Maria,

Hang in there and don't give into the frustration and negativity. You have made it this far and you can overcome this obstacle. Keep searching for solutions and keep dialogue open with your case workers. Is it possible to have your case reviewed by another state certified orthopaedic surgeon? If the state board recommends the 2 level ADR you can bypass UR. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Mariaa,
I`m so sorry to hear this, maybe its a "Breathing space" which might just help you.

You have been around a long time and this seems so cruel - -- - I hope and pray you will get a "Change Of Heart" from this organisation
Best wishes
Alastair http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...icon_smile.gif

Maria
I am so sorry to hear this! I hope and pray that you get them to change their minds and soon. Its not enough to be in constant pain but to have to deal with the pains that ins can be is so unnecessary in my humble opinion

Maria,
I'm so disappointed to hear about this denial. I think Mars has a good idea. Will they consider 1-level fusion and 1-level ADR? Would you ever consider multilevel fusion? ADR seems just as dicey as fusion to me.

Jim

I think eventually that ADR will become a standard of care for ddd just as certain fusion techniques utilized today - right now, I think the game is all political and unfortunately it is patients that end up paying for all of this - Whether it is actual out of pocket costs vs chronic pain vs everything that comes with being disabled or practically disabled (AKA Red tape).

I could drone on, but I think I've said enough http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...icon_frown.gif

Hi Maria. I'm sorry to hear about your problems. Is it really any wonder that depression's linked with back pain when we have all these external pressures to deal with - it's not depression, it's plain old stress! http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...s/icon_mad.gif http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common.../icon_wink.gif I've been feeling as if having ddd is a constant battle but at least we don't have to jump through all the hoops you do in the States.

I agree with Poncho that eventually ADR will become the norm. With about 200,000 fusion patients a year in the USA I can't help but wonder how many will end up having ADR instead. I know it's not much consolation now but when you win the battle you'll know that you've just taken the system one step closer to removing these barriers for other patients (or am I being too naive about the US system http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...n_rolleyes.gif ) not to mention you'll be on the road to recovery http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...icon_smile.gif In the meantime keep your chin up and good luck! http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...icon_smile.gif

You/'ve been taking your time to research all your options and this is just unfair not to have a chance to get the best surgery for you. If you can see another surgeon for opinion maybe you can talk in terms of returning back to work if you could get the correct surgery in order to recover. Quality of Life is more important than working and I'd argue that point also. I'm sorry that you have go through all this but something will work out.