Uh-Oh Call about bone density

[treefrog]

I wrote out the timeline for getting my medical records. I had planned on waiting till early next week before calling again, and maybe I should have. But I couldn't bear the thought of waiting all through the weekend, without knowing if any progress was being made. So, I called my doctors office, only left a message. I figure I will let them tell me how long is reasonable to wait.

But, if I still haven't gotten them by next Thursdays appointment with the osteoporosis doc, then I am going to ask them to copy them as I wait. I'm tired of waiting. It is almost the end of March, and back in January I had 'planned' on having surgery in March or at least early April. This is the timing that works well for us financially (as well as can be, and as early as financially possible), though not as ideal for my job. For my job, ideally, I would have already had surgery.

I know, as evidenced by people here, that having surgery with Dr. B can come about very quickly. Though, as far as airfare, buying a little farther out is beneficial. And I still need to figure out the finances, exactly where to get the funds. I imagine that a medical loan requires some sort of estimate of costs. That is one option, another is credit cards, though I don't know if the hospitals can/will take that as payment. At the very least, things like airfare, hotels, and food can go on credit cards.

I have a feeling that after all this waiting and not being able to do anything, all of a sudden there will be so many things to do, and not enough time to do them. I'm not looking forward to that part either.

I think I should start making lists, I do have some already. For instance, I don't know when I should approach my PM doc about extra meds to take with me, and asking to make sure she will treat me after having surgery abroad. I also think that I should ask the surgeon that I saw in the same practice, Dr. Musante, if he will be willing to treat me if I need it after having surgery elsewhere. Does that need to be done before I go, maybe not.

I'm so afraid that there are things that I should be doing now, but I don't know what they are.

[phylly]

Hi Cathy,
Do you have to wait for your records to send to Dr. B before you can schedule surgery? I don't know about him but the Drs. I went to had at least several weeks or more wait before I could schedule. Air fares may be a little cheaper now as it is off season but after April it might be different. I look on Sidestep to get an idea what the fares might be. I guess you do have a lot to do.

I have a hunch that your Drs. will continue to see you when you get back. I have gone back to Drs. that I did not use for the procedures they recommended and they still saw me again. I hope that you can get everything taken care of since it sounds like your time frame is approaching fast. Once you have all your dates together you will feel better. You have a lot to do and I am sure you are feeling pretty stressed about getting everything done especially working too. I hope that everything falls in place for you soon.
Phylly

[treefrog]

Yeah, so I have realized that I need to start making up a list of things that have to get done before having surgery. So I can get them done as efficiently as possible, and so I don't forget anything important.

I would appreciate help from any of you who have had surgery overseas.

Once I have a prognosis and recommended surgery:

-Get a quote for the cost of surgery
-Contact medical loan company's for loans, or otherwise figure out where the funds are coming from (this needs a sub-list of it's own)
-Schedule surgery
-Arrange flights/hotels
-Tell my boss when I am having surgery (my boyfriend will have to do the same) & contact HR about leave time, and possible new position after coming back
-Send email to work department asking for donated leave time
-Talk to my doctors here about surgery, and what help they can give me before and after (including extra meds to take over)



Okay, and now it is late and time for me to go to bed. I will add to this list as I think of things.

[dshobbies]

Cathy,

First thing that entered my mind was extra meds. They don't always translate and you should have a 'just in case' stash. I took Vicodin with me and it didn't touch my pain.

Also, funny but you kind of wear your own clothes over there, even in the hospital so make sure you have lots of comfortable things, for both warm and cold weather.

BTW, I'm so frustrated for you I could $&)(*$#!

Dale

[SandyW]

Hello Cathy,

Catching up from several weeks of being awol. So sorry to hear you are having records problems. There's some +'s living in a small town, records are easy, doctors a little harder .

Make sure your US doctors will see you. When I tried to schedule a follow up with the spine doctor that I had been seeing for the past few years, he refused. Dr. Fenk-Mayer called him and told him Dr. B was referring me. He agreed to see me. However, I was never treated so badly (kept my cool??). A few of his remarks: I told you so. I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. German doctors are irresponsible performing multiple ADR's. Live with it. Nice huh?

Regarding calling other spiney's. I've talked to many people on the phone about my experiences in Germany and my post-op life. It's much easier to talk than to type your thoughts. It helps me too; I enjoy sharing the personal feelings.

So if anyone wants to talk, please pm me with your number and a good time to make the call. I never use my monthly minutes, so that's why I offer to call.

Good luck Cathy with making arrangements. Don't worry so much, it will all fall into place . Sandy

[treefrog]

Thanks Dale and Sandy.

