RE: My surgery date has been set

[Guest guest]

Hi Lori,

 

I am glad you have a scheduled surgery for the replacement of you stimulator. 

I'm sorry to hear the pain specialist's office wasn't being the nicest towards

you.  I am glad you were able to come up with the money.  Sometimes things get

so challenging.

 

Love,

Becky in SD

 

--- Lori wrote:

I wanted to let everyone know that the replacement of my stimulator

has been scheduled. It is set for October 9th at 7:00 a.m. & I am not

sure if I should be happy or scared.

[Guest guest]

Lori

I haven't been flowing this two close, but my stimulation device had to be

almost all the way replaced in the first couple weeks. Ask the doctor how he

knows if the stimulation device was good. Some models are having problems with

the wire breaking when it goes into the implanted part.

My other lead was just sort of wandering all over the place, Which my doctor was

good enough to say knowing me he should have tied it down with hay bailing wire

the first time. It didn't cost me any thing.

Also he knew I had a old back brace from when I hade some cysts removed and 4

fusions on my spine last year, so he is having me wearing it for 8 weeks now to

make sure I don't do anything to stress the wires and mess it up. Which sound

right to me.

Looks like your new insurance would at least pay for a new brace. The new ones

are not bad at all.

P.S. still waiting on the results of my throat biopsy I had last friday. But all

the doctors are going through with making the right appointments and cat scans,

getting me started on nausea meds ect. Like they know something.

ron patterson ronpat0471@...

[Guest guest]

Why are you needing to have the stimulator replaced?

Deb RN

Lori Renfroe wrote:

I wanted to let everyone know that the replacement of my stimulator

has been scheduled. It is set for October 9th at 7:00 a.m. & I am not

sure if I should be happy or scared.

[Guest guest]

Deb,

I am having the stimulator replaced because the doctor and the nurse,

from the company that supplied my unit, have decided that the leads are broken.

I told the doctor at my follow up that I was getting stimulation in my

RUQ so badly that I can't turn up the stimulator for full pain relief

in my legs. So, the doctor contacted the nurse to meet with me & adjust

my stimulator to direct the stimulation properly.

When the nurse andI met, he attempted to adjust the tip of the leads

with the computer but all it would do is cause the stimultion to leave

my legs & only be in my RUQ or just stop all together. The nurse

attempted for 30 minutes before he went & pulled the doctor into the

room to let him see what was going on. That is when they told me that

it was either a lead moved or was broken.

I was immediately taken back for x-rays & the doctor looked at them

right then. One of the leads supposedly moved just a hair but nothing

else was seen on the x-ray. That is when the doctor told me that one of

the leads is broken and it had to be revised.

I hope that answers your question.

Lori

Deb wrote:

> Why are you needing to have the stimulator replaced?

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the answer. How did your lead break? Do you have any idea? How

much pain did you have after the trial and the placement?

Lori, how are you feeling today?

Deb

>lori renfroe wrote:

>Deb,

>I am having the stimulator replaced because the doctor and the nurse,

from the company that supplied my unit, have decided that the leads are broken.

[Guest guest]

The money is the ONLY reason they even let you in the door. Don't ever let

yourself be fooled. Doctors are scientists who do care about helping people, but

they also have bills to pay, families to support, and social engagements to keep

their status up.

They are caught up in a system that requires them to pay outrageous insurance

fees, just like the rest of us. So, the bottom line is, if they don't make money

from you, they will have to care about

someone else who does, and keep those patients whose insurance companies pay in

full and on time, by showing how much they care.

>Lori wrote:

> I found out that the old insurance still hasn't made payment for the

> original stimulator that was placed May 28th. I think that is why

> they want us to pay such an exorbitant amount of money.

>

> Now, I am not sure it I should be scared or happy because I feel like

> the money is more important than I am as a patient. It just doesn't

> make sense to me at all. I've never been in such a bind before.

[Guest guest]

--- Bonnada wrote:

>

> The money is the ONLY reason they even let you in the door. Don't

ever let yourself be fooled. Doctors are scientists who do care about

helping people, but they also have bills to pay, families to support,

and social engagements to keep their status up.

I understand fully that doctors have a lot of the same bills that we

do. I am not a stranger to needing to pay a doctor my deductible. The

problem about this amount of money is like I said, it exceeds not

only my deductible but also my out of pocket. That, I am not accustom

to doing.

I am going to have to pay the office that money because I don't have

a choice where I live not to do so. This doctor is our only pain

specialist that does nothing else with his time.

I have been to another doctor for pain treatment & that was a joke compared to

what I receive now. So, please don't think that I am not appreciative for what

he has done for me.

I am just floored over the money. If I didn't feel like my care was worth it, I

would have gone out of town for treatment.

Lori

[Guest guest]

>

>

> Hi, Lori.

>

> I will pray for you that your surgery goes well, and the outcome of

> less pain be granted to you.

>

> Bon

>

Bonnie,

Thank you for the prayers. I will take all I can get right now.

I had another shocker for tomorrow. The call came today to remind me

of my appointment in the morning & , at the end of the call (which was

on my voicemail), I was told not to only remember about the

exorbitant amount of money I am to pay but that it has to be cash or

a money order. I have't even written a check to this office before. I

always used my credit card to track medical expenses easier. I was

going to write a check but now we have to get cash or a money order!

I feel so frustrated & like I'm being treated like some horrible

person of some kind.

Maybe, I'm the only that will feel this way in this situation. I feel

like I am paying for someone else's sins.

Thank you again for the prayers,

Lori

[Guest guest]

Well, while I'm writing this you should be about through with your

implant.

Pain wise its not to bad. You have to remember that he is

doing a lot of work. In about a week the pain of installing the

stuff should be way down.

The third day was always the roughest for me with any kind of surgery. Give it

some time and let every thing settle down and maybe you should start looking

around for a different PM doctor. The one you have seems way out of reason on

just about everything.

Also they should try and do a little adjustment on the device while your still

at the hospital and awake.

I would give it at least a couple weeks before I asked for any more

adjustments. Really any you get before the swelling goes down is not

going to last till you get home.

I find out tomorrow what kind of a program they are going to use on

my just found throat cancer. I think I want them to be as aggressive

as they can with it, no matter how bad it is one me. I hurt all the

time anyway right now. I might as well go ahead and get it over

with.

ron patterson Ronpat0471@...

-- " lori.renfroe " wrote:

> exorbitant amount of money I am to pay but that it has to be cash

or

> a money order. I have't even written a check to this office before.