Re: Saw a Pain Doc Today

[Guest guest]

I hope your insurance will reemburse you for the visit right?

You might be entitled add the amount over what they agree to pay as

part of your deductable. I save a few thousand dollars every year in

expenses I shouldn't be paying for. Has this happen to anyone else?

I get all burned up about how the insurance companies take money for

things you didn't get. forgive me but I had to get that out.

>

> Last night I had to go to Vanderbilt ER for my back pain, it was

just

> too much. They refused to give me an injection, but insisted on

> giving me hydrocodone. My records have a big red flag on them that

> says I have a bad reaction to hydrocodone, but they gave it to me

> anyway. Where do these people learn medicine? Can they read?

>

> I broke down today and went to the only pain doc I could find who

is

> still actually practicing pain management, & he doesn't take

> insurance. The visit was $325....ouch. But he told me more than

any

> of my docs in the past. I had a spinal MRI done in January. The

pain

> doc I was seeing at the time told me I had a slipped disk (L5),

but

> never told me I also have a Tarlov cyst on the left of my S2 & a

> hemangioma within the S3.

>

> Basically, a Tarlov cyst is a cyst that grows like a cancer, but

is

> benign, & also causes excruciating pain. That is the reason my

back

> BURNS with pain nearly constantly. It fills with spinal fluid, and

> continues to grow in size. The only sure way to identify one is by

> MRI. The only good news out of that is that it's not in the canal,

so

> it isn't likely to cause any trouble (except the excruciating

pain).

> I think it's pretty rotten that my original pain doc, or other

> doctors (especially my neurologist), failed to identify this, or

even

> suspect it. The MRI was done in January, and none of my docs

seemed

> to know. And I've had this thing at least 10 years, if not longer.

>

> Hemangiomas are abnormally dense collections of dilated small

blood

> vessels (capillaries) that may occur in the skin or internal

organs.

> They grow rapidly, & can eventually impact the adjacent internal

> organs. So far, this one isn't causing any specific trouble, but

> since it's growing, I may have to have it removed at some future

> point. The doc said the location of this one makes the surgery a

> dangerous one, & would only be done if it starts causing problems

> (other than pain, which I don't know if mine is caused by the

Tarlov

> cyst alone or both together) or invades an important organ.

>

> I was very impressed with this new doctor; I just wish he accepted

> insurance. The reason he doesn't is because just about every

> insurance limits what meds or treatments a doctor can prescribe,

even

> if they're needed. This way he can give his patients the care &

meds

> they need, rather than what an insurance company tells him he can

or

> cannot do. He spent half an hour with me, & was interested in

every

> aspect of my health, not just the pain. He said his aim was to

make

> me feel better, & to increase the quality of my life. He did give

me

> some sad news, though. I was an avid rock climber & figure skater,

&

> the doc said no way to both activities. He said they'd exacerbate

my

> conditions & make my pain much worse. He was willing to give me

> oxycontin, but after sitting in the waiting room for several hours

&

> talking to many of his patients who were on oxycontin, I decided

> against it. They all said it was just too addictive, & trying to

go

> off of it is difficult. So, I just told him I wanted MS-Contin,

which

> I've been on for about 3 1/2 years. I still have the burning pain

in

> my middle back, but he gave me a prescription for Lidoderm

patches,

> which I've had before.

>

> The doctor is from India, & has a beautiful shrine set up in one

of

> his rooms. His waiting room was packed when I staggered in at

10:30

> this morning, & was still full when I left at 2:45. You really get

to

> know people when you're packed in like sardines for hours, lol. We

> all talked about our different maladies, & even though most faces

> were drawn with pain and the heat was terrible (the thermometer in

> the shade read 105 at noon) everyone was upbeat. One man in

> particular impressed me so very much. He was young (looked to be

in

> his early 20's), had no arms, & his right ear was gone. Later

someone

> told me he used to be a lineman for the electric company, & got

> jolted with 350000 volts. It literally burned his arms off. Yet,

he

> was laughing & joking, kind to everyone else there & didn't

complain,

> though he was in terrible pain. He was so very handsome, and I

felt

> so badly for such a young man who had such debilitating injuries.

>

> I even ran into a woman who had been to our home several times a

> couple of years ago. We'd lost track of each other & at first

didn't

> recognize each other. She also has fibro, as well as myofacial

pain.

> We talked about what had transpired in our lives over the last

couple

> of years (she loved the story of my being sucked out the door by a

> tornado, as did our neighbors in the waiting room). Everyone also

> enjoyed the tale of my battle royale with a mouse at 2AM a couple

of

> weeks ago. They all laughed at the image of me battering around

the

> bathroom with a broom, while the fluffy rodent raced circles

around

> me. I eventually slipped on a bath mat and fell into the bath tub,

> which really hurt! But, it was good to be able to make other

people laugh.

>

> Well, I'm going to have to go apply one of my Lidoderm patches. I

> hate the way they tend to peel off almost immediately, but maybe

if I

> swab my back down with alcohol, it will stick better. It's after

8:00

> pm & the outside temp is still over 90 deg. F. This heat wave is

the

> worst one we've had in years, & it's supposed to be hotter

tomorrow.

> A few days ago a man stepped outside his home & walked a block &

> dropped over dead from heat stroke. He was in his early 50's, & in

> fairly good health. His core body temperature was 107. The

hospitals

> are full of people suffering from the heat right now. Our AC runs

24

> hours a day, & it's still nearly 80 in here.

>

> Ok, time for that lidoderm patch! Welcome to all the newbies, and

> I'll try to participate more now that I'm back on my meds &

feeling

> halfway human again.

>

> ((((((((((HUGS)))))))))

> cyn

>

>

>

>

>

> clmerritt@...

> Fibromyalgia-Support-Group co-moderator

>

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