Talking to my doctor's before I go, included asking about getting extra meds to take with me. Some of the surgery stories I've read clued me in that I might need them. I just hope I can get something that will work. I'm not taking strong meds (Opana-ER), though after surgery I'm afraid that I will need stronger ones. Plus I tend to only be able to take a few pain meds, many of them make me sick, so I'm worried that there won't be one that I can take that will work well enough for the pain, and not make me sick. The only thing I can think of, is to try to see if my PM doc can give me something to help with the nausea and vomiting, just in case. Well, I will just hope she has a good plan. I've had a very good relationship with her, and so I hope that will be easy to handle. The surgeon is more of a question, at least in my mind.

Sandy, I never use all my minutes either. But I got more minutes, because I wanted to have the "no long-distance" charges, to be able to call my son wherever he went in the military. Though now he is out, and in one place, it is still in another state. And all of my family is in another state too. Luckily I have roll-over minutes, but they just accumulate and then expire after a year. But I always have like 2000 minutes that are rolled over.

This weekend, I think I will try to do some investigation into medical loans. To see if I need to have a quote first. Also, if there is any problem with using it for overseas surgery (I really hope not). We have other possible ways of getting the money, but I think this makes the best sense.

[dshobbies]

Cathy,

I'm not familiar with property values in NC? Do you own your own home? Does it have equity from which you can borrow? A home equity line of credit might be a better way to go. Up to $100,000, the interest is tax deductible (more in certain circumstances), the interest is variable, currently very low, and as you pay it down it's reusable for any other purpose. So you can borrow the money, declare the medical expense and deduct the interest. If these circumstances fit, it's a win/win for unfortunate spines.

Depending on the bank, there are usually some fees involved including title insurance and an appraisal, other bank fees but all of these are negotiable. You might even try an online bank like ING. Anybody know if there are any banks till out there or have all bonues been handed out and everyone already quit

Dale

[Maria]

Cathy,
If you don't have your BMD report/records by now you can either get them where they were done stating you have an appt. with a doctor specializing in Osteoporosis and need to take records and sign a release for medical records there or you can take the fax number of the office where your report is generated from and give that to the doctor's office you will be seeing and just have the records faxed at the time of the appointment.

Either way you should have them for specialty appointment.

good luck!

[treefrog]

Maria, they are all one in the same office - they do it all. My PM, the surgeon, the osteo and the bone density test, all done at the same practice.

I got some of the papers from the bone density test, but I don't know that it is all of them (it's what I posted - all the numbers). My PM doc's nurse was kind enough to print them off and fax them to me.

It's all the other records that I'm waiting for. So, when I go in for the osteoporosis appointment, if I haven't gotten them before then (which is Thursday), I'll put up a stink.

Dale, that is one of the other options that we might have to go with (a home equity loan). As I tried to find some info on medical loans through the internet yesterday, I didn't find any that were for overseas travel (except for ones that were associated with medical tours). I think I am going to have to call banks to find out if they do them.

[dshobbies]

Cathy,

Please keep in mind there is a difference between a home equity loan, also known as a second (or third) trust deed and a home equity line of credit (HELOC). A 2nd TD is for a fixed amount, ususally for a fixed rate of interest (not variable), fixed payments and a pre-determined term (payback time). A HELOC is issued for a maximum amount, ususually based on 80% of your home's value after subtracting your existing mortgage, on which you can draw as needed. IRS interest deduction limitations do not dictate the maximum amount the bank will lend. Interest rates are usually variable as is the payback term. Payments are not fixed. Often there is a 10-20 year ceiling on the loan but this can be renegotiated as you go along. As you pay down the priciple the money then becomes available to use again for any reason and is tax deductible up to IRS limits, unlike credit cards and car loans. Fees for either type of loan vary from bank to bank but a HELOC can also have a small yearly fee, sometimes negotiable.

Unless you prefer a 2nd TD for a specific reason, such as locking in an interest rate, the flexibility of a HELOC makes it more attractive. HELOCs can also contain a provision for converting to a traditional 2nd TD at any time.

All of the above are questions you should ask before signing any papers.

Good luck, Dale

[treefrog]

Thanks for that information Dale. I know we really don't have much equity in our home here, so that isn't an option. But my boyfriend owns another home, that is owned outright, and he can borrow against that, if need be. He's the whiz when it comes to these kinds of things though, I will mostly leave it to him, if I'm not able to get a loan somewhere else.

I finally got my records. The doctors office called me, and apologized for the other company's mistake. Said she would print out everything and I could come by the office to pick it up, free of charge. Apparently the cost would have been ~33.00. And she said if I did end up getting them in the mail from the other company, that I could just keep that copy, and to ignore any bill they might send. Well, I think if I do get a bill, that I will call them and make sure it gets taken off - I don't want that to end up on my credit report, even though it's a little thing.

Even though I specified which types of records I wanted, they printed out everything. There was a lot of stuff that I really didn't need, but was interesting to read. I now have 19 pages copied, ready to send off, and I have copied the CD's with the images on them. Hopefully I can have it in the mail soon. Lets get this party started . Sorry that was a bad reference, but I thought it was funny.