New PM doc does discograms for SD group..

[Mariaa]

Well, I hit upon a great find! Those of you that know me know that I'm a candidate for a 2 level ADR trial here in CA. and have had 2 surgery dates so far, and not had surgery.

Ok, my issue is that L3 was concordant for pain on first discogram, then not on 2nd. I fear that participating in a trial and implanting L4 and L5S1 area may not be enough depending on whether the discogram results are realiable.

So this new and awesome PM doc I saw yesterday says he does the discos for the Encinitas group here in the San Diego CA. area and explained to me that the pressure should have been higher than what was done on my last discogram tho there could have been reason for it not being with L3 such as a leak tho that would have likely been painful.

He completely recommends another discogram before having the 2 level ADR. I really would like for him to do this as I trust that he has no vested interest in whether I get into the trials or not altho he's very much into the Pro disc trials and has followed pain patients that had this surgery and had good outcomes, back to normal lives.

The whole visit was awesome, this doctor was like talking to the guy next door altho he had answers, explanations, and was willing to talk and spend time with me.

I'm really happy right now, feel I finally hit upon someone that understands "my" particular issues and I can see with WC insurance.

Don't get me wrong, I would like to have this surgery if it's going to be what will help me, tho I just may have to wait a bit until the trials are over and hope and pray that WC would still be willing to pay for the surgery even tho the cost will be tripled and there's already been a denial (non certification) on the books by the Utilization Review co. for the insurer.

Thanks for everyone's patience that keeps up with me on this.

[Harrison]

Way to go, Mariaa! You've been diligent and smart about your choices along the way. It sure is nice when you connect with a medical professional that can help you...hope this one takes you the "rest of the way home..."

[mmglobal]

Great news Maria... is this guy out of Linovitz' group at Scripps?

Mark

[Mariaa]

Mark,
He does the discograms for this group tho has his PM office at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego~

[Kristine]

Maria,

Isn't it wonderful when you find someone that you feel really understands you?!?! I'm happy for you.

Did they ever give you a print out of what your discs looked like under the discogram? I got a picture of what my positive L5, S1 looked like and also my positive L4-L5 looked like (it was leaking and you could see the cloud of dye around the disc). It might be worth having them give this to you of any discs that are in question. This way a doctor or surgeon could possibly decipher it (if thats possible).

[Mariaa]

Kristine,
I spent the last year and a half in Florida where I couldn't even get an appt. with a Neuro or Ortho because of my CA.WC (future medical benefits) and could only find one PM doc to see me.
This PM doc had at least 40 people in his office each time I went (2 waiting rooms full) and would often just sit in one room and have the patients lined up ready to see him, then he would ask "are you still taking so and so medication?" "how are you?" and then he would just write the scripts and the appt. would be over.
We spent 1 hour going, 2 hours waiting, 2 minutes with me being seen, and an hour coming home. I could go on re the poor quality of care I received there but won't as it's a waste of typing...

Boy, am I ever glad to have found this particular PM doc! I really like how communicative he is. And informative. Glad he's experienced at some level with ADRs as he has a different perspective than the other PMs I've gone to. Knowlegable and open minded!

BTW, he had a copy of the discogram film faxed to his office so that's on record. Thanks for mentioning that tho!