[hey_look_its_dave]

I also wanted to mention a revelation I had with the surgeon who did my discotomy.

When I first saw him (prior to any surgery) he was saying how he recommended discotomy and I had said that I wasn't yet ready based on his description of what was to be done and chances of success.

At that point, he was showing me the door. I said, "If I don't do surgery, what other options do I have to improve my condition?" He said, "I dunno. I'm a surgeon. I do surgery. If you want surgery, give my office a call. Bye bye now."

Here I was asking a spine surgeon what he thought might be good for my spine issues, and he rebuffed me. I realized that they expect you to already know what you want. They're just a vendor of their service. Nothing more.

I said to my family doctor afterwards that I wasn't qualified to know what to do next. He said that he wasn't either, but that I could try a pain specialist. So I went that route for awhile (epidurals etc.).

The point of my story was just that the prevailing viewpoint amongst these surgeons is that they do surgery, and if you want advice about anything else, you can hit the road.

A rude awakening for me.

Dave