the nerve and that insurance won't approve it as written. He doesn't seem worried that it will be difficult to do. Of course, I'm going to snit about it.

And our symptoms are somewhat inconsistent. Where our pain is, suggests that it's coming from one disc, but the MRI and the steroid injection that works, suggests it's coming from the other disc. And fusion is a surgery that is overdone and not always necessary and we keep reading about that and making ourself crazy.

In the meantime, he says I can get a 4th steroid injection. Which is a surprise because everyone says you can only have 3. But that's to get me pain relief hopefully until the surgery which is probably a few months down the road. we had hoped we would be well by the time summer came. oh well

we just whining. these things happen. we just need to suck it up and cope
and maybe our back isn't really that bad. Maybe we just been exaggerating and we need to decide to be ok now.
 
#Avoidance

hehe, this actually makes me giggle a bit. Rather to the point. Yes. Definitely keep flipping into avoidance mode.


If your vet said your dog needed the surgery, would you get it for him?

Of course :P

///

Been having a lot of doubts about if fusion is the right surgery. Guess I have a plan of sorts. Wait and see if the steroid injection helps at all. Because that will provide information about if we are looking at the right area. Come up with a list of questions for my surgeon and have a telehealth appointment to ask them. This involves ignoring the voice in my head that tells me that's being needy and wasting the doctor's times.

Also talked with T about staying in the hospital. Apparently some insider is terrified. Like non-rational, phobia like fear. Seems like someone afraid of being asleep/drugged and that anyone could come into the room and "mess with us". T is having us enlist the help of our protector while there. Someone who can stay on guard.
 
This involves ignoring the voice in my head that tells me that's being needy and wasting the doctor's times
You're definitely not.

It may be due to the different medical systems in our respective parts of the world (so, feel free to ignore everything I'm about to say...!!):

I've read a shittonne of spinal MRI reports in my time. Thousands. And one thing that radiologists do really well at? Is reporting comprehensively on what the imaging shows. Radiologists specialise in that, right? This is an image, what does it show. I've never actually heard of a radiologist being asked to re-write an imaging report. Um...like, ever.

So, if the steroid injection suggests that your surgeon may be reading things wrong, and the radiologist's report suggests your surgeon may have it wrong...it could be that your surgeon is jumping the gun.

In my region of the world, surgeon's wanting to operate when it's not required is very common. Radiologists under-reporting issues that are evident on an MRI is extremely rare.

Not saying your surgery isn't required. But if you're thinking to hold off, or get a second opinion (absolutely no harm in getting a second opinion, and your current surgeon doesn't even have to know about it), that would make a lot of sense to me. It would be super shit to get the surgery done and have it not actually relieve the pain. That would truly suck.

Either way, I hope you get some relief from the steroid injection.
 
I've never actually heard of a radiologist being asked to re-write an imaging report.
I can see where that might happen in the US because of some of the really stupid features of our medical system. Whether or not a procedure goes ahead really depends more on whether or not the insurance company will pay for it than it depends on whether or not it's justified and necessary. Insurance companies make their money by NOT treating people. In a case where the surgeon thinks surgery is the way to go, the paperwork will have to justify that or the insurance company will deny coverage. And it has very little to do with what the patient actually needs. If something in the radiologist's report could be interpreted as "maybe there's not a good reason to do surgery", there's a chance the insurance company will use that to refuse to pay. And it doesn't really matter if the surgery will help you or not. It's about profit.

With a major procedure like this, a second opinion would sure be justified. It might seem like a big and scary step too, but it's maybe worth thinking about. (Might even be worth doing something about.)

I sure hope you can get some relief for the back problems!!!
 
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