[Abbe]

Here is what I have sent Harrison hope this can help all of us somehow!

My Back Story
Abbe

For me my back problems started when I had a water skiing accident in 1986. The tip of my ski caught the water and before I knew it I was *** over teakettle. I did not release the ski rope from my hands and knew right away that something had gone pop in my back. I was very athletic and figured I would heal in a week or two with rest. That was far from the case. I finally went to an orthopedic doctor and had X-rays taken and there were abnormalities. At that time MRI’s were a new technology and were not being covered by insurance companies. They were considered “experimental and investigational”. I would have to shell out the money to have one of these studies done. But the claim was that they could see the soft tissue and be able to determine my ailment more accurately than any other technology at the time. So, I opted to have the test done. Sure enough the MRI showed a ruptured disc at L4 L5. I was young and scared of having back surgery. At least two doctors wanted to do spinal fusion, I was only 26 years old and knew I did not want my back fused. I put off surgery for six years until I could wait no longer and was on the floor in excruciating pain and tired of living on narcotic painkillers. I found a neurosurgeon who said he would try removing part of the disk orthoscopicly to see if that would make the disc bulge retreat. He told me up front that this was not a promising surgery but it was the least invasive. I gave it a go yet I did not have the relief I had hoped for. My second option was to have a hemilaminectomy along with more of the disc being removed and no fusion. He said this would leave my options open later down the line. I had a great success with this surgery and was happy not to have had the fusion surgery that the other two doctors had recommended.

Almost twenty years after those first surgeries I have also been diagnosed with the vertebra above and below with degenerative disc disease and ruptures and tears in the discs along with the original disc that I had problems with being all but gone and now I am bone on bone there. In 2004 I was considered a good candidate for the Prodisc trials but I would still have to pay for the artificial discs and they would run $10,000 each. I have had my ups and downs and have even went through steroid type of injections into my spine to alleviate the swelling and discomfort due to enflamed areas pressing on my spinal canal. I have also been put on a medication called neurontin, which helps the nerve pain but does not make it go away. In addition I also take an anti spasm medication to keep my back from going into spasms. Blue Cross of California has denied me three times this year for artificial disc replacement stating that it is “Investigational”. They dropped the term “Experimental” after the second denial when I wrote to them and I included the FDA approval of Prodisc which was approved last year. Blue Cross of California said they would approve a three level fusion surgery which is a major surgery and would take a year or so to heal from not to mention the loss of any lower back flexibility.

I have done quite a bit of research on fusion and disc replacement and have read many research papers and articles. I now have nerve damage affecting my legs and the last three doctors I have been to have all suggested I have disc replacement over fusion yet I am at the mercy of the insurance company.
Although I am not a doctor I am in charge of my body and not the insurance companies. If I were a person of unlimited means there would not be a problem with getting this surgery done. But since I am a middle class American I cannot get this procedure done without jeopardizing the financial well being of my family. If I were a federal employee Blue Cross would have to cover this procedure since it is FDA approved.