Another Newbie - My Story

[Nairek]

Hello,

I guess you could say I'm a new kid on the block who was told about this forum from a fellow "spiney". I noticed that some of my "friends" from another forum are posting here as well & it's nice to know that we are all together again to help support one another.

I was injured when I fell on ice in 2001 & was involved in an MVA in 2002. I injured both my back & neck in both accidents. I've gone through numerous rounds of physical therapy, an IDET procedure which failed after 5 months, SI joint injection, facet block, pain meds including Lyrica but nothing has seemed to help me. Well the Lyrica helped me to sleep at night & helped with some of the pins & needles shooting down my leg but it does nothing for my pain.

I tried to get approved for ADR at L5/S1 through my insurance back in 2005. I lost all of my appeals. I switched insurance in 2008 & hoped to re-start the fight again but couldn't get the support of my OS's staff. The secretary's problem was that she "knew" I wouldn't get approval even though she never submitted anything to the insurance company. So, even though I LOVED my OS, I wasn't able to get the support I needed so I went elsewhere.

Even though I hated the thought of going to NYC, that is what I did. I sought out Dr. Bitan & after many tests & having to prove to him that I wasn't some nut job, he agreed, I need surgery.

So we set a surgery date & the insurance saga began again. I tried to get approved for the ADR & was denied by my husband's insurance company. So, long story short, I was able to get his insurance to approve fusion for L5/S1.

My surgery is scheduled for this Tuesday, January 20th. As I get closer to the big day, I get more freaked out. It almost seems like a dream to me. I can't believe that I'm actually moving forward with this.

If anyone can give me some advice on what I can expect with the fusion, I would really appreciate it.

So, if you haven't fallen asleep yet, that's my story.