cardaddy
New member
- Nov 20, 2012
- 3,937
- 0
Whasup y'all!
I know I brought this up a few weeks ago, hoping it wouldn't take so freaking long, but it's gotten REAL now.
Took 6+ weeks to get in to see the surgeon I picked at Emory. My Pain Management doctor gave me 3 names, told me to research them, and pick the one I wanted. All the while he was adamant that he didn't want me to have surgery. With people getting more "fusion's" these days than ever, he was totally against that happening. So much so in fact that he kept telling me this last "spell" would get better, "just hold on and you'll work through it". Don't get me wrong, I am TOTALLY in agreement with my regular guy, and the THOUGHT of the typical barbaric screws and rods involved with a "fusion" scared the living snot outta' me!!!!! Not to mention the benefits/results are marginal at best.
So I look up the guys on the list, and ended up picking my surgeon from the group at Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center Hospital, a dedicated spine center that seems more like a boutique hotel than any hospital I've ever been in. Sofa beds in every room, flat screen TV's and 42 channels, even a room service menu (with what looks like some KILLER cheesecake).
My appointment with him was Monday morning, EARLY at their offices, which are NOT where the hospital is, or the University hospital, or the University for that matter. And it was raining like Noah was going to pop out from around the corner. Here we are well south of Atlanta, and the offices are north of town. Monday morning rush hour, raining to beat the band, and Car-Momma had me up at 5:00.
This new thing in my back is a herniated disc, one I did in November. I've been telling everyone since then that something TOTALLY different was going on, (than my normal chronic back pain) but nobody seemed to want to hear me. Before then I could get around decent, albeit sometimes with a cane, but NEVER with a walker. Since November though..... it's been with a walker most days. That and since December my friggin leg has been exploding within seconds of standing up, (or trying to lift it for that matter).
I'd had new MRI's, new CT's, X-Rays, you name it. All saying basically the same thing. Some change since 2011, but nothing major. But that was before I could describe in detail every succinct line where the nerve pain runs, from back, arse, hip, thigh, shin, ankle, foot, to the end of my toes. Walk into the new Dr's office, tell him what has been going on, my history (of other back problems) hand his 'attending' my CD's and within minutes they come in the room, printouts in hand, and say "You have a herniated disc, right here". RIGHT HERE THEY SAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, I'm glad that doctors want you to wait... I am, I get it. But meanwhile I'm taking levels of meds that NO-FRIGGIN-BAHHHH-DEEEE should have to take. Heck I'm concerned my LIVER is going to give out.
The surgeon is going to fix it, without a fusion. (We hope) But if he DOES do a fusion, he doesn't use rods and screws. He goes in from the front, puts a cage/ring/spacer thingy (loaded with grafted bone) in-between the vertebrae and uses the weight on the spine to form the fusion.
Good news (and bad). What he is shooting for is a discectomy. That's the good news. The bad news is where it is, he has to go in at the back and work within the area of the nerve root(s). And then what would normally take 30 minutes and a 1" incision , he's now talking 4 hours and a 6" incision! There is also substantial "calcification" (bone spurs) that are not a part of the disc herniation that they also need to work on. (The others saw this, just not the disc problem.)
The GREAT news is he's saying 70% pain relief in my right leg, right away... RIGHT AWAY! Holy....... No more walker! Have no idea what the recovery road is going to be like, but it can't be anywhere NEAR what the road to get here has been.
Left there Monday and had to go STRAIGHT to yet another Dr, (the family practice) to get a physical and get cleared for surgery. You know, just the regular money grabbing stuff, blood workup, pee in a cup, BP, EKG, you name it!
Said all that to say this:
Zero Dark Thirty, Thursday the 24th I'll be there, with bells on. Maybe we can shoot a video of us dancing from the OR!?!? :laughing:
All things going well and we'll be home Friday afternoon/evening of the 25th.
Guys.... at this stage I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm just glad I don't have to keep taking so many pain meds for ANOTHER 6 months. And especially glad I don't have to take up skydiving, without a parachute. I said a month ago that I didn't want to be alive for yet another birthday, not if it meant hurting like it's been the last 6 months. Well, as y'all know.... the birthday is here. But by the Grace of God surely we'll not have to wait much longer.
Thanks guys (you too Monica)
Take care all,
Tony
So yeah.... two more Dr's appointments between now and then. One up to the hospital to "meet everyone" and do the Pre-Op stuff, another to my regular pain management guy for refills to get me through next month.
I know I brought this up a few weeks ago, hoping it wouldn't take so freaking long, but it's gotten REAL now.
Took 6+ weeks to get in to see the surgeon I picked at Emory. My Pain Management doctor gave me 3 names, told me to research them, and pick the one I wanted. All the while he was adamant that he didn't want me to have surgery. With people getting more "fusion's" these days than ever, he was totally against that happening. So much so in fact that he kept telling me this last "spell" would get better, "just hold on and you'll work through it". Don't get me wrong, I am TOTALLY in agreement with my regular guy, and the THOUGHT of the typical barbaric screws and rods involved with a "fusion" scared the living snot outta' me!!!!! Not to mention the benefits/results are marginal at best.
So I look up the guys on the list, and ended up picking my surgeon from the group at Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center Hospital, a dedicated spine center that seems more like a boutique hotel than any hospital I've ever been in. Sofa beds in every room, flat screen TV's and 42 channels, even a room service menu (with what looks like some KILLER cheesecake).
My appointment with him was Monday morning, EARLY at their offices, which are NOT where the hospital is, or the University hospital, or the University for that matter. And it was raining like Noah was going to pop out from around the corner. Here we are well south of Atlanta, and the offices are north of town. Monday morning rush hour, raining to beat the band, and Car-Momma had me up at 5:00.
This new thing in my back is a herniated disc, one I did in November. I've been telling everyone since then that something TOTALLY different was going on, (than my normal chronic back pain) but nobody seemed to want to hear me. Before then I could get around decent, albeit sometimes with a cane, but NEVER with a walker. Since November though..... it's been with a walker most days. That and since December my friggin leg has been exploding within seconds of standing up, (or trying to lift it for that matter).
I'd had new MRI's, new CT's, X-Rays, you name it. All saying basically the same thing. Some change since 2011, but nothing major. But that was before I could describe in detail every succinct line where the nerve pain runs, from back, arse, hip, thigh, shin, ankle, foot, to the end of my toes. Walk into the new Dr's office, tell him what has been going on, my history (of other back problems) hand his 'attending' my CD's and within minutes they come in the room, printouts in hand, and say "You have a herniated disc, right here". RIGHT HERE THEY SAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, I'm glad that doctors want you to wait... I am, I get it. But meanwhile I'm taking levels of meds that NO-FRIGGIN-BAHHHH-DEEEE should have to take. Heck I'm concerned my LIVER is going to give out.
The surgeon is going to fix it, without a fusion. (We hope) But if he DOES do a fusion, he doesn't use rods and screws. He goes in from the front, puts a cage/ring/spacer thingy (loaded with grafted bone) in-between the vertebrae and uses the weight on the spine to form the fusion.
Good news (and bad). What he is shooting for is a discectomy. That's the good news. The bad news is where it is, he has to go in at the back and work within the area of the nerve root(s). And then what would normally take 30 minutes and a 1" incision , he's now talking 4 hours and a 6" incision!
There is also substantial "calcification" (bone spurs) that are not a part of the disc herniation that they also need to work on. (The others saw this, just not the disc problem.)The GREAT news is he's saying 70% pain relief in my right leg, right away... RIGHT AWAY! Holy....... No more walker! Have no idea what the recovery road is going to be like, but it can't be anywhere NEAR what the road to get here has been.
Left there Monday and had to go STRAIGHT to yet another Dr, (the family practice) to get a physical and get cleared for surgery. You know, just the regular money grabbing stuff, blood workup, pee in a cup, BP, EKG, you name it!
Said all that to say this:
Zero Dark Thirty, Thursday the 24th I'll be there, with bells on. Maybe we can shoot a video of us dancing from the OR!?!? :laughing:
All things going well and we'll be home Friday afternoon/evening of the 25th.
Guys.... at this stage I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm just glad I don't have to keep taking so many pain meds for ANOTHER 6 months. And especially glad I don't have to take up skydiving, without a parachute.
I said a month ago that I didn't want to be alive for yet another birthday, not if it meant hurting like it's been the last 6 months. Well, as y'all know.... the birthday is here. But by the Grace of God surely we'll not have to wait much longer.Thanks guys (you too Monica)
Take care all,
Tony
So yeah.... two more Dr's appointments between now and then. One up to the hospital to "meet everyone" and do the Pre-Op stuff, another to my regular pain management guy for refills to get me through next month.
rops:
