My 3 mo X ray - Discs tilted all over the place

[steve55]

Yea, I have heard of him. I just might do that. Im likely to trust Dr B as he has so much experience with these things but again, doesnt hurt to see what other docs say. If at all possible, Id like to stay as I am if its not causing pain. I sure would like to hear the other docs opinion of what usually happens when letting these things stay as is.

Thanks Katie.

[Cindylou]

I'm sorry Steve. Major bummer indeed. But I also would trust Dr. B's advice and get it fixed now. Excellent that you took such notice on the x-rays. I will pray for you in the coming days as you face decision time.

God bless,

Cindylou

[runner]

Steve,

Wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion, IMHO, but I wouldn't wait too long on this. The ADR can subside more from what I have read in the past literature.
Please be careful. Just because it doesn't hurt doesn't mean it shouldn't be fixed.
I'm praying everything works out well and make them mindful in Germany about your financial situation. Unless of course you are independently wealthy.
You may be afraid of fusion but if this is what needs to be done with the subsidence, then you have to have it done.
You couldn't have predicted this complication so don't beat yourself up.
I was told before lumbar surgery I would probably get a post-operative ileus, where the bowel stops working, and I did that and then some, getting a prolonged ileus which necessitated 10 days in the hospital.
I wanted to leave but I had to stay.
I'm going to have surgery again and maybe it will happen and maybe not. That will not stop me from having a needed surgery.

I may be reaching, so cyber slap me if I am but I worry about you waiting. I don't remember anything about anyone keeping their subsidence. All I can recall is the person having to have surgery again to fix the problem.
I feel for you cause no one wants a complication.
You are strong and can do this.

[treefrog]

Originally Posted by runner

I was told before lumbar surgery I would probably get a post-operative ileus, where the bowel stops working, and I did that and then some, getting a prolonged ileus which necessitated 10 days in the hospital.
I wanted to leave but I had to stay.
I'm going to have surgery again and maybe it will happen and maybe not. That will not stop me from having a needed surgery.

Kim, how did they know you would have ileus, is there some indicator?

[steve55]

Im not sure why I didnt bring this up earlier as I didnt initialy think this could be related to the current slipped disc, but since Sunday night, I suddenly developed a excrutiating throbbing pain from my around the back of my left shoulder, the shoulder itself, and upper arm. It does not travel below my left elbow. Ive had temporary "pinched nerve" sensations in the past that always slowly got better. But this one has not seemed to have gotten better and its wednesday morning now. The excrutiating pain is so bad that I couldnt concentrate on doing anything from eating to even watching TV. It hits really hard when it starts up. I took double pain killer(ultracet) and alleve just to relieve it monday night so I could actually sleep, and again, I took alleve and another pain killer to relieve it last night. Then this morning at around 7AM I was woken up with this excrutiating pain again. I seemed to be pain free at work yesterday without pain killers as it seemed to dissipate yesterday in the day only to return when I layed down in bed again yesterday evening.

Im starting to suspect now that this could possibly be related. Im not sure what the symptoms of a slipped disc are though. This current pain is not really similar to the pain I had before pre op. I expected it to get better and go away in 2-3 days as these kinds of things normally do but now Im not so sure. Given the continued severity of it, now Im thinking it very well might be related.

[jessmith07]

Steve, I happened upon this dermatome map today on Dr. B's site and it shows the correlations between the nerve root location as it exits the spinal column and the area of the body it supplies with sensation conduction...

Have a look and compare the pain that you're feeling and see if it corresponds with the map...

Dermatome Map

[steve55]

Well, according to the chart, the shoulder area where I am hurting the most correlates to C4. The shoulder to elbow shows C6/7. But the C6/7 also goes down to the hand which I dont have.

Im at work right now and for whatever reason, this pain doesnt hit me too hard in the day. It seems to be worse when I lay down in the evenings. But its excrutiating and quite severe, but at least its not the deep dull nerve pain like pre op. I am amazed at how severe the pain is when it does hit, its a unbearable throbbing sort of pain mainly in the shoulder and some in the upper arm.

I recieved my quote from Prospine to fix this and its $18,000 USD. Im not sure if that is a discounted price or not. Considering a single level ADR at prospine is around $24-$27K, I think it probably is a discounted price since removal is probably more challenging and difficult than inserting, PLUS, they are fusing after the removal also. I was hoping it would be a free revision like I heard that Stenum does if things go wrong, and I read 1 case where prospine fixed someone for free also. I guess no such luck for me, but, as I said, I also know its not Dr Bertagnoli's fault either. My bones just didnt hold well. I was thinking about seeing if my insurance would cover it here in the US if I could find a Humana doctor with a solid reputation at removing ADR's, buuut, gosh, it probably isnt worth the risk I guess. There probably are not many doctors who are really good at ADR removals. I guess I can always appeal for coverage as out of network. Medical necessity shouldnt be too hard to prove. Do US insurance carrier's deny these claims on ADR extractions? Maybe they will refuse to cover the extraction but agree to cover the fusion